LOVELY DISTRACTION
Copyright ©2015 J.J. Dorn
Lovely Distraction is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading and sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
First eBook edition: March 2015
Cover design : © L.J. Anderson at Mayhem Cover Creations
Editing : Deliciously Wicked Edits
Formatting : L.J. Anderson at Mayhem Cover Creations
DEDICATION
Sometimes we find ourselves catapulted down a path in life until something or someone breaks up the momentum that is driving us. It is these moments that can become the loveliest of distractions, if we have the courage to let them.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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
ChapterTwenty-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
Epilogue
Other Titles
About The Author
PROLOGUE
“Are you totally excited or what, bff?” Olivia beamed at me from the window seat of our first class seats.
“Yes! I can’t believe we are going to Vegas for my Bachelorette party!” I was super excited for a weekend getaway with my two best friends, Audrey and Olivia. In a few short months I was going to be getting married to my boyfriend, Cain Stratford. We had met in law school during our third year. He invited me to a join a study group with him. I thought at first he was just trying to use me for my brain but I was wrong. It took Cain all of three study sessions before he asked me out with such confidence it stunned me at first. But I knew on that first date that Cain and I were perfectly matched. We had similar passions and goals in life. We made sense.
“I, for one can’t wait to get my party on,” Audrey announced from beside me, shifting my attention back to our ensuing trip. I was looking forward to this vacation. I needed it. I was exhausted between planning this wedding and working endlessly as a new associate attorney at a large firm. I was hoping a three day vacation would be the perfect thing to reenergize me.
“Oh shit.” I heard Olivia say as I was rummaging through my bag on the floor in front of me.
“What did you forget?” I looked over at her but her eyes were wide and her face was locked on the front of the plane.
I followed the direction in which Livy was looking and gasped. I couldn’t help it. The mere sight of him sent my body and my mind into overdrive. It took just a half a second before his eyes locked onto mine and a hint of a grin spread wide across his lips. Fuck my life.
“Oh no, here we go.” Audrey mumbled from the seat next to mine. I couldn’t respond to her. I felt like I was having an out of body experience. What are the chances that the one that got away, or in my case the one that ran away, ends up crashing my Bachelorette party?
March 20, 2009…
It was spring break and I was home in Huntsville, Alabama celebrating almost being done with my senior year at the University of Tennessee. Audrey, Olivia and I were on our second round of mojitos when a particularly gangly looking guy approached us.
“Hey ladies, what’s up?” he asked slurring his words slightly.
“Not much.” I jumped in before Liv got ahold of him. I love Livy but she isn’t the most patient person when it comes to drunken morons.
“Well my friends and I were just wondering if you ladies wanted to share a drink with us,” he asked swaying as he talked.
“Oh, that’s nice but I think we are okay.” I told him politely.
“Alright, well if you all change your mind we’ll be over there.” He pointed to a table full of guys that we had been ogling all night. The bar was pretty empty for a Thursday and the group of good looking guys had immediately grabbed our attention. We had chosen to go to our local hang out, Havens. It was a hole in the wall kind of joint, but it always provided endless entertainment.
“Wait, those are your friends?” Livy asked him, her mouth hanging open in astonishment that this kid would even know the guys across the bar.
“Yup. Well, have a nice night.” The drunken guy said and headed back toward his friends.
“Wait, we are coming with you,” Audrey piped up. She stood up and gave Livy and me a look indicating we were to stand up as well.
I followed behind Audrey and Liv as they proceeded to make their way across the bar. I was the shortest of the three of us. Being 5’8 isn’t really considered short but compared to my 5’10 friends; I’m the shorty spice in the group. I watched Audrey sashay her way toward the table. Audrey is a gorgeous girl. She has a supermodel frame that is all leg. Her soft brown hair is medium in length and on this night she loosely curled it giving her that very southern belle look she loved to do.
Livy also strutted her way over to the table with her signature flare. Like Audrey, she’s all leg but has subtle curves that drive men crazy. She is part Hawaiian with jet black hair and the most amazing golden skin that I swear actually glows. She should be a freaking swimsuit model. It’s so not fair.
Unfortunately, I’m not like my two best friends, I am not all leg. I am mostly long torso with some serious curves. Livy and Audrey are always telling me my curves are amazing and I suppose they are right. I know big butts are in thanks to Kim Kardashian, so I guess I have that going for me. I grabbed my stick straight long blonde hair and toss it over one of my shoulders. I don’t know why I was so nervous to talk to these guys, but something in the back of my mind told me to be on edge.
I caught up to the girls so we all reached the table at the same time. I came face to face with the most gorgeous navy blue eyes I had ever seen. I felt the air in the bar being sucked out and my mind raced like I was having a dizzy spell. I couldn't hear or see anything but him, it was like everyone around us disappeared and we were the only two people on the planet. He was freaking beautiful. He had the most delicious tan skin; it was flawless. I could see just a bit of his dirty blonde hair sticking out from underneath his white baseball hat and it intrigued me. I wanted immediately to pull it from his head and run my hands through it. The rest of him was just as delicious. His perfectly sculpted frame was tucked away behind a white button up shirt and khaki shorts, but I could still see the outline of hard muscle underneath his clothes.