Misguided Heart Read online




  Misguided Heart

  By

  Amanda Bennett

  Copyright © 2012 By Amanda Bennett

  All rights reserved. Printed in the United States

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without prior written permission of the author except where permitted by law.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Cover art by Robin Harper/ Wicked by Design

  Check out other books by Amanda Bennett

  Time to Let Go

  Beautifully Broken (The Broken Series Book #1)

  Breaking Beautiful (The Broken Series Book #2)

  Coming Soon:

  (dates are a round about time & could change)

  This Love of Mine (Raine Series #1) MAY 2013

  Unbreakable Hearts (The Broken Series #3) JULY 2013

  This Trust of Mine (Raine Series #2) AUGUST 2013

  Faithless *SEPTEMBER 2013

  This Heart of Mine (Raine Series #3) NOV/DEC 2013

  You can find Author Amanda Bennett at the following:

  http://www.authoramandabennett.com

  http://www.facebook.com/authoramandabennett

  http://www.twitter.com/spoiledbrat81

  www.goodreads.com/author/show/6550967.Amanda_Bennett

  A huge thanks to everyone who constantly supports me and reads my books. You all are amazing beyond belief.

  A special thanks to:

  Jenn Foor (Author)

  Thank you for spreading the word about my books and helping me find awesome beta readers.

  Robin Harper (Cover Artist)

  You are an amazing person and cover artist and I have decided I am keeping you..LOL

  Thank you to all of my new friends on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads y'all are amazing, wonderful people.

  Thank you to all the book bloggers that have helped spread the word and that have taken the time to read and review my work. I seriously couldn't have asked for better people in my life:

  Denise & Nic w/ Flirty and Dirty Book Blog, Books Books Books, Into The Night Reviews, I Heart Books, The Book Hookers, Three Chicks & Their Books, Totally Booked, Book Crush, Sugar and Spice Reviews, First Class Books, Cynthia Shepp Book Reviews, and The Little Black Book Blog, just to name a few

  To my #1 fan and amazing new blogger Tamsyn Bester (The Secret Book Brat) You are an amazing person and I am proud to call you my friend.

  A HUGE thanks to my beta readers and amazing new friends. I could not have finished this book without y'all:

  Cami Holt-Krystyniak, Jennifer LaFon, Ena Burnette, Mechelle Loveless-Jackson, Tosha Powers & Megan Smith

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Twenty-Five

  Twenty-Six

  Twenty-Seven

  Twenty-Eight

  Twenty-Nine

  Thirty

  Thirty-One

  Thirty-Two

  Thirty-Three

  Thirty-Four

  Thirty-Five

  Thirty-Six

  Thirty-Seven

  Thirty-Eight

  Thirty-Nine

  Forty

  Forty-One

  Forty-Two

  Forty-Three

  Forty-Four

  Forty-Five

  Forty-Six

  Forty-Seven

  Forty-Eight

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  "Aston, are you even listening to me?"

  His voice broke through my thoughts and I was startled to see him still standing next to me.

  "Sorry, what?"

  "Aston, I asked you to marry me?" My mouth went as dry as the Sahara. I was flabbergasted. This man, who deserved so much more than I could give, just asked me to marry him? After everything we had put each other through, he still wanted me?

  "Do you even know what you're saying?" My eyes searched his expression for any doubt, but I came up empty. He was serious, dead serious.

  "Of course I know what I'm saying. Do you really think that is a question I just go around randomly asking?" He was getting frustrated and I couldn't blame him. I was stalling. A few days ago this man was all but pushing me out of the door.

  "I...I..." Shit! I didn't know how to respond. I was literally at a loss for words and that seldom happened. I had to answer, like now.

  One

  Aston

  I walked into my new corner office with a renewed sense of pride. I ran my freshly manicured fingers across the soft mahogany desk as I walked over to the window. My office was right in the middle of downtown Phoenix, and I had the most amazing view of the Phoenix skyline. The sky was strewn in the most perfectly blended shades of grey and white today. The thunderclouds were rolling in quickly, and took over the once vastly beautiful blue sky. I took a few steps back and slouched down in my high back, Italian leather chair as I stared quite intently at the gold letters that spelt my name across the letterhead placed on my desk. ASTON BOYD. I was now officially the senior editor for P.J. Holden and Son Publishing.

  I propped up my Louboutin covered feet onto my desk and reveled in my newfound glory. I had finally made it to the top, in a predominately male world. As I glanced around my office in all of its hugeness, a sudden rush of forlornness rushed over me. I was twenty-eight years old and I had nobody to share my life with. Sure I had a great job, a beautiful office, a wonderful assistant, but other than that and my bulldog Bugsy; I had nothing and no one. I had spent the last eight years of my life working my way to the top and now that I was there, I had no one to share the experience with.

  I desperately longed for a romantic windfall of some sorts, or a partner here and there. All I seemed to end up with were a couple of one-night stands, and a few boyfriends that I ignored one too many times for them to even care about me anymore. I wanted humorous friends that I could go get a drink with after work, maybe a rowdy rambunctious family that was full of chaos, or even a broken engagement to fill up my half empty stories at the company parties. I had none of that, not even one small ounce of that and I was ashamed to not have it. I had replaced a boyfriend with my job, my family for a 2300 square foot house in Scottsdale, and a child with my three-year-old English bulldog. I was jump started out of my own reverie when my work phone began to ring quite annoyingly. I flung my legs over the side of my desk and pulled myself into it as I answered my phone.

  “Aston Boyd how may I help you?” I could hear the bitterness in my tone as I spoke.

  “Hi, Ms. Boyd, it’s Annie. I just wanted to make sure the phone was working properly. Sorry to have bugged you.” With that the phone went dead.

  Annie had been my assistant for five years now and she was amazing. I never waited for coffee in the mornings, or at night for that matter. She was a beautiful young girl starting out just as I had when I was twenty-two. She had been a prime pupil and I was excited to see how far she could go in this company. Who knows, maybe one day she would take my job. Annie and I shared a four-year age diffe
rence, but she was one of the only people that I had celebrated with, when I found out about my promotion. Of course, she ended up going home with a beautiful British man that night and left me all alone, but I was thankful to have her around either way.

  A moment later, the five foot four, petite little red head came plundering into my office with my mail. I waved her off as I turned in my chair to face the window. There it stood mocking me, a simple black matte envelope with both of their names above the return address. I slid the envelope onto my desk and sat back in amazement. How was it possible that everyone that I had known, at least since high school, had grown up, gotten married, and had at least one kid? I honestly couldn’t keep track of how many weddings, baby showers, and bridal showers I had been to, or bought presents for in the last decade.

  My credit card statements over the years reflected nothing but purchases to Babies 'R' Us, Toys 'R' Us, Children’s Place, Bed Bath and Beyond, Ikea, and once in a blue moon, a purchase at Macys, for myself of course. I was the one constant provider of gifts to all of my old friends and their children. I ran my fingers through my lengthy, blonde hair before reaching for my letter opener in my top drawer. I slid it along the edges and took a deep breath in as I pulled out the gold and black embossed wedding invitation.

  Mr. and Mrs. David Thomas request the honor of your presence

  At the marriage of their daughter

  Sara Rae

  To

  Nole David Wittmore

  Saturday, the Twenty-Sixth of June

  Two Thousand and Twelve

  Half past five o’clock in the afternoon

  At

  Desert Botanical Gardens

  1201 North Galvin Parkway

  Phoenix, AZ

  Reception to follow/ Black Tie

  Of course it was black tie. I wouldn’t expect anything less from the man who had to make a production out of everything. A hot flash surged through my body and I quickly began fanning myself with the invitation.

  “Why was I even invited?” I wondered aloud to myself.

  I bet she was happy about that one. I knew Nole all too well, I’m sure he fed her some bullshit line about how him and I are still extremely close, and it would only be fair to invite me because I would invite him.

  Liar!

  If I had found someone that I could actually see myself spending an eternity with, I would never invite him. Although at one point, my heart had led me to believe that I would get that. If not with Nole, it would have been Darren.

  Mmmmm Darren!

  After the last and final time Nole and I had called it quits, Darren was there a couple years later to pick the shattered pieces. Little did I know, that he would be the cause for those pieces crumbling to the floor, yet again.

  He had been the quintessential boy next door, in all his muscular broodiness. It was a romance straight out of a book. Girl sees guy moving in next door (quite a sight I might add), they finally meet, she spends her time trying to get his attention, all the while guy has wanted her since day one. Ah, if only life worked out like a book.

  As much as I had loved Nole and Darren, I had learned that you never mix your past with your present, or future for that matter. Besides that, there was too much left unsaid between Nole and myself. Hi, can you say awkward?

  I threw the small invitation along with the envelope into the top drawer of my desk. If I actually decided to attend, I would send in my RSVP later. I spun back around to stare out the window when I felt the tears begin to well up in my eyes. I closed my eyes and counted to ten, took a deep breath in and spun back around just in time to meet my boss’s gaze.

  “How do you like the new office Ms. Boyd?” He was holding and scrutinizing my new nameplate as he asked.

  “I like it very much, Sir. I just want to thank you again for this opportunity. It means the world to me.” I was sucking up maybe a little too much. I mean I already had the job for crying out loud.

  “Well you were the right woman for the job, and I don’t think I had any other choice, do you?” He stared intently into my eyes.

  “Um… well I guess not.” I wasn’t quite sure what he meant by this, but who was I to question his authority?

  “Well, enjoy the rest of your day Ms. Boyd. I am headed out for the day and I will see you first thing Monday morning.” He turned and was out the door before I could even say good-bye.

  If that wasn’t the weirdest conversation I had ever had, I don’t know what was. He was staring at me like a prime rib from Roaring Fork. The Roaring Fork is a gorgeous five star restaurant off of Scottsdale Road. I had spent many dates there wishing I could have gotten in my car and driven as far away as possible. For some reason, every guy who lived out in Scottsdale thought that this was the perfect place to go on your first date. Unfortunately, not every girl wants to eat a steak dinner every Friday or Saturday night.

  My boss, Jim, was one of those men. He was as cocky and as arrogant as they come. He stood at a daunting six feet three inches tall. He had smoldering amber eyes, which matched his perfectly groomed hair, and a perfect white smile. Besides the fact that I knew that he went to the gym every day, his body shadowed one of a personal trainer. He looked the part, minus the whole lisp issue, once he opened his mouth and spoke, women would literally run the other way. He had a way of talking about himself and never, I mean never, listening to anybody else.

  When I first interviewed for my job, oh a thousand years ago, I was in awe of his looks. If I didn’t want the job that bad before, after seeing him, I definitely wanted an opportunity to work side by side with this gorgeous creature. Of course, this was all before he had hit on me, and tried to convince me that it was okay to sleep my way to the top. I walked out of his office not wanting the job at all. But low and behold, his son had called me the following day to apologize and to assure me that I would work under him and not his father. Now, I had seen his son and I sure as hell had no qualms with working “under” him.

  Now, after eight years of devote service, I was finally where I wanted to be. I knew how to handle myself around Jim and I was a successful senior editor in one of the biggest publishing houses in the world. Now all I had to do was muster up the courage to attend my ex-fiancé’s wedding in less than two months.

  Two

  Sloan

  I emerged out of the elevator, hung over worse than I had ever been before. After finishing a grueling day at the office the day prior, and having my father yammer on about our new editor, I needed a drink and a girl in the worst way.

  A quick smile spread across my face as I remembered the petite brunette I had bagged last night. She was definitely a good time. I shook the thought out of my mind as soon as the new editor's office came in to view. I wasn't a huge fan of hers, but I guess she had proven her worth to my father because he was quick as shit to move her on up. As long as she didn't take my place in the new office in New York, then I was good.

  I had only met her a hand full of times, one of which was when my father was trying to get in her pants. At least she hadn't taken herself down to that level. I never noticed much in the office seeing as how I honestly didn't give a shit.

  My father had made it perfectly clear that if I didn't change my "bad boy" ways, then I would be out on my ass and there would be nothing left between us. My father had always been an asshole and I was pretty certain it was never going to change, no matter how hard I worked for him. I made sure to show up on time, in a suit, and ready to do what was asked of me, even though I dreaded coming in to the office on a daily basis.

  As I made my way past the new editor's office, I almost tripped as I caught sight of her. I stood there staring as her almost waist length blonde hair swished back and forth while she paced in front of her window. She had long toned legs that peeked out from beneath her black pencil skirt and I was suddenly envisioning them wrapped around my waist.

  Oh the things I could do to that girl!

  My imagination was running wild just as she turned an
d I caught a glimpse of her full figure. Her white blouse emphasized her thin waist and amazing breasts. I licked my bottom lip as my eyes made their way up to her full pouty lips. Angelina Jolie had nothing on her. I wonder if they were real? Her skin looked as smooth as milk and when I got to her emerald green eyes hidden beneath her long black lashes, I almost choked on my own breath.

  I don't know how I had never noticed this divine woman before. She was absolutely stunning. She wore minimal amounts of makeup and that only added to her appeal. Seconds later, our eyes met and my lips curled up into a devilish grin. I expected a smile in return but she surprised me when she all but rolled her eyes and closed her office door.

  She would be my new challenge, no doubt about it!

  I gave a small wave to her assistant Annie and continued to my office. I half expected Ariel to be bouncing up and down waiting for me, but she was surprisingly calm and almost sedated.

  "Morning Ariel. Any messages?"

  "No Mr. Holden, there are no messages."

  She kept her head down when she spoke to me, which was utterly odd. "Is everything okay, Ariel?"

  Her eyes were glistening as she finally made eye contact with me." I'm fine, Mr. Holden. Really."

  I would have asked her if she was sure, but I didn't want to get into her drama or life for that matter. I simply nodded at her and went in to my office. I let out a loud sigh as I closed the heavy wood door behind me. My desk was covered in stacks of manuscripts and files of new prospective clients. I slipped off my navy, pinstriped suit jacket and meticulously placed it over the back of my desk chair. My fingers found themselves pushing back through my disheveled hair. I could feel myself starting to stress, so I wandered out to the coffee maker. Unfortunately, it was frowned upon to drink at seven in the morning, so I had to settle for coffee.

  Just as my hand went for the freshly brewed pot of caffeine goodness, so did someone else’s. I quickly apologized and lifted my eyes to see whose hand I had just grazed. I knew by the nail polish that it was a woman, but I wasn't prepared for what woman.

  Holy shit! She was even hotter up close and personal.