When Angels Fall.pdf

Lena Matthews

When Angels Fall

Chapter One

From this moment forth, Lauren Palatino would never, ever celebrate Halloween. The

porch light would remain off. There would be no more flattened witches on her front door

and no matter how tempting it was ,she would bypass the candy aisle during the month of

October in hopes the thirty-first would come and go as quickly as possible.

Halloween sucked big hairy blue balls.

It was only fifteen minutes after seven and Lauren was already praying for the night to

hurry up and end. She could have been giving out candy. Hell, she could have been sitting

at home watching the neighborhood kids TP her house. Anything was better than the

dealing with the silence polluting the air inside the black Lexus.

As subtly as she could, Lauren tugged on the too-short hem of her angel costume, hoping

against hope that pulling on the dress would magically make more material appear.

She’d known immediately she was too heavy for the outfit when she first put it on. But she

listened to what her friends had said instead of what the mirror told her, and now she was

stuck wearing the horrible excuse of a costume and sucking her gut in all night long.

Lauren cast a discreet glance between lowered lids at her fiancé Evan Kelley and bit back

a snicker. Evan wasn’t a happy camper. Sitting there in his tailored slacks and crisp white

linen shirt, he was the epitome of the put-together business executive. The cute little devil

horns sticking up from his hair was the only telltale sign of his Halloween costume and it

had taken almost an act of god to get that on him.

To Lauren, he looked downright adorable, but then again, she’d fallen headfirst for the

handsome executive the first time she’d ever seen him.

“That’s not going to help.”

Startled, Lauren quickly brought her hands away from the bottom of her dress. She reacted

more to his tone than to his words, and the second she realized what she’d done, she

wanted to curse. Evan, despite what he and the rest of the world might think, wasn’t the

boss of her.

If she wanted to wear plastic wrap and shake her ta-tas on the corner of Fifth and Main,

she would.

“If you dislike the outfit so much, feel free to take me back home so I can change.” This

was the same offer she’d made when she opened her door and saw the look of horror on his

face. Lauren wasn’t oblivious about her physical attributes. The short, white dress didn’t

necessarily complement her best features.

At a size eighteen and holding strong, Lauren knew she’d never be mistaken for a runway

model. She came from a long line of full-figured Italian women. The only way Lauren

would ever be Hollywood thin was if she rearranged her DNA.

“We’re already late.”

“My father would understand.” Lauren knew she sounded like the princess everyone

thought she was, but her father’s love and devotion was something she refused to apologize

for.

“That doesn’t negate the point that we’re late.”

“I get it, Evan.” I’m not going to cry. I’m not going to cry. He’s being an ass and I’m not

going to cry. “We’re late. It’s all my fault. Let it rest.”

Evan’s knuckles tightened around the steering wheel. “Despite the fact this is a Halloween

party, it’s still a business event. And as the daughter of the CEO and the fiancée of the vice

president, you should be dressed accordingly. And not like a…”

“The Stay Puft Marshmallow man.I get it. I look horrible in this outfit.”

Frowning, Evan glanced over at her. “You don’t look horrible nor do you look like a

marshmallow.”

A harsh laugh escaped before Lauren could pull it back in. “You’ve never been one to lie

to me before, Evan, so don’t start now. I know how I look.”

“Then with my past as a reference, heed my words now. You don’t resemble a

marshmallow in any way, shape or form. I just would have preferred if you wore something

that covered you a bit more.”

“Like a trench coat.”

“That would have been acceptable.”

“Acceptable.” Lauren snapped her head around in utter disbelief. To her amazement

though, Evan’s lips were turned up in the crooked little smile of his she adored.

It was the one thing about him that wasn’t perfect, which might have been why Lauren

loved it. His smile showed that despite his flawless appearance, thousand-dollar suits,

hundred-dollar haircuts, Evan was still human. Approachable. Touchable. Real .

Even if Lauren were a size zero with legs that went on for days and perky breasts, she still

wouldn’t be half as attractive as he was. With wavy dark hair that tapered at his nape, a

strong chiseled jawline and cerulean eyes, Evan was as beautiful as a man could be without

being feminine. He was the kind of man who would give a lesser woman a complex.

“Ha. Ha.”

Evan reached over the console and placed his hand on her thigh. The simple touch tied her

stomach in knots. He always affected her like that. He was a talented, generous lover, yet

Lauren couldn’t help but feel as if he were holding a part of himself back.

“I don’t want to fight anymore.”

His words warmed her from the inside out. Maybe he did care—

“Your father hates to see you upset.”

As if doused in cold water, Lauren was instantly chilled. “We wouldn’t want to make

Daddy mad now, would we?”

Sighing, Lauren pushed his hand off her thigh and turned her face until she was peering

out the passenger window. Sometimes Lauren wondered why Evan had proposed to her in

the first place. She had her theories of course, but none really made much sense. Their

courtship, be that as it may, was quick and to the point. Evan of course would disagree, but

to Lauren, it really seemed as if he came, saw and conquered. He had been like a man on a

mission and after a few months of dating, Evan took her away for a romantic weekend,

stripping Lauren of her virginity and her single state all at the same time.

Looking back now, Lauren realized something she hadn’t then. He never professed love.

She had, when she jumped for joy and all but tackled him to the ground in her happiness,

but he hadn’t. And now, three months later, Lauren finally figured out why. Evan didn’t

love her; he’d only been doing the right thing.

Yet despite her soft demeanor, Lauren wasn’t a charity case. She didn’t need him to marry

her, she wanted him to, and not for business’ sake or because he’d taken what she’d gladly

given. But because he loved her as much as she loved him. Lauren could see now it would

never happen so she was going to do what she should have done weeks ago—call the

engagement off.

Once again Evan had said the wrong thing. Irritated, he tapped his thumbs on the steering

wheel as he tried to piece together whatever it was that had upset Lauren. It was only with

her that he was less than smooth. Everyone else he could charm to a tee, thanks to the Irish

blood coursing through his veins. Yet with her he was as clumsy as a callow youth.

Evan prided himself on being very up front and honest, so it annoyed him to no end he

couldn’t just blurt out “What the fuck is wrong now” as he truly wanted. Lauren was a lady,

and he made sure he treated her like one, in and out of bed.

Out of the bedroom wasn’t a hardship. It was the “in the bedroom” part he was having

trouble with. Evan wasn’t much for proper ways and the niceties of society. He’d grown up

quick and he’d grown up hard. The things he dealt with in his childhood were a world away

from the servants and upper-crust society Lauren was familiar with.

Thanks to her father’s business savvy, Lauren had never known hunger or pain. She was

innocent to the evil of the world and the ways of bad men—like him. She was pure and

unsullied. It was what drew him to her yet held him apart.

Lauren deserved the best, but she was stuck with him, so she might as well get used to it.

When he pulled up to the signal light, Evan glanced over at Lauren and frowned. She was

pouting and they were late. The evening was going to hell in a handbasket fast.

“Make this simple for me. Tell me what I did so I can apologize and we’ll both be happy.”

She didn’t budge. With a heavy sigh, Evan placed his hand on her thigh again, but this

time when she went to nudge his hand out of the way, he tightened his grip on her thigh and

refused to budge.

Evan didn’t like the idea of her pushing him away physically or mentally. It went against

all his baser instincts. Lauren was his. Every lush inch of her—and lush she was.

To this day, Evan could still remember the very first time he’d seen her. He’d only been

with PalaCon Tech for a little over six months, but in that short time he’d listened to so

many countless stories from Joseph Palatino about his daughter that Evan had begun to

despise the name Lauren. Convinced she was just another socialite airhead living high off

Daddy’s money, he’d avoided every setup his mentor tried to arrange. That was until the

first day he’d seen her.

Fresh from the tennis court in an outfit not much longer than the one she wore tonight,

Lauren had come bouncing into the house, all energetic and full of life. Evan had never

seen anyone so lovely or so sexy in his life. Curvaceous didn’t even began to describe the

sable-haired voluptuous beauty standing in front of him, and it didn’t take long for Evan to

realize Lauren was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside.

When she left to go shower, he’d turn to Joseph right then and there and made his

intentions known, much to the amusement of her father. Evan looked at Lauren and saw his

future, his life, and he hadn’t looked back since. He wasn’t a patient man, but with her he

had been. Evan bided his time, letting her get to know him before he made her his. To his

utter surprise and delight, he’d been her first man, and come hell or high water, he’d be her

last.

There wasn’t a man alive worthy enough to see the way she surrendered so sweetly.

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