Collin
(A Forever Novel)
Sandi Lynn
Collin (A Forever Novel)
Copyright © 2014 Sandi Lynn
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used factitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design by Cover It Designs
Photography by Scott Hoover Photography
Model: Adam Nicklas
Editing by B.Z. Hercules
Other books published by Sandi Lynn
The Forever Trilogy:
Forever Black
Forever You Forever Us
Being Julia
Millionaire’s Love Series:
Lie Next To Me
When I Lie With You
Love Series:
Love In Between
The Upside of Love (Releasing Fall 2014)
Remember Series:
Remembering You
Reclaiming Us (Releasing late 2014)
Dedication
To each and every one of my FOREVER fans! May you fall in love with Collin just as much as you did with his daddy!
Table of 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
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
About The Author
Playlist
Chapter 1
I looked at the time on my phone while I was stuck in the famous New York City traffic. My mom was going to kill me if I was late for dinner again. I was expected to be at home for dinner two nights a week. The two nights that Julia and Jake came over, we’d all have dinner as a family. I should’ve left Black Enterprises earlier, but I had an unexpected visitor and she was smoking hot. One thing led to another, we had sex, and now I was going to be late. I parked the Range Rover and took the elevator up to the penthouse. As I walked through the elevator doors, I headed straight to the kitchen, where I heard everyone talking. Thank God, they hadn’t started eating yet.
“There you are,” my mom said as she walked over and kissed me on the cheek.
Something was going on. Everyone was way too happy. Julia smiled as I kissed her on the cheek and I shook Jake’s hand.
“What’s up? I’m sensing there’s a celebration or something.”
Julia looked at me and grabbed my hand. “I’m pregnant. You’re going to be an uncle.” She smiled.
“What?! Congratulations!” I exclaimed as I pulled her into an embrace.
“Thank you, little brother.”
I reached over and gave Jake a light hug. “Congratulations, bro. Wow. I thought you guys were going to wait a couple of years?”
“Yeah. So did we. But it happened, and we couldn’t be happier.” Jake smiled.
I turned to my dad, who was grinning from ear to ear. “Well, looks like you’re going to be a grandpa.” I smiled as I hooked my arm around him.
“Yeah, and I think one grandchild is enough for now. You reek like perfume and I’m assuming she was the reason you’re late.”
“I was working, Dad. I got the contracts ready for tomorrow’s meeting.”
“Really, because when I left the office three hours ago, you were almost finished.” He sighed.
I walked away because I didn’t need his shit. He didn’t understand what I was going through and I was in no mood for a Connor Black lecture. My mom and Julia called us to the table and we all sat down and enjoyed a family dinner. I was happy for Julia and Jake; they were going to make amazing parents. She was glowing, Jake was all smiles, my parents were ecstatic, and I was happy that now there was something other than me on which Connor and Ellery could focus.
I hadn’t been the model son since Hailey left. I wanted it to work, but she said that with her being in Italy, and me in New York, it wouldn’t. She left to study fashion when she was accepted by one of the top schools of design and was interning with a well-known, up-and-coming designer. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her and the thing that hurt me the most was that she wasn’t even willing to try and have a long distance relationship. She left without even so much as a sorry. My twenty-second birthday was the next week and we had been seeing each other for almost six years. How do you just throw the past six years of your life away? I thought we had something, and I thought that I meant something to her. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. Well, those days were gone now. I’d never let another woman do that to me. Since she left, I’d partied too much, drunk too much, had sex with every woman that looked my way, and I’d been labeled New York’s Most Eligible Playboy. Much like my dad, women fell all over me. My mom called it the Black Curse. I’d decided that many women were better than just one. No relationships, no strings, no frills, nothing. Just good sex and a sweet goodbye. When one woman left, another stepped into her place.
“Are you okay, Collin?” my mom asked.
I looked at her as she stared at me with her blue eyes. “Yes, I’m fine. Why?”
“You seem distant. Your sister asked you a question and you didn’t answer her.”
The truth was that I was lost in my thoughts about Hailey that I didn’t hear her. “I’m sorry, Julia. What did you say?”
She looked at me with pursed lips. “We’ll talk later, after dinner.”
“Okay.” I smiled as I finished eating.
****
As I pulled my phone from my pocket, I went upstairs to my room and sat down on my bed. Julia knocked lightly on the door and asked if she could come in.
“Hey.” I smiled as I held out my hand to her.
She took it and sat down next to me. “I’m worried about you, Collin.”
“Don’t be, sis. I’m all right.” I smiled.
“It’s been a couple of months since Hailey left. Have you talked to her?”
“No. She made it clear that it would probably be best if we didn’t because it would make things harder. What the fuck ever. I’m over her, and I’m moving on.”
Julia put her arm around me. “I don’t think you’re over her and there’s no way you can be. It hasn’t been long enough, and I know damn well that when you’ve been in a relationship as long as the two of you were, it’s just not that easy to get over.”
“Yeah, well, you’re wrong. I’ve wasted the last six years of my life on a bullshit relationship. I won’t ever do that again. I’m exploring, going out, and having fun. I’m doing what I should’ve been doing the past six years instead of being tied down to one girl.”
“I know you don’t mean that, Collin.”
The truth was maybe I did mean it. I was still angry at her fo
r leaving our relationship behind. I looked at my watch and saw it was time to hit the bar with Aiden. I gave Julia a kiss on the cheek and got up from the bed.
“Listen, I have to go now. I’m meeting Aiden in about thirty minutes. Congratulations again. You and Jake are going to make really great parents.”
“Thanks, Collin, and stay out of trouble,” she said as she pointed at me.
“That I can’t promise.” I winked as I walked out the door.
I walked into the bathroom and brushed my teeth before walking out of the penthouse. I dabbed on some more cologne and, as I walked downstairs, my mom stopped me.
“Collin, where are you going?” she asked.
“Out with Aiden.”
“Do you think you can stay home at least one night? We hardly see you anymore.” She pouted.
“Mom, come on. I’m almost twenty-two. The last thing I want to do is hang with my parents when I can go out with my friends. Plus, Dad sees me every day, all day long at the office.”
“Yeah, well I don’t, and I miss my son.”
“I love you, Mom,” I said as I kissed her on the cheek and stepped onto the elevator.
I felt bad. I loved my mom so much, and I hated when she made me feel guilty, but fun was to be had and that was exactly what I was going to do; no matter what she said.
****
I took a cab to Club S because I knew that I’d be drinking and wouldn’t be able to drive. My dad was in the process of hiring a new driver. Denny had retired; my dad forced him into it because he had some health issues and it was becoming too much for him. My dad seemed to be taking his time with hiring the new driver, and I believed that it was because he couldn’t see anyone else driving him or us around besides Denny.
Aiden was standing outside Club S, waiting for me, when the cab pulled up to the curb. I got out, we high-fived, and walked inside. The music was blaring and the floor was thumping. It was more crowded than usual tonight and the girls were gorgeous. I was getting hard just looking at them. I walked up to the bar and ordered my usual scotch, and Aiden ordered his whiskey. This club had become our usual hangout over the past couple of months. The girls were smoking hot and they sure knew how to have a good time. I think if my parents knew that I hung out there, they’d be pissed. We sat at the table and kicked back our drinks. This pretty girl kept eyeing me from the bar. When I gave her a wink and a smile, she strutted over to our table and sat down next to me.
“You’re really cute.” She smiled.
“Thanks, babe. You’re pretty cute yourself.”
“Can I buy you a drink?” she asked.
“No. But I can buy you one.”
I raised my hand and signaled for Amber, our waitress, to bring us a couple of shots each. As soon as she set them in front of us, we brought our shot glasses together and then slammed them as fast as we could. After we slammed both shots, she grabbed my hand and led me to the dance floor. As I grabbed her waist, she moved her hot ass up and down my body, causing me to become instantly hard. Her dress was really short, which allowed my hands easy access to cup her bare ass. She welcomed it and threw her head back when I squeezed it. When the song changed, I led her back to the bar for some more shots, and when we approached the table, Aiden already had some hot girl sitting on his lap. The four of us drank more than we should’ve and, before I knew it, we were outside the club and I had my girl’s back pressed up against the side of the building.
“Let’s go back to your place.” She smiled as she nipped my bottom lip.
I turned around and hailed us a cab that took the both of us back to the penthouse.
“We have to be really quiet. My parents are sleeping,” I whispered as I carefully shut the front door.
She laughed as I picked her up and tried to carry her up the stairs. Needless to say, I stumbled and we both fell. We started to laugh, and I put my hand over her mouth as we got up and went to my bedroom, closing the door softly behind us.
****
“Collin, get down here, NOW!” my dad yelled up the stairs.
I rolled my eyes and went down to his office. “What?”
“You know what, Collin.”
I sighed as I crossed my arms. I knew what this was about. It was about the hot brunette I brought home last night. “Dad, calm down. She’s a nice girl.” I smiled.
“Really? What the hell is her name?”
Shit, he put me on the spot. If I remembered correctly, I didn’t catch her name, but if I told my dad that, he’d flip, so I gave her a name. “Her name is Darcy.”
“Bullshit! Her name is Renee. Ask me how I know, Collin. Go ahead and ask me,” he yelled.
“How do you know her name is Renee, Dad?”
“Because she introduced herself to me this morning when I was walking down the hall and she came out of your room, naked! Your mom is in the kitchen, ready to kill you. You’ve been out of control since Hailey left and this stops today. Do you understand me? Now get your ass in the kitchen and apologize to your mom, and maybe, just maybe, when I walk back in there, you’ll be alive.”
My head was already killing me from last night’s alcohol binge and my dad’s yelling made it worse. Now, I had to go and face my mom. The last thing I wanted to do was disappoint her, but lately, that was all I seemed to do. I walked out of the office and straight into the kitchen, where my mom was sitting at the table.
“Sit down, now!” she said with anger in her eyes.
“Mom, I’m—”
“Don’t. Don’t you dare say a word until I’m finished saying what I have to say.”
She pointed her finger at me. Something I didn’t ever remember her doing. She was pissed and she kind of scared me.
“I know you’re hurting, Collin. I know how hard it’s been on you since Hailey left, but you are way out of control. You go out every night. You come in during the wee hours of the morning, and you reek of alcohol. I don’t appreciate naked girls coming out of your bedroom in the morning. It’s rude, disrespectful, and I won’t have it in my house. What the hell were you thinking?”
As I looked into her angry, but sad eyes, I hated myself for making her so mad. “Mom, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking, and it’ll never happen again.”
“You’re right; it won’t happen again. Connor, get in here,” she yelled from the kitchen.
My dad walked in and looked at me. “Still alive, I see.”
I rolled my eyes and my head felt like it was going to explode. My mom got up from her chair and started getting the stuff out for the hangover cocktail she always made. God, I hated that shit.
“Connor, don’t you have something to tell Collin?” she said.
My dad looked at me as he sat down in the chair. “I’ve decided that you’re attending the meeting at the office this morning and then, after that, I have some things I need you to take care of.”
“No way, Dad. Today’s my day off.”
There was no way I wanted to sit in that meeting with a hangover. I didn’t get much sleep last night, and all I wanted to do was go back to bed.
“I’ve changed your day off and today isn’t it,” he said as he got up from the chair.
My mom walked over to me and handed me a glass with the cocktail in it. “Here, my darling son, drink up because you’re going to need to feel a hundred percent before you go into the office.” She smiled.
My dad sipped his coffee and, as he walked out of the kitchen, he turned around, looked at me, and then looked at his watch. “You have about fifteen minutes to get ready. I’ll be waiting by the elevator. You better not be a minute late.”
Chapter 2
“Good morning, Collin,” Valerie said as I walked to my dad’s office.
“Good morning, Valerie. How many more days until retirement?”
“Ten more days and then I’ll be on my way to Arizona.” She smiled.
“Good for you.” I winked.
I opened the door. Sitting across from my dad’s desk was a very sexy woman d
ressed in all black. When she turned around and looked at me, all I could picture was her bent over the desk and me taking her from behind.
“Collin, I’m in an interview.”
“Sorry, Dad, but I need you to review these when you’re finished.”
I sat down in the chair next to her and held out my hand. “Hello, I’m Collin Black, and you are?”
She smiled at me as she lightly shook my hand. “Hello, I’m Briana.”
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Briana,” I said as I kissed her hand.
My dad rolled his eyes and got up from his desk. “Okay, Collin, thank you for dropping these off. Now go back to your office and do some work.”
I gave Briana a wink as I left and shut the door. She was hot and I could tell by the way she looked at me that she wanted me. Valerie shook her head at me as I walked by her desk.
“What?” I asked.
“The apple sure doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
I strutted down the hall as I made my way to Julia’s office. When I opened the door, she wasn’t in there. I heard noises coming from her bathroom. As I walked over to the door, I knocked softly.
“Julia, are you okay?”
I heard the toilet flush and she came walking out, wiping her mouth with a tissue. “Morning sickness.” She sighed.
“Oh. That sucks.”
I sat down across from her desk as she opened her drawer and took out a mint. “What are you doing here? Isn’t today your day off?”
“It was supposed to be, but Dad changed it after last night’s events.”
“What happened now?” she asked.
“I brought a girl home and she came out of my room this morning and ran into Dad in the hallway. Did I mention she was naked?”
“Collin! What the hell?”
“I know. Spare me the talk because I already got it from both Mom and Dad, and I’m in no mood. I’m hung over and I’m tired. I don’t understand why I have to be punished for having a good time.”
“Maybe because your good times always end up disastrous.” She smiled. “I would’ve loved to have been a fly on the wall this morning.”
“Meh, whatever. I’m over it. I just want to get this day over with. Anyway, do you have the new plans for the gym?”