Risking Her Heart: A Contemporary Romance Novel Read online

  After Liam broke her heart, she’d gone to a therapist who’d told her she had a habit of falling for a man’s potential. Not who he truly was in the present. And the therapist was one hundred percent correct. She fell in love with the idea of Liam’s potential. And then there was Zach. But was she doing the same with Drake?

  Livvie’s eyes grew heavy. She was exhausted. Not only from waking up at the crack of dawn these last few days, but exhausted with the state of her life. She sat down in an overstuffed chair by the window. She would miss this chair when she left. It was white, so if she bought the same one for her house, she would worry about it getting dirty. It wasn’t the comfort of the chair that she loved as much as the view the chair faced. She would miss looking at the beautiful vineyard. In Los Angeles, she loved her ocean view, but Drake’s vineyard was beautiful in a different way. This was his vision. His baby. Livvie inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. She hoped that maybe he’d take her for another walk in his vineyard if he ever stopped being mad at her. Or maybe he’d take her to the rooftop, and they could look at the stars again.

  The last thought Livvie had before she dozed off was how Drake’s lips had felt on hers as he’d brutally kissed her earlier. As she slept, she dreamed of them kissing again. The kiss started out with Drake pressing his lips against hers. He grabbed her bottom lip and gently bit it, causing her a little pain until his tongue brushed over the exact spot and moved back and forth, bringing such pleasure that chills erupted in her body. She ran her hands through his hair, loving the feel and texture. His hair was thick and smooth and smelled amazing, which drove her crazy. He grabbed her even tighter, so there was no room between them. As his tongue slipped into her mouth, she raised to her toes, wishing she were taller. She craved getting closer to him, and the more his tongue played with hers, the more she burned for him. Inside and out, she felt as if flames were eating her alive. He had created the fire, and he was the only one who could extinguish it. He gracefully picked her up, and she instinctively placed her legs around his waist. Finally, she was his height, and she pushed her pelvis into him. She pushed into him again, desperately wanting him to be inside her, but he kept on kissing her. He moved, pressing her up against the wall. She knew he could no longer wait. Drake balanced her against the wall and then unzipped his pants. He took out his rock-hard penis, lifted up her sundress, and moved her panties aside. He pressed his cock against her entrance, but he didn’t thrust inside. He was teasing her badly and driving her crazy. She groaned out of pure frustration. She had never wanted anything as badly as she wanted him.

  “Please.”

  She begged him, yet still he remained motionless.

  “Please,” she begged again.

  If he didn’t fuck her soon, she thought she would die, but instead of heeding her, he continued the torment. And in her dream, someone was rudely knocking.

  “Please, Drake, I need you.”

  She continued to beg, and the knocking continued, as well. Why wasn’t Drake telling whomever it was to go away? But the knocking went on and became louder. Loud enough that Livvie opened her eyes, realizing the noise was real and not a part of her dream. Disappointed beyond belief, she ran her hands through her hair. She wasn’t ready to face the outside world, but she couldn’t afford the luxury of not answering.

  “Coming!” Unfortunately, Livvie wasn’t, but if the dream had been allowed to continue, maybe she would have. That dream had messed with her mind. Livvie opened her door but couldn’t even get herself to smile.

  “Ah, there you are,” Mr. Birkshire said, stone-faced as ever.

  “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Yes, I’m sorry to disturb you, but the guests have arrived, and lunch will be served shortly.”

  “Lunch?” Livvie stood up straighter and glanced back at the clock on the night table. Wow. She had been sleeping for over an hour.

  “Mr. Birkshire?” Livvie sighed. “Does Mr. Morganthal want me to be at the lunch with his guests, or would he prefer I ate up here in my room?”

  The look he gave her was unlike any look she had seen from him before. It was filled with compassion, which made her feel off balance. There was no way she would cry in front of anyone else today and humiliate herself again.

  “As a guest yourself, I assume he’d like you to be there.”

  “I don’t think we should assume anything, especially when it comes to Mr. Morganthal.” Livvie looked down at her hands.

  “Please, Ms. Collins, I’d like you to be there. And knowing Drake as well as I do, I know he’d want you there as well.”

  Livvie sighed. “Thank you, Mr. Birkshire, but it seems I’m always making him angry.”

  Mr. Birkshire paused before he spoke. “And that’s why I know he wants you there. You make him feel something, Ms. Collins. And most women, his mother excluded, make him feel nothing.”

  “But he fights with me,” Livvie whispered.

  Mr. Birkshire nodded. “Yes, he does. And what’s that saying, Ms. Collins? ‘Only the good things in life are worth fighting for?’”

  Livvie smiled. “Something like that.” Livvie felt eternally grateful to Mr. Birkshire. He had given her hope, which, on one hand, was a good thing, but on the other hand could be dangerous. Hope led to fantasies, and fantasies led to heartbreak.

  “Will you come to lunch, Ms. Collins?”

  “Okay,” she said.

  “Excellent, I’ll see you down there then.”

  Mr. Birkshire turned and left. Livvie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. If she was going to meet everyone downstairs, she needed to look presentable. She looked down at her sundress, and luckily, it hadn’t wrinkled.

  A few minutes later, Livvie walked into the dining room and all heads turned toward her. Should she have changed after all? Six unfamiliar faces and one face she was very familiar with were looking her up and down. There were a total of eight people in the room standing around the table, which left Drake’s mom, who was staring directly at him. Livvie felt so self-conscious, she didn’t know what do. To cover up how uncomfortable she felt, she smiled as warmly as she could.

  “Darling, there you are. I’m so happy you joined us.”

  Livvie had never been so grateful for another human being in her entire life. Thank goodness for Veronica. Having an excuse to move, Livvie walked up to her and gave her a big hug, not caring that the remaining seven people were still staring. Didn’t they have anything better to do?

  Veronica hugged her back hard and whispered in her ear. “Don’t worry, darling, just continue to smile. They’re all wondering who you are. My son, on the other hand, would stare at you whether they were here or not.”

  Livvie laughed. Between what Mr. Birkshire had said and what Veronica had said maybe everything would be okay between her and Drake, and he would want to continue seeing her after her week was up.

  “What’s so funny?” Drake commanded.

  “Nothing. Now are you going to introduce this beautiful woman, or would you like me to do the honors?” Veronica said.

  “Of course not. I seem to have lost my manners.”

  Veronica rolled her eyes, causing Livvie to smile. She adored Veronica. Whatever happened between her and Drake, she would like to keep in touch with the older woman.

  “Excuse me, everyone, I’d like to introduce you to Miss Olivia Collins. She has been a guest in my home as a result of winning a raffle held by a charity that’s dear to my heart.”

  “A raffle?” An absolutely gorgeous, tall, longhaired blonde woman asked while giving Livvie the evil eye.

  “Yes. The charity raffled off a one-week stay here at my vineyard, where the winner gets an extensive tour and learns what it’s like to own a winery.”

  Livvie felt even more embarrassed. He didn’t make her sound special at all. Last night, she had felt special. Maybe Mr. Birkshire was wrong, and Drake only considered her a random raffle winner. At least that’s how his words made her feel.

  She w
alked up to him and placed her arm around his waist. Her pride was at risk, and she couldn’t afford for her self-worth to take another dive, especially over another man.

  “And I’ve enjoyed every second of it. Right, Drake?” She looked up at him innocently.

  He responded by placing his hand on her ass and pinching it. She jumped slightly from the surprise but covered it up by placing her other arm around the front of his waist, making it appear that she was giving him a big hug. This time she didn’t look at Drake but instead looked around the room. Everyone appeared shocked and uncomfortable by this public display of affection, especially coming from a random raffle winner. But she couldn’t blame them. She was shocked, too. She never behaved this way, and she hated being affectionate in front of others. And to make matters worse, Drake had no choice but to place his arm around her.

  She noticed that the hot blonde was looking at Drake’s arm and then back at Livvie with even more hatred. Obviously, the woman was attracted to him. And in that moment, a very depressing thought occurred to Livvie. Had they slept together? Was she an ex of his?

  “Everyone, please have a seat, and we will begin the lunch and taste some of my delicious wines,” Drake announced. He must have had enough of Livvie’s immature behavior.

  “It really is delicious. All of it,” the hot blonde said.

  What the hell does that mean? Livvie wondered.

  As everyone sat at the table, Drake gracefully moved her arms away, no doubt not wanting to not cause another scene, and then he went and sat at the head of the table. His mom sat on his left, and the hot blonde sat down next to him on his right, which technically had been Livvie’s seat. Livvie was left with no choice but to sit at the end. She wished she had stayed in her room and not allowed Mr. Birkshire to give her hope things might work out. Hope was a dangerous thing, and Drake had just squashed it—and her heart—into a million pieces.

  Veronica looked at her across the table with compassion in her eyes. It felt as if she was telling her she was sorry, but there wasn’t anything to be sorry about. If Drake wanted her to sit next to him, he would have made sure it happened. Instead, he was talking and laughing with the hot blonde.

  Livvie placed her napkin on her lap as the salads were served. Mr. Birkshire gently touched her shoulder, causing Livvie to jump.

  “Wine, Ms. Collins?”

  “Yes, please.”

  She smiled at Mr. Birkshire, and he winked at her. Once he had poured her wine, he did the same for everyone else at the table. She watched the others swirling the wine around their glasses and then sniffing it. Livvie always thought the wine-tasting process was absurd, but she didn’t want to look as if she didn’t know what she was doing, so she swirled her wine, sniffed it, and then closed her eyes and took a sip.

  Mmmmmmmm. She loved Drake’s wines. It was red, so she assumed it was a merlot, but she wasn’t sure. She also had no idea of the year, but she didn’t care. It was delicious. Her eyes remained closed as she took another sip and swallowed, savoring every moment, until the man next to her laughed.

  “Enjoying the wine, are you?”

  “Yes, it’s lovely.” Livvie smiled at him. If Drake could flirt with the hot blonde, then she could flirt, too.

  “I’m sorry, Drake gave everyone your name, but he never introduced us to you.”

  Livvie smiled wider and placed her hand on his arm. “I guess Drake doesn’t want me to know who you all are. After all, I’m only the raffle winner,” Livvie said with a twinkle in her eye.

  The man laughed. Not only did he have a nice laugh, he was also handsome. He wore his brown hair a little long, and she loved that look. His big brown eyes twinkled back at her, causing a warm feeling to erupt in her belly. She liked him. And she didn’t even know his name.

  “Well let me introduce all of us to you.”

  “Please don’t make a big deal about this.” She wasn’t ready for everyone’s eyes to be on her again. She simply wanted to have a conversation with this very nice man next to her.

  She glanced briefly at Drake, who was fully engaged in a conversation with the blonde. The woman had her hand in his hair, playing with it as if she had the right to touch him.

  The man next to Livvie gently touched her chin. “Hey, don’t worry; I’ll whisper who everyone is.”

  Livvie giggled softly, but Drake must have heard. He was glaring at her.

  Before the nice man could tell her who everyone was, Drake chimed in.

  “I’d like to make a toast.”

  Everyone raised his or her glasses, and Livvie followed suit. Drake then continued in that deep, strong voice of his that she adored.

  “To lifelong friends, and, of course, to my mother.”

  Everyone at the table laughed.

  “May we all drink my wine together for many years to come.”

  The man next to Livvie said, “Salute”, someone else said, “Cheers”, another person said, “Thank you.” Drake’s mom said nothing, and Livvie smiled softly. What else could she do when the blonde grabbed Drake’s face and kissed him on the lips? It wasn’t a long kiss but long enough for Livvie to feel sick. Those lips were hers to kiss. The blonde ran her hands up and down Drake’s arm and then looked directly at Livvie and raised her glass.

  “And we can’t forget the raffle winner.”

  Ouch. The bitch should have just punched her in the stomach. The pain would have gone away quicker. Everyone raised his or her glass toward Livvie except for Drake, who leaned back in his chair and looked at her with a blank expression. She wished she could read his mind.

  Then everyone returned to eating their salads and drinking Drake’s wine. Livvie, on the other hand, couldn’t eat a thing. She wanted to leave the table and run upstairs to her room to pack her bags. Seeing him with another woman brought up terrible feelings.

  “Don’t worry, Olivia, she means nothing to him.”

  Livvie swallowed back the tears and looked up at her guardian angel next to her. “How do you know?”

  The angel placed his hand on her knee and gently squeezed.

  “She’s my sister. I know everything about her.”

  “Your sister?” What a shame the nice man had to be related to the woman sitting next to Drake.

  “Yes, my name is Stephan Brenson, and that’s Kayla Brenson, and we’re co-CEOs of Kayla Brenson Cosmetics.”

  Livvie put her wineglass down and stared at him. Kayla Brenson Cosmetics was the trendiest makeup line out there. She had been using them for years, but they became so popular that they’d raised their prices, and even when she was making great money on the television show, fifty dollars for a tube of lipstick was way too much.

  “That’s impressive.” Livvie had no idea what else to say, but apparently, that was okay, because he squeezed her knee again and kept his hand there.

  “Thank you. Kayla has always loved makeup, and I’ve always been great at business, so we found investors, and our parents gave us a chunk of cash, so we started the cosmetics business. My sister is great once you get to know her. She just has a habit of wanting what she wants when she wants it.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

  Stephan laughed and began rubbing her knee. It started to feel awkward, so she shifted her legs, forcing him to remove his hand.

  “So I gather you’re a fan of Drake’s wine?” Livvie smiled up at him and took another sip. She hoped she hadn’t offended him, but she was tired of men thinking they could touch her whenever they wanted. She wasn’t a doll. She was a living, breathing, woman, with a brain in her head.

  “A huge fan. I have a wine cellar in my house in New Jersey, which is mainly filled with his wines. My sister has one, too. We buy it by the case, as does everyone else at the table. So that leaves four other people who you don’t know.”

  As the salad plates were cleared and prime rib with a side of mashed potatoes and asparagus were served, Livvie looked up at Stephan and smiled, encouraging him to continue with the ot
her names at the table.

  “Eat, and I’ll tell you. So far, I’ve watched you drink a glass of wine and take only one bite of the salad.”

  He was right. There was no way she would humiliate herself at the table by getting drunk, and she was already buzzing. Not a good sign. But right now, as she watched Kayla continue to run her hands through Drake’s hair, she really needed the wine. But there was no way she could get sick, so she listened to Stephan and started eating her prime rib slowly. The very first bite seemed to melt in her mouth. She closed her eyes and savored every moment. Only the best for Drake.

  Stephan looked down at her and laughed.

  “I thought I was blessed watching you drink your wine, but watching you eat the steak is just as sexy. In fact, I’ve never seen anything sexier.”

  “Is that so?”

  “I never lie, Olivia.”

  Livvie looked into his eyes, and they were serious. Maybe he was telling her the truth. “Please, call me Livvie.”

  Stephan responded by placing his hand on her knee again. But now she was feeling the effects of the alcohol, so she pushed his hand away. She hoped he got the point.

  Stephan chuckled under his breath. “As I was saying, the man across from us is Jeff Laden, and sitting next to him on his left is his wife, Melanie. He created some hedge fund and made billions. Now he enjoys his life and drinks Drake’s wines. And the man next to me is Aidan Kreslin, who’s a huge real estate tycoon, but he’s very secretive with his identity. And next to him is his wife, Leslie. And you know Drake’s mom already. So now you know who everyone is.”

  “Are you friends with everyone here?”

  “We all attend the same wine dinners, so we’ve known each other for years. It was my idea to come here. I have some business I need to deal with in San Francisco and other parts of California. I randomly mentioned that at a previous wine dinner, and they all decided to join me on my plane.”