Going Down Hard (Billionaire Bad Boys 3)

Now that she was with Derek, Kendall figured she’d be seeing a lot more of her.

“Don’t you just love weddings?” Cassie asked, her voice high-pitched with excitement.

“They’re wonderful,” Kendall murmured. And they always seemed to happen to other people.

Always a bridesmaid, she thought, but today she wasn’t even that. Her twin was closer with Maxie. Kendall, on the other hand, had a problem keeping people in her life, maintaining close relationships.

Thank you, bipolar disorder. Then again, she hadn’t been with a guy since she’d gotten the right kind of treatment and dedicated herself to her recovery. She hadn’t been interested in any man since Julian.

“Are you okay?” Cassie asked.

“Just thinking … about relationships,” Kendall said honestly.

“About Julian?” Cassie asked. It wasn’t a leap considering the first time they’d met and really talked, Julian had shown up at the same fundraiser Kendall was attending.

Cassie had taken Kendall out of the room to calm her down while the others had seen to Kade, who always tended to explode when his ex-friend showed up. Kade looked out for Kendall like a big brother, and after what Julian had done, he didn’t want the man anywhere near her.

He didn’t have to worry. Kendall didn’t want anything to do with the man who’d deliberately dated her, used her, set her up to hurt Kade and her sister. And because Kendall hadn’t been on the right medications, hadn’t cared who she hurt when she was on a high, she’d fallen right into Julian’s trap.

Unfortunately she’d fallen in love with him too. Something else she did too easily, too fast, too impulsively. In Julian’s case, she’d fallen for the man he’d pretended to be in order to get her to do his bidding. She was just reaching the point where she was getting over him.

“Kendall?” Cassie placed a hand on her arm and glanced at her with concern in her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I’m fine. And no, I’m not thinking about Julian.”

Cassie blew out a relieved breath.

She’d probably been well briefed by Derek on Julian’s behavior. About how stupid Kendall had been to fall for him.

The good news was she was well-medicated, holding down a job, living her life, making friends, not alienating people.

Suddenly music started, and Kendall turned toward the back of the room in time to see the groomsmen start down the aisle. Kade, wearing a tuxedo, walked with Lexie, who looked beautiful in a pale blue bridesmaid’s dress. Next came Derek and Maxie’s friend, Bailey, followed by the groom. Lucas strode down the aisle and turned to wait for his bride.

The music changed to the traditional “Here Comes the Bride,” and Maxie stepped onto the carpeted aisle, framed by drapes on either side.

Kendall pivoted in time to catch Lucas’s expression as he viewed the woman he loved in her ivory gown, her blonde hair falling in curls around her shoulders and the small swell of a baby bump at her stomach. A huge smile lit his face, and Kendall sighed at the love she saw there. A lump formed in her throat, and she had tears in her eyes, so happy for the couple she’d come to know.

Someday, she thought, reminding herself that she’d been working so hard to live a well-functioning life. She knew what she had to do, keep to her routine, healthy diet, exercise, and avoidance of stress. Not to mention keeping up with her therapy appointments. If she did all this, she thought, listening to the wedding vows, she had to believe that, someday, the happiness Kade and Lexie, Maxie and Lucas, and now Derek and Cassie had found could be hers, as well.

Thank you for reading GOING DOWN HARD. I hope you enjoyed. Get the next Billionaire Bad Boy’s story (Julian and Kendall’s story) in GOING IN DEEP—HERE.

Billionaire Bad Boys: Rich, Powerful and sexy as hell.

He isn’t Mr. Nice Guy…

Julian Dane thought he’d hit rock bottom—until he met a woman (isn’t that what they all say?). He used her and broke her heart. Now he wants to turn things around but the damage he dealt stands in his way.

Kendall Parker’s unique issues have made it hard to live a normal life. Very few people understand her and she trusts even less … but she believed in Julian once, and he only betrayed her.

Now Julian is back—a new man—and determined to win Kendall’s heart. But this reformed bad boy just might find that Going in Deep is harder than it looks.

Meet the Dares!

Dare to Love – Book 1 Dare to Love Series – (Ian Dare)

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