Crossing the Line Read online

  Crossing the Line

  Kismet Series Book 1

  Samantha Long

  Booktrope Editions

  Seattle WA 2015

  Copyright 2014, 2015 Samantha Long

  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

  Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).

  Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

  No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

  Inquiries about additional permissions should be directed to: [email protected]

  Cover Design by Chelsea Barnes

  Edited by Laura Donohue

  Previously self-published as Crossing the Line, 2014

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to similarly named places or to persons living or deceased is unintentional.

  Print ISBN 978-1-5137-0084-7

  EPUB ISBN 978-1-5137-0105-9

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2015912553

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  About the Author

  Author’s Other Works

  More Great Reads from Booktrope

  Thank you to my husband for encouraging me to try something new. Thank you to Nina, who helped me tell Nick and Victoria’s story the right way. Also, thank you to Christi, who helped so much with my line by line editing. I would also like to thank my Booktrope team: Laura Donohue for her amazing editing, Chelsea Barnes for being so awesome with everything and for pulling everything together and also for my gorgeous cover, and Marisa Chenery for proofreading. And lastly, thank you to my readers. You rock!

  Chapter One

  VICTORIA STRETCHED to ease the stiffness in her back and looked around the combined living room and kitchen area of the condo. The work she’d done today made her proud. Color and life, furniture and art now filled the previously hollow room.

  Her client would sell this condo in a flash now.

  Her cell rang, and she dashed to the bar in the kitchen and dug through her purse until she found it. She bit back a curse when she saw the display.

  Roger. Roger, who was supposed to be picking up Lucia and Helena from school today. Roger, the ex who wanted to “go find himself” and decided a wife and family weren’t part of that. He’d only waited two days after the divorce was finalized to date a socialite.

  She reminded herself that the divorce was a year old and that bitterness didn’t suit her. “Yes?” The bite in her voice didn’t make her bitter. It showed how tired she was of him bailing on her.

  “Hey, babe.” Roger still didn’t get the fact that he couldn’t call her babe. Ever.

  A headache started at the base of her skull. “What is it? I’m busy.”

  “I can’t pick up the girls from school. I’m having dinner with someone, and I’ll be late if I don’t leave now.”

  “Roger.” She sighed and looked at her watch. The girls needed to be picked up in ten minutes, and she needed to meet her dad and contractor at her new office. “You promised me you would get them. Plus, I’m on the other side of town. There’s no way I can get there in time.” Sanctuary Bay wasn’t a large town, but tourist season had started, so traffic would be heavy.

  “I’m telling you ahead of time so you can make arrangements.”

  Her temper ignited at the exaggerated patience in his voice. “You’re telling me ten minutes before they’re supposed to be picked up. That’s not telling me in advance.”

  “Look, babe. I can’t make it. Give my love to the girls.”

  Victoria glared at her phone when he hung up. She closed her eyes and took three deep breaths. There was a way to solve this situation without maiming her ex. She’d just have to call one of her sisters.

  She dialed her youngest sister, Addison, with her fingers crossed. Addie taught at a school not far from the girls. If there were no meetings, Addie should be able to pick them up.

  Her voice dripped syrupy sweet when Addie answered. “Who’s my favorite sister?”

  “God, what? You only act like this when you need something,” Addie said.

  Victoria heard the smile in her sister’s voice and took heart. “Can you pick up the girls?”

  “Did Roger back out again?”

  “He decided to have dinner in the city.”

  “That douche. I’ll leave right now. But you owe me dinner.”

  “Thanks, Addie.”

  After she hung up, she changed into a black pencil skirt, a white blouse, and red pumps for the meeting. She pulled her black hair into a sleek ponytail and dressed her brown eyes in natural makeup and mascara.

  The drive to the oceanfront office on the boardwalk took an extra thirty minutes. It didn’t bother her, though, because the warm air smelled like the sea, and she enjoyed every minute of it. She pulled her SUV into the shopping center and spotted her father’s truck parked close to the office he’d helped her buy. Being a retired contractor, he recommended a friend of his to redo the inside to fit her needs. She had high hopes on the outcome.

  “Hey, sweetie.” Her father stood outside the door, his salt and pepper hair close cropped. He shared his sloe eyes with his two eldest daughters, and they warmed when he saw his oldest. “How was the staging?” he asked, enveloping her in a tight hug.

  “Great, I finished the condo, and I have consults tomorrow for a few personal interior designs.” Victoria looked at the door, and her stomach tightened in excitement. An office of her own. She wouldn’t have to work out of her house anymore. “Let’s go in. I want to see it again.”

  Her father gestured toward her oversized purse. “If you can find the key in that suitcase of yours.”

  Victoria laughed. “Lucia and Helena bought it for me for my birthday. It’s a little big, but they were so excited when I opened it. I think they combined both their allowances for a month to buy it.”

  “Your mother helped them with some,” he said as she pulled the key out.

  “See? Only too
k a minute.” With a quick smile, she unlocked the door and stepped inside.

  Wallpaper hung in tatters and the stained carpet smelled musty. A receptionist counter covered in chipped Formica was the only furniture in the room. Thank God, Victoria thought.

  “Needs a lot of work.”

  “I know, Dad. Did I make a mistake? Picking this place out?”

  “Do you know how you want it to look?”

  She regarded the place and imagined what she wanted. Dark hardwood floors, antique furniture, some potted plants. Graphite-colored walls with white trim. Elegance and style. “Definitely.”

  “Then there’s no mistake. You’re going to build a business here. You’ll be able to accommodate more clients out of a real office. You can even get an assistant for scheduling and stuff.”

  Her father was the driving force behind her confidence. When-ever she couldn’t imagine herself with her own business, he built her up. Pushed her toward better things. He looked in the direction of the parking lot at the sound of a truck door shutting. “Here comes Nick now.”

  Victoria turned when she heard the door to the office open and the shock shot straight to her toes. Thank God she’d fixed her hair and makeup. A friend of her father’s? No way. This tall and lean guy was nowhere near her dad’s age and had muscles that were evident underneath his gray t-shirt. Tattoos peeked out from under the sleeves and twisted down his arms to his wrists. Shaggy black hair framed a face with a square jaw and full lips.

  Anatomy that she’d tried to forget about roared to life.

  Which was ridiculous, because the last thing she had time for was a man, even one as gorgeous as this one. She recognized him from high school, although they’d never been in the same circles since he’d been more of a bad boy.

  Catching herself, she held out a hand and said coolly, “Hi, I’m Victoria. Wes’ daughter.”

  His eyebrows rose over ice blue eyes. “I’m Nick.”

  She ignored the interest on his face as his lips quirked.

  “Hey, Nick. Thanks for meeting us. Want to take a look around?” Wes asked.

  “Sure. What are you looking to do to the place?”

  Victoria tried to bring her thoughts back to the business. Her dad was up to something, she could tell. He would’ve never hired out the job to someone else, even if he was retired, because he’d want to do it for her.

  Wes glanced at her. “Ask her. She’s the designer.”

  He excused himself as his phone rang, and Victoria watched him leave with a mutinous glare.

  “So, Victoria. What do you want to do with the space?” Nick asked. His voice hinted at his amusement.

  “You think this is funny? They’re trying to set us up. It’s mortifying.” How could Nick not see what was going on? He definitely looked like the type who could get his own dates. If her sisters knew about this, she was going to rain hell down on them.

  Nick shrugged, the muscles in his torso and shoulders catching her eye. “I think it’s funny. Wes told me he had a client for me. He didn’t say it was one of his beautiful daughters.”

  Heat unfurled in her abdomen. She told her brain to tell her newly awakened anatomy to slow its roll. “Where do we go from here?”

  “I hear there’s a new restaurant on the boardwalk we could try out.” At her glare, he laughed.

  The sound shot straight to her core.

  “I could design you an awesome office space. I am good at what I do. We can ignore the fact that our parents are working against us. Or we can make them happy and go out. I do love my mother very much, and this would make her very happy.”

  She couldn’t help but smile. He was a charmer. “How about you design my awesome office space and we ignore our parents?”

  “Sure, we can do that. But you can’t blame a man for trying.” Nick turned to the room. “So, the space?”

  She explained her ideas to him and asked how long it would take, then looked past the parking lot toward the beach. Anywhere but at him. She couldn’t let herself be tempted. A man was a complication she didn’t need. Not with her daughters and her expanding business.

  “A week to come up with the blueprints, tops. I have a job I’m finishing now, but it shouldn’t take too much of my time.”

  The door opened, and her dad stepped back inside. “Your mother was having a small dinner crisis. She needs me to pick up some stuff on my way home.”

  “Does she now?” Victoria narrowed her eyes so he’d know she knew exactly what he was trying to do. Her dad deftly avoided eye contact. “Anyway, we’re done here, so I’m going to head home.” She handed Nick her business card and tried to ignore the laughter in his eyes as she left.

  Chapter Two

  VICTORIA WALKED into her house, the music from the living room assaulting her ears. Her feet screamed for relief, so she slipped off her stilettos.

  Her daughters and Addie danced across the white carpet with the Wii remotes in their hands, concentration and laughter on their faces. Lucia and Helena’s identical features, black hair and hazel eyes, belied their different personalities. Victoria watched them dance, and not for the first time wished she could’ve chosen better for their father. She had no other excuse than she was young and stupid then.

  Her family was supportive, not wanting to tell her Roger wasn’t good enough, wanting her only to be happy. All except Addie, who’d protested loud and often that he was nothing but a douche. Victoria watched her sister keep up with the girls and smiled. Her sisters had helped her through the past year, and without them, she didn’t know what she would have done.

  “Hey, Mom.” Lucia waved when the game came to a lull. “I’m beating Addie to a pulp.”

  Addie glanced over, blue eyes inherited from their mother lit with a competitive fire. It didn’t matter that the girls were younger. Addie had to win.

  Victoria noticed Helena didn’t say anything, but guessed she was too focused on the game. She continued through the living room and into the kitchen, immediately going for a bottle of wine. She hated that Roger still got to her. His attitude toward marriage—toward her—had been the same for the last twelve years. He wasn’t going to change just because they were divorced.

  “Pour me a glass.” Addie’s long, black hair fell down her back in a straight waterfall, her makeup light. “Teaching third graders can be stressful. I’ll be gray by the time I’m your age.”

  Victoria lifted a brow and poured the wine into two glasses. “Mom always taught us that more Moscato equaled less gray.”

  Addie lifted the wine in a toast. “That she did.”

  The liquid warmed her throat and stomach. “Thanks for picking up the girls.”

  “You know you don’t have to thank me for that. I love spending time with them.”

  Victoria moved to the fridge, trying to decide what to make for dinner. “I met with Dad and the contractor today.”

  “How’d it go? Did they say how long it would take for your posh new office to be done?”

  “The contractor is going to draw the designs and blueprints first. Then he’ll meet with me and let me know how long it’ll take. Did Dad tell you who it was?” Victoria looked at Addie and realized she didn’t know. Addie had the worst poker face. “He’s a freakin’ hottie.” She turned the fan on above the stove, then fanned herself.

  “Tell me more.” Addie laughed. “You haven’t blushed like this since you met dick face.”

  “Addie.” Victoria nodded toward the living room, where the girls argued about who would bowl first on the Wii.

  Addie shrugged. “Sorry, but they aren’t paying attention to us. Why did you ask if Dad told me?”

  “It was embarrassing. He got a phone call from Mom when Nick walked in—”

  “Nick is a sexy name.”

  Victoria tried not to laugh at that. “Shut up. Anyway, we could both tell our par
ents were setting us up.”

  “He didn’t spook about that?”

  Victoria moved the stir-fry around in the wok. “No, he suggested we go out to eat.”

  “Tell me you agreed. You need some hot sex to loosen you up.”

  “Stop.” Victoria shook her head. “I don’t have time for that right now. I need to focus on my girls and my business. Not sexy men in butt-hugging jeans and t-shirts. Do you remember him? He may have already graduated when you started high school. He has a younger brother named Luke.”

  “I think I vaguely remember Luke. They were total cuties, but bad news from what I remember,” Addie said.

  “He’s graduated from cutie to complete hottie.”

  “I really need to accompany you to your meeting.” Addie drained the rest of her wine. “Make sure you two accidentally fall into each other’s arms or something.”

  “You’re crazy.”

  “I volunteer for babysitting. Anytime.”

  Victoria laughed. “Quit. I’m not interested in him. I’ve had enough of men for a while.”

  “I know a few cute girls who’d be interested in you.”

  “You really are crazy.”

  During dinner, Addie had the girls laughing about her third graders. Helena pushed the food around on her plate and didn’t look at her the whole time. Victoria tried to get her attention, but was mainly baffled by her behavior.

  After dinner, the girls went upstairs to get ready for bed. Addie went home, promising to watch the girls again. Victoria shooed her out and settled down in her bedroom at her small desk.

  She had several appointments this week with real estate agents who wanted her to stage their beach houses, apartments, and homes. She’d always had an eye for dressing up rooms. It was a talent that she was lucky she’d been able to turn into a business five years ago. She’d slowly built it, networking and carefully cultivating connections. She also did some interior decorating for clients, looking for furnishings they wanted at flea markets and antique shops in nearby cities. It was a hobby she adored and fit in whenever she could.