Love Is Crazy (Love Is… #1)

by Abby Brooks

  Michael certainly said it enough, spouting it at every meeting, every press conference, even went so far as to put himself into each new commercial, leaning back in his pretentious leather chair in his office on the bajillionteenth floor of one of the tallest buildings in New York City. The commercial screamed sex and power with Michael’s gray eyes blazing into the camera. His blonde hair impeccably styled. The floor to ceiling windows behind him sparkling with the lights of the city. Panties got wet all across America every time he was on screen, no doubt about it. There’d been a time when she herself melted into a puddle of barely comprehensible woman the moment he looked at her. But that was only at first. Not so much as time went on. And now? Juliet was just glad to have hundreds of miles of highway between her and the city. Between her, Michael Phillips, and his fashionably twitchy palm.

  It seemed like every woman in the world was fantasizing about having a super-hot billionaire boyfriend who knew what he wanted and took it without asking. Throw in a touch of sadism and a dash of cold and domineering and you’ve got the perfect recipe with which to ‘explore your sexuality.’ Juliet had been excited—okay, beyond excited—when Michael had slid that contract across the boardroom table for her to sign. Her heart had raced as she ticked off her list of hard and soft limits, as they discussed rules and safe words. She’d always liked her sex a little rough and here she was, presented with the chance to really let down her hair and walk on the wild side. Hand control over to someone bigger and stronger than her. Allow him to take her on some marvelous sexual journey. But, life isn't at all like the movies and BDSM isn’t the fun and games pop culture would have her believe. At least not when your partner loses control...

  Juliet took a long breath and let it out, then checked her mirrors and made herself smile. Positivity was a habit and smiling was the first step. Michael Phillips had no power over her anymore. She’d taken it all back when she packed up her car and left the city. Sitting here worrying about him, going on and on about the past, that was only handing the power right back to him. She’d taken precautions; he’d never find her. Life was hers again and freedom tasted sublime. So what if she didn’t know where she was going? So what if she didn’t have much of a plan? She’d fake it til she made it. Even if that idea scared her to death.

  Lulu looked at her expectantly, panting in the pool of early spring sunlight that blazed through the passenger window. The little dog probably needed a pit stop even more than Juliet did. “We’ll stop at the very next one,” Juliet promised. Lulu dropped her head to her paws and Juliet checked the rearview mirror one more time.

  He’s not back there, she chided herself. He’s probably just now figuring out you’re gone and there’s no way he’ll know where you are. He’s rich, but he’s not Batman.

  She finally found a place to stop and pulled off the highway, stretching as she straightened out of the driver’s seat. Despite the evening hour, heat radiated off her car and the pavement. It’d been cold in the city when she’d left, but she’d gotten far enough south that she’d go so far as to call it hot. She blinked in the bright light and took a deep breath. She’d always wondered what the ocean smelled like, and now she knew. There was salt and fish and something fresh in the air. Juliet smiled, checking one more box off her mental bucket list.

  Now that she was standing, she really had to pee. Like, so badly it hurt. Juliet cracked a window to keep the car cool for the dog and locked the car door before she waddle-walked as fast as she could into the restroom. Poor little Lulu was just going to have to wait her turn, and heaven help her if she peed in the car. A few minutes later, she rushed back out to the parking lot, eager for the briny coastal air to replace the strong scent of rural rest stop bathroom. Another car had pulled in while she was inside, a giant boat of a Buick, and Juliet slowed down to study the driver.

  Of course it wasn’t Michael. He’d never drive a Buick. Hell, if he did find her, he’d probably land a helicopter at her feet, the wind plastering the grass to the ground, blowing the leaves on the palm trees into great churning fans, tailored suit and designer tie flapping as he walked towards her, those sexy gray eyes gleaming in anticipation of how he was going to make her scream as soon as they got behind closed doors...

  Juliet shuddered. Not another thought, she told herself. He doesn’t deserve one. more. thought. She got to her car and opened the door, leaned over the driver’s seat and reached into the back for Lulu’s leash while a tiny old woman heaved the door shut on the Buick and lumbered off towards the bathrooms. As Julz dug through the few boxes she’d packed, looking for the now AWOL leash, another car pulled in beside the Buick.

  This one was sleek and expensive and gleamed in the evening sun. That was a power-mobile if she’d ever seen one and she didn’t have to see the driver to know he had something to prove. Probably a class-A jerk.

  Juliet rolled her eyes and pushed the rest of her small frame as far into the back seat as possible. “I’m sorry, babe,” she said as Lulu put her paws on Juliet’s back. “That silly leash is just gone.” She pushed one more time, her ass now fully in the air, and found the leash where it had fallen on the floor behind her seat. With a triumphant little “aha!, Juliet wriggled back into the front seat in time to see the old woman stumble and fall against the curb.

  With a gasp, Juliet threw open the door and raced to help. Lulu bolted out of the car after her, passed her without a backwards glance, and then just kept right on running towards the line of palm trees on a hill that blocked the view of the beach.

  “Lulu!” she screamed, crouching at the old woman’s side as she struggled into a sitting position. “Are you alright?” Julz tried to split her attention between the woman and her dog.

  “Nothing hurt but my pride, I ‘spect.”

  Juliet offered the woman a hand, watching as her little dog just got smaller and smaller, her tiny little legs eating up the ground at her feet. “Lulu!”

  “Getcher dog,” said the woman with a smile. “I’m tougher’n I look.”

  Eyes on Lulu—who’d now started running in circles, barking at something that caught her attention in the grass,—Julz kept a hold on the woman until she was on her feet and stable. “You sure you’re okay?” she asked.

  “I’m old. I just fell in front of a stranger. I’m as okay as I’ll ever be.” The old woman smiled again and waved her away. “Now go get yer dog ‘fore she goes for a swim.” Lulu had disappeared behind the row of palm trees.

  After one last look at the woman to make sure she was stable, Juliet took off, calling after Lulu. The panic she’d tried to keep at bay finally rose into her throat and tears pricked the corner of her eyes. If she lost Lulu, she might lose her mind. That little dog was one of the few things she still had from her pre-Michael Phillips life. One of the few things she’d actually let herself love and the only thing that's ever really loved her back.

  Please let her come back. Please let her come back. Please.

  And then, a man stepped out from the row of palm trees, holding a happy Lulu, who wriggled in his arms, trying to lick his face. A man in a tux, with expensive written on just about everything about him from his haircut, to his tie, to his pants, to his shoes. Juliet slowed and studied him as he walked up to her, a huge grin on his face.

  His ridiculously handsome face.

  Holy shit, his almost completely perfect face. This man should have a theme song playing in the background, what with the sun illuminating his dark hair and broad shoulders, the warm smile crinkling the corners of his eyes, all while he strode towards Juliet in slow motion, after having rescued her escaped dog.

  “Lose something?” he asked in a rich baritone, eyes gleaming.

  Close your mouth, Julz. Say something.

  Mr. Handsome held Lulu out for her to take and she couldn’t help but notice his wickedly expensive watch poking out from behind a pair of French cuffs and engraved cufflinks. Everything about this man screamed high-powered and successful. Well, everything except for the f
act that he was at a nearly abandoned rest stop out in the middle of Nowhere, South Carolina.

  “Thank you,” she said, cradling Lulu to her chest and trying not to stare as he ran a hand through his thick, so-brown-it’s-almost-black hair. Clearly, Lulu had made it all the way to the beach because the man had little flecks of light brown sand all over his black tux.

  “Oh, my gosh, I’m so sorry,” she said, brushing at the sand without thinking, and then pausing as she recognized the hard muscles of a well-defined chest underneath. He must do about a thousand pushups a day! She flushed and yanked her hand away before looking up to meet his eyes.

  “It’s not that big of a deal.” The man brushed at the sand, unbuttoned the jacket and slid it off his shoulders. “It’ll shake right out. Besides,” he said with a lift of his eyebrows and a sexy little quirk of his lips, “just wait until you see how much sand is in my shoes.” He looked down and she followed his gaze, her heart wrenching at the mess of sand caked around the laces.

  Nervous, Juliet laughed a little. Who was this guy? She’d spent a lot of time around the kind of men who could afford the things Mr. Handsome had and not one of them would ever be described as easygoing. And this guy? So far she’d have to call him easygoing. This almost felt like a trap. “Well, thank you again.” She nuzzled Lulu and smiled over the little dog’s ears at the man.

  “It’s the least I could do, considering you were busy being a hero yourself,” he said, looking over her shoulder towards the woman and her Buick. Juliet whirled, suddenly afraid the old lady had collapsed after she’d left her to run after Lulu. The Buick was there, but the old woman was not, so she was either on the ground on the other side of the monstrous car, or she’d made her way into the restroom. “Was she alright?”

  “Hmmm?” Juliet dragged her eyes back to Mr. Handsome.

  “The woman who fell. She okay?” The man arched an eyebrow and gifted Juliet with another magnificent smile before he started walking back towards the cars.

  Julz followed. “I think so. She said she was okay. I probably should have stayed, I just really…” Was it shallow of her to admit that she cared more about finding her dog than staying to make sure the old woman was really alright?

  “I’m impressed you stopped to help her in the first place. A lesser woman would have run off after, what was it? Lulu?” He hit Juliet with a questioning look and she nodded. “If she said she’s fine, I’m sure she meant it.” They reached the edge of the grass and paused.

  Juliet shook her hair back over her shoulders. “Thanks again. Like, lots of thanks. All the gratitude I can muster,” she said. Great, Julz. Very articulate. Way to show off that sharp mind. “I might have lost it if I lost her.”

  “No worries. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go remove most of the beach from my shoes.” He gave her a wink and her stomach fluttered a little as he turned and walked away.

  What the hell was that all about? You’ve sworn off men, remember? Especially that kind of man. No more high-octane, commanding, take what they want kind of guys. You're leaving that life behind. Starting over. Keeping it small and simple and easy.

  Despite all the well-meaning thoughts in her head, it took longer than she’d like to admit to get her eyes off Mr. Handsome’s ass as he sauntered into the men’s room. And as much as she hoped—and chastised herself for that hope—that he’d look back, he never did.

  Chapter Two

  After retrieving Lulu’s leash and giving her a chance to go potty, Julz got out the directions she'd printed off from MapQuest and a map of South Carolina, and spread them out on the hood of the car. The map was new; she’d grabbed it at a gas station shortly after crossing the North Carolina state line. It only took about four hours of being lost in the hills of Virginia to learn that the MapQuest directions weren’t exactly accurate. As soon as she’d gotten herself back on track, she’d stopped and bought a map.

  How did people live like this before cell phones? Without a GPS and Google? Were they just constantly lost and confused? She peered down at the map and compared it to the MapQuest directions she’d printed out at the library the day she’d decided to make a run for it. The day she’d just ran her finger down the map of the east coast and settled on a city based on the name alone. Bliss. How could she not want to live in a little coastal town named Bliss? The moment her index finger crossed over the name, she’d known that’s where she was heading. She’d returned home ... well ... to Michael’s home. He’d made it more than clear that she lived there because he let her, and she didn’t own a single thing in the posh penthouse.

  She’d left the smartphone he’d given her on the kitchen counter where he'd be sure to find it. Wandered into the bedroom to pack and realized that she didn’t have much of anything that he hadn’t bought for her. She dug through the closet and threw what remained of her pre-Michael wardrobe in a bag. Grabbed the houseplant she’d brought with her from her old apartment and her old dishes and silverware that never got unpacked because Michael wouldn’t deign to eat off them. Then she tossed it all in her car and took off before she had time to talk herself out of it.

  “No service?”

  Julz jumped and spun, knocking the papers off the car. The heavy map hit the pavement with a thwack while the printouts seesawed their way out into the parking lot. “Sorry,” she yelped as she dropped to the ground and gathered the papers into her arms and came face to face with a pair of now sand-less black shoes.

  “I’m the one who should be apologizing,” said Mr. Handsome Dog Hero Man as he bent down and helped her up. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “Sorry,” Julz said again. “Just jumpy.” Stop apologizing, she told herself. Next thing you know you’ll be calling him Sir. ‘Cause that wouldn’t be weird.

  He lifted a finger and put on a serious face. “No more sorry’s, understood?”

  Juliet’s heart sunk into her stomach, did a little dance there, and then both heart and stomach held hands and sunk to her feet together. She opened her mouth, but then clamped down on the apology that threatened to come out.

  Mr. Handsome’s face softened. “Hey,” he said, lifting his hands and showing his palms. “Just playing around.”

  “Oh.” Juliet buried the splash of fear behind what she hoped was a playful smile. “Well in that case, I’m sorry.” She made a silly little face and hoped he got the joke.

  Mr. Handsome laughed and she immediately wanted to make him laugh again. “So, my little old fashioned traveler, where are you headed?”

  She looked down at the mess of papers in her arms and went to work straightening them and then spreading them out on the hood of the car again. “A little town named Bliss. I think I must be close.”

  Surprise danced in his eyes. “I’m from Bliss.”

  She let her eyes travel over his whole body, from his expensive haircut, to his tux, to his fancy watch and shoes so shiny she could check her makeup in them. “Maybe it’s not as small as I thought it was.”

  His eyebrows scrunched together in the most adorable confused face Juliet had ever seen. And then he laughed again and she couldn’t help but smile, too. “You mean the tux?” He waved his hand down his body and actually turned in a circle for her to see the whole thing. “Pretty sharp, isn’t it?”

  “Snazzy, indeed.”

  “I’m heading to an engagement party.” Her face fell and he hurried on. “For my brother.” And then he looked kind of embarrassed, which was also adorable.

  “So am I close? To Bliss?” If she’d had any doubts about having picked the right town, they just flew out the window knowing that Mr. Handsome called the place home, too.

  Now stop it. No men. Remember?

  “It’s about half an hour or so south.” He took his phone out of his inside jacket pocket and opened up Google Maps. Using his fingers, he zoomed in and out until he could get both their location and Bliss on the screen at the same time. Then, being perfectly chivalrous, he checked her MapQuest directions and added som
e landmarks for her in the margin before tracing her route on the map.

  “That should get you there just in case you don’t come back into range for your phone to work,” he said and she didn’t bother to tell him that she was so far out of range from her phone that she’d never get to use it again, given that it was still on Michael’s kitchen counter and all.

  “Are there any good extended stay hotels there?” she asked, gathering the papers off the hood of the car.

  “In Bliss? I thought we just covered the fact that this is a small town.”

  “So, no extended stays?” Damn! Now what? she thought, totally aware that she actually sagged with disappointment in a nearly perfect Eeyore impersonation.

  “Not a one.”

  “Please tell me there’s at least a hotel. I’ve got my heart set on Bliss.”

  “There’s only one I’d feel comfortable suggesting to you. I’m pretty sure it’s got rooms with kitchenettes, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

  Juliet beamed. “Perfect.” Mr. Handsome smiled and took the map from her arms, his fingers brushing against hers. She bit her lip as he bent to make another note, marking the hotel on the map and jotting down the name.

  He finished what he was doing and studied her for a minute, considering something before taking a tentative breath. “Believe me when I say that I’m not trying to take advantage of a damsel in distress,” he said with a self-deprecating grimace, “but I own some rental properties on the beach. If you need more of a long term solution…” he trailed off and handed her the map back.

  Juliet’s heart leaped. Beachfront properties? Yes, please! He was only talking about one of her lifelong dreams. She could just imagine it, falling asleep to the sound of the ocean, waking up and tasting salt in the air. Watching the sun rise over the sea, light glinting and glittering off the water. Lazy days spent digging her toes into the sand while the sun thawed her frozen heart.