Then my best friend dragged me down to the end of the pier and we started walking all the way over to the private beach with the decadent vacation home that sat on the shore.
Yep. It looked like all that work he put in during our relationship had paid off.
Too bad he couldn’t spare some of that attention on us.
CHAPTER 3
KEVIN
It had been just a few days back that I found myself wishing to see Brooke again, and here I was preparing to host her and her friend for the evening.
Don’t screw this up.
DON’T screw this up.
The five-star chef I had hired to whip us up some drinks and desserts was rushing around my kitchen. The kids were bouncing off the walls, excited for a visit from ‘Daddy’s first friend.’ I rolled my eyes at them as they ran around, trying to keep them from bothering the chef.
My nerves had me on edge waiting for the girls to come by.
I wanted the evening to go perfectly. They were both on vacation and my kids were jumping down their throats. I had the ability to entertain them, so I figured some quality drinks and desserts would go a long way in trying to smooth things over between Brooke and I.
We didn’t have the best past, but I’d give anything for a chance to prove what she meant to me even after all these years.
No one compared to Brook. She was one of a kind. A diamond. My kids could even see it.
Memories of our time together always brought me back to three of the best months of my life.
She was a hot, incredibly smart and sexy twenty-year old co-ed, and I was a twenty-six-year-old millionaire. I was on the hot track to make my first billion before I turned twenty-seven and her curves called to me in spades. I had spotted her from clear across the room. Those beautiful kaleidoscope eyes that wouldn’t settle on a color, drew me in. Her small waist flared out into a thick pair of hips, while her breasts poured out the top of the strapless dress she wore.
Her lips were ruby red, and her brown hair brushed her shoulders. Her legs were thick and toned, boasting of how she took care of her body. Her cheeks had rosy little apple peaks when she smiled, and I could smell the desire radiating from her that night.
She grabbed my attention with her beauty, and once we spoke I was hooked. She had serious brains and grand ambitions.
I fucked it up.
It was a three-month fling that went nowhere because I was way too busy with my company.
Even so, those three months I was with her were the most memorable of my life. She was wild in bed and we could talk about just about anything. And we had a damn good time doing so. Unfortunately, the timing couldn’t have been worse.
The age difference had been hard enough, but my company had been on the cusp of something grand. I’d started it in my garage at eighteen years old, foregoing school and using my intelligence to build something worthwhile instead. I sold my security equipment on the open market, competing with some of the greatest in the industry. In my first year of business, I secured a business loan that enabled me to build my own headquarters in Los Angeles. In the second year of business and with a second launch of high-end security products, I’d paid off that loan and was able to hire a full-time staff. My success climbed exponentially as I developed new technologies, and by the time I was twenty-two, I was able to hire my own staff to develop my ideas for me.
When I met Brooke, my company had been about to launch internationally. Time was more precious than ever, and I spent more hours in the office than I did at my home.
Which meant I spent a lot of time forgetting about dates I had set with her.
I wasn’t ready for a relationship. I wasn't excusing what I’d done, but I’d made a clear choice. I chose my company over the woman I was falling for, and I paid the price for it. I met Sarah a couple of months later, her birth control failed, and that started us on a roller coaster ride that almost did me in.
Once I knew I could become a father, it was like I had a fire light up inside me. Until then, all I gave a damn about was my career and success, but that quickly changed when the pregnancy test came out positive.
I grew up with a father that I barely knew and had always vowed to be the best damn dad I could be to my own children. I’d convinced Sarah to marry me and to carry the pregnancy to term because it felt like the right thing to do, but things quickly imploded once the twins were born.
One morning I woke up and she was gone. Her shit was packed, the kids were still in their cribs, and there was nothing except divorce papers in my mailbox waiting for me to sign. She was all too pleased to get her 50% share of my wealth. Once I got over the shock of it, I couldn’t sign those fuckers fast enough.
I’d make my money back easily enough.
We were better off without a woman that didn’t want to be in our lives.
My phone rang in my pocket and I pulled it out. It was from a number I didn’t recognize. I swiped at my screen and opened up the message, figuring it was from Owen.