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Jaylee's World
Category:
Romance
Publisher: Jaylee Austin
ISBN-10: 1732046018
Type: Fiction
Pages: 212
Copyright: April 14, 2018
ISBN-13: 9781732046016
Price: $3.99 (eBook)
Adele's integrity and passion makes her one man's dream. Will she trade the lights of Broadway for the love of her heart?
Not your typical normal family…
Adele Blackwood grew up in the upscale community of Belmont Shores, California to your conventional wealthy family. Rebellious in nature, Adele left for the glittering lights of the stage in search of her own identity.
Clayton Elliot, a successful lobbyist in Washington DC hadn’t stepped foot in Orange County since the day Adele Blackwood broke his heart. He wouldn’t be here now except his sister needed a bone marrow transplant.
Adele and Clayton gravitate to each other and agree to a summer fling with no complications. What happens when one of them changes the rules? Will they find true love or will hearts be broken?
Excerpt
Belmont Shores—an ideal exclusive neighborhood of Long Beach. Paradise for most, but not to Adele Blackwood.
Returning home to California meant criticism. Her mother’s irritating tone echoed in her ear. “Isn’t it time you grow up and be a meaningful member of society?” Like she wasn’t. In her mother’s eyes, entertainers rated just above food servers.
The irony of coming home to be with her best friend wasn’t lost on her. Not once had she considered coming home for her family. News of her friend’s cancer shook her to the very fiber of her soul. She’d packed a suitcase and left right after closing night. She gazed at the brown rolling hills of San Bernardino County. In half an hour, she’d be home. She hadn’t spent more than a holiday there in the last seven years and now she planned to stay for the summer. Her hands clutched the steering wheel as she envisioned the weeks ahead.
She pulled off the freeway at Seventh Street. Her alma mater, Long Beach State, was on her right. Seeing the Walter Blue Pyramid Arena, her heartbeat increased as she remembered Peggy's love of sports. "Go forty-niner's," she hollered out the window.
Pulling into her parent’s estate, she took a deep breath, sucked in her stomach, lowered her shoulders and pasted on an I’m-so-glad-to-see-you-smile. Showtime! Adele laughed at the strange feeling of anticipation, even though she’d fretted for days at the idea of spending eight weeks with her mother. She’d returned home for Peggy, her best friend.
Adele wiped at her eyes brimming with tears. She still reeled from the shock of learning Peggy had leukemia. She’d promised Peggy she’d help with Patrick, her five-year old godson until Clayton, Peggy’s brother arrived from Washington DC.
Seven years had passed since college. Clayton went to Georgetown University, she to the stage. She hadn’t spoken with Clayton after refusing to follow him to DC. She’d been determined to make a life in New York. That hadn’t turned out well. Instead, she joined an Off-Broadway troupe and went to Arizona.
Adele expelled her breath, releasing the chokehold gripping her throat. She’d never regretted her decision. The stage offered acceptance, understanding, and liberation—something not found in Belmont Shores.
She pulled into the circular drive and honked the horn. The garage door opened and her father, in a bright Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts, walked toward the car and opened her door. She popped the trunk. He appeared spry and healthy despite his heart attack last spring. Climbing out of the car, Adele wrapped her arms around his neck staring into the gentlest blue eyes. “You look great.”
“Playing golf.”
She gave him a beaming smile. “Now that you’ve sold your law firm, you must relax and enjoy life.”
He snorted. “Your mother’s more of a slave driver than any of my clients.”
Adele glanced around the yard, surprised not to see her mother charging out the door. “Where’s mom?”
“Who knows? She’ll be home soon. We have reservations at the Carriage house for dinner.”
“Who else is coming?” Adele squinted her eyes giving her father that do-I-have-to-go-look.
He pulled the suitcases from the trunk. “Just a few of your friends to welcome you home.”
She followed him to her childhood bedroom still decorated with Flashdance and Fame posters. On her desk sat a picture of Peggy, Clayton, and herself at Long Beach Aquarium. She picked up the picture, remembering the good times they shared in college. The three were inseparable. The three musketeers they called each other.
Her dad saw the direction of her gaze. “I’m sorry about Peggy.”
“She can’t die,” her voice choked trying to hold back the tears.
He reached for her. “It’s not easy.”
She stood rigid wanting to chase away the boogey man and pretend it was a figment of her imagination.
“She’s too young. And there’s Patrick.”
“I helped her get her legal papers in order. She’s a brave woman.”
“I’m sure mother lectured her on how to eat, to get enough rest, to handle Patrick.” Throughout her teenage years, her mother had ruffled her dark side, bringing out the rebellious part of Adele’s nature.
Her father took a step toward her. “Let’s try to make the summer pleasant. Give your mom some slack. If not for yourself, do it for me.”
The pleading look in his soulful eyes tore at her heart. “Sorry, dad, but she drives me bonkers.”
“You’re just like her: oil and vinegar.”
“I am not.” Adele returned the picture to the desk. Her father left the room chuckling under his breath.
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