A Lifetime to Find Love
A Lifetime to Find Love
Digital
ISBN-
9781612580234
Print
ISBN-
1612580238
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Copyright © 2011 April Gutierez
Cover art by Bret Poinier
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, any events or locales is purely coincidental. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission from the publisher LazyDay, with the exception of quotes used in reviews and critical articles.
Dedication
To my husband, Marc, thank you for your undying love, your never ending support, and your constant encouragement. I love you more than life itself. Thanks for helping with the research!
To my Dad and June. Your encouragement makes me want to be a better person! I love you both!
To my reading buddy, Amanda, thank you for reading as I wrote and your constant encouragement to keep going. I love you girl, you ROCK!
To my English teacher, Ms. Dixon, you taught me so much and I appreciate that you were always available for me. I couldn't have even begun this project without you. Thank you!
Chapter 1
The pounding at the base of Tessa Worth’s skull jerked her back to consciousness and to the recollection of events that caused the pain in her head and her erect position on her living room floor. Heat crept into her cheeks from the embarrassing images of her trying to seduce her brother’s best friend. His best friend since they had all three been kids, at that. Damn, what had she been thinking? Oh yeah, now she remembered – she wasn’t thinking! They had gone out for drinks and she must have had one too many. Apparently one
had
been too many because she was sure she’d not consumed any more than that! Did she really push him down into a chair and straddle him? God, just the thought made her head pound even harder. How was she going to face him? Hell, how was she going to face herself?
“Tess? Tess? Jesus, are you okay?”
With a moan, Tessa slowly opened her eyes to see her brother’s best friend, Cade, hovering over her, his hand reaching for her.
God, just take me now! Get me out of this situation,
was her only coherent thought.
“Tess, oh my God! Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I didn’t-”
“Please, if you care about my sanity at all, please do not say another word.”
“But,” Cade continued, “I was just surprised; taken off guard when you straddled me the way you did. I-”
“Cade! Please, don’t! It’s bad enough I have a multitude of Polaroids floating around in my head about what just happened. Please, just help me up.”
Tessa grabbed at Cade’s biceps for leverage as he bent down to help her up and realized why the one drink threw those events into place. Damn, the man was built. Not built like a body builder, but just enough muscles to make her mouth water. As he pulled her up close to him, she drew his scent into her nostrils. He smelled delicious, in spite of the fact that they’d spent the majority of the night at a packed club. Oh, how she wished she could bottle his scent up just to have it on hand when he wasn’t around. The things it did to her body that no other scent had ever done, sending liquid heat pooling between her thighs. Then the thought occurred to her that she must have had more than one drink; otherwise, she would not be having such erotic images flashing through her mind. What was she doing thinking of Cade that way? Rowan and Cade became friends when they were ten and Tessa was three, so Cade was practically like a brother to her. She felt comfortable with him and that’s why they were at the club together and why they’d come back to her place. Neither of them were having much luck on the dating scene and staying home another Friday night alone wasn’t very appealing. She had called Rowan to go out with her to the local club – The LaunchPad – but he was working the late shift at the hospital this weekend. Rowan and Cade were both doctors and while Rowan enjoyed working the E.R. at the local hospital, Cade had started his own family practice, so his schedule was more flexible than Rowan’s. It had been Rowan’s idea that she give Cade a call and have him go with her.
“
Sis, you know guys will try to pick you up if you have someone with you”
he’d told her to convince her to call Cade. Not that she needed convincing. She liked Cade. Fun to be around, Cade always laughed at her jokes, even the ones she knew weren’t that funny. Rowan’s reasoning did make sense though. While at the bar, she always got hit on more if she were with a guy than if she were with her girlfriends. So, she called Cade and he gladly accepted.
When she’d made the call, she never thought she’d be standing mere inches from him, with his biceps in her hands, and her fingers kneading his muscles without thought. His scent filled her senses, causing a desire to have this perfect specimen buried deep within her. His muscled chest flexed every time her fingers moved against his skin. Leaning into him, his breath hitched and his body stiffened. She was close enough to feel the erection beneath his pants grow within seconds. He wanted her as much as she wanted him and she not only felt it his body, but saw it in his eyes; they darkened with desire and suddenly she forgot about the splitting headache she’d had moments before.
The desire that lit up the room was impossible to deny, but damn it, he was Rowan’s best friend and she wouldn’t put Cade in such an awkward position. Why was it that when she finally found not only an incredibly sexy man, but a chivalrous one as well, did there have to be a sign hung around his neck that read, “Off Limits?” Tessa silently reprimanded herself, as she tried to deal with the unquenchable desire she felt for Cade. . At least the evening wasn’t a complete waste. The night was nothing short of perfect, at least it had been until she decided to hike up her skirt and slide over his thighs. The mistake was that little glitch in her common sense and self-preservation, which caused the shocked look on Cade’s face. Her being tossed across the living room, slamming her head against the wood flooring were the benefits she was now reaping. Standing like a kid in a candy store with a plethora of yummies to eat and all the restrictions in the world not to touch, her frustration grew more intense. Look but don’t touch.
Before she had a chance to make a fool of herself again by pushing him back into that damn chair and having her way with him, she jerked away as fast as humanly possible. “Cade, I am so sorry! I don’t know what came over me.”
With laughter in his absolutely gorgeous blue eyes, he said, “I should be apologizing. Damn, I didn’t mean to toss you like a rag doll. It’s not like I haven’t ever had a girl on my lap.”
“Ugh,” Tessa moaned at the thought of her trying to seduce him.
