With Love Alex Read online

  With Love, Alex

  Fairlane Series #0.5

  Harlow Layne

  WITH LOVE, ALEX

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  Thirty-year-old single mom Alex Sloane is ready for a simple life after her divorce from her verbally and emotionally abusive ex-husband.

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  One night out with her friends Alex meets Colton Patrick, a Hollywood movie star from her hometown and his friend, Matthew Ryan. Letting go, having fun, and drinking too much leads to what she thinks is a one-night stand.

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  But when her one-night stand starts calling and texting, Alex decides to give him a chance and start living her life.

  Now out from under her ex, Alex is starting to become the woman she once was, but he’s always in the background determined to ruin her at every turn.

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  Seeing the good and bad sides of the dating world, she must overcome her doubts and fears and learn to trust herself.

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  But can she? Or will the past haunt her forever?

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  With Love, Alex is the story of Alex before she meets Luke in Hollywood Redemption. The series has crossover characters from each novel. It is not required to read the books in order but it is recommended to enhance the reading experience.

  With Love, Alex

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  Copyright © 2018 by Harlow Layne. All rights reserved.

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  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Manufactured in the United States of America.

  First Edition September 2018

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  Editor: Wildelake Creative

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  Cover Design: Harlow Layne

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

  For my friends and family who believed in me enough to write my dream.

  Contents

  1. Girls Night Out

  2. Star Struck

  3. Not All First are Good

  4. Sorry

  5. Booty Call

  6. Time to Have Fun

  7. Never Again

  8. Moving On

  Afterword

  Acknowledgments

  Sneek Peak at Hollywood Redemption

  About Harlow

  Also by Harlow Layne

  1

  Girls Night Out

  “Are you sure I look, all right?” I asked, looking down at the barely there black dress I had on. It was more revealing than anything I’d ever worn before. The short dress showed off my legs and my heels made them appear longer. I’d never shown as much skin as I did that night, but I was going to live a little. I dressed for comfort, but there was something to be said for dressing up every now and again. It gave me confidence and made me feel beautiful.

  “Alex, girl, you look hot as hell,” Shelli stated as her eyes trailed from the tips of my very high, black heeled sandals to the top of my head. My dress was so short I was afraid to do anything but stand, or I’d show my very skimpy, black lacy underwear. Right underneath each breast and in the middle, were diamond cutouts showing my tanned skin. Mostly it looked like a bra attached to a shirt from the front with wider straps. It was the sexiest thing that I’d ever worn.

  My friend, Dawn, who I’d been friends with since high school, had done my hair and makeup. She’d stated that although I could do my face and hair nice enough, I needed a little extra oomph for my first night out and she could give it to me. She was right, Dawn had done a fantastic job. I’d stared at myself in the mirror for a full two minutes not believing that it was me before I could speak a word. My blonde hair was down, blown-out, and curled where it fell down my back until it almost touched my bra strap. My makeup flawless, highlighting my dark blue eyes.

  Decker would get jealous if it looked as if I tried too hard with my appearance, and after a while I stopped, hoping it would make him happy. In the end, it didn't matter what I did; I could do nothing right. Since Dawn was almost six feet tall, and I was quite a bit shorter at five feet four, there was no way I could wear any of her clothes that was why she asked her friend Shelli to help me out in the wardrobe department. We were roughly the same size except for her legs, breast, and ass were all larger than mine and Shelli liked to show off her assets as much as possible.

  “I know that look.” Dawn's eyes flashed before narrowing. “Do not let him have control over you any longer. You're as free as you can be with having a child with an asshole ex like him. Tonight, is for fun.” She clapped excitedly.

  “I know it is, but…” I let out a frustrated breath. “It’s hard after hearing only negative things for the last ten years. You know how skinny I was in high school and I even had a guy reject me because I was too skinny.” Frowning, I thought back to the boy saying if I had more meat on my bones, he’d be more interested. If I only knew then what I knew now I would have told him to fuck off.

  “True, you were crazy skinny back then, but it’s not like you had any control over it. You ate like crazy and never gained a pound. Look at you now,” her eyes traced over my body with a smile. “You’ve got boobs and an ass. Now that you’ve started going to the gym you’re all toned up.”

  “You look hot,” Shelli piped in from in front of the mirror where she was touching up her makeup.

  “You do. Why can’t you see it?” Dawn questioned with her brows furrowed.

  Shaking my head, I wrung my hands together. “I find it hard to believe that I’m hot when I’ve never had a guy hit on me. Ever.”

  “You’re oblivious to the way men look at you.” Her voice turned serious as she continued. “You know I never liked Decker, but I hate what he’s done to your self-esteem. It’s like you’ve got blinders on when you look in the mirror. You need to wake up and see yourself for who you really are. Not what he made you think you were.”

  Dawn handed me a tissue when she saw the wet start to well up in my eyes. “Do not cry.” She said trying to sound serious, but instead it came out sounding like she pitied me.

  Taking a deep breath, I willed the tears away and smiled.

  “Better.” Dawn smiled back at me. “Now, when was the last time you went out and had fun?

  “So long that I can't even remember,” I replied, a bitter laugh escaping me before I hung my head. “I'm letting you know now that it's entirely possible that I’m hopeless.”

  Placing a hand on my shoulder, Dawn spoke with a soft smile, her words gentle. “Sweetie don't talk like that. I swear that asshole brainwashed you. You’re one of the most kind-hearted people I know. He took advantage of you and the circumstances you were in, but no more.” She shouted the last. “From this moment forward, you are not going to let all those poisonous words he spewed at you for over the last decade dictate your life. If there’s anyone in this world, who deserves to be happy it's you.” Shaking her head, she continued. “If Taylor were here, she'd be saying the exact same thing. If any doubts creep into your head tonight, tomorrow or ever, you call or text one of us, and we'll set you straight. Do you hear me?” She tilted her head with her hands on her hips, this wouldn't be over until I acknowledged her.

  Easier sa
id than done, but I nodded my head and murmured an affirmative.

  Clapping her hands as she walked out the door, Shelli called out, “Great! Let's get this show on the road. Momma needs to loosen up.”

  Dawn and I both looked at each other before busting out laughing while we grabbed our purses and followed Shelli out to the garage. Dawn’s car was the most fun out of the three of ours. It was a cute, little all black Mini Cooper convertible with the top already down for the night.

  “I call shotgun,” Shelli smiled as she opened the passenger side door.

  Dawn shook her head as she settled into the driver's side. “Shelli, leave her alone. You know you've got to sit in the back. We don't need Alex throwing up before we even get to the restaurant.”

  “I swear sometimes I think you make up that you get car sick just, so you can sit in the front,” Shelli complained from the backseat with her arms crossed.

  Dawn glared at her through the rearview mirror. “Trust me, I’ve been there, and it isn’t pretty.”

  “So…” I drew out the word as I glanced over at Dawn. “What's the plan for tonight? You never told me where we're going. You can at least tell me what restaurant we're going to. You know I'm up for just about anything.”

  “Well…” she replied, also drawing out the word with a sly smile on her face. “I thought since all the good bars and clubs are downtown we'd eat down there.”

  “Did you pick someplace you know I won't like any of the food?” I could feel my forehead wrinkle as my brows drew down in confusion. “I don't understand why you're keeping it a secret. I don't know any of the places downtown. The last time I was there was when I was sixteen to get my driver’s license. Did you invite someone I don't like?”

  “Why would I do that?” Dawn looked over at me giving me a crazy look. “I want you to have fun, not get all pissy and want to go home early.”

  “Then why the secrecy?” I asked shaking my head.

  It wasn’t like Dawn to keep anything from me, and there were times where I wished that she would keep some of the details of her ‘dates’ to herself. One could say that if you wanted to live vicariously through anyone’s sex life, Dawn’s was the one to choose.

  “It’s kind of expensive, and I didn’t want you to shut down the idea.”

  “I wasn’t planning on being cheap tonight,” I snapped with more bite than I intended. There was nothing wrong with trying to save money so that I could provide a better life for me and my son. Instantly I apologized adding, “I want to have fun tonight, and unless it’s crazy expensive where I’m paying over fifty dollars for one meal, then I won’t care. Promise.”

  “Look I know you’re saving money to buy a new house. I don’t fault you on that, but you’re making good money now, and it’s only going to get better the more people recommend you.”

  We were stopped at a traffic light, Dawn looking over at me. “I’m proud of you. I know life's been tough on you and Mason, but every day it’s looking brighter and brighter, and that’s all because of you and your determination to give both of you a better life than what you’ve had. Think of tonight as a celebration.”

  “I will. Thank you,” I answered as I gave her a brief hug before the light turned green. “Now can you tell me where we're going?” I asked with a laugh.

  “Il Bacio. The food is so, so good,” Shelli piped in from the back making a moaning sound that was very orgasmic causing me to let out a laugh which then brought the whole car to roar in laughter.

  As we walked down the sidewalk, there were people everywhere. The club they decided on, Flux, was beyond what I thought any place in our little town of Fairlane would look like. It was dark like you’d expect a nightclub to be, but the decor was something you’d expect from a club in Vegas. The walls and ceiling were LED with cool designs that were constantly changing and moving. Throughout most of the building, there were these weird but cool silver strands hanging down that had lights on the ends ranging in different lengths.

  The girls wanted to dance. Hell, I wanted to dance too, but I also didn’t want to blow chunks all over the dance floor after eating too much during dinner, so we sat at a little-curved booth away from all the action. The place was packed, and I shouldn’t have been surprised. The music was loud but good, making me sway in my seat to the beat.

  Dawn and Shelli let my dinner settle and finish my drink before they both jumped out of the booth the second I placed my glass on the table, grabbing me, and pulling me out onto the dance floor. Feels by Calvin Harris was playing as we found a spot big enough for the three of us to dance. I smiled at Dawn as my body started to move to the music all on its own. It didn’t take long for me to lose myself to the song, closing my eyes, and forgetting everything but the way my body felt as I let loose. Songs came and went, each one a favorite as if the DJ had played them just for me and I didn’t stop until I was a hot, sweaty mess, and about to collapse from dehydration.

  “I’ve got to get something to drink,” I yelled and did the universal drink sign to both Shelli and Dawn. It seemed they were feeling just as thirsty as they smiled big and followed me to the bar. We waited impatiently for the bartender to take our order and bring back our drinks. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so thirsty. In the meantime, I cursed my kick-ass but not fun to dance in heels. They may have looked impressive, but I was not used to wearing any type of heels and adding a four-inch heel was doing no favors for my now throbbing feet.

  “I need to sit down for a while.” I pointed down at my feet, their eyes following. “My feet are killing me.” They both nodded, and I followed as they looked for a place to sit.

  We were quiet as we drank and cooled off. Their faces were lit up from their phones as I looked out into the crowd. They were probably commenting back and forth on social media about our night. I had a smile on my face from having a great night out with my friends and letting out a long-held tension on the dance floor. It morphed into a shocked ‘O’ approximately two-seconds after Shelli shrieked, “Oh my God, is that who I think it is?”

  2

  Star Struck

  “Holy fucking shit balls,” Dawn cried out before clapping a hand over her mouth.

  I would have laughed if I hadn’t been in shock. Luckily no one heard either of them since the music was so loud, and even if they could, I didn’t know if it would have registered to anyone because walking across the dance floor was none other than Colton Patrick.

  The Colton Patrick. As in, Colton Patrick the famous Hollywood movie star. In all the years that I’d lived in Fairlane, never once had I laid eyes on him until that night. I’d heard after he left town to become a big Hollywood movie star that he’d been here visiting his family, but never did I think I’d actually see him in person. Throughout the years, I’d watched every movie he’d been in and swooned when he started to date Anna Jenson, who was now his wife. They were perfect together. He was the dark to her light. Colton was the Hollywood hunk every woman wanted to screw, and Anna was the girl next door that you wanted to be friends with.

  The first time I laid eyes on Colton Patrick aside from any TV or movie screen, and it looked as if he was walking right toward us. He looked left and right for a moment only to then come straight to our booth. I was sure we looked like a bunch of idiots with our mouths hanging open. Without a doubt, I had to have been dreaming because there was no way a real-life movie star could be coming up to us while we looked a hot mess from all our dancing.

  “Excuse me.” He flashed his Hollywood smile at us from the end of our table. I think I heard all of our ovaries explode as his white teeth gleamed in the low lighting of the club. “I hate to interrupt you ladies, but there doesn’t seem to be any seating left and me and my friend.” He indicated to a man standing behind him. “We’re wondering if you ladies wouldn’t mind sharing your booth with us until something opens up.”

  “Please join us.” Shelli cooed, pushing her breasts out. Her eyes sparkled at the same time Dawn moved closer to S
helli, leaving space for one on her side and one next to me. I wanted to roll my eyes at her.

  Colton sat next to Dawn, a smirk on his face. He knew exactly what he was doing to us and to just about every woman he encountered on the planet.

  “I’m Colt.” He introduced himself like we didn’t know who he was, but it made me like him even more. With his looks alone, women swooned as he walked by, add in his movie star factor and I couldn’t imagine what it was like to have that much appeal to the female race. “And this is Matt.”

  Blushing from the insane experience of being in the company of two hot men, I spoke, and it came out so quietly I was sure no one heard me, “Hi.”

  Dawn and Shelli didn’t seem at all phased by our new company. They acted as if they met drop-dead gorgeous men every day and had conversations with them. I, on the other hand, hadn’t talked to a man not related to work or shopping related in so long. I had no idea what to say. No one cared about my boring life, anyway. Dawn gave introductions all around. I wasn’t sure if they could understand her with how loud the music was, but they nodded as if they did. With Colton on the other side of the table I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but I got a kick out of watching Dawn and Shelli hang on his every word.