Gaming for Love (31 page)

My two biggest
cheerleaders were fellow authors Tera Lynn Childs and Erika Babbitt.
When I sat down one day and just started writing this book, they gave
me encouragement and made me keep writing. They also convinced me
that I had to actually do something with this book and not just put
it away somewhere. I am eternally grateful to them for their help as
well as their friendship! And yes, Erika’s husband in real life is
named Sean as well!

My beta readers were a
great help and I am happy that they loved Scott and Yasmin as much as
I do. Velvet Wehrman, Jenn Valencia, LauraAnn Deketelaere, Cel
Legaspi-Mesina, Samantha Boydman, Adylene Ascencio, Sierra Johnson,
Cyndy Deleon, Sarah Erskine Vela and Lisa Ann Dees were amazing and
super helpful. Authors Jessie Evans and Jessie Humphries gave great
input on technical things.

Thanks to Tracy Wolff
for not only reading the book, but giving me a cover quote as well.
I’m a big fan or Tracy as both an author and as a person, so it
meant a lot to me that she would do this for me!

Cyndi Porter was also a
big cheerleader as well as a reader-we had many conversations about
my nervousness over writing the sex scenes that people would one day
read. After reading book 2, she will tell you that I have gotten past
that now!

Lauren Blakely gave me
so much support and advice that helped me along my journey. She
answered all of my questions and referred me to Helen Williams for my
cover and Jesse Gordon for the book formatting.

My co-workers were a
great source of support as well. Candice McCallum, Brent Surratt,
Reuben Calderon, Alexandra Murphy and Julie Hayes all encouraged me,
laughed with me and gave me some crazy ideas (most of which I didn’t
use, but I still appreciate them).

I want to thank
everyone who purchased this book to read. I never had any intention
of writing a book until I sat down one day and did it. I hope that
you enjoyed the final product!

Crystal Perkins has always been a
big reader, but she never thought that she would write her own book,
until she did. She lives in Las Vegas, where you can find her running
author events and selling books at conventions when she isn’t
reading, buying too many Sherlock t-shirts online or finding a place
to put all of her Pop! figurines. A mac and cheese connoisseur, she
travels the country looking for the perfect version, while attending
book conventions and signings as a cover for her research.

You
can find her on Facebook:
facebook.com/CrystalPerkinsAuthor

And
Twitter:
@wondermomlv

Turn the pager for a Sneak Peek of
Ryan and Chloe’s
story,
Building Our Love

Coming
Summer 2014!

The
other two books in the Griffin Brothers
series will be released
later this year:

Creating
a Love: Owen & Candi’s story
Learning to Love: Luke &
Olivia’s story

Ryan

As I head to my dad’s
office, I can’t help but wonder what my brother wants to see us
about. Scott usually sticks to his computers. Or his fiancé. He’s
well underway with his new software project, so I don’t think
there’s anything going on with that. It’s unusual for him to ask
to see us in a formal setting.

When I get to the outer
office, my dad’s longtime secretary, Angie, looks at me nervously.
That’s strange. She usually playfully flirts with me, even though
she is pushing 60 and I am just shy of 25. I don’t have time to ask
her what’s wrong as Scott storms out of the office.

“You didn’t tell me
that
she
would be
here!” He yells over his shoulder. She? What she is he talking
about?

Then, the floor drops
out beneath my feet as I hear the person he is yelling at respond. “I
had to bring her, Scott. Your family is her only hope.” John’s
here. And there’s only one “her” that Scott would be yelling
about in relation to John. Chloe. The girl I gave my love, my
everything, to. The girl who shredded my heart and never looked back.

Scott sees me then.
“Ry, I swear I had no idea. John asked if I could set up a meeting
but I didn’t know that bitch would be here.”

Before I can say
anything, John is in his face. “Do not call my daughter a bitch.
She may have made choices that you and I don’t agree with, but my
daughter was a great friend to you when you were younger and you will
respect her in my presence.” He then looks at me. “I’m sorry,
Ryan. I wouldn’t have brought her here if she had anywhere else to
go. I need your help. Yours and your father’s. Please just at least
listen to us. If you can’t bring yourself to help, we’ll both
leave and you will never have to see us again.”

“What do you mean,
both of you will leave?” Scott is panicking now. I know that John
is his closest confidant and I need to calm him down. Even if it will
hurt me in the process.

“No one will be
leaving. We’ll help you, John. You’re part of our family and if
that means helping Chloe too, we’ll do it for you.”

I walk into my dad’s
office to find him looking uncomfortable while Chloe sobs into his
jacket. I can only see the back of her but my body instantly reacts
to the sight of the only woman that I have ever loved. Her soft
blonde hair is cascading down her back and she is wearing a flowered
dress that hugs her thin body and perfect ass. She is wearing heels
that bring her height up to six feet.

I stand there and just
stare at her, wondering again about what I did to lose her. How bad I
was as her first lover that made her leave me the next day for
another man. No, I’m not going to do this. I don’t care why she
left. I don’t care about her. But, I do. I still love her. That
doesn’t mean that I’ll let her hurt me again. She will never get
that close to me again. I need to take control of the situation.

“What are you doing
here, Chloe?”

She turns and her
beautiful blue eyes take me in. She is as gorgeous in person as she’s
been in my fantasies for the past three years. Maybe more so, now
that she is no longer a teenager. She’s still thin with soft,
natural curves and legs a mile long. There’s nothing fake about her
body. It is just her who’s fake. I make my expression one of steel
as she looks at me with a hint of sadness.

“I had nowhere else
to go, Ryan.”

“What about your
fiancé? You know, the guy you left me for.”

“Adam and I are no
longer together. He left me.”

“Karma’s a bitch,
huh? Just like you.”

“Ryan, I warned
you-,” John starts to say.

“Dad, it’s OK. I
deserve whatever Ryan calls me.” She takes us all in. “Can we
please sit down and then I can explain why I’m here?”

* * *

Chloe

Ryan nods and we all
take seats around the table in his dad’s office. I take a deep
breath and my dad reaches over to squeeze my hand as I start to
explain. “I graduated 3 months ago at the top of my class. I had
offers from several interior design firms. Then, Adam and I broke up
and what he told the press caused me to lose all of those offers. My
student loan payments are due soon and I don’t want dad to take on
the burden of those along with helping out my sister and her family.
I need a job and he thought that you might be willing to give me one.
I know that it’s a long shot, but I had to ask. I promise that I
would be professional and work hard.”

I look at Ryan and have
trouble breathing. He looks so gorgeous, even as he’s glaring at
me. His black hair is a little long on top with a few strands hanging
down into his eyes. Those amazing green eyes that all the men in his
family have are like hard emeralds that are cutting through me right
now. He’s clean shaven and conservative looking in his designer
suit and tie. I can see his muscles trying to break free under the
suit. He worked construction every summer to learn that side of
building. He’s kept that strong physique and looks like he is
carved out of marble. I remember the way it felt to be held in those
strong arms and I have to stop myself from jumping onto his lap.
Yeah, that would go over well.

“What do you mean you
lost your job prospects after Adam went to the press?” Gary’s
voice breaks my trance. Ryan’s dad is a good man and I hate knowing
that I let him down and now I have to tell him things that will make
me look even worse to him.

“You don’t know? I
thought that you would get the Chicago papers.”

“Contrary to what you
seem to think, we have better things to do than keep up with your
love life,” Ryan spits out and I flinch.

“Adam told the press
that I cheated on him throughout our entire relationship and that he
caught me and broke up with me.” I say it all fast. I need to get
it out without thinking about it.

“So, you made me wait
5 years and then you just went crazy and fucked everyone in sight?”
Ryan’s eyes are now flashing and not in the way that I used to
love.

“Ryan, I love you
like a son but I will not let you speak to my daughter that way.”
My dad is on his feet.

“Dad. Please sit
down. Ryan has every right to be angry. Even if what Adam said isn’t
true.” It isn’t true. The only man that I have ever slept with is
the one in front of me with murder in his eyes. I can’t tell him
that, though. I can’t tell anyone the truth.

Scott speaks for the
first time since we sat down. “I don’t have any interior design
work, but you can help me if you want. I can pay you to be my
secretary. God knows I need one.” He laughs to try to lighten the
mood.

I turn to thank him but
Ryan’s voice stops me. It is cold and hard and when I look to him,
he is sneering at me. “If Chloe is going to work for us, she’s
going to work for me. I happen to be in need of an assistant since
mine left to get married.”

“Ryan, I am not sure
that would be a good idea,” Gary says.

“I’ll take the
job,” I tell them as I stand to face Ryan. “Thank you.”

“Oh, don’t thank me
yet, sweetheart. I’m not the sweet college boy who worshipped you
anymore. You saw to that. You may not like who I am now.”

I swallow hard before
answering. “I’m not the girl you worshipped anymore, either. And
it doesn’t matter if I like you. I’ll work hard for you.” He
turns to leave, motioning for me to follow. I smile at my dad, hoping
to reassure us both that this will be OK, and follow Ryan out the
door.