Prodigal Son (Jensen Family #1)
Read Prodigal Son (Jensen Family #1) Online
Authors: Michelle Day
Prodigal Son
Book One of the Jensen Family Series
By Michelle Day
Text copyright © 2012
Michelle Y Day
All Rights Reserved
To Yana and Stephen.
My life, my heart, my inspiration.
Cover courtesy of: Fiona Hillman
With thanks to:
Yana, proofreading and editing Queen.
Fiona, who loves my characters as much as I do.
Rosie, Tyler, Mark, Mat,
Dave
,Yana
and Fiona for reading, suggesting and
encouraging me.
Prologue
I am told that it is often the middle child that is the one
who creates the problems in a family. This isn’t the case in my family. My name
is PAUL JENSEN and although I have a twin, I am the last fruit of my mothers’
loins so to speak and therefore, the youngest
which
is
exactly how my family view me.
You see, I am the proverbial black sheep; I don’t seem to be
able to put a foot right at least as far as my father is concerned. I share an
acrimonious relationship with him and that is putting it mildly, it seems these
days all I have to do is sneeze to have him lashing out, it’s not all down to
him however, I will admit that I do like to push his buttons and make him
react, something I would never have attempted as a child but now, as I am
growing in stature as well as confidence, I take a deep pleasure in it.
MICHAEL JENSEN, my father, developed his acerbic attitude
towards me from the moment I was born. The reason for this being that all
Jensen’s, without exception are blue eyed blonds, he didn’t take into account
that when he married my Spanish mother MONICA, there was a chance that at least
one of his offspring would take after her, I am said offspring.
Not to float my own boat you understand and I am simply
stating facts, I am superb, I’m the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. My
mother adores me which
is
just as well given my
fathers’ attitude. I adore women, they adore me and I fully intend to sample as
many of them as I possibly can before I get caught up in that thing called love
although at this point in my life I’m not sure if that woman would be the
luckiest one in the world or the most unfortunate as fidelity isn’t high on my
list of priorities.
My relationship with my father isn’t helped by the fact that
we are a fairly prominent and wealthy family and my actions appear to have
caught the attention of the paparazzi. I am a self confessed media whore, what
can I say? It’s good for business. The fact that it winds the old man up to
epic proportions is just an added bonus.
This is the first part of my story, my early life, my
trials, tribulations, loves, of which there are many and losses, thankfully
only a few and an almighty scandal that would rock not only my world but all
those involved.
Tab
le of Contents
:
MICHAEL JENSEN knows from the second MONICA PALOMA
challenges him at the summer ball that he has to have her. Tall, handsome blond
haired and blue eyed only child and heir to the Jensen fortune, he is used to
getting what he wants by any means possible and is as shocked when she resists
his usual tried and tested methods as he is to his actual attraction to her. He
tended to be attracted to stick thin blond haired, blue eyed girls with the
intent of keeping the Jensen gene pool alive and kicking when the time came to
breed. Monica’s dark eyes, hair and curvaceous figure captured his imagination
and wetted his appetite. His sights set firmly on her; he wouldn’t stop until
she wore his wedding ring and took his last name.
Of Spanish decent, Monica lives at home with her parents and
older brother. Strong willed but kind and loving, she detests the way her
classmate Michael Jensen treats women as if they were mere playthings put on
this earth solely for his amusement and is appalled that she finds herself
attracted to him, even more startling had been the glint in his eyes when she
stood up to him, looked him squarely in the eyes whilst putting him firmly in
his place. While his efforts to capture her attention after the ball amused
her, she steeled herself against the thoughtful gifts that arrived on her
doorstep with regularity, if he wanted her as much as he professed, he’d damn
well have to work harder to get her.
By the end of the following summer, the unlikely pair are
married and expecting their first child. TESSA JENSEN is born, the apple of her
father’s eye if only for the fact that her appearance made her every bit a
Jensen. Michael proved himself an attentive husband and father, surprising both
his parents and hers with his loving manner towards his wife and daughter.
Two and a half years on after a difficult pregnancy which
put her on bed rest, Monica gave birth to twin boys MATTHEW and PAUL. Both boys
were healthy, taking characteristics and colouring from each parent. Although
Michael was in raptures that he now had sons and professed his love for his
wife and the beautiful, blond haired baby that was Matthew, his joy soon turned
sour when he turned his attention to the younger of the twins.
Having taken on his mothers’ colouring of olive skin and
dark hair, Paul was nothing like the son Michael had expected his wife to
produce, his dislike for the darker baby only heightened by the fact that he
would squall each and every time Michael approached his crib. It was only a
matter of hours after the birth that Michael announced his rejection of the
child based solely on the fact that he wasn’t a true Jensen due to his
colouring. After only four years of marriage, where his children were concerned
Michael returned to being the stubborn, hard headed man he had been at school
and Monica knew she had a battle on her hands.
She didn’t count on the battle being a lifelong thing for as
Paul grew he began to exhibit her own stubborn nature and would challenge his
father at every available instance leading to violent clashes between the pair.
Monica guided her children through their childhood and was
proud of them as they progressed into adulthood. All three showed kind and
thoughtful tendencies and although Tessa had given her relatively few problems,
her sons Matthew and Paul more than made up for it. Her sons were stunning in
appearance and used their looks to their full advantage with Matthew being the
more subtle of the two, she only every got to hear of Paul’s exploits which
would put him directly in the firing line of his father’s temper.
Not one to back down and severely lacking the skills to
bring his better judgement into play, Paul used the legendary Jensen temper to
full advantage against the man he considered his sperm donor and would proceed
to do things that put him firmly in the public’s eye. His affair with his
teacher and the subsequent pregnancy was the straw that broke the
camels
back in forcing Monica to step back from her
position of keeping the peace between father and son. As much as she loved him,
where the teacher and pregnancy were concerned, Paul was on his own.
Prodigal Son
One
“I now pronounce you Man and
Wife”, the Vicar closed his Bible and smiled at the two young people before
him.
Two families cheered as the
Groom took a step towards his Bride and kissed her. Charles Jensen was
especially proud of his only son Michael, he had chosen well from the previous
year’s crop of society debutants. Monica Paloma, his new daughter in law, was
beautiful with her dark hair, huge brown eyes and olive skin; she complemented
his son’s blonde hair and blue eyes perfectly.
The wedding had made society
news. Charles Jensen was well known in London’s financial circle as account and
financial advisor to the rich and famous, his son Michael was being groomed to
take over the company within the next two years as Charles planned to retire
early along with his wife Penelope who had been his loving and faithful
companion for the past twenty five years.
Jackson Paloma and his wife
Paula had moved to England from Spain with their baby son Juan (who re-named
himself John) many years before their lovely daughter
was
born. Jackson had a talent for making one of a kind ladies shoes and had begged
and borrowed enough money to start his own business, with Paula working by his
side and attending night school in order to better her English and subsequently
his, they had hit the jackpot when one of the mother’s at John’s school had
noticed Paula’s unique pumps, commissions followed and their success grew as
the mother’s discussed their quaint little shoe maker at coffee mornings and
bridge games.
So, two, rich, successful
families were joined by the marriage of their children and while the Jensen
family were more than satisfied with their child’s choice, the Paloma family
had reservations.
“Are you sure Monica?” Paula
had asked at the fitting of her daughter’s wedding dress
“Of course I’m sure.” Monica
had replied, “I love him, he loves me, and there is nothing to be unsure about.
Why do you hate him so much?”
“I wouldn’t say I hate him
exactly, it’s just that he seems so cold Monica, he keeps you at
arms
length and that temper.” Paula shrugged.
“He is uneasy around you and
Dad that’s all; he is very sweet to me when we are alone.” Monica reassured her
mother for what seemed like the hundredth time, “I do admit that he has a
temper though, but really Mum,
its
nothing I can’t
handle and so far it hasn’t been directed at me.”
“But sweetheart, you are so
bright,
you could achieve so much before you settle into a
marriage with a man who has already made it more than clear that he expects his
wife to remain at home.”
“I want to stay at home, be a
homemaker, have children, if I do all that when I’m young, I can still pursue
any interests I develop after the children have grown.”
“I’m not going to be able to
talk you out of this am I?”
Monica shook her head “He’s a
good man, he will take care of me and more than anything, I want to be with
him.”
Michael guided his bride down
the aisle and out of the church, holding her hand tightly and grinning broadly,
he had just married the girl who had made it impossibly hard for him to date
her, she frustrated the hell out of him with her sly grin and the reply of
“Maybe” when he asked her to date him.
Her dark looks hadn’t
immediately attracted him, he preferred skinny blondes who had air in their
heads and who would let him go further than just kissing on the promise of a
second date.
Monica had told him to get
over himself when she had walked past him loudly bragging to a bunch of airhead
blondes of his achievements at college and his first successful client win at
work, he had been furious that a woman had dared to speak to him in such a
tone, he had spun away from the blondes and grabbed her arm, turning her
towards him.