A Gentleman's Affair
Read A Gentleman's Affair Online
Authors: Aj Linn
A Gentleman’s Affair
Copyright
© 2013 A.J. Linn
Published by A.J. Linn at Smashwords
All rights reserved. No parts of this
publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system,
without permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents are the products of the author's imagination
or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events,
locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-0-9893767-0-9
E-ISBN: 978-0-9893767-2-3
Cover art design by Jameson Hand.
Dedication
To my Twitter ladies. This is a group of the
most incredible virtual friends that anyone could ever ask for. If
I could name each and every one of them by name, I would, but they
know who they are. They have been patient, sort of, during my time
away while I wrote this, have been supportive beyond my wildest
imagination and have taken @DonovanHart_ in on Twitter like an old
friend.
Ladies, you all know that this book is for
you. I wrote it for you, and I hope that it was worth the wait.
To my family and friends, who have probably
asked themselves endless times when it was that I woke up and
decided to become an author. Those who know me best knew that it
has always been in me. Thank you for helping me realize that when I
still was unsure, and thank you for your support.
Much love.
Enjoy.
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, to my good friend
SaraBeth Pollock, who is responsible for my becoming the
“accidental author” that I am today and urging me to write this
novel. To those of you who disliked it, please contact her
directly. She made me do it. {winks} Thank you S.D., my muse.
To Elizabeth Alfano and Ellen “Scarlett”
Hartgrove, two incredible ladies who have dealt with rewrites and
edits galore. Without their undying dedication to my work, typos,
endless ellipses and bad punctuation would have taken over these
pages. I am forever grateful to the both of you. Thank you.
Table of Contents
Chapter Seven: The Wedding, part one
Chapter Eight: The Wedding, part two
Chapter Nine: The Wedding, part three
Chapter Ten: The Morning after
Chapter Eleven: Swatches, fabrics and paint, oh
shit
Chapter Twelve: Out with the old
Chapter Thirteen: Long distance dating
sucks
Chapter Fourteen: Rules are made to be
broken
Chapter Sixteen: How do you like your
eggs?
Chapter Seventeen: Floored, in more ways than
one
Chapter Eighteen: And the hits just keep on
coming
Chapter Twenty-one: Ain’t love
grand?
Chapter Twenty-two: All work and no
play?
Chapter Twenty-three: Il mi per
sempre
Prologue
~Meet Donovan~
Dating, relationships, love…where the hell
do I start?
So many things come to mind. First, there is
that incredible feeling in the beginning that we all get. You know
just what I’m talking about. Think hard—you may remember it. That
unforgettable first kiss. The phone calls that go into the wee
hours of the morning, talking about anything, everything and
nothing. The non-stop sex on every single surface of your
apartment.
Then comes the heartache. The ups, the
downs, the game playing…oh, don’t we all love the game playing? So
much in fact, that most of us are on the verge of joining a
monastery or a convent…or just plain ready to give up and remain
celibate forever.
But, we don’t. We crave companionship and
affection. And, admit it, we all need sex. We want to connect with
that one special person. Fuck, at least I know that I do.
So, we keep on trying…
But before I get too far ahead of myself,
I’d like to first give you the opportunity to get to know a little
bit about me and why I’ve decided to share my story.
My name is Donovan Hart. Eligible bachelor,
newly-reformed playboy and owner of La Fuga, a five-star hotel on
the beach located in Malibu, California. The hotel belonged to my
parents, and after my mother was killed in a car accident seven
years ago, Dad checked out, handed me the keys, and I’ve made it
the success that it is today.
I’ve dated all sorts of
women, but for some reason I still can’t seem to
find
the
one
.
To be honest, I’ve only
really started my search for "
the
one"
i
n the last
year or so. Before that, I could and did have any woman that I
wanted. I was that
catch
that every girl wanted, yet no one could tie me down. I was a
playboy, and I liked it. My nights were filled with debauchery, and
I made no apologies for it.
But eventually, the women all became the
same. I grew extremely bored with the fact that I could sleep with
a different one every night.
I’m a 32-year-old with a dating
disorder.
Which has led me here…
You will get the opportunity to come
along on a few of these dates with me. To share in my journey, if
you will… as I travel down the long and insane road in search of
the perfect girl.
There is no such
thing you say? I know, I know. But I believe that there is a
perfect girl out there somewhere…at least she will be perfect
for
me
.
Chapter One
~Louisa~
All work and no play is making Donovan a
dull and horny boy. I have taken a vow of celibacy…hold on, let me
rephrase. I have decided to quit sleeping around until I find a
girlfriend. I was in one long-term relationship with my former
assistant, Danielle, for about nine months, but that ended two
years ago. That was long-term, in my world at least. Before her and
after her there were too many women to count. One night stands
mostly. Sure, there were maybe two weeks with a couple, a long
weekend usually spent in bed with a few others. But no one woman
has ever been able to fulfill what I want or need in every way.
Yet.
Most of these girls were very good in
bed…very bad out of it. I want it all, I suppose. The whole
package. The mother of my children. The love that my parents shared
during their marriage. I have gone from playboy to romantic seeker
of love. Who knew that it could happen to me?
But my days and now, even my nights, have
been consumed with work where sex used to be. I am growing tired of
it, and I know that I need to do something about it. And fast…
I decide to take a break from the extremely
high pressure job of running my luxury five-star hotel La Fuga, to
get out for some fresh air and a good cup of coffee. The upcoming
month is going to be a non-stop roller coaster. There is the long
awaited ground-breaking for my new hotel, Pisa, in Las Vegas and
the redecorating of my hotel here in Malibu. And finally, one of my
employees, Lily, is getting married at the end of the month.
I walk across the street to my favorite
diner, Joe’s, a popular spot here in Malibu. Bad food, great
coffee. I walk in the door and Molly, a waitress who has always had
a huge crush on me, already has my coffee waiting for me at my
favorite booth as always. I think that she spends all day staring
out of the window just waiting for me to cross the street and
come in here.
Molly is extremely attractive. Long blond
hair, big green eyes and dark tanned skin…the ultimate beach girl.
She works here at the diner while she attends school to be a
veterinarian. But she’s much too young for me. I tend to steer
clear of the young ones. I like my women already raised, with some
sense of what they want and where they are going in life.
I take out my iPad and check a few emails
while I enjoy my moment of peace and quiet. This is the only time
of the day that I get to do this. The hotel always has something
going on…always some sort of fire to put out.
I reply to an email sent by one of the
investors in my new venture, Pisa, regarding the ground-breaking
ceremony. Pisa will be an exact replica of that wonderful leaning
tower, located in Northern Italy. We’re extremely excited about it.
I think that it’ll do very well there.
I search the café for Molly, in dire need of
a refill, when my eye catches a dark-haired beauty across the room
staring me down. I smile at her then quickly look away, aware that
she is still burning a hole through me with her stare-down.
Naturally, Molly is watching the entire
exchange as she makes her way towards me, eager to get the 411 and
give me that much needed refill.
“What’s that all about, Donovan?” There it
is. The gum-cracking, gossip-loving, nosy-yet-adorable Molly that
we all know and love.
“You tell me,” I laugh before taking a sip
of coffee. “Have you seen her in here before?” I probably shouldn’t
even show interest around Molly, knowing that she wants to get me
naked, but she does know everything that goes on around here…and
everywhere else for that matter.
“No, she’s new around here, babe.” I
nod, turning my attention back to the beautiful creature that is
still staring a hole through me.
"Hmm, is that so?" New means that my
reputation won’t be preceding me for a change. That can
be a good thing, and a bad one as well. Reformed
playboy. Remember?
Well…here goes nothing.
Coffee in hand, I saunter arrogantly across
the diner to make an introduction. The mysterious and
extremely sexy brunette is watching every single move that I make.
It’s a little off-putting, but hey, I’m a good-looking guy so I’m
used to it.
“I saw you looking at me from across the
room and thought that I’d come over and say hello.” That was
brilliant…idiot. “May I join you?” She smiles and her entire face
lights up. Good sign.
“Yeah, totally,” she says, her eyes
following me as I slide into the booth. I can’t help but find that
flattering…but also a little unnerving.
“I haven’t seen you in here before. Are you
new to the area?” I take a sip of coffee as I listen to her reply.
But really I’m checking her out. Great figure, pretty eyes…full
lips. Very nice.
“Yeah, I just moved here from Palm Springs.”
She smiles and continues. “I’m still looking for a job, and
I’m staying with a friend just up the street until I find my own
apartment.”
“Palm Springs…I see. It’s much too hot there
for me.” I shoot her a wink accompanied by my devilishly handsome
grin. “How long have you been here?” And before she can answer, my
assistant, Patrice, sends a text explaining that there’s a problem
at the hotel and that I’m needed back ASAP. Fuck, I hate when she
does that. It’s never usually a big emergency, but…she is nothing
if not thorough.
“My apologies…work calls.” I stand, reaching
into my coat pocket for a business card and hand it to her. “That’s
me, Donovan Hart.” I quickly ask her what her name is as my cell
goes off for a second time.
“It’s Louisa.” She smiles then looks over my
card.
“This may seem forward, but I’d like to
continue this over dinner. Tonight, if you’re free?”
Her eyes light up as she quickly responds
with a yes.
“Great. Call me with your address, and I’ll
see you tonight.”
She smiles up at me and says alright, then
watches as I cross the room, walking towards the door. I know that
because I can see her reflection in the large window at the front
of the café. She is definitely checking out my ass. I can’t help
but laugh as I push the door open and leave the café.
I get back to the hotel and find my
assistant standing at the front desk, frantic. “Patrice, what’s
going on?”
She explains that there was a small kitchen
fire but that it was quickly put out with the extinguisher by the
head chef, Lily.
“Alright, let me go assess the damage, and
thank you for alerting me so quickly.” Christ…like I said, there’s
always a fire to put out around here.