Love and Chaos: A Growing Pains Novel Read online

  LOVE AND CHAOS

  By K.F. Breene

  CONTACT INFO:

  Website: http://kfbreene.com/

  Blog: www.kfbreene.org

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorKF

  Twitter: @KFBreene

  Copyright © 2014 by K.F. Breene

  Other Titles by K.F. Breene

  Skyline Series (Contemporary Romance)

  Building Trouble, Book 1

  Uneven Foundation, Book 2

  Solid Ground, Book 3

  Jessica Brodie Diaries (Contemporary Romance)

  Back in the Saddle, Book 1 – FREE

  Hanging On, Book 2

  A Wild Ride, Book 3

  Growing Pains (Contemporary Romance)

  Lost and Found, Book 1 - FREE

  Overcoming Fear, Book 2

  Butterflies in Honey, Book 3

  Love & Chaos; Cassie’s Story

  Darkness Series (Paranormal Romance)

  Into the Darkness, Novella 1 - FREE

  Braving the Elements, Novella 2

  On a Razor’s Edge, Novella 3

  Demons, Novella 4

  The Council, Novella 5

  TBA, Novella 6

  Jonas, Novella 7

  Warrior Chronicles (Fantasy)

  Chosen, Book 1

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Love and Chaos

  Chapter 1

  Cassie pulled up to her friend Marcus’ house as evening turned into night. She’d just come from an early dinner with her brother and his soon-to-be-fiancée, Krista. Even though they were, quite possibly, the most irritating couple on the face of the earth, she was so happy they’d finally reconciled their issues and gotten together. Sean had finally found a girl who was perfect for him, and the gooey eyes and lovesick smiles could mostly be tolerated. With a few eye-rolls, that was.

  She grabbed the key from the fake rock hidden among the plants by the door. In fairness to Marcus, the rock was excellent quality—it did look real. But a hide-a-key? He was basically just waving burglars in.

  A plush foyer greeted her as she entered Marcus’ condo. Abstract art, perfectly setting off the room, hung on freshly painted walls. Modern furniture accented hallways and rooms, all choreographed perfectly with the flow of the room, giving the living area a warm, homely feeling.

  The man did know how to work a space—she’d give him that.

  Speaking of the man, she found him lounging on his brown, stylishly-stressed leather sofa in front of a massive TV. His striking face made a person take notice, and his well-built body, something he sculpted meticulously, made a girl drool. It also made guys drool. At least the guys he hung out with. And dated.

  “Honey, have you ever heard of breaking and entering?” he drawled as she walked into the room and took a seat in the squat, wide leather chair to his right.

  “You can’t hide a key at the front of your house, tell all your friends about it, point out how lazy you are, and then accuse people of breaking and entering when they take the not-so-subtle hint. I mean, really, a little bitchy, huh?”

  “I can be a little bitchy. Want to see?”

  Cassie laughed as she draped a leg over the side of the ridiculously comfortable chair. “So what’s up?”

  He glanced behind him lackadaisically, his gaze sweeping the kitchen to the hallway behind him. The man was the most relaxed person Cassie had ever met. “First things first, deary. You can’t saunter in here, looking like a runway model—heroin addiction and all—and not wrap your little fingers around a cocktail. What would people think of me if I didn’t entertain properly? Plus, I’m waiting for the man of the hour to get home.”

  Marcus eased himself off the couch and headed toward the kitchen.

  “Heroin addiction?” Cassie muttered, standing up to catch a peek of herself in the mirror over the fireplace. She wiped at the darker patches below her eyes. She did look tired. And stressed.

  The bitch of it was, she had no idea why.

  “Lack of sleep, maybe,” she said as Marcus strolled into the room a moment later with a martini glass.

  “So you had dinner with the young stud and his muse, did you?” Marcus handed over the drink and clicked his glass off of hers. “What are they up to? Getting prepared for the big boss, Mr. Tory?”

  Cassie rolled her eyes and resumed her seat, careful not to spill. She took a sip but interrupted herself with, “Oh. Kate said she fixed the bulb in your dark hole, or something. Wanted me to tell you.”

  “So, wait a minute.” Marcus sat forward on the couch. “You saw the dynamic duo—who are intent on making my life hell on the work front, I should note—and then talked to Miss Foul Mouth? My, my—life crisis?”

  Cassie took a bigger gulp of her drink.

  “And what’s this about fixing my bulb? That little vixen.” Marcus sat back with a smile. “She’s declaring war. I have eyes and ears all over, not to mention tricky little fingers that can rig her office however I want. She’s picked on the wrong man this time.”

  Smile still in place, Marcus turned his attention back on her. “Sorry, dear. Let’s get back to your life crisis. What’s the issue? Too many boy toys to choose from?”

  “Hardly. The opposite, actually. But what about you? I hear you’re giving up the boy toys for just one… And aren’t you on some sort of diet? Because that alcohol looks like it’s going down pretty easy.”

  Marcus crossed one long leg over the other. “I never cut alcohol when friends stop by—what kind of host would I be? And I could say I’m not getting any younger, but let’s face it, I look good.”

  Cassie laughed and threw a decorative pillow at him.

  He pushed it aside and leaned toward her a little more. “Sometimes you get tired of chasing. Or being chased, in my case—“ Marcus paused for the scoff he knew would come. And it did, of course—Cassie couldn’t let his ego get out of control. “I found a good guy, if a little high maintenance, who’s worth two of me. I should hang on to him before the good ones all dry up.”

  “Did you call me high-maintenance?”

  A thin but cut man walked in like he was on a runway. The swish of his hips and placing of his hands screamed feminine, and his outfit hollered egocentric. Literally every single piece of his ensemble matched, all in perfect harmony with the man himself. Light tan pants set off the light tan embroidery in his jacket. The pale yellow of his loafers matched the shirt under the jacket, and his red bowtie—yes, he was wearing a bowtie—set the whole thing off with a pop of color.

  “How do you do it?” Cassie marveled, scanning his clothes with disbelief. “How did you find two items with that weird tan color, not to mention the pale yellow?”

  “Girlfriend, if you would just give me a day, I could make you look like a million dollars!”

  “She already looks like a million dollars,” Marcus drawled, not bothering to scoot over for the newcomer.

  In a moment Cassie r
ealized why as Peter perched on the edge of her chair and looked down at her with a welcoming smile. “Hi, sweetheart. Good to see you again. Thanks for coming over.”

  “I’d hug you, but I don’t want to get up.” Cassie smiled up at him mischievously.

  “Rain check.” Peter glanced over at Marcus and tsk’ed. “Telling stories about me while I’m not here. You might not look your age, but you sure are acting like an old washer woman.”

  “Ouch!” Cassie giggled behind her glass as Marcus stared at his boyfriend.

  “I haven’t put you on the lease yet, doll.” Marcus sipped his drink while the threat hovered in the air.

  Peter rolled his eyes and bounced up. “You think you’re going to find someone else as hot and young as me? Well, good hunting.” He waved the thought away and sauntered into the kitchen, absolutely unconcerned.

  Cassie’s smile grew. “You brought this on yourself, Marcus. You always did like them cockier than yourself.”

  “Don’t I know it, honey. Don’t I know it.” Marcus couldn’t completely suppress the grin. “Anyway, what is this life crisis you’re going through? I can see the stress, honey. It’s not doing kind things to your laugh lines.”

  “I don’t have a life crisis. And thanks for calling me ugly.”

  “Life crisis?” Peter walked back in with a drink at his brisk but graceful pace. “What’s happening? Did some boy dump you, because if so, I will cut him. I swear. I know people.”

  “We all hang out too often, I think,” Cassie said, taking another sip of her drink. “I threatened to cut people earlier, and then Krista did, and now you. We’re all extremely violent, by the sound of it.”

  “Kate,” Peter said as Marcus said, “Jasmine.”

  They all chuckled as Peter regained his perch next to Cassie. He looked down on her with kind, brown eyes. “Spill. It makes it better when you include friends in your problems.”

  “You guys are just looking for drama to get in on.” She shrugged. “Just lonely, I guess. It’ll pass.”

  “You’ll find someone,” Peter patted her shoulder. “I didn’t think I ever would. I have enough baggage to fill up Mary Poppins’ suitcase. But then I bumped into Marcus, and he just happened to be opening up and ready for the next phase in his life and, voila. If someone can tame Marcus, the slut of the town, someone can surely land a beautiful Swedish model, such as yourself. I mean, honey, you’re so beautiful you glow. I want to put you up on my wall. That’s how pretty you are—I’m not kidding.”

  “I may look like a Swedish model,” Cassie huffed out, “but I act like an alley cat. Absolutely no inner beauty to speak of.”

  “Oh, yes, beautiful and feisty. No one ever likes that combination,” Marcus drawled with sarcasm as he wiped up the table. “Honey, straight boys are too into themselves to care about inner-anything.”

  “You should talk,” Cassie fired back.

  “Stop being so obtuse!” Peter chastised Marcus. “I swear, you’d think he had a black heart to match his Prada satchel!”

  “It’s not finding the boys, though. It’s finding boys who don’t treat me like crap,” Cassie said. “I go for bad boys because of all the tattoos and muscles, and they crap on me. I’m an idiot.”

  “Gotta let go of those bad boys, honey,” Marcus said with his lips on the rim of his glass. “Not good news.”

  “But so hot.” Cassie fanned her face with a smile she couldn’t help.

  “Oh yes. Great for a couple weeks. You just can’t get attached, that’s the thing,” Marcus said.

  “Yeah.” Cassie let her head thunk back against the seat. “Plus, I’m a mess. I have all the lingering issues from my childhood like Sean, but there is only one Krista in the world and I don’t swing that way. Plus, Sean is always monitoring me, since he was basically my parent. And then, there is the whole ‘Venus fly trap for crazy’ thing I do really well. I’m like a disco ball at a rave—a whole lot of fun, but only if you’re on drugs.”

  “Hot mess, all right.” Marcus crinkled his nose at her.

  “Oh, you!” Peter waved his hand at Marcus and looked down at Cassie with soft eyes. “You just have to find a good guy with brains. I mean, don’t take this the wrong way, sweetie, but you go for attractive men without a thought in their head.”

  “You and I have the same problem then, Peter.” Cassie tried to hide the smile.

  The decorative pillow came sailing back amidst Cassie’s giggles.

  Peter stared at Cassie for a moment, probably making sure that conversation was wrapped up and Marcus didn’t plan to verbally assault her. Then he said, “Sweetie, we did have a teensy favor to ask you.”

  Cassie shifted to get comfortable. The last teensy favor consisted of using her house for a huge party, since Marcus had been getting his place redecorated. Someone had called the cops because of the noise. It had taken an army of cleaners to get the place to rights, and she’d lost some good crystal.

  “What is it?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Well, I wondered...” Peter repositioned and clasped his hands in his lap. “I have a yearly family reunion that I can’t get out of…”

  “You want me to watch your cat?” Cassie said, relieved.

  Peter tilted his head to the side as though he were pondering one of life’s great mysteries. “No, not that. Thanks for the offer, of course, but…no… I wondered, if you wouldn’t mind, being my date…”

  Cassie blinked for a couple seconds. “Your date to a family reunion?”

  Marcus stared with a guarded expression. Peter did likewise, but his baleful, pleading eyes said something else.

  “They don’t know you’re gay?” Cassie blurted.

  Peter’s face went red. For the first time, Cassie saw anger smoldering in Marcus’ eyes.

  Peter said, “My father is not really…open-minded. I have four brothers, and we’ve all been pushed into sports and girls and uber straight-boy activities. He wouldn’t really understand. Well, I mean, none of them would. They all have wives and babies and all that normal stuff. I’m the youngest, so it hasn’t been until lately that I’ve been getting all the pressure to reproduce…”

  Cassie couldn’t help staring for another three beats. She’d had one small, three-year window when she’d been a teenager during which she cared what her parents thought. When she’d sought to get their approval. It had ended in heartache and disappointment when her parents had wanted nothing to do with her—something Sean had rushed in to try and fix. Since then, their opinion had mattered not at all.

  Then it dawned on her. She cared what Sean thought. He had the ability to make or break a relationship—and had, many times. Just like when he’d first started dating Krista, Cassie had had that ability.

  Cassie’s heart went out to Peter. He was so loving, and such a good person—to think that his family didn’t know the real him, and possibly wouldn’t like the real him if they did know—it broke her heart.

  “Of course I’ll be your date,” she said. “Do I get to dress up?”

  Peter’s face lit up. Marcus’ closed down.

  “You haven’t heard the whole favor,” Marcus said in a flat voice.

  Peter’s face turned red again. “You’d be going as my girlfriend.”

  “Yes, I figured that,” Cassie rolled her eyes.

  “And…it’s at their house in wine country,” Peter finished in a rush.

  “Wait…” Cassie paused, working out the mental map.

  “That’s right, doll. You’ll get the wonderful opportunity to hang out for a week with a bunch of rednecks who would turn away their own son if they knew he doesn’t subscribe to the same life choices they do.” Marcus raised his glass to drink, only then realizing it was empty. He pushed off the couch to get another.

  Peter scowled, but an apology lingered underneath. Marcus was a secret, and it wasn’t sitting too well with either of them.

  Cassie inwardly grimaced, and then blurted the thing she’d meant to keep in her
head. “Why me?”

  “They aren’t rednecks,” Peter said with a pointed look toward Marcus. “They’re actually a very influential family. We are, I guess I should say. Which is part of the problem. With me, I mean. And my…ah…” Peter made a weird shaking motion with his shoulders.

  “You, Cassie, because you are the sweetest person we know,” Marcus clarified from the kitchen. “And you’re as loyal as Kate, so you won’t out him before-he-outs-himself…” The words hung in the air, accusatory and insistent. Peter fidgeted with his glass.

  “And because you have a job that can be done away from the office for a week,” Marcus finished. “You can even put the trip into your column. Travel column, right?”

  “Life and leisure,” Cassie muttered.

  “Well, honey, I would personally love a leisure trip to the wine country,” Marcus said.

  Peter shrunk into himself just a bit further.

  It had just gotten awkward.

  “So. Wine country. Where in wine country? Napa?”

  “Sonoma.” Peter perked up. “It’s a house in Sonoma—which is the sister county to Napa. The wine is just as good, if not better, and way more reasonable. Also, there’s a distinctive family feel to it. You’ll love it.”

  Marcus stared at her across the expanse to the kitchen as he leaned over the center island. She really wanted to moan. How had she gone from her own, not-that-serious problems to someone else’s kind-of-extreme problems? She didn’t know, but she was in it now.

  “Okay. When do we leave? Also, I need another drink.” Cassie draped her arm over the armrest.

  “Yay!” Peter practically launched himself at her. “One month. Don’t worry—I’ll act like Mr. Perfect, unlike some people.” Peter shot Marcus an accusatory glance.

  “At least my disapproving father knows I’m gay,” Marcus shot back.

  “Great, yes. Keep the awkwardness coming,” Cassie muttered.

  Chapter 2

  A month later Cassie stood outside of Marcus’ condo, puffy eyes filled with sleep, holding her suitcase.