Page 1 of The Unexpected

Prologue: Beck

“Seriously,Beck, are you even fucking listening to me?”

I glance at Ryker and blink. “What?”

“Those two girls have been checking us out all night. It’s time to make our move, man.”

Ryker cracks his neck and tips the last of his beer down his throat. I hadn’t been listening at all, too busy watching some guys try and hit on Amelia. Ryker follows my line of sight and grins.

“Amelia is looking smoking hot tonight.”

I spin so fast I knock a bottle off the kitchen island where our graduation party is taking place. I have Ryker pinned against the fridge, with my forearm against his throat in seconds, catching him off guard. “Don’t fucking talk about her like that. She isn’t some cheap slut you can fuck around with.”

Ryker holds his hands up, his eyebrows in his hairline. “Calm down, I was only saying.”

I drop my arm, the anger leeching out of me as I step back. Ryker brushes his hand down his crinkled shirt, and I hang my head. He’s one of my best friends and I lost it, but Amelia is different, and I’ve only just started to realize how different she is from all the other girls I know.

“You know I’d never go there, Beck.”

I hand him a fresh beer off the counter, and he takes my peace offering. “I know.”

Ryker wraps an arm around my shoulder and laughs. “No worries. Now, about those two hot chicks?”

As he’s talking, I let my gaze find Amelia, who is watching me intently. A shy smile creases over her face, making my heart squeeze. I wink and she rolls her eyes at me and then blows me a kiss. It’s always been easy between me and her, we fit, and we understand each other. The fact that we are both our families’ disappointments bonds us tighter.

My parents had been here to watch me get my certificate and so had hers. Mine had taken me out for a nice dinner to celebrate my graduation and then promptly gotten back on the private jet to take them back to New York. I know my parents love me, but the stench of disappointment I get from them every time I see them lately is suffocating.

I was never meant to be a doctor. I was meant to step into the family business, like my older brother, Giles, and be the good little boy. Yet I couldn’t force myself to fit the mold they had created for me, and that was a snub as far as they are concerned. Amelia’s parents are slightly easier. They try and hide the fact she doesn’t want to be involved in the family liquor company, but she feels it. I know she does.

“Here we go.”

I look up at the excitement in Ryker’s voice and see two girls walking toward us. They are gorgeous, a blonde and a brunette, both with long, lithe legs shown off in short, butt-skimming dresses.

“Ladies, looking good.”

I let Ryker take the lead, as my heart’s not in it. The blonde moves in closer and puts her hand on my chest, her tits pressed against me as she looks at me with hooded eyes.

“Hey, Beck.”

I can’t remember her name, it’s something sweet like Candy or Honey. “Hey, gorgeous.”

I go with a generic term because, honestly, I don’t really give a fuck. She talks and talks, and I tune out, my attention across the room where Amelia is with her friend, Charlotte. I’m not keen on the girl, but Amelia likes her. They are slowly gathering a crowd of frat boys’ attention and it makes my spine stiffen. I watch as one, Calvin, I think his name is, tries to slip his arm around Amelia and she moves away.

Amelia can handle herself. My girl isn’t some shrinking violet, but I’ve always been her protector and always will be, no matter what. She’s special but lately I’ve been feeling more for her and I can’t shake it. I think it might be because of the fact that, for the first time, we’re going our separate ways.

“Excuse me.”

I leave Honey or Candy with her mouth agape and walk toward Amelia. Without a thought, I nudge frat-boy out of the way and take up position behind Amelia, pulling her back to my front, securing her to me with my arm around her middle. I feel her sink back into me as I bend and put my lips close to her ear. Her hair tickles my nose, her scent settling the anxiety I was feeling. “You good, Melly?”

She turns so her lips are close to mine and grins at me. “Thanks for the rescue.”

I tighten my arm around her and watch her slightly dilated eyes lower in a slow blink. The air stills around us, the noise nothing but interference at this point. “You want to get out of here?”

“Please.”

My girl is drunk, her voice husky with it and, although the party is in full swing, there is no way I’m letting her stay here with these handsy fuckers. I turn and swing her into my arms bridal style, and she giggles loudly as she holds on to my neck, her body snuggling closer as she lays her face against my throat.

My dick jumps at the press of her lips against my pulse and I fight the groan. I might be her friend and respect the hell out of her, but I’m not dead below the waist, and Amelia is fucking beautiful. Her dark auburn hair is thick and silky and hangs down her back in waves. Her blue eyes are always so full of life and joy, that it sucks you in until you can’t help but be infected by it, and she’s smarter than anyone I know.

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