Dedication
To my husband,
Infinity + 1
Prologue
I grew up in a small town.
Boothbay Harbor, Maine.
It even sounds small, doesn’t it? Population two thousand one hundred and thirty-one.
My father and his father before him were all fishermen, and that’s what I was supposed to do. Only I had bigger dreams.
Love has a way of disrupting the path to our dreams. I refused to let my heart rule my head. Athena nearly broke me, and I almost didn’t leave. She was my high school girlfriend, my best friend’s sister. They were like family, and everyone thought Athena and I would get married, and I’d become a fisherman.
Athena knew my heart. If it weren’t for her, I never would have pursued an acting career. If she’d been the same age as me, I probably would have taken her with me. But she wasn’t, Athena still had two years of high school to finish. I tried to make the long-distance thing work. Well, I tell myself I did.
It’s ancient history.
It was seven years ago.
Now, I’m standing in my home in the Los Angeles hills looking out over the city. In my hand is an invitation to Ares Boswell’s wedding. Ares is Athena’s brother and still my best friend. Their dad, Dean, is a huge Greek god fan. Ares goes by TB, a nickname I gave him in grade school. TB would never get into fights, so I started calling him Teddy Bear which eventually was shortened to TB, much more fitting than the God of War.
“Babe, where are you?”
Clad only in a bikini and looking every inch the Hollywood superstar is my current girlfriend, Sophia Thorne.
“Hey.”
“Hey, yourself, handsome.” Sophia kisses me and wraps an arm around my waist. “What do you have there?”
“It’s an invitation to TB’s wedding.”
“Oh, right, right… you’re best man?”
“Yeah.”
“When are we going?”
TB and his wife to be, Ashlea, don’t like Sophia. They think she’s a fake, all teeth, boobs, and zero personality. Sophia’s smart, she’s playing the game to get ahead. We are both cast in Andy Westin’s latest film, Powerful. It’s how we met.
I draw in a deep breath, wondering how I’m supposed to tell her she’s not welcome.
“I have to ring Clementine! There’s a dress she’s making which will make me look fabulous. I’ll ask her to make you a tie to match.”
“Sophia, I’ll be wearing whatever the bride tells me to wear.”
A small frown creases her picture-perfect face. She nods once, then a smile appears. “Ahh, yes. But for the photos of us, you could change ties.” Her hand goes to my chest, and she kisses me. “That’d be okay, wouldn’t it?”
Sophia’s hand travels down my body, and she strokes my cock through my trousers. Crushing my mouth to hers, I deepen the kiss, all thoughts of the wedding disappearing. With her constant stroking, I’m rock hard. I grab the flimsy material of her bikini bottoms and rip them from her body.
Sophia laughs and backs away from me. “You only get me if you agree to wear the tie, babe.”
With a growl, I advance on her, nodding. “I’ll wear the tie.”
Chapter One
Athena
“I look like a pink marshmallow in this dress.”
“No, you don’t,” admonishes my mother.
“We both know I do.”
Dad walks into the room, and tears instantly rim his eyes. “Oh, Athena, you look beautiful.”
“Told you,” replies my mom as she hugs Dad.
“You don’t think I look like a pink marshmallow?”
Dad shakes his head. “Nope.”
Turning around, I scrutinize myself in the mirror. “I don’t know…”
“Athena Boswell, you look beautiful, and there’s nothing to be done about it anyway. This is the dress Ashlea picked, and she picked it for your body shape. Don’t you think it shapes her bosoms perfectly, Dean?”
“Mom!”
“Your mother is right.” Dad kisses Mom on the top of her head and pats my arm. “You are a vision.”
I groan and do a half-turn to look at the back of this light pink, chiffon monstrosity. Mom’s right, I have no choice, and it was nice of Ashlea to consider my body shape. Mom says I have an hourglass figure. That’s code for big ass and big boobs. This dress does accentuate my boobs while giving my ass a slimmer look.
“Does the bow on the back have to be there?”
With a sigh, my mother pushes Dad out of the room and places her hands on my shoulders. “It’s not your day, it is Ashlea’s. And the bow is staying.”
My mom has always been the practical one. Dad is the caring, loving, over-the-top one. I nod and do a twirl.
“Okay, okay. I’ll tell Ash it’s divine.”
“We just need to hem it, and it’s done.”
Mom unzips the dress and helps me get out of it as I try not to impale myself on any of the pins she has in it. I’m pulling on my favorite t-shirt with my author logo on it and am about to pick up my shorts when she stops what she’s doing and levels a look at me.
“What?” I ask, instantly thinking I’ve done something wrong.
“I’ve been worried about you.”
“Why?”
“Kris.”
Kris fucking Livingston.
My one and only love.
The boy who broke my heart and went on to become a Hollywood superstar. The man I can never get away from—he’s in commercials, magazines, even on billboards. Kris’ handsome face is everywhere.
I pull on my shorts, avoiding my mom’s gaze. “I’m fine.”
“Athena.”
The softness in her voice has me looking into her pretty hazel eyes. I got Dad’s dark green eyes, but I always wished I’d gotten Mom’s.
“I’m okay.”
Mom reaches out and takes my hand in hers. “It’s okay not to be. I know Kris hurt you.”
“We were kids, Mom. It was a stupid high school thing. I’ve moved on.”
“So you say.”
Mom lets my hand drop and moves the dress to her sewing table. I want to tell her I’m not okay. I’m dreading seeing Kris. I made myself stop looking him up on social media sites years ago, but somehow, every now and again, I catch myself googling him. I know he’s seeing Sophia Thorne—blue eyes, blonde hair, perfect smile, and they look so good together as they walk down the red carpet, arm in arm.
“Athena?”
I’m still standing in her sewing room staring at the dress on the table. I glance up at her.
“Do you need anything else from me?” I ask.
“No, love. Are you sure you don’t need to talk?”
“Kris made his decision, Mom. Sure, it hurt, but he’s with someone else now.”
“Uh-huh. Yep. That’s true. I like Kris, always have. But honey, you are my daughter, and it’s written somewhere that I’m always going to be on your side. If you feel that you need to hit him over the head and dump him in the bay, I’ll help.”