Breathless
Nashville Nights
Special Edition
Part One
Cheryl Douglas
Copyright © by Cheryl
Douglas
Smashwords Edition
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Breathless © 2013
Cheryl Douglas
Smashwords
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Family Tree
Turners
Trey and
Sierra Turner -
Nashville Nights, Book One, Shameless
Jared and
Elaine Turner - Trey’s parents
Alisa
Turner
- Next Generation, Book One, High Stakes
Coopers
Josh and
Lexi Cooper
- Nashville Nights, Book Two, Fearless
Jay and
Victoria
- Josh and Ashley’s son and daughter-in-law /
Nashville Nights, Book Seven, Hopeless
Mike and
Tori Cooper
- Josh and Ashley’s son and daughter-in-law /
Nashville Nights, Book Eight, Careless
Aiden
Cooper –
Josh and Lexi’s son / Next Generation, Book Two, Trade
Off
Brianna
Cooper –
Josh and Lexi’s daughter / Next Generation, Book
Three, Game On
Ava Cooper
–
Jay and Victoria’s daughter / Next Generation, Book Eight,
Blown Away
Spencers
Luc and
Marisa Spencer
– Nashville Nights, Book Three, Ruthless
Nikki
Spencer
– Luc’s daughter / Nashville Nights, Book Five,
Relentless
Ryan
Spencer
– Luc and Marisa’s son / Next Generation, Book Three,
Game On
Evan
Spencer –
Luc and Marisa’s son / Next Generation, Book Four,
Burn Out
McCalls
Ty and
Avery McCall –
Nashville Nights, Book Four, Reckless
Anna McCall
–
Ty and Avery’s daughter / Next Generation, Book Five, Fast
Track
Nick McCall
–
Ty and Avery’s son / Next Generation, Book Six, Time Out
J.T. McCall
–
J.T. and Derek’s brother / Nashville Nights, Book Five,
Relentless
Nikki
Spencer – McCall –
J.T.’s wife / Nashville Nights, Book Five,
Relentless
Lauren
McCall -
J.T. and Nikki’s daughter / Next Generation, Book
Seven, Face Value
Derek
McCall –
J.T. and Derek’s brother / Nashville Nights, Book Six,
Heartless
Ashley
McCall –
Derek’s wife, Jay and Mike Cooper’s mother / Nashville
Nights, Book Six, Heartless
Part One
–
Eli Rea has been in love with Jamie most of his adult life,
but he has his pride. If she wants to waste her life fantasizing
about a man who never loved her half as much as he does, he decides
to let her have her way, no matter how much it hurts him to let her
go.
But is Jamie
ready to say good-bye to the best friend she’s ever had or will she
realize that sometimes taking a detour to love is the best way to
find it?
Part
Two-
Keith Armstrong has a reputation as a player, with good
reason. It’s not that he doesn’t want to find love, he just hasn’t…
yet. He’s known Tara for years, but it isn’t until fate throws them
together that he realizes she may be the only woman who can tame
him.
But is Tara
willing to take on the challenge, or will she decide she isn’t
willing to play a high stakes game with her fragile heart?
Contents
Part
One
Chapter
One
Jasmine Taylor was
determined to get loaded. Not just tipsy on a glass of wine or two;
she was aiming for forget-the-rest-of-the-world-exists drunk.
She’d just
heard the news. Her ex-fiancé, Brent Armstrong, was getting
married. She liked his girlfriend, and she knew they were perfect
for each other, but that didn’t dull the pain. For years, she’d
dreamed of reconciling with Brent and making up for cheating on him
with her ex-boyfriend and best friend, Eli Rea.
Her friend and
partner in crime, Nellie, was busy making eyes at a cute guy at the
bar when the waitress set Jasmine’s two tequila shots on the table.
Jasmine wasn’t a big drinker, but that night would be the
exception. Alcohol was the only thing that would dull the ache in
her chest.
Nellie had
suggested sex would help, but Jasmine decided she’d rather wake up
with a hangover than a stranger.
Nellie glanced
at the shot glasses. “You’re not really gonna drink that rotgut,
are you?”
“That’s the
plan.” Jasmine went through the ritual of salt and lime. She’d
never had tequila before and hoped she was doing it right. She’d
seen Eli drink shots enough times that she was fairly confident.
One…two.
Oh, God.
She gripped the scarred wooden table,
praying the drinks wouldn’t come back up as fast as they’d gone
down.
Nellie giggled
and reached for her beer. “I warned you. That stuff is potent.”
Jasmine’s eyes
watered as she choked out a cough and slapped her chest. One thing
was certain: she would never acquire a taste for tequila. “I don’t
care.” She reached for the water Nellie had the foresight to
request when they ordered their drinks. “The point is to forget my
problems tonight. If this can help me do that, I’m willing to
suffer the taste.”
Nellie raised
her mason jar of beer. “This’ll do the job just as well, and it
won’t taste like rubbing alcohol.”
Jasmine wasn’t
a beer drinker. She didn’t mind an occasional glass of wine, but
that wouldn’t help her achieve her objective. She needed to throw
them back, fast and hard. The sooner mind-numbness set it, the
happier she’d be.
“I don’t know
why you’re getting so worked up about Brent getting engaged.”
Nellie reached for the bowl of peanuts in the middle of the table.
“Y’all broke up years ago. You didn’t speak to him the whole time
you lived in L.A., and he was already seeing Ava when you came back
to town. You knew they would get married eventually. It was just a
matter of time.”
Jasmine and
Nellie had been friends since high school, so Nellie’d seen Jasmine
through her failed relationships with Eli and Brent. Eli was her
high school sweetheart, the guy she’d always assumed she’d marry
when she graduated college. Jasmine quickly realized she wanted to
live a little though, experience the world, date other men, and
find out if he was really
the one
. As soon as she met Brent
Armstrong, she realized she and Eli were better off as friends. She
still loved him, but she wasn’t in love with him anymore. In fact,
she wasn’t sure she ever had been.
“I don’t want
to talk about that. I came here to forget about him, remember?”
“Suit
yourself.” Nellie raised an eyebrow when Jasmine gestured to their
waitress. “Don’t you think you should order some food if you plan
on drinking like that?”
“I’m not
hungry, I’m thirsty.” Jasmine knew her friend was right. Alcohol
and an empty stomach was a recipe for disaster, but whatever went
down would likely come up at some point, so she decided to stick
with her plan.
Aiden Cooper,
Eli’s head coach, approached their table with a smile. “Hey,
y’all.” He glanced at the empty shot glasses. “You celebrating
something, Jasmine?”
“Something like
that,” she muttered, sliding the glasses to the other side of the
table. She looked at Aiden and felt her vision getting a little
blurry. Good, the booze was taking effect. One or two more should
be just enough to make her forget she was alone, with no prospects,
while the love of her life was marrying his soul mate. “How’ve you
been, Aiden?” The grin on Nellie’s face told Jasmine her words were
starting to slur.
“I’ve been
good,” he chuckled. “You?”
“Good, good.
Busy with work.” If not for her job as an architect, which she
loved, she might be seriously depressed.
“Glad to hear
it.” He smiled. “I’m here to meet my buddy Ryan, so I should catch
up with him. It was good to see you.”
“Yeah, you
too.” Nellie propped her chin in her hand and watched Aiden walk
away. “It’s too bad Eli’s coach is married. He’s hot.”
“He’s a sweet
guy,” Jasmine admitted. Since Aiden was also Ava’s uncle, getting
too close to him and his family would be a mistake. The last thing
she wanted was to be invited to an event where she would have to
watch Brent dote on his beautiful bride-to-be. “But he’s very, very
married. Besides, he’s too old for you.”
Nellie’s eyes
traveled around the bar. “I think it’s time I start considering
older guys. I’m getting tired of wasting my time with guys our age
who don’t know what they want.”
The only older
man Jasmine had ever dated was Brent, and he definitely knew what
he wanted and how to get it. Maybe her friend was right. Perhaps
they should both consider dating older men. But Jasmine was
selective. Not just any man would do. He’d have to be sweet and
considerate. He’d have to understand that she was a workaholic and…
Who was she kidding? She would never find a guy who checked all her
boxes.
The waitress
returned, and Jasmine ordered two more shots. Nellie rolled her
eyes, but Jasmine didn’t care. She wasn’t trying to make smart
decisions. She was shelving propriety in favor of recklessness for
one lousy night. She could almost hear her sweet mama chirping
about acting like a lady, but as Miranda would say, “This wasn’t
her Mama’s broken heart.”
“You’re gonna
be sorry when you’re making out with the porcelain goddess in a few
hours,” Nellie said and laughed at Jasmine’s appalled
expression.
Jasmine hated
being sick, and Nellie knew it. “Two more should do it. Four won’t
make me sick.”
“Sure they
will. When the last time you had more than a glass of wine?”
Jasmine had to
think about it. “When the team wives and girlfriends got together
to raise money for the Christmas toy drive at the hospital. I had
two glasses that night.”
Nellie planted
her tongue in her cheek. “You never did explain why you got
involved in that. You’re not Eli’s wife. You’re not even his
girlfriend.”
“No, but I’m
his friend and it was for a good cause.”
Since Nellie’s
relationship with Eli had always been strictly platonic, they had
an easy rapport without sexual tension. Jasmine envied that. Her
relationship with Eli had always been complicated… and confusing.
She and Eli hadn’t slept together since the night that ended her
engagement. She’d felt sick with guilt, and she’d broken down and
told Brent everything. They were already on the verge of ending
their rocky relationship, but that didn’t make her betrayal easier.
Jasmine didn’t take commitment lightly, and she’d never believed
she would cheat on the man she loved.