Easton: The Casanova Club #3 Read online

  Easton

  The Casanova Club #3

  Ali Parker

  BrixBaxter Publishing

  Contents

  Find Ali Parker

  Description

  Introduction

  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

  Want More?

  Insider Group

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Find Ali Parker

  www.aliparkerbooks.com

  Description

  No way in hell.

  * * *

  If someone had told me at the end of last year that I would have already fallen hard for one of the Casanova Billionaires, I would have called them a liar. A dirty, dirty liar.

  * * *

  But they would’ve been right.

  * * *

  Who wouldn’t fall for Joshua? I’m never going to make it through this.

  * * *

  It’s the second month in the year, and I’m faltering. Fast.

  * * *

  But Easton Price, NFL superstar and playboy hottie isn’t interested in where I’ve been. He wants to know where I’m headed and with who.

  * * *

  Hunky. Abrasive. 100% alpha male.

  * * *

  But there’s something else lurking in those deep brown eyes of his.

  * * *

  Something soft and warm, loving and dominant. He doesn’t show the public any part of the real him.

  * * *

  It’s better that way.

  * * *

  And his lifestyle? Good grief and gravy.

  * * *

  I’m out of my element. Yachts. Wealth. Fancy-people food.

  * * *

  But I’m quickly learning to love it and play the part. Or maybe I’m not playing at all.

  * * *

  Maybe poverty was just the card I was dealt, but after this year, everything will change.

  * * *

  I might miss Joshua, but Easton has taken my full attention.

  * * *

  Damn him and his pretty boy smile.

  * * *

  I have no clue who I like more.

  * * *

  Neither. I’m only in this for the money.

  * * *

  Right…

  Introduction

  Join Ali’s Insiders Newsletter Group for New Releases, Updates and to Connect with Ali.

  * * *

  As a thank you for joining her list,

  you’ll receive a starter library from Ali.

  Join Here

  Chapter 1

  Easton

  The whirring of the blender blocked out the ringing of my cell phone. I watched the concoction swirl around inside the glass, a mix of greens and protein powder and glutamine, while I tipped my head back and downed a full glass of water.

  When the blender stopped and the concoction settled, I popped it off the base and filled my cup with the thick green sludge.

  “Bottoms up,” I muttered before sealing my lips to the edge of the cup and chugging.

  It went down in six massive gulps.

  I licked my lips, filled the blender with soapy water, and left it in the sink to deal with later. Then I grabbed my hand towel from the kitchen counter, tossed it over my shoulder, and left the kitchen to cross the living room, dining room, billiard room, and second sitting room until I reached the door for my home gym.

  I stepped inside and was greeted with the smell of rubber mats and iron as I glanced down at the missed call on my phone.

  Jackson Lee.

  Great.

  It was the first of February. The Girl was showing up at some point today. I had emails on my computer from Jackson detailing everything I needed to know about her arrival, and I’d only really sort of bothered to read through them.

  I knew she was showing up today, and because of my poor planning, she would be staying at my house for the month. My agent had given me shit about that a dozen times over. I should have booked her a hotel or something back at the end of last year. Then I could have guaranteed her a nice place to stay for the duration of her visit that was within ten or fifteen minutes of my home.

  But my place was pretty remote. I liked the solitude, and it was hard to find that in the city, being a pro athlete with a face like mine. People recognized me everywhere I went and wanted autographs. Sometimes it was fun. Sometimes I liked to stop for the selfies with the hot blondes and the MILFs with their kids.

  Other times, I liked to wear a ball cap and sunglasses and keep my head down in the hopes that nobody spotted me, pointed me out, and shrieked, “It’s Easton Price!” at the top of their lungs.

  It had been easier to get away with a couple of years ago before my career took off and my skill improved almost overnight. My agent accused me of taking steroids—which was not the case. I was superior to the others on the field because of the hard work I put in. Not for any other reason.

  The implication that I was cheating almost got the fucker fired.

  I would call Jackson back at the end of my workout. I had priorities. Focusing on my health, endurance, and strength came number one in my career. The Girl would come second. Or third. Or wherever I decided to put her for the next three and a half weeks.

  At least I drew the shortest month out of the year.

  I paired my phone to the speakers mounted on the walls of my gym and blasted some upbeat hardcore tunes to set the tone for my session.

  My routine was ninety minutes long and today’s focus was my upper body and cardio. I spent the first half hour on my treadmill, which was placed beside the floor-to-ceiling windows on the south wall. Bright Florida sunlight streamed in, and my bare torso was beaded in sweat within the first six minutes of warming up.

  Then I ran hard for the remaining twenty-four minutes.

  I hopped off the treadmill and kept pushing for another hour, moving from machine to machine, bench to bench, curling dumbbells and deadlifting my bar.

  By the time I finished, my muscles were heavy with fatigue, but my mind was clear. There was no better way to start the morning than this.

  My phone rang again.

  I wiped the sweat off my brow and lifted it to my ear. “Yes?”

  Jackson’s voice filled the speaker. “Easton? I’ve been calling you all morning.”

  “I saw.”

  The President of the Casanova blew out an irritated breath. “Piper’s flight gets in this evening around nine o’clock.”

  “And?”

  “And she’ll need someone to pick her up,” Jackson said. I could hear the annoyance in his tone.

  “Don’t get your panties in a bunch about it. She’ll have a ride. I can juggle the Girl and my other responsibilities at the same time.”

  “Forgive me for having my doubts.”

  “Anything else?”

  Jackson hesitated before saying, “No. Just call me if you need anything, all right? And for fuck’s sake, try to be nice to her. She’s leaving her family for a month to spend time with you for this thing.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  “I mean it,
Easton. She’s a nice girl. Call me if—”

  “I’ll talk to you on February twenty eighth when I’m done with all this shit.”

  I hung up the phone.

  I’d lost interest in this whole Casanova Club thing by the time we were a week into January. Sure, it had been fun going to the meetings and looking at pictures of beautiful women who were probably willing to do a hell of a lot of things to get into that final position. The position the Girl somehow just slipped into at the last minute.

  It was fun meeting the final candidates, too.

  But once the deal was sealed and the men had chosen her—the cheaply dressed brunette who practically screamed “I don’t fuck on the first date”—I wanted to pull my name from the hat and just get back to my normal life.

  I had side chicks I could call whenever I wanted them. And they would come. Hell, they’d be slapping on their makeup and slipping into their best set of lingerie as soon as my name lit up the screen on their phone.

  But this girl? Nah. She was different.

  And that was why I hadn’t voted for her.

  Yet, here I was, about to endure an entire month in the company of the girl who left me uninspired and, for lack of a better word, bored.

  I already knew everything I needed to know about her. Most importantly? I could do better.

  I was Easton Price, star quarterback for the Miami Dolphins. The month ahead was full of games, training, team meetings, social events, and meet and greets. I didn’t need a girl hanging off my arm, making me look bad.

  But the ball was out of my court.

  I’d gotten myself into this mess. I had to see it through. My agent had told me as much, and what he said was law. My career wouldn’t be where it was today if not for Jerry. He had the foresight to make the right calls, and last year, he said being a part of the Casanova Club would bring me good publicity. If I played it smart.

  Well, fuck playing it smart.

  This month was jam packed with commitments, and the Girl would have to deal with it.

  She’ll have the time of her life here after wasting January with the Canadian, I thought sourly as I left the gym and headed across the house to my bedroom. I stripped out of my sweats and sneakers and made for the shower. The hot water chased away the sweat and left me smelling like winter greenery and rainfall.

  I dried off and tied my towel around my waist to head to the kitchen to make some post-workout breakfast. While my eggs simmered in the pan, I called my driver, Raj. “I need you to go to the airport. The Girl’s flight gets in at eight o’clock.”

  “Yes, sir,” Raj said, his tone chipper as always. “What’s her last name? I’ll have a sign so she sees me.”

  “Can’t remember.”

  “You can’t remember her name, sir?”

  “Did I stutter?”

  Raj chuckled. He was a good-humored young guy and the only employee whose feathers never seemed to be ruffled by my attitude. “Check your emails and text me her name. This is an exciting time, no? Maybe you’ll like her.”

  I laughed. “Doubtful.”

  “Talk soon,” Raj said before hanging up, leaving me to open up my emails and sort through the messages I had gotten from Jackson over the last few days.

  Her name popped up three emails back.

  “Piper James,” I said, rolling her name around in my mouth a bit. It had a ring to it.

  Piper Price, however, did not.

  I texted her name to Raj, who sent me back a winking face emoji, which made me roll my eyes. I was surrounded by idiots.

  While I ate breakfast, I thought about what the rest of the month was going to be like.

  Was she going to expect high-end dates every other night? Did she think I was the sort of guy who would put in the effort to sweep her off her feet?

  The poor doll was going to get a rude wake up call.

  Especially after spending the last month with the sweet, polite, and perfectly poised Canadian, Joshua.

  “Pretty boy,” I said before cramming the last forkful of eggs into my mouth.

  Joshua Curtis was no threat in the race for the Girl’s heart. She was probably thrilled to be finished with her time with him. I suspected his company would be dull and that he would have dragged her to art shows and theatre productions and all other sorts of bullshit that I doubted a girl like Piper James would be interested in.

  If my suspicions were right, she’d have cheap taste to go along with her cheap clothes. I could see right through her.

  Joshua lacked the common sense to see her for what she was. I could tell back at the club that he’d been taken with her right away. Most of the guys had been.

  Morons.

  Every single other woman was a better choice than Piper. By a landslide.

  But hey, what did I know? I was only the biggest name in the whole fucking room—besides the rock star. The poser.

  Chapter 2

  Piper

  “What do you think?” my father asked, sidling up beside me as I wiped down the tables in the restaurant near the window. He held out a flyer printed on pale blue paper that read, “Rent Our Space!”. Beneath the bold lettering at the top was a more detailed description of what he was offering.

  * * *

  Need a venue for your business meetings?

  Looking for a place with great food, fast service, and affordable pricing?

  Look no further than Piper’s Paradise!

  Call now and book your event with our friendly staff.

  Our prices are competitive, and we can’t wait to see you!

  * * *

  I tried to hide my frown as I took the flyer from him and scanned the length of the page. “Um, yeah, Dad. It’s good. Have you put any of them up yet?”

  He nodded eagerly. “Your brother and I went around last night stapling them to posts and putting them up in windows.”

  “Any calls this morning?”

  “No, but we don’t expect them to come in quickly. People have forgotten we’re here. We need to go out and remind them that we are a good business that they can take advantage of. We have delicious food and great prices and—”

  “You don’t need to sell me on it, Dad. I know this place is great.” I put a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

  My flight from Montreal had landed yesterday afternoon, and even though I was thrilled to be back with my family for thirty hours, my mind was consumed with thoughts of Joshua.

  I thought of the drive from the Chateau Frontenac to the airport. Of standing there, just the two of us, neither wanting to say goodbye as the minutes slipped past. And then finally getting on the plane, where I spent the entire flight with my face in my hands crying my heart out.

  I knew I had to get out all the pain of leaving him behind before I saw my family.

  They still thought I was studying abroad. If I came back in tears talking about a man I’d fallen in love with over the course of thirty days, they would think I was insane, and I wouldn’t be able to keep the Casanova Club a secret any longer. They would find out what I was really trying to do.

  Win the million dollars for their sake.

  The restaurant was even worse off now than it had been when I left at the beginning of January to join Joshua in Canada. My parents and my brother Phillip were putting on a good show while I was home, trying to show me that everything had been running smoothly in my absence, but I could see right past their thin facades.

  When I offered to stand in and cover the opening shift for Phillip, he’d hugged me out of relief. He wasn’t a morning person, and he’d been up early every morning to cover the shifts I normally worked. There were purple bags under his eyes, and his shoulders were even more slumped forward than I remembered them being.

  He was running on empty.

  Mom and Dad were the same. Mom had more wrinkles than I remembered. Dad’s complexion was redder, especially around his nose. His hands were banged up from doing maintenance work around the restaurant. He’d added new baseboards, a
fresh coat of white paint on the ceiling, and new shutters on the windows outside. I had no idea where the money came from for the mini facelift, and I didn’t ask.

  My father would tell me not to worry myself about it if I did.

  Not a single person had set foot in the restaurant since we opened at eight o’clock. All the early-morning baking my mother had done sat under glass covers at the front counter, and the brewed coffee sat in its pot to slowly get cold over the course of the early afternoon.

  Mom and Dad said nothing about the lack of customers. Instead, they puttered around like everything was just fine, and nobody said anything about the business or about me being gone for school when they needed me. It was like this giant elephant in the room that nobody was willing to address.

  And it was awkward as hell.

  So, I’d been escaping the tension by thinking about him. Joshua. Every ounce of my being wanted to slip away and hide in the bathroom so I could call him. Just five minutes. That was all I needed.