It Was Never Meant to Be (Forbidden Temptations Series, Hardcover Book 2)

HARDCOVER EDITION

Book 2 In the “Forbidden Temptations” Series

Note to self … never fall in love with two brothers.

In my opinion, love is overrated but downright wet and hot when sparks fly. Falling in love with two brothers was not my plan, but I did not avoid or stop it. I let things happen as they may. In my defense, I was not with the brothers at the same time. But regardless, that was short-lived once they found out I dated both of them.

Ben and Liam are both attractive and above average in size, if you get my meaning. Liam is a military boy, muscular, wild, and strong. Ben is the more conservative type. Muscular, brainy, educated, with money. I love them both, but now I must decide what and who I want.

If I can make one wish, it will be for destiny to play me a different hand in life, because the one I play with right now is full of pain and drama. Love is not easy, and my choices now will come with regrets, no matter what I do.

Things get wet and steamy in this drama-filled romance. It’s a page-turner that will keep you guessing until the last page. No cheating, no cliffhanger. And an ending that will be hard to forget.

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Books in the Series

• Book1 Forbidden Love
• Book 2 It Was Never Meant to Be

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Format: Hardcover

This product is a print-on-demand physical book shipped directly to your home. Please allow 3 to 5 business days of production time. Once your book is produced, it will be shipped based on the level of service you choose during checkout.

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What readers are saying:

★★★★★ "I laughed, cried, and was angry reading this book. In the end, it was a breathtaking tale full of passion and love." ~ Peech

★★★★★ "If I could give this book one word for its writing, suspense on what will happen next, and the romance, it would be OUTSTANDING. This book has a great storyline, and the characters are really good. You're going to need to see who her heart chose." ~ B Weintz    

★★★★★ "A beautiful ending to this story as everything comes together in unexpected ways." ~ Gramorgrl810

★★★★★ "Rachel Has Done it Again!", ~S Byrne

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Enjoy a Sample from "It Was Never Meant to Be."

“Who the fuck is that?” Carmen asked, glancing over my shoulder at the mugshot in my hands.

“Liam Anderson, drunk and disorderly, resisting arrest and threatening a police officer.”

“Fuck me, he’s hot. I’m wet already. I’d let him get drunk and disorderly on me all day long.”

I laughed as I walked around my desk and put the photo down, shaking my head from side to side as she took a seat across the desk from me. Carmen was one of my fellow junior associates. We’d started at the law firm on the same day and immediately became good friends.

“You’ll get a better look at him soon. He’ll be here in five minutes. I’ve been assigned to his case.” I left out the fact that I’d known Liam since we were children.

“Military or skinhead?” She motioned to her head to note that she was referring to the shorn hair in his photo.

“Definitely not a skinhead. Navy Seal.”

“Oh, baby. Any chance I can get in on this little client conference so I can sniff him? I just love the smell of pure testosterone in the morning.”

“You’re such a whore, Carmen. No, you can’t skeeze on my client.”

“Oh, I see how it is. What did his mugshot say? He’s about 6’2” or something? You just want to climb that tree yourself.”

“Don’t be absurd. I do not want to climb my client. Now, get out of here.”

“Okay, I’m going, but I’m going to hike up my skirt a little and lurk in the hallway when you bring him up from reception. He looks exactly like the kind of guy that knows how to make a girl come when he calls, if you know what I mean.”

“Out!” I told her playfully, pointing toward the door.

“Fine, but just remember that he’s your client, not mine.

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, it’s not against the rules for me to let your client bend me over the copy machine before he leaves this building.”

“Trash. You’re just trash,” I laughed, flicking my hand toward her as an indication that she should go.

I could hear her still chuckling as she made her way down the hall. Carmen was all talk. She loved sex but drew the line at anyone coming to our law firm for representation, even if they weren’t technically her client. Now that she was gone, I opened the folder and looked at Liam again.

His mugshot showed that same devil-may-care attitude he’d always had, even as a kid. Liam was fearless and outspoken but had a gentle side that only those who knew him well ever saw. You could still see that mischievous twinkle in his eyes and that half grin on his face. It was obvious he’d been a little drunk when brought in, but he was still damned attractive. Carmen hadn’t been wrong about that.

I was still engrossed in his photo when the phone buzzed. I jumped a little in my seat at the unexpected intrusion, as if I’d been caught being naughty. It was just the receptionist letting me know he’d arrived.

“I’ll be right down.”

I stood and took a deep breath, smoothing my slacks and putting on my jacket before walking down the short flight of stairs to the lobby. I could see him as I descended, standing in the middle of the entrance, looking around. His eyes caught mine as he spotted me coming down the stairs. A smile spread across his face, lighting it up as he let out a low whistle.

“Well, now. Look at you.” He closed the gap between us and swept me up in his arms for a hug. He twirled me around and then set me down with a flourish.

“That was some greeting, Liam.” I felt a bit overwhelmed by the unexpectedly personal greeting.

Liam had always been a presence, but that mugshot did him no justice. The tall, lanky boy I’d known was now broad-shouldered, devastatingly handsome, and smelled like some exotic mix of woodlands and flowers that Carmen would be sorry she was missing. Carmen might be right. I kinda wanted to climb him.

“Let’s go to my office.” I gave him a soft smile.

“Yes, ma’am. I feel like I’m being escorted to the principal’s office. It’s like high school all over again.”

“No. If it were high school, we’d both be escorted there.” I gave him a little chuckle as we began climbing the short flight of stairs to my office.

“True enough, but you’d still be the one talking us out of trouble. Well, you or Ben.”

“How is Ben? I haven’t seen him in forever.”

“He’s good as far as I know. He’s a lawyer, too.”

“Yeah? And you chose me over him? I’m flattered.”

“Well, he doesn’t practice down here. He’s in New York. Big city corporate attorney.”

“Ah. I didn’t know he had decided to specialize in corporate work.”

“It’s about all I know, too. He doesn’t talk to me so much anymore,” he said as we arrived at my office. I raised an eyebrow in response but didn’t pry. He shrugged at the unspoken question.

I offered him a seat across from me and sat down, opening his file and glancing over it again, though I’d already studied it quite closely. I just needed a moment to gather my bearings. Something had changed with Liam. As kids and teens, I’d never given my neighbor much thought from the attraction standpoint, but now he was absolutely intoxicating.

“So, what’s this all about, Liam? You’ve got a string of minor offenses dating back to our teens, making this much more serious than it should be.”

“I know. It’s worse than that, even. If I can’t get out of this, I’m going to be in a world of shit with the Marine Corps. They’re gonna bust my rank and I might lose my spot with the SEAL team. My commanding officer has already warned me that if I get into any more trouble, I might even be looking at a discharge for behavioral issues.”

“Liam, I’d not be a good lawyer or a good friend if I didn’t ask you why? Why do you keep jeopardizing a spotless military career with drunken shenanigans?”

“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Ask my shrink.”

“Do you have one?” I asked earnestly.

“I do. Marine Corps requires it due to some of the stuff I’ve been involved in. They like to make sure I’m fit for service. This aggravates that determination, you can imagine, I’m sure. My commanding officer, he covers up a lot for us, you know, makes sure we get cut some slack because of what we do. There’s just, well—just so much he can do,” he said with a defeated shrug.

“I can imagine, which makes me wonder why you keep doing it even more. Anyway, I’m not your shrink. I’m your lawyer and your friend, so our first order of business is to get you out of this. Let’s talk about what happened. Tell me your side of things.”

“I was drunk. I walked out of the bar to see a buddy off in his cab and I still had my beer in my hand. One of the bouncers told me I couldn’t be out on the sidewalk with my beer, and I think I might have said some unkind things to him.”

“Might have?”

“I was pretty drunk, but I think I called him a fucking dick. Sorry for the language, but I guess you need to know. I might have said some things about him and his mother he didn’t appreciate, too. I’m not proud of it.” He looked down at his lap for a moment. “Anyway, he called the cops. They came and tried to arrest me for being drunk in public or some shit. I put up a fight.”

“Okay. So, the thing would be just to plead guilty. I can likely get them to give you a little community service and no jail time. It’s not a big offense other than you’ve become a repeat offender. That might be our only issue in getting any sympathy from a judge.”

“No. I can’t plead guilty. It’s like I said, the Marine Corps will crucify me if I get another conviction.” He looked alarmed.

“Okay. That’s not going to be as easy. We’ll need to find a way to get you found not guilty or, even better, get it tossed out,” I replied, already thinking about what we could do to make this go away.

“Can we do that?”

“I don’t know. From what I can see, the only witness to your behavior is the one bouncer who was outside. If I can get the arrest itself tossed out, then I can probably get the other charges dropped based on no arrest being warranted in the first place. Did you really tell the arresting officer that—” I paused to read from the arrest report. “—you would ‘put your foot so far up his ass that he’d feel your toes in his spleen’?”

Liam chuckled. “I don’t remember, but it does sound like something I might have said.”

I shook my head and closed the folder.

“Liam, I’ll do everything I can to get this kicked out completely. Do you perhaps have a PTSD diagnosis?”

“Yeah.” He looked down at his lap again.

“Well, that’s what we’ll go with. You had a bit too much to drink and when they tried to arrest you, your PTSD kicked in. You’re a decorated Navy SEAL who was just trying to blow off some steam. In your incapacitated state, you reacted poorly to being subdued. It’s not in your nature to go without a fight. Does that sound like what happened to you?”

“Yes. You think that will work?”

I wasn’t sure if he really felt that it might have been PTSD or was just going along with what seemed like a good idea to him. It was likely true, whether he admitted it to himself or not. I’d get a fresh psych eval if I had to in order to make the case. I highly doubted I’d get one from the military other than, maybe, a generalized statement that might downplay his PTSD to justify keeping him in service.

“I don’t know, but the judge assigned to your case is Patrick Danson. He’s a former paratrooper. If he doesn’t understand your situation, no one will. I think we’ve got a good chance of success.”

“I sure hope so.” He grimaced. “How much is this going to set me back?”

“A lot more than that bracelet you broke when we were twelve.”

He laughed. “You still remember that?”

“I certainly do.”

“It was an accident.”

“I know. That’s why you’re still alive. Plus, you did buy me another one.”

“I did. Do you still have it?”

“Actually, I think I do. It’s somewhere in my room back at Mom’s house.”

“How is your mom?”

“She’s okay. Her heart isn’t that great. She’s been in poor health since Dad died.”

“Yes. I was sorry to hear about your dad. I would have come to the funeral, but I was in—somewhere I couldn’t leave.”

“It’s okay. I appreciate you thinking of us.”

“Sure. Are we done here then?”

“For now. I’ll gather some details. If I can work it right, you’ll never even go to court, but I can’t guarantee it. Because of the priors, they’ll probably at least want to make you show up to slap your wrists.”

“I’m sure I deserve at least that.”

“I’m sure you do.” I gave him a knowing smile.

We both laughed and stood to say our goodbyes. I made my way around the desk to walk him to the door and he hugged me again, drawing me into his massive arms and pulling me close. His smell surrounded me, heady and intoxicating. I felt a little lightheaded when he let me go.

“Thanks again, Emily.”

“Don’t thank me yet.”

“I know you’ll do all you can. I’ll wait to hear from you.”

“Yep. I’ll let you see yourself down to the lobby. Stop by the reception desk and she’ll give you the fee sheet I prepared for the case. If it’s too much, let me know. We’ll work it out. I’d do it pro bono for you, but I’m fairly new here and not really at liberty,” I apologized.

“I understand that. I’ll talk to you soon, Emily.”

“You will.”

As he stood and approached the door, he turned back to me with a broad smile. “You look good, Emily. I’m happy to see you again, even if it is under such shitty circumstances.”

“You too, Liam.”

He tapped the side of the door and then disappeared down the hallway. I looked down at his mugshot in the folder again and smiled, the sound of childhood laughter echoing in my head for just a moment. Finally, I closed the folder again and laid it aside.

Liam Anderson was not an option and I’d do well to remember that.

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