My best mistake, p.1
My Best Mistake, page 1
MY BEST MISTAKE
Sarah J. Brooks
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright and Disclaimer
Special Invitation
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Epilogue
Preview: The Baby Package
About the Author
Copyright and Disclaimer
Copyright © 2019 by Sarah J. Brooks
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Facebook: Sarah J. Brooks
Special Invitation
Hey Sweetie,
do you want to get THREE romance novels sent directly to your Facebook Messenger inbox? Simply click here and I will reach out to you personally!
With love and talk soon,
Sarah
Chapter 1
Brooke
Whoever designed tuxedos did so with Jason Cooper in mind. I can’t drag my eyes away from his hot male form as he dances with an impossibly thin blond bombshell. Everyone in L.A. is super thin. Do they all have air for breakfast and dinner? Liam shifts in my arms and I cradle him tighter.
He’d fallen asleep as soon as his parents took to the dance floor for their first dance. He settles back into dreamland and my eyes return to Jason as if drawn by an invisible force. Tall and broad-shouldered. Ripped biceps. The finest specimen of a man that I have ever laid my eyes on.
And the one man I cannot stand.
Except my brain and body don’t work in sync where Jason Cooper is concerned. Looking at him now, a warm liquid ache rises from the depths of my body. I squeeze my legs together to ease the rising pressure.
I’ve fantasized about him for more times than I care to count. Grazing my fingers through the blond curls at the back of his neck. Sucking on his full lips, made for kissing. A soft groan escapes my lips and I clear my throat loudly, in case anybody heard it.
Then he turns to me and the world stops. My breath comes out faster. A smile plays at the corners of his lips as if he can tell just how badly I want him.
“Too bad your brother is off the market,” Madison says, and I break the stare. I didn’t even hear her return to her chair.
“You knew that,” I say and throw her an affectionate glance. Madison has had a crush on Marvin as far back as I can remember. My brother and a thousand other men. She crushes on a different man every week. All he has to be is good looking and sexy and Maddie is all in. “Marvin’s been off the market since college.”
My gaze shifts to the groom and his bride. They’re wrapped in their own world, as they sway to the slow music. Marvin and Ellie. They met in college and had been together since then. Seven months earlier, they’d had a baby and decided it was time to make their union official.
“They look so happy,” Maddie gushes. “Do you think it will ever happen for us, Brooke?”
Memories come over me. Waiting in the small room off the altar for Eric to arrive. Angry that he’d dare be late for our wedding. The rising panic as it dawned on me that this was not a simple case of forgetting to check the time. And then the realization that I had actually been stood up on my wedding day.
I turn to Maddie and shake my head. “Not for me. I’ve walked down that road and I didn’t like it.”
“Eric was an asshole,” she says.
Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. I make an abrupt movement and Liam stirs. I rock him. If he wakes up now, he’ll be super cranky and putting him back to sleep will require a miracle.
“You never said so at the time,” I hiss. “In fact, if I recall correctly, you said that you liked him.”
Madison grins sheepishly and then shrugs as if it doesn’t matter. She’s my best friend and she’d pretended to like the man I was going to marry.
“I know, but I also added that he was a selfish prick.”
I roll my eyes and exhale. There’s no point in getting angry about it. Sure, it would have been nice if she’d been honest at the time.
“I hope I meet someone soon. I’m running out of patience,” she says now.
“It might help if you don’t hop into bed with a man the same day you meet him,” I point out. It’s not the first time we’ve had that discussion. Maddie doesn’t believe in denying herself.
“I do not! Well, maybe I do but it’s better than living the way you do,” Madison says and then her voice softens. “I know what Eric did was terrible but, Brooke, you can’t let it stop you from living. Go on, have a wild affair with someone. You might even meet the real love of your life. Get married, have a family, the works. Take a risk.”
Tears burn my eyes. It’s easy for her to say. She’s not the one who had to face hundreds of people like the girl whose fiancé had gotten cold feet. I hadn’t told anyone but a year after my wedding that never was, I’d come across a picture of Eric, his new wife, and a baby. The pain had been unbearable. I couldn’t help but think that that would have been me holding our baby.
The wound reopened and it had taken me months to go through a whole day without bursting into tears. No thank you. I wasn’t going back there again. Not ever. Though I did like the idea of indulging in a wild affair. My eyes searched for Jason.
“Let’s not talk about Eric, he’s old news,” I say, feigning nonchalance. The humiliation of being dumped on my wedding day would haunt me forever.
It made me paranoid and I still think people talk about it. Madison assures me they don’t, and I wish I could believe her. I love the anonymity of L.A.. No one knows me in the city. Back home in Minnesota, everybody knows my story. It had even appeared in the local dailies. A celeb of sorts. The kind no one would want to be.
“I like Marvin’s friend,” Maddie says.
I follow her stare. Jason. Who else could it be? “No, you don’t. He’s an asshole.”
“A hot asshole,” Maddie quips.
The song comes to an end and Jason bends to kiss his dancing partner on the cheek. He whispers something in her ear, and she giggles. “He dips into every hole he finds if you know what I mean.”
“Mm, in that case, I’ll stay away,” Maddie says. “I like a hot sexy man who’s faithful.”
“Definitely not Jason,” I say and immediately guilt washes over me. It has been a while since I’ve seen him. Maybe he’s changed. No. Not possible. Men like Jason did not change. He loves women too much and they love him in return.
When Marvin and Ellie had whisked me back to L.A. with them and introduced me to the L.A. nightlife, Jason had come with us on most nights and disappeared as soon as we entered a club. He’d gone home with a different woman every night.
Marvin and Ellie had saved my sanity by moving me to L.A.. Offering to babysit Liam while they went on a three-day honeymoon had been easy. I was happy to do something for them after all they’d done for me.
From the corner of my eye, I see Jason’s large form approaching and I try to shrink myself into the chair. Too late.
“Why do I have a feeling you’ve been hiding from me?” he asks as he looms over our table. “Love your dress.”Flirting comes as easily to Jason as breathing.
“Thanks,” I say and hope he goes away. He makes me uncomfortable. Lusty. Whorish.
He leans toward me and his manly scents waft up to my nose. I inhale, hoping to capture some of it permanently.
“Can your friend here hold Liam? I’d like to dance with you.”
“No, thank you,” I say quickly. “I’m sure you’re not lacking for partners.”
He grins. “You’re right there but I promised Marvin and Ellie to make sure you had some fun. Call it a favor to my friends.”
My glare to Marvin and Ellie is wasted. They’re still wrapped in each other. I contemplate refusing but that will make me look childish. Instead, I shrug as if I don’t care either way. As if I don’t want those strong arms around my waist and his hard body pressing against mine. I’m trembling. I can’t dance with him. I’ll make a fool of myself in front of everyone.
“I’ll take him,” Maddie says and tries to lift Liam from
I refuse to let go.
“Remember what we said about taking risks,” Maddie hisses.
I loosen my hold and look at Jason. “Just one dance, okay?”
He grins. “Of course, what else did you have in mind? I’d be happy to oblige.”
Chapter 2
Jason
I suck in a breath as I dance with my best friend’s hot little sister. Her nipples press against my chest and it is all I can do not to snake my hands up and play with them. She feels so soft in my arms and I have to fight to keep my hands on her waist.
My cock is hardening by the second. I’m not surprised. I’ve wanted her from the first moment I saw her. Her wedding gown clung to her curves and I’d grown hot just imagining peeling off the layers of her dress. She had worn a cold, unreadable expression as she stood in front of everybody in church and explained that the groom to be would not be joining them. He changed his mind.
My jaw dropped. Not because of that coward fiancé of hers, but from her courage. She had given a little speech about how it was better that he changed his mind before they committed to each other. Her bridesmaids had flurried around her, but Brooke had remained almost serene. That was when I came up with my own secret nickname for her, Ice Queen.
Afterward, Marvin and Ellie returned to L.A. with her and I saw her every night for two weeks. I dreamed of fucking my best friend’s sister every night. I fantasized about wiping off that cool exterior with a passionate kiss. My body had ached for her and I had to distract myself by seeing as many women as I could.
Now, I lean in and inhale the sweet lemon scent from her hair. It is intoxicating and my cock becomes rock hard and presses against her dress. Brooke is tall and our bodies align perfectly together. My breathing becomes rushed. Can she feel my cock? That is embarrassing but then again, maybe not.
It doesn’t matter if she knows just how much she makes my blood boil. After all, it will never happen for us, not if I value my friendship with Marvin. And I do. More than anything. Marvin is more than a friend. He’s a brother and I would do anything for him, just as he would for me and had.
We met in the first year of college and became friends fast. But what cemented our friendship was what happened after the call. The one that changed my life and broke me.
My whole family had been killed in a car crash. Gone, just like that. My parents and younger brothers Carl and Edward, just thirteen and eleven. One day I had a family and the next I didn’t. Darkness enveloped me and it had taken the love and support of a friend to get me out of it.
Marvin had been that friend. He’d dropped everything and gone home with me to bury my family. After that, our friendship moved to another level. No matter how much I wanted Brooke, I couldn’t have her. Marvin loved his little sister to death and if I wanted our friendship to continue, I’d steer clear of her.
I had once joked about how hot she was and he’d looked at me solemnly and said I could have her, only if I intended to marry her. Yes, I wanted her badly but marriage, hell no.
Still, I enjoy playing with her because I know how much she dislikes me. I’ve never understood why she dislikes me. She’s the only woman I know who cannot stand me. I whisper into her ear, “We’re going home together.”
She stiffens and I laugh softly. “Not to my home, though I must admit, I’d love that. I’m taking you and Liam home. Marvin’s orders.”
Her body grows slack now that there’s no threat of my taking her to my house. My heart constricts. She’s afraid of men. I wish I could show her that most of us are harmless.
That bastard Eric! Marvin had complained several times how much his sister had changed after she’d been left standing at the altar. I wish I could show Brooke how sexy she is. Worship her body. Kiss her soft creamy skin until she cried for more.
“I was also instructed to be checking on you two every morning, afternoon, and evening and any other time in between.”
That got a laugh out of her. Marvin said she rarely laughed anymore. She had a delightful, sweet laugh. A laugh I want to hear over and over again.
“You don’t have to. We’ll be just fine,” she says and turns to look at Liam still on her friend’s lap.
She’d arrived in L.A. a week earlier and I had avoided going next door to Marvin and Ellie’s house because I didn’t trust myself not to drool at the sight of her. Now for the next three days, I had no choice but to see her. After all, I’d promised my friends to ensure that Brooke and Liam were comfortable.
There was also the fact that Liam is my godson. Brooke would be seeing a lot of me in the next couple of days.
Brook wriggles in my arms and brings me back to the present. “The song’s over,” she says.
“Who cares?” Hell, I could dance with her for hours with no music.
“I do,” she says and places her palms against my chest.
I meet her gaze and freeze. Her eyes smolder with passion. Lust. She wants me! It is not one-sided. It arouses a giant need in me, and it takes every ounce of my will power to step back.
“Thank you for the dance,” she says politely, a hood over her eyes now.
Had I imagined it? No. I’m good at reading women. I have perfected the art of seducing women. The knowledge that Brooke wants me should please me. It doesn’t. It was easier to forget her when I believed she hated me.
Now I can’t help but wonder if she fantasizes about my hands gripping her ass cheeks while she wraps her long legs around my waist as I fuck her senseless. It’s going to be a long three days.
Chapter 3
Brooke
I stifle a laugh at how hard Ellie is working to hide her worry. She’s been restless all morning, repeating instructions that she’d told me just minutes earlier. I don’t blame her one bit. She’s a stay at home mom and this will be the first time that she’s going to be away from Liam since he was born.
“There’s enough labeled food in the freezer,” Ellie says, and a nervous laugh escapes her lips. “It’s enough for two weeks actually.”
With Liam perched on my hip, I close the distance between us and touch Ellie’s hand to reassure her. “We’ll be okay, I promise.”
Ellie exhales. “I know but it’s the first time I’m leaving him, and I feel so guilty. My emotions are like a yo-yo. One minute I’m ecstatic about the trip and in the next, I wonder if I’m insane to even consider it.”
“It’s only for three nights,” I point out.
“I know,” Ellie says and leans in to plant a kiss on Liam’s cheek who promptly lifts his arms to be held by his mother. “One more cuddle before your dad comes back.”She inhales Liam’s scent and then turns to me. “Don’t forget that my mom’s not far away if you need help.”
“Okay. Try and enjoy yourself,” I tell her. “You won’t get another chance until Liam is older. Plus, my services are only available now.”
Ellie rolls her eyes. “I know…I know. You’re going back to Minnesota and not coming back any time soon to big bad L.A.”
I beam. “Yes! Especially if I get that job.”I’ve applied for a head vet’s job in a zoo back home and I’m pretty positive about getting it.
We hear deep voices before the door opens. Marvin walks in followed by Jason. My heart drops to the floor and I hate myself for my reaction toward him. There must be something wrong with me. How was it possible to want a man so badly? I quickly take in the white t-shirt that accentuates his broad shoulders, tucked into a pair of jeans. My heart stutters. Why does he have to be so dang appealing?
I need a distraction. Fast. I take Liam from his mother’s arms. “Here, let me.”It’s nearly time for Liam’s morning nap and he’s becoming drowsy. He lays his head on my chest.
“All set?” Jason says as he comes to the kitchen.
The hairs at the back of my neck stiffen. I keep my eyes away from him but I’m aware of every step he takes. He stands so close I can smell his male scent.
“Oh yes, we are,” Ellie says and reaches out to pat Liam’s bald head.
“He’ll be fine honey,” Marvin says. “And I think we’d better go. With every second that goes by, the chances of you changing your mind keep increasing.”
We laugh and a flurry of hugs and kisses follow.
“Call me if you need me,” Marvin whispers in my ear and I smile. No matter how old I get, he will always treat me like a little sister. I don’t mind. It’s always been like that and my big brother makes me feel protected.
