Page 1 of The Attraction

ChapterOne

HARPER

Ican’t believe my life right now.

When my best friend Felisha asked me to be part of her plan to keep her relationship with Flynn Taylor a secret, of course I jumped on board straight away.

I’d do anything for this woman!

We have had each other’s backs since we met at the age of seven. I had moved from America to London and didn’t know a soul. But this confident little girl walked over to me on my first day of school and took my hand, telling me to sit with her, and the rest is history. And although she is now my boss, it has never affected our friendship.

Hiding that there was more to her relationship than just sleeping with Flynn involved moving into a temporary apartment in the same building as Flynn’s brother Forrest. That way she could say she was visiting me, and Flynn was visiting his brother. It was Forrest’s idea, and I’d like to read more into it, that he wanted the chance to be near me, but I probably shouldn’t. I mean, he is hot, broody, and way too sensible for me, but it sounded like fun because it was supposed to be temporary, which is just how I like my men, to be the perfect one-night stand.

Part of the ruse was that we’d renovate the bathroom in my apartment to have a reason for me to move out of my home. But of course, nothing ever goes to plan. There have been problems with the plumbing and then the rot they found in the walls when everything was stripped out. At first, I was frustrated, but instead, Felisha made me look for the positive. Which was to do a bigger renovation of my whole apartment, although there was nothing wrong with it, except for the bathroom apparently. A change is as good as a holiday, they say. That’s the thing when you have money, I tend to spend it on the unnecessary things, just because I can.

My workdays are fast becoming so intense since Felisha took over the company from her father, and feeling like I don’t have a single moment to breathe, I decide it’s a perfect time to put a full apartment renovation into the mix? I mean, being Felisha’s second-in-charge of her boutique hotel and property business is something we have talked about since she hired me straight out of university to work as her assistant, but I always told her that she didn’t have to promote me to that position when she became the big boss. To which she would just roll her eyes at me and reply,“Who else can read my mind and put up with me like you do?”And she’s right.

I’m sitting in my office tonight, still trying to finish off a few emails that need to go out before I leave and then make some decisions on tiles for the foyer, paint color for my bedroom, and the carpet for my walk-in closet. My brain is on overload and that is not like me. Even hiring an interior designer doesn’t take away all the decisions that need to be made, and to be honest, I’m a perfectionist, so I want the final say on everything. After all, this is my home, and I want to love every single part of it. I don’t want to be sitting there at night after the renovation is complete, looking at the little details that annoy me because I didn’t take the time to fix them in the first place.

My office door opens, and Felisha’s head pops around the corner of it.

Life has been so much better for her now that her and Flynn’s relationship is out in the open. It was an awful time when it all happened and the blow-up with her father, but now she is getting the chance to live a somewhat normal life with Flynn.

“I’m heading off now. Flynn is on his way to pick me up, and we are heading out for a late dinner. Want to join us?” Her dark hair hangs loose, and even though she’s probably as tired as I am, she still looks stunning.

Although I’m tempted because I could really use a drink tonight, there is too much to sort out for my apartment, and I don’t want to be that annoying client who holds up the project because she can’t decide if the paint on the wall in the powder room should be sandstone or seashell color. I mean, most people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, but that’s not the point.

“Thanks, but I don’t want to cramp your style. Third-wheeling is not much fun,” I say, laughing as I continue to type. I make it sound like it’s a joke, but there is part of me that is still mourning the loss of our close friendship. It’s not like we aren’t still close, but I’m no longer the most important person in her life, and for a good reason. She is with a man who loves her deeply. But still, it hurts and is taking some adjusting. And to be honest, I really need to get over this because I don’t plan on ever settling down with a man, so I will always be the third wheel.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You know it’s not like that at all. Come on, you need to eat.” And I can see the look in her eyes that she knows I’m still struggling a bit with the change of dynamics, but neither of us are talking out loud about it.

“Yeah, yeah, thanks anyway, but I really need to do some work at home for the renovation, so I’ll just order food in. That way I can be sitting in my comfy clothes as I drive myself insane making decisions. Who knew that a simple bathroom renovation would turn into a whole apartment makeover?” I throw my hands in the air and shrug.

“Well, it didn’t have to, but you chose to go the whole way—maybe with a little help from me—but you can’t tell me you aren’t excited to see the end result, even though you complain constantly about it.” Felisha laughs at me, to which I pick up a pen and throw it at her across my office.

“I hate it when you are so right. Now go meet your man and have a nice dinner. See you in the morning after I meet the designer at the apartment.” I smile at her as she waves and walks out of the office, laughing to herself and yelling out goodbye as my door is closing.

Seriously, I love that woman, but I need to learn to detach a little, otherwise I’m going to be the sad pathetic friend in the corner while Felisha continues to find happiness in her life.

It’s been a whole two weeks since I’ve been with a man. Maybe that would help solve my sadness. Because with Felisha spending so much time with Flynn, it kind of feels like a slow break-up between her and me, even though we will never be apart as friends, just spending less time together. Now, they say a good way to ease the pain of a break-up is to get laid, which sounds like a good idea to me.

It’s about all men are useful for. Fantastic sex, and then I keep them at a distance!

Especially considering the trauma of what my father put my family through when he ran off and left us broke and alone. We had no father, husband, and income earner. My mother was a total mess, with no money, no house to live in, and three daughters who were so confused how the father they loved and trusted had done this to them. His actions burned me for life.

I will never trust another man.

Which is why I know I won’t ever settle down in a relationship.

So therefore, I’m resigned to the fact I won’t be a mother either. I know that I could do the IVF way or adopt, but at the moment, I’m happy just being on my own and loving my career and the life I lead.

I have two sisters who are younger than me, at thirty-nine. Amanda who is thirty-three and has a long-term boyfriend who I’m pretty sure is getting close to proposing to her. And then there is Rachel who is my baby sister and only twenty-eight. She just came out of a six-month relationship and is happily playing the field and living her best life again. Both of them were a lot younger than I was when Dad left and don’t seem to have the hang-ups I have about men, and I’m glad.

I was just finishing my business degree at university when the stocks that my father had invested his clients’ money in, as well as our family savings, all started crashing, and he lost the lot. Instead of being a man and facing up to what he had done, he ran back to the United States and left Mum to face the mess. Luckily Felisha’s mum Ivy moved us into one of her many properties, and I went to work for Felisha and supported the family until Mum could stand on her own again.

It took a few years, and the stress I felt was enormous. But the important thing was that my sisters could continue to go to school and just push the whole sadness of losing their father aside. They had no idea about our financial situation and how at times we were close to the poverty line, but then Ivy and Felisha would turn up with all these clothes that they were getting rid of and thought we might like, but funnily enough, they still had tags on them and were all in the perfect sizes for all four of us, even though we were different shapes. Or a random grocery delivery would arrive at the apartment. And the fictitious work bonuses that I received from Kentwall Estates that just appeared in my bank account. I wanted to give them back, but to be honest, I desperately needed them to pay school fees. Just a pure coincidence they arrived about a week before the fees were due each term. Ivy constantly had a spare ticket to charity events that she insisted my mother accompany her to, which was a way of making my mum face the shame she felt of what my dad had done and to remind herself it wasn’t her who had done wrong. It helped to get her over it all quickly, because as always, it didn’t take long for the London socialite scene to move on to another scandal, and my father was then old news.

My mother Lori and Ivy became so close during these years and now are best of friends, just like their daughters. I struggle to show emotion, and I think it’s because during that time, I shut myself off to deal with the pain of betrayal and abandonment. But on one of the rare occasions that I let my walls down, I broke down and cried with Felisha, thanking her for everything she did to help my family survive all those years ago.

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