Choosing the Right Man (NICE GIRL TO LOVE Book Three) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright © 2013 Violet Duke

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek of Playing With Her Heart by Lauren Blakely

  Sneak Peek of Rush by Joan Swan

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CHOOSING

  THE RIGHT MAN

  NICE GIRL TO LOVE

  BOOK THREE

  VIOLET DUKE

  Copyright © 2013 Violet Duke

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-10: 0989163326

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9891633-2-3

  This book and any portion thereof may not be reproduced, scanned, transferred, or distributed in any print or electronic form without the express written permission of the author. Participation in any aspect of piracy of copyrighted materials, inclusive of the obtainment of this book through non-retail or other unauthorized means, is in actionable violation of the author’s rights.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, and events are either the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is purely coincidental.

  OTHER TITLES BY THE AUTHOR:

  NICE GIRL TO LOVE (Serial Romance) Series

  RESISTING THE BAD BOY, Book #1

  Available Now

  FALLING FOR THE GOOD GUY, Book #2

  Available Now

  CHOOSING THE RIGHT MAN, Book #3

  Available Now

  NICE GIRL TO LOVE: The Complete Collection

  Available Now

  A ‘Nice Girl’ Spin-Off Standalone Novel (title withheld)

  Coming October 2013

  CACTUS CREEK Series

  LOVE, CHOCOLATE, AND BEER

  Coming January 2014

  LOVE, WEAPONS, AND COMBAT

  Coming May 2014

  LOVE, SIDELINES, AND ENDZONES

  Coming September 2014

  Praise for the Nice Girl to Love series:

  "A heartfelt, fast-paced, and fun read!" -- Lauren Blakely, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

  "A sexy, often emotional treat that will resonate with the 'nice girl' in all of us." -- Lexi Ryan, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

  "A sexy must read filled with humor, heart and smokin' hot love scenes!" -- Melanie Shawn, Author of The Hope Falls Chronicles and The Crossroads Series

  "Highly recommend this entertaining sexy read...[it] will make you laugh and then make you hope...can't wait to get my hands on Book Two." --Passionate About Books Review Blog

  “Absolutely amazing. Gave me the best (or worse) book hangovers I’ve had in a LONG time.” --Mama’s Reading Break Review Blog

  The NICE GIRL TO LOVE serial romance series

  Resisting the Bad Boy (Nice Girl to Love, Book One)

  Abby Bartlett is the quintessential nice girl. Between teaching, volunteering, completing her PhD, and helping her best friend raise his daughter, Abby never gets the chance to be anything but nice. That is, until the all-wrong-for-her man she's only ever known from afar starts daring her to simply take that chance for herself. His sage advice? Try something wild and fast.

  Preferably him.

  An unbridled, hotshot attorney with a not-so-little black book, Connor Sullivan has earned himself quite the bad boy reputation. But in his defense, he's a very conscientious one. He knows far too well that sometimes in life, love isn't enough...or worse, not even a factor at all. To avoid that misery--and repel the drama--Connor always makes his one and only rule crystal clear right from the start. Absolutely nothing more than a month.

  Turns out, a whole lot can happen in one month.

  Print Length: 164 pages (Based on paperback edition, available August 2013)

  Note: This is Book One of a three-book serial romance series.

  Falling for the Good Guy (Nice Girl to Love, Book Two)

  Abby Bartlett is well aware that everyone thinks she's in love with her best friend Brian. He is, after all, the type of man a nice girl should be with--the polar opposite of the bad boy--the kind of guy who didn't let his wife's decade-long illness stop him from showering her with a lifetime of love every second until her dying day. Yes, Brian has been the yardstick against which Abby has measured all other men. But everyone's wrong; she couldn't possibly be in love with him.

  Because she's never once allowed herself that option.

  It's taken a while but Brian Sullivan has finally come to terms with being a widower at the age of thirty, surviving the woman he spent half his life loving, a third of it losing. Truth is though, he wouldn't have 'survived' any of it really had it not been for Abby--sweet, incredible Abby--the woman he's never once had to picture his life without, never realized he couldn't truly live without. Until now. Now that he's finally able to love her the way she deserves, the way he knows she wants to be loved...by his brother.

  Who's giving him exactly one chance to speak now or forever hold his peace.

  Print Length: 142 pages (Based on paperback edition, available August 2013)

  Note: This is Book Two of a three-book serial romance series.

  Choosing the Right Man (Nice Girl to Love, Book Three)

  Connor’s back. Just when Abby’s life seems all but perfect, the infuriating man comes charging back in to wreak havoc on her emotions once again. And in typical Connor fashion, he has yet another proposal for her. But instead of a wild and fast fling, he’s proposing…forever.

  Brian’s not giving her up without a fight. Normally the tame one of the pair, Brian is holding nothing back in the battle for Abby’s heart. He has a decade-long head start in knowing and loving everything about Abby—but is that enough to break the intense hold his brother has on her heart?

  In this third and final book in the Nice Girl to Love series, Abby must decide once and for all between the bad boy wanting to start a life with her and the good guy fighting for the life they’ve already built.

  Print Length: 151 pages (Based on paperback edition, available August 2013)

  Note: This is Book Three, the series finale of a three-book serial romance series.

  DEDICATION

  To all my readers. You are just the best fans an author could ask for.

  CHAPTER ONE

  “CONNOR.”

  Abby wasn’t sure if she’d actually said his name out loud, or if he was even standing there, really. But when a few quick blinks confirmed the latter, she repeated the former. Just in case.

  “God, I’ve missed hearing you say my name in that sexy voice of yours.”

  What was it with the Sullivan brothers and her voice?

  She took a wary step back when he entered her office fully. “Why are you—” The rest of her words got wedged in her throat. Because he’d finally lowered that gigantic flower arrangement he was holding so she could see him now, closer than he’d been to her in months. Close enough for the full impact of his presence to hit her like a wrecking ball. Close enough for her to see his ice blue gaze darken, lock on her eyes, then dip down to her lips.

  And linger. As if he just couldn’t help himself.

  She’d never felt so thoroughly kissed from a single glance before.

  “You defended your dissertation today,” he replied to her unfinished question. “I’ve.
..been having my mom keep tabs on you for me.”

  He has? Well that would explain all the probing, borderline invasive discussions Helen had pulled her into over the past few months.

  His eyes crinkled at the corners. “So how does it feel to be Dr. Bartlett now?” He sounded so affectionately proud, his voice just as heart-grabbingly rough and intense as she remembered. And fight it though she did, Abby found herself being transported back six months. As if he’d never left.

  As if things had never ended between them.

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Abby’s heart dropped down into her stomach. Guilt speared through her as she looked over Connor’s shoulder at Brian standing in the doorway looking equally angered, betrayed, and…hurt.

  “This is what you do after I bare my soul to you?” growled Brian, blasting the full force of his anger over at Connor, while leaving just the raw pain for the brief look he cast Abby’s way.

  Connor frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  “You told me to call you when…” Brian’s eyes flickered in Abby’s direction before returning to glare back at Connor. “I couldn’t get a hold of you so I left you a voicemail.”

  With another confused frown, Connor reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. Or rather, what looked exactly like his phone, only with a small Rosie the Riveter decal on the back proudly exclaiming ‘We Can Do It!’ in all its iconic glory.

  “Shit, I grabbed the wrong phone again this morning.”

  An explosion of jealousy hit Abby like a sucker punch to the gut.

  This time it was Brian that looked baffled, and more than a touch indignant. “You’re walking around with another woman’s phone in your pocket and you’re here giving Abby flowers? What are you, into harems now? Isn’t one woman ever going to be enough for you?”

  Connor went as still as a statue, tension vibrating off of him in waves. His jaw clenched and unclenched before he replied through his teeth, “I’m not here to ruin Abby’s day.” He stepped up to Brian and ground out in a dangerously low murmur, “You and I, we’re going to have a serious talk later.” Turning back to Abby he added gently, “Us too.” His expression shuttered then, closed off a bit defensively. “…If you want to, that is.”

  Honestly, Abby had no idea what she wanted right now. So she just nodded mutely.

  All the while, she kept her eyes on Brian, willing him to look at her. And that’s when she saw it. A flash of white in the box he was holding. Peering down, a small gasp escaped her when she finally got a good look at the box Brian was holding.

  Or rather, at the beautiful white egret orchid plant sitting inside.

  It was like looking at a page straight out of her most cherished memories.

  She felt more than saw Connor leaving, felt more than heard him whisper softly from the door, “Brian was always better with the gift-giving than I ever was.”

  She watched him look from the massive array of flowers he’d brought, now sitting on her desk, to the delicate potted orchid Abby was already reaching for reverently. “Congratulations again, Abby,” he said in a voice stripped raw and almost palpable in its quiet envy. “I’ll call you tomorrow some time.”

  Then he left.

  And for one brief moment following, Abby was sure a tiny piece of her heart went with him.

  Never had she seen him look or sound so vulnerable before.

  It wasn’t until she felt a strong hand on her shoulder that she realized she was still staring at the closed door. Swiping her palms over her eyes, she plastered an overbright smile on her face. “And here I thought you were the dramatic Sullivan.”

  A sympathetic light filtered into his gaze. “Are you okay?”

  All the feral coarseness in his voice from the last few minutes had vanished. He was back to being the Brian she knew and loved. Perfect, protective Brian—her rock, her anchor.

  The only one who could undo that turbulent feeling of free-falling she always got around Connor.

  No, she wasn’t okay. But she couldn’t think about that right now.

  Tomorrow.

  She pulled her brain back to what she could understand, back to what she was supposed to be focusing on, back to what was right in front of her.

  Brian.

  Wrapping her arms around his waist, she sank into his python hug, thankful that he felt the need to hold on for longer than usual. She could hear his heart hammering, the pace nearly matching her own. But while his was because of anger toward his brother, hers…wasn’t.

  The guilt over that simply compounded when she opened her eyes and caught sight of her amazing gift from Brian once again, perched on her file cabinet. So ethereal and magical in its delicate beauty, it stole the air out of her chest just as it had when she’d first seen it as a child.

  Soon, she was flipping backward through the memory album of her life, to the days before all the pain Brian still didn’t quite know about or understand but kept doing everything in his power to help her overcome.

  And she felt grounded once again.

  “Where did you—” She reached over and touched the tiny wing-like petals of the flowers, marveling over the fringed softness, just as she used to when she was a kid. “How did you—”

  Goodness, for someone who’d just survived a dissertation defense, she was doing a horrible job stringing together the words for a complete sentence.

  He stepped back and finally, all the remaining traces of tension were erased from his face as he broke into a boyishly excited smile. “Do you like your surprise? I found a grower who could ship it out here last month. Skylar and I have been keeping it alive ever since.”

  Abby chuckled over his choice of words. “So already this flower if faring better than all the poor fish that have passed through your house.” Carefully pulling out the plant, she held it in front of her and just stared at it for a minute, turning it this way and that, feeling the rush of happy memories filling her heart once more—memories she’d lost track of over the years.

  “Thank you,” she uttered, sounding just as awed and supremely blown away as she felt.

  “Don’t move.” Brian backed up, pulling out his smartphone. “I’m under strict instructions from Skylar to take a photo of the new Dr. Bartlett holding the orchid.”

  Abby’s smile broadened, easily imagining Skylar demanding just that as Brian snapped the photo. “I better send it to the rugrat now. If not, she’ll be texting me every ten minutes until I go pick her up.”

  He tapped out a quick message on his phone before studying her carefully. “You still up for having a celebratory dinner with us tonight? Because if you aren’t—”

  “Of course I am,” cut in Abby firmly. “You guys are still sleeping over afterward, right? Skylar has been talking my ear off about this new dessert she wants to make later tonight.”

  “We’ll pick you up at seven.” He smiled and leaned in for a kiss.

  For reasons she couldn’t fully comprehend, or stop, she found herself turning her head to the side at the very last second.

  Though he faltered a beat, Brian skimmed a kiss against her cheek like it was nothing and then turned to leave. But not before she saw the crushed look in his eyes.

  “Brian—”

  “Not today, Abby. Today’s your day.” He kept his face averted. “We can talk about all this tomorrow.”

  Tomorrow.

  Because she didn’t know exactly what she’d say even if they were to talk about this right now, she gave him a silent nod and watched him leave. It wasn’t until she was completely alone in her office that a sad realization rained over her, gave her heart a hollow ache.

  For the first time in weeks, Brian had left without telling her he loved her.

  BRIAN WAITED UNTIL HE WAS in his car before he allowed himself to lose it. He slammed both hands onto the steering wheel and grabbed for his phone. Too angry to even call forth the digits in Connor’s phone number in his brain, he had to search his phone book to have it
dial for him.

  “Hello?” called out a soft, sultry voice from the other end.

  Goddammit! “Are you and my brother going to be returning each other’s phones anytime soon?” he barked, not caring in the least that he sounded like a major tool right now.

  The woman didn’t even seem to notice. She just laughed cheerfully and replied, “You must be Brian. I’m at a lunch party right now but I’ll be done soon. I’ll be sure to drive his phone back over to him right after.”

  Great. A socialite partying it up in the middle of the day during the work week. Will his brother never learn?

  “Do you want me to relay a message?”

  Huh, this one sounded different than his other women though. She also knew his name—that was new. Usually, Connor’s bimbos barely knew or cared that he had a brother.

  Maybe this was that mysterious ‘nice girl’ that Gabriella had been talking about who’d surpassed Connor’s one-month parameters. The possibility of it had hope filling his veins like a shot of heroin. “No message.” He gentled his voice a bit. “But thanks. I’ll try him again in the morning.”

  “Are you sure? You might not be as spitting mad as you were a minute ago if you wait all the way until tomorrow morning,” she teased.

  Definitely not like Connor’s usual women. He fought the small smile that was inching its way across his face. “I’ll take my chances.”

  “Suit yourself.” The sound of plates shuffling in the background filled the phone line before she exclaimed, “Oh! It’s cake time! I’ve got to go, Brian. It was fun almost talking to you!” And with that she hung up.