Here is the first chapter for your enjoyment.
Carefree billionaire, Thomas Powers, is slacking in his duties. He’s living a wild lifestyle and letting the family winery business slip away from his priorities. It’s not until he meets a headstrong photographer when he realizes this is the first woman who doesn’t melt whenever she looks at him. It’s a challenge, but he’s determined to change her mind. He’s also determined to get rid of a problem in his life – the pesky imaginary man who proclaims to be Thomas’ guardian angel.
Morgan Foster is a photographer for a tabloid paper, and when she suspects there’s more to the story on one of her assignments, she’s determined to find out what is really happening. Unfortunately, that means she must work with the arrogant man who enjoys playing with women’s hearts. Being nice to him is difficult, only because she doesn’t want him to eventually capture her heart.
ONE
“Come on baby… Daddy needs a new
jet.” Thomas Powers shook the red dice in his hand as he stared down the craps
table. He’d been playing for an hour now and winning. He’d never considered
himself a professional gambler, but he did like to play once in a while. And
today… he was literally on a roll.
His good friend, Cole Langston,
whose brother owned the casino, put this evening’s events together. Since it
was Cole’s turn to find the entertainment for Thomas and their billionaire groupies, this was the perfect spot. Angie
Birmingham was one of these groupies. Thomas had known her since grade school
and only considered her a friend, even though he knew she wanted more. But
today she was his good luck charm, so… if the stars were aligned correctly, she
just might get her wish.
Angie stood by him so closely that
she could have been the one wearing his clothes and rolling the dice. He held
out his hand in front of her face. “Blow some good luck on me, Ang.”
Her eyes danced with excitement as she
blew on his hand. From the smell of her breath, she’d been drinking much more
than he’d realized. Hopefully, her intoxicated breath would put some kind of
spell over the dice so that he could continue his winning streak. Already his
total was up to fifteen thousand dollars. He’d already decided that when he
reached twenty thousand dollars, he’d stop and call it a night. He could already
hear his pillow calling him since he’d been up for forty-eight hours straight.
“Okay, here we go,” he said loudly
to the crowd surrounding the table. “I’m going to roll a ten again.” Thomas
didn’t know half of the people at the table – or even at the casino – but since
he was a likable man, when he made friends, he usually kept them for years.
Holding his breath, he threw the
dice. The room grew silent, and only the rolling dice was heard knocking
against the gaming table. One of them stopped on the number six, and the other
stopped on… four!
The crowd cheered. He whooped with
excitement and grabbed Angie around the waist, swinging her around. She wrapped
her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his mouth. The kiss was okay,
but he’d had better – and less alcohol-based.
When Angie tried to deepen the
kiss, he pulled away from her and set her back on her feet. His friends who
stood nearby clapped him on the shoulder and congratulated him. Thomas bent and
gathered the winning chips. It was time to end the night, especially before he
lost everything he’d won.
Suddenly, a flash from the end of
the table drew his attention. A woman in a silky, black figure-hugging dress
with spaghetti-straps stood out from the crowd. It wasn’t that the dark-haired
woman was breathtakingly gorgeous that captured his attention, but it was the
camera she held as she snapped pictures of him.
His first reaction was to yell at
her and have someone escort her out of the casino. Thomas had had his share of
nosey tabloid photographers. However, this woman was different somehow. Maybe
it was that she was prettier, but it could have been the look of interest in
her eyes when she lowered the camera and met his gaze.
“Oh, don’t stop now, Tommy.”
Angie’s finger toyed with the wavy hair on his nape. “You’re on a roll. I mean,
we are on a roll.”
She rested her head against his arm
and peered up at him with glassy eyes, putting on her pouty face. He really
didn’t like pouty faced women. He also didn’t like the smudged dark makeup
under her eyes. Her auburn hair had lost its luster, too. Right now, she looked
like one of those women who hung out in bars and only left when they were
seeing double. He also didn’t like her calling him Tommy – a name he was teased with as a kid in grade school.
He switched his gaze back to the
woman holding the camera. Her eyebrow arched in a judgmental fashion. He could
read her thoughts perfectly without her even saying a word. Obviously, she
wondered why he visually flirted with her when Angie hung all over him like a
shroud. Perhaps after this last roll, he’d shake off his irritating shadow and
meet the new woman he couldn’t stop looking at.
“Just one more roll… please,” Angie purred forcefully.
Gradually, the crowd began to
chant. One more. It didn’t take long
before the whole room echoed the encouraging sentiment. The woman his stare had
been glued on wasn’t part of the chant. She shrugged and lifted the camera back
to her eye and clicked a few more pictures.
Laughing, he joined the group again
and focused back on the game. One more roll wouldn’t hurt… not since he was on
a winning streak. Right?
He placed the chips back on the
number ten square and picked up the dice again. The crowd cheered once again,
making him feel that much more important.
Glancing at Angie, he could tell
she was ready to blow on his hand, but he really didn’t want her to this time.
There was no way he wanted her to think he’d be taking her home with him tonight,
especially when his interest had turned to the gorgeous woman in the silky black
dress.
“Okay, let’s do this again.” His
voice lifted above the cheering. He shook the dice, trying to ignore Angie who
kept tugging on his sleeve because she wanted to blow on the dice.
When he let the dice fly, the room
became quiet once again. One dice landed on five, and the other…
Two hours later, Thomas’ driver
dropped him off at his mansion. Maybe he should have let Angie blow on his hand
again. Good grief! He’d lost twenty thousand dollars with one roll of the dice.
I’m such an idiot!
However, what made him more of an
idiot was when he’d confronted the gorgeous lady taking pictures. It had seemed
that his failure was something she’d wanted to cherish. When he’d realized that
she continued to take pictures, he stormed over to her, yanked the camera out
of her hands, and threw it to the floor. The lens had broken off the expensive
camera. At the moment he hadn’t cared. Now he felt guilty. Seeing the flash of
anger in her pretty eyes and hearing the words exiting her mouth, would remain
in his memory for a long time.
He didn’t know what had come over
him. Was he embarrassed for acting like a sore loser in front of an attractive
woman? Or was it the insult that he’d lost twenty thousand dollars on one roll of the dice? Either way, the night had
ended poorly.
Marching into his home, he grumbled
under his breath. He’d never forget the way everyone at the table at looked at
him after he’d rolled that last hand. The dice were rigged. That was the only
explanation. One minute he was winning like a king – and the next minute he was
leaving the casino without a dime of his winnings. At least he hadn’t taken any
more money out of his bank account.
He reached the stairs and stopped,
gritting his teeth. He’d learned two very important lessons tonight. Gambling
with his money was not a good idea. The game was addicting… or at least winning
had become addicting. But no more. Next time it was Cole’s turn to pick a party
spot, Thomas would let his friend know they were not going to the casino.
The second lesson was… never let
his anger get so out of control that he chased off women. If he hadn’t broken
her camera, maybe she would have given him her phone number.
He scrubbed his hands through his
hair and yawned. It was definitely time for bed. He’d been up for forty-eight
hours straight. Well, the last time he checked, it had been that long. Now his
bed was really calling him. He’d be surprised if he made it to the mattress
before his eyes closed.
“Excuse me, sir.”
The unfamiliar voice snapped Thomas
around on the step so fast he lost his balance. He quickly grasped the wooden
railing to keep from falling onto the black and white checkered tiles on the
floor.
Blinking, he tried to focus his
vision on the short, middle-aged man standing in the corridor. The light from
the hall shone on his thinning head of hair, emphasizing a bald spot on top of
his head. The man wore the oddest clothes. The shirt was baggy and entirely too
ruffled around the wrists and neck, but it was the man’s strange shorts that had
Thomas nearly chuckling out loud. They were snug fitting and reached below his
knee… and were fastened with buttons. Not only that, but he wore stockings, and
shoes with large buckles on them.
Thomas rubbed his eyes. He was
definitely seeing things. Had he been watching a historical movie sometime
during the forty-eight hours of partying? And really, why would he? He didn’t
like watching historical shows.
When he focused back on the
stranger, the bizarre man was still wearing those different clothes. This must
be a joke. “Who are you and what are you doing in my home?” He glanced around
him, wondering if one of his other household staff was nearby. But the few that
worked for him usually didn’t stay up waiting for him to come home.
“Pardon me sir, but my name is
Percy Mills.”
“Why are you here?” Thomas snapped.
“Are you filling in for one of my workers?”
“Uh, no sir.” He twisted his chubby
hands against his thick waist.
“Then why are you here?”
“You see, Mr. Powers,” he stepped
closer, “I was sent from…” pausing, he glanced upwards, “a higher elevation.”
Thomas arched an eyebrow. “Alaska?”
“Uh, no… not quite. You see, sir, I
was sent from… Heaven.”
Thomas sure wasn’t hearing
correctly – due to lack of sleep, he guessed. Closing his eyes, he shook his
head, trying to clear the fog out of his tired thoughts. “Yes, because that
makes so much more sense than coming from Alaska.”
The man grinned, displaying two crooked
bottom teeth. “Indeed. That does have more logic.”
“Who sent you?” Thomas snapped,
wishing the man would just tell him so he could go to his room and sleep.
“Well, you see,” Percy stepped
closer, “the man who actually sent me
is named Luke – you know, like the apostle in the Bible?”
Thomas rolled his eyes. “Yes, I
know the Bible. I’ve read it.”
Percy’s eyes widened. “You have? I
would have never guessed.”
Thomas fisted his hands. Who was
this man to judge, anyway? And why was he still here?
“Anyway,” Percy continued, “Luke is
considered the head of the department. He sent me here to help you get back on
the right road.”
Road?
Thomas glanced around him. He was inside his house, so why did this man think
Thomas was on the wrong road? Unless…
Inwardly, he groaned. He was
dreaming. That was it. That would explain the historic-looking man and his
strange language and the odd things he was telling Thomas.
He held up a hand, stopping the
small man. “Right now, the only road I
want to be on is the one leading to my bedroom, so if you’ll please just go
back to wherever you came from and let me sleep.”
Thomas turned and climbed a few
more stairs, but the man’s buckled shoes clicked on the tiles as he hurried
toward the stairs.
“But Mr. Powers, I cannot go back.
I’ve been sent to help you and I won’t return until I’ve completed my mission.
Then, and only then, will I get my wings.”
Thomas rubbed his throbbing head.
“Oh, I see. You’re a pilot. Well, you might as well look elsewhere because I’m
not hiring. I have my own pilot, thank you.”
The man chuckled. “No, sir. I’m not
a pilot.”
Thomas looked over his shoulder at
the man and sighed. How was he going to get rid of him? “Then what are you? A
stewardess?”
“No, Mr. Powers. I’m… your guardian
angel.”
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