Theodore: BWWM Romance (Members From Money Book 25) Read online

  Theodore

  She's drowning in debt. Will this arrangement change more than just her financial situation?

  A sexy marriage of convenience romance by Cher Etan of BWWM Club. Features another free bonus book.

  Ebboni Lancaster is pretty certain she’ll spend the rest of her life swimming in debt.

  When billionaire Theodore Amberville provides her with a solution, it seems like a fairy tale come true:

  Marry him and give him an heir and he would pay off all her debts!

  Despite her attraction to Theo, Ebboni despises the idea of marriage…

  But Theo is proving that he won’t take no for an answer!

  As their lives continue to intertwine, Ebboni is realizing that it’s becoming harder to resist him…

  And that she is no longer afraid of falling in love!

  But will Theo still want her in his life when she reveals to him her devastating secret?

  Find out in this emotional yet sexy romance by Cher Etan of BWWM Club.

  Suitable for over 18s only due to sex scenes so hot, you'll be daydreaming about your own marriage of convenience!

  Tip: Search BWWM Club on Amazon to see more of our great books.

  Free: Get Jason from the Members From Money series where YOU'RE the star!!

  Hi there. As a special thank you for buying this ebook, for a limited time I want to send a copy of Jason free of charge directly to your email! It's a personalized story, meaning you'll add a few details about yourself (these won't be shared with anyone else) and you'll become the star of the story!! :D

  You'll be emailed a new chapter once a day for 7 days. You can get it by clicking the cover below or going here:

  Direct link: www.afroromancebooks.com/personalized-jason-members-from-money

  This book is so exclusive you can't even buy it. As well as sending daily emails with the story, I'll also send you updates when new books like this are available.

  Copyright © 2018 to Katie Dowe and AfroRomanceBooks.com. No part of this book can be copied or distributed without written permission from the above copyright holders.

  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

  Bonus Book – Falling For His Surrogate's Sister

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

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  Chapter 1

  Ebboni stared at the bills in front of her in frustration! She was in over her head and it was time she acknowledged it! She had sold the house and gotten herself a tiny apartment but the place had been mortgaged to the hilt so nothing much had come from the sale anyway. She was going to have to get a second job – head concierge at the Amberville Apartments was not enough to make a dent in her debt.

  “I need a miracle,” she muttered as she sifted through the pile of papers she had before on the bed. “Or a rich husband,” she whispered the last part as if saying it aloud would make it real. Ebboni Lancaster was twenty-five years old but the last thing on her mind was a husband and family. She had spent two years taking care of her sick father and had finally had to put him in a nursing home because she needed to work to provide for them. His insurance had dried up during the illness and it had been like living from hand to mouth for the last six months he had been alive. She had missed him somewhat when he died, but the last year had been rough when he had developed late onset Alzheimer’s along with the cancer. He had seized to be her dad a long time ago; if he had ever been at all! She had watched him waste away and struggling with pain and had felt a sense of relief when he had passed away. But his passing had left her in a world of debt. Things had started to go downhill five years ago when her mother had died of heart attack one night in bed. Her father had never recovered from her death and it was not long after that he had become ill. Ebboni had a feeling that he had stopped living when her mother died.

  Her phone rang just then and she picked up.

  “I am sorry to bother you on the weekend, Ebboni, but we have a situation. A package that was signed for by someone at the front desk for one of the residents cannot be found,” Marion, the woman who worked on the weekends at the luxurious Amberville Apartments where Ebboni also worked during the week, said anxiously.

  “What package?” Ebboni’s financial problem was for the moment forgotten as her commitment to her work kicked in.

  “Mr. Carey said it was a package that was sent from his Texas office and had some important documents for him to sign and send back. I am afraid he is not very pleased.”

  “Do you expect him to be?” Ebboni asked impatiently. “Who signed for it?”

  “I cannot for the life of me make out the signature. Did you sign for anything yesterday before you left?”

  “My signature is very distinct. Have you asked the security guards on duty last night or even Mignon who worked last night?”

  “I cannot get hold of Mignon, and yes, I asked all who worked last night.”

  “Check in the cabinet behind the counter. Sometimes when it is too late, we store packages in there.”

  “Lord, I totally forgot about the cabinet. I will check. If I do not call back, that means I have found it.”

  “When you do please take it up to Mr. Carey personally with a bottle of his favorite wine to appease him.”

  “Thanks, Ebboni.”

  Ebboni waited a few minutes and when she did not hear from the girl she sighed in relief. The reputation of the apartment buildings depended on them and she made sure that the place was run smoothly. She was in charge of so many things but she loved her job and loved the residents. She had been working there for the past five years and had formed a bond with the people she worked with over the years as well as the residents who lived there. Her tiny apartment was only a couple of miles from where she worked so that was decidedly a bonus.

  With a sigh of frustration, she piled the papers together and stacked them onto her night table before getting of the bed. She had gotten up early this morning and start her laundry before deciding to go through her papers again. She was going to have to decide what to do about them pretty soon. She had started to halfheartedly looking a part-time job, but the effort had been less than enthusiastic as she was not into it. Her job was from seven to three each day and she usually get home at four or four-thirty. She had gotten used to coming home that time and relaxing with a glass of cheap wine as she took a long bath. She was not sure if she was willing to sacrifice that time even for a part-time job. She padded into the kitchen to search for something to eat. She had not gone grocery shopping last night and frowned as she looked at the meager contents of her pantry. A couple of pastas, tins of sausages and sardines, and nothing much else. She mostly ate at work and hardly had anything when she came home. On the weekends, she made up for that by cooking something nice.

  “Grocery shopping it is,” she decided as she put on the kettle to make herself some coffee. “And maybe breakfast at Maude’s.”

  She was about to call her best friend Andrea but remembered that she had worked last night and was probably sleeping now. Andrea worked as a nurse at the local hospital and had been her r
ock since her troubles had started. Andrea had gotten divorced a year ago and was just barely recovering from the betrayal of her husband. She had lost her child during the painful process and that had made matters worse! Now she buried herself in work and their friendship. “I did the marriage thing, honey, and I am not sure I ever want to do it again,” she had told Ebboni sadly.

  Ebboni set about preparing the coffee in readiness to leave the house.

  *****

  Theodore (Ted) Amberville swam the last three laps before surfacing and pulling his long lean body out of the pool and onto the side, the water dripping from his tanned muscled body. His dark brown hair streaked heavily with blonde appeared dark and his blue-grey eyes squinted against the brilliant sun that hovered way up in the sky. It was August and the heat was stifling but he loved the feel of it on his skin. He turned as he heard footsteps behind him. “Sir, I thought you would care for a tall glass of lemonade,” his butler/valet/driver and all around jack of all trades said quietly as he came over with a glass of lemonade and some sandwiches on a tray.

  “Thanks, Eaton, you always know exactly what I need. It’s hot out.”

  “It is, sir.” He nodded respectfully. “Your mother called again and your sister wants you to accompany her to some function on Tuesday. I took the liberty of jotting it down in your appointment book. I told your mother you would be calling her back shortly.”

  “Mother probably wants me to also accompany her to some tiresome function as well. The burden of being the only male in the family,” he said with a sigh.

  “One you will have to live with,” the tall slender middle aged man said with a straight face.

  Theodore laughed at that and lifted his glass in agreement. “Damn right!” He sipped the delicious lemonade in appreciation. “I am going to the club by three, Eaton, so no need to prepare anything for me.”

  “Right, sir.” He nodded and turned and walked away.

  Theodore “Ted” Amberville the third came from a long generation of old money. He was the Amberville heir of Amberville Estates that had luxurious apartment buildings all over the country and some in Europe. His father had died in his office of a heart attack while having sex with his very young secretary and had caused a scandal that had finally faded away three months after his untimely demise. His wife, the cool and detached beauty, Emma Amberville had taken it in strides with her head held high. She had buried her husband in style with her two children: Theodore, the eldest, and her daughter Eleanor, two years younger, by her side. The papers had reported that the woman had seemed unfazed by the scandal and had wondered about it. She had fired the secretary and had taken up her husband’s position on the board of directors at the company and made decisions that had the rest of the board in awe and afraid of her. Theodore was the only one she was unable and unwilling to make do her every bidding as he did his job with quiet force that had gained him the respect of those around him including her.

  Theodore Amberville the Second had been a man who had been determined to have his cake and eat it by having his wife at home to do his entertaining for him and having a long string of mistresses as well. His son had not followed in his footsteps thankfully as Ted preferred quality to quantity. He had been in two meaningful relationships in his adult life, with the last one ending a year and a half ago when he had discovered that she had been too eager to become Mrs. Amberville. But he had met the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with when he had gone to the coming out party for his sister a year ago. He just had not found the courage to ask her out yet!

  *****

  Ebboni did her shopping quickly and efficiently the same way she did everything in life. She ignored the admiring stares of the few men in the grocery store. She was not oblivious to the fact that she was beautiful. It had been in her genes. Her mother had been a petite beauty who had captured her father’s heart and had kept it for the time they had been together. Her mother had been the product of an interracial couple: a father who had been half white and a mother who had been mixed Indian heritage. She had always laughingly told her daughter and husband that she had more mix heritage than a pot of soup! Ebboni had inherited her mother’s flawless cocoa brown skin with a touch of heavy cream and the unruly curls of her hair. She had cut her hair short and the curls covered her hair charmingly and gave her small face an exotic look. She had large liquid brown eyes, tapered brows, and a full sensual bottom lip that almost always drew attention to her especially when she wore lipstick. She was tall, having gotten the height from her Dad, but with very obvious curves that people could not ignore. She was wearing a cut off denims that barely covered her smooth thighs and a halter top white cotton blouse that left her midriff bare. She had rushed out of the apartment without a stitch of makeup on and still managed to catch the attention of the men in the store. She made her way to the checkout counter for the cashier to ring up her purchases.

  “I see you are trying to eat healthy,” the friendly middle aged woman who she had known for a number of years said with a smile as she scanned the packaged vegetables.

  “You know I am always into eating healthy, Ellen,” she said to the woman with a mischievous smile.

  “And this?” Ellen held up the carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream with her brows raised.

  “Comfort food,” Ebboni said with a nonchalant shrug. “Don’t judge.”

  “Who is judging, honey? I ate a whole carton of rocky road just last night.”

  “Good for you,” Ebboni said with a laugh. “What was the occasion?”

  “My dog Shelby died.”

  “I am sorry to hear.”

  “She was old so I guess it was time for her to go. It did not make her passing any easier.”

  “I am sure it didn’t,” Ebboni said sympathetically.

  “Here you go, honey.” Ellen handed her the bags as she paid for the purchases. “See you next in two weeks.”

  She made her way to the parking lot where she had parked her car and turned around when she heard footsteps behind her.

  “I was hoping to catch you,” he said a little breathlessly as he came up behind her.

  “Why?” she asked him coolly as she disengaged the alarm on her car.

  “I need a number,” he said cheekily. He was not bad looking with a dark attractive face and lively dark brown eyes. She had seen him noticing her in the grocery store and had ignored him. “Your house number and your mobile.”

  “Would your wife approve?” she asked him with brows arched. She had noticed the ring mark on his ring finger.

  He glanced down on his hand quickly and back at her. “We are separated.”

  “I am sure you are.” She pulled the door open and hopped in. “Why don’t you go and buy something nice for her and ask her forgiveness for being a prick?” She did not wait for his response as she put the car into drive and drove away!

  *****

  “Darling, would you pour?” Emma Amberville indicated with a nod of her blonde head as the maid wheeled in the tray with the bottle of wine and the pastries she had requested. Theodore had been browbeaten into coming over for after dinner desserts and a bottle of cabernet with her. His sister had waved a hurried goodbye the minute he had stepped foot into the lavish manor where she lived with their mother.

  “Of course, Mother.” Theodore got up from his chair and took the tray from the smiling maid. He poured the wine into two glasses and handed her one. “Okay, what was so urgent that it could not wait until tomorrow when you come to the office?”

  “Can’t I just want to see my only son?” she chided gently as she looked over at him. He looked more like her than he did of his father and she was thankful for that. Even if he had favored the cheating bastard, Emma would have still loved the child who had come from her womb. But she had often given thanks that he did not look like him and he certainly did not behave like him. She had put up with her husband’s cheating ways since the beginning and had never complained, keeping everything inside. He had been
dead for the past two and a half years and she felt a sense of relief and peace that could not be explained. “I was thinking that we should go ahead and acquire the apartment building adjacent to the one at Oak Park.”

  “It’s a shambles, Mother, and you know that.”

  “I know, darling, but we could buy it and spruce it up somewhat to its former glory. I remember when it was the best apartment building in the city. The former president lived there before it became derelict.”

  “Melore putting you up to this?” he asked in amusement referring to the former first lady who was friends with his mother.

  “She did,” she said with a charming smile. “But she is right. I intend to pitch my ideas to the board tomorrow at the staff meeting.”

  “Remember to be gentle,” he told her dryly.

  “Aren’t I always?” she asked with an arched smile. She had created a stir when she had marched into the meeting right after her husband had died and had demanded to be heard. They had expected her to be silent but she had made it clear that she was no longer going to sit in a corner and tolerate what was going on. The members of the board were all men but she had changed that and apart from herself, Cynthia Bingham, a longtime employee, also had a seat there much to the disapproval of the men there.

  “Mother, when you stir up problems I have to put out the fire.”

  “And you are so good at doing so,” she said with a wide smile as she settled back against the plump cushions and sipped her wine. “Your father would have been proud.”

  “I hardly think so,” Theodore said wryly. “He would have complained that I am putting the Amberville name to shame by the fact that I don’t have a string of women at my beck and call.” He glanced at his mother swiftly. “I am sorry, Mother.”

  “What for, darling?” she asked smoothly. “I knew what your father was before I married him and made the choice to stay with him in spite of it.”

  “You never told me why,” Theodore said quietly, feeling the spurt of anger at how much she had been humiliated.