Blaine Read online

  Blaine

  Neither of them believed in the sanctity of marriage. Is that about to change?

  A sexy romance by Katie Dowe of BWWM Club.

  Both Skylar and Blaine have seen what marriage has done to their friends and family and neither of them had any plans to marry.

  And now in their 50s, they’re dedicating all of their time to their successful businesses.

  But their lives quickly change once the two meet!

  Sparks fly like crazy and soon they find themselves married!

  At first it seems like their worries were for nothing and they quickly settle into married life…

  But insecurities flare up, leading them to believe that they’ve made a huge mistake!

  With their marriage falling apart, what will it take for them to realize they are meant for each other?

  Find out in this emotional yet sexy romance by Katie Dowe of BWWM Club.

  Suitable for over 18s only due to smoking hot sex scenes!

  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:

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  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

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

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  Chapter 1

  Skylar heard the insistent buzzing and had no idea where it was coming from. It took several seconds for her to realize that her phone on the bedside table was ringing. With a heartfelt groan and the thought of not answering it filtering through her mind briefly, she reached for it and stared at the screen through half-closed eyes. The groan became becoming deeper she touched the green phone icon. “Mother, it’s early.”

  “Darling, I'm surprised you're not up yet!” The woman’s voice sounded gratingly cheerful in her ear and started a faint ache at her temple.

  “It’s Sunday and my only day off. Forgive me for wanting to sleep in late.” She was wide awake now and decided that she might as well get up and get some coffee inside her. From past experience she knew that this was going to be a long conversation.

  “I got up at six and already had my hour of yoga and my second cup of coffee,” Delia Thompson told her proudly. “Getting up at the crack of dawn and getting your body in motion keeps your body young darling.”

  “I'll take your word for it.” Skylar measured out the coffee and turned the pot on. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this call, Mother?”

  “I want to plan a party for Morris and I need your help.”

  “Why would you need my help? You have people on speed dial who can handle those things for you, Mother.” She was careful to keep the note of impatience out of her voice.

  “I want us to do it together, darling. You know how I love it when we do things together. We're more than mother and daughter; we're more like friends. And besides, Morris is like a father to you,” she pointed out.

  Skylar poured her coffee into the cup and only just managed to remind her mother that Morris was her third husband, and none of them were her dad. Her mother had gotten pregnant when she was seventeen by another student. He'd been shipped off by his parents when they'd been given the news that their teenage son had knocked up some girl from school, and even worse, the girl hadn't been from their social circle. Skylar’s grandmother had raised her along with her aunt who was three years older than her mother. Delia had moved out and left her daughter with them as she went to find a better way of life, as she'd put it. Her better way of life had been to marry rich husbands and collect alimonies, which had done well for her as she was now independently wealthy and married for the third time to another wealthy man. Skylar made sure to steer clear of all the drama surrounding her mother's life.

  “Whenever I come around Morris barely says two words to me, Mother, and you know it,” Skylar took her coffee with her into the living room and sat on one of the sofas.

  “That’s because you don't talk to him, darling. He has a hard time getting to know you.”

  “I started to get to know Sylvan and he left and then Gary left as well. I really liked Gary.”

  “That’s in the past and I would appreciate you not bringing them up. It’s been hard on me, having to deal with the broken pieces of my life. But with Morris it's different. I really think we'll work.”

  Skylar didn't bother to remind her that she'd said the same thing about the other two. “I'm sorry, Mother. I won’t be able to help plan a party. It's November and the height of the holiday season. The store has gotten busier and I'm there until late at night. As I said before, you have lots of people to help you out. You don’t need me.”

  “You're my daughter!” she cried.

  Skylar rolled her eyes at the usual theatrics. Every so often her mother would have a guilty conscience and decide that the way she should repay the fact that she'd never been there for her daughter was to include her in something that she had planned. Once or twice Skylar had fall in with her plans but this time she had no intention of doing so. “That's not going to work this time, I'm afraid. I have to go, Mother. Talk to you soon.” She hung up the phone and turned it off, knowing that she was going to call right back and complain that Skylar wasn't being a good daughter.

  Skylar had grown up with the fact that her mother had never really wanted her and had considered her to be a mistake. She'd also been aware of the fact that the man who had carelessly fathered her had never once reached out to get a chance to know her either. Her grandmother had played the role of her mother and had shown her so much love, along with her aunt Grace, that she hadn't been lacking. But she'd spent a lot of nights wondering why her parents had never been there for her. Her mother had left her with her grandmother when she was only three years old and she hadn't seen her until fourteen years later when she was graduating from high school. Skylar remembered her coming by the house that June afternoon in a cloud of expensive perfume and the diamond rings glittering on her fingers, newly married to her first husband and declaring that she wanted Skylar to come and live with her. Skylar remembered staring at the lovely woman who had the same shaped face and dark brown eyes and thinking that she was a total stranger to her. Skylar had mixed blood inside her. Her father had been three quarters white so she'd inherited his pale brown complexion and apparently the curly texture of his hair as her mother’s side of the family had thick black hair from their African heritage and cocoa brown skin. She'd heard her aunt Grace saying to her grandmother one time that the only reason her sister had been with that boy who got her pregnant was because of his com
plexion. She remembered the arguments as her mother had demanded that Skylar come back with her. “I have a life now and my husband has money so we can take care of her,” she'd told them.

  “We've never met this husband of yours and if you think we're going to allow Skylar to come with you not knowing who this man is, then you must be out of your mind. She's staying with us,” her grandmother had said firmly.

  She remembered going into her room to get away from the arguments and a few minutes later, the knock on her room door and it opening to admit the tall slender woman dressed in the height of fashion. She remembered the conversation as if it was yesterday.

  “Darling it’s your mom,” the woman had said softly as she came into her room and sat on one of the chairs.

  “I know who you are,” Skylar had told her rudely, wishing she would just leave.

  “I know your grandmother and your aunt Grace probably told you some bad things about me—”

  “They didn't have to tell me anything,” She'd interrupted her. “You left me here with them because you didn't want me. Have I left anything out?”

  “Darling that's not true! I was a child myself and was confused. I wanted to make a life for myself before I came back for you.”

  “You never contacted me.”

  “And I apologize for that, but I'm here now and we can be a family.”

  “I'm staying with Grandma and Auntie Grace,” she'd said stubbornly.

  “I'm your mother—”

  “You are a stranger and I'm old enough to make my own decision. Go back to your new husband and leave me alone.” Her mother had left shortly after that and hadn't contacted her again until a few years later when she was in college. She'd offered to pay Skylar's way but she'd told her mother no. After years had passed and her grandmother had sat her down and told her that it was unhealthy to hold onto hate she'd gradually come around and started talking to her mother. But there was no closeness there and over the years she'd seen the way her mother behaved. She remembered the time when she was in her thirties and had gone over with a guy she was seeing and how her mother had flirted shamelessly with him. They'd left in embarrassment and suffice it to say the relationship hadn't lasted long after that. Skylar had never brought another guy to meet her again..

  Skylar emptied her cup and got to her feet, ready to get some work done around the house.

  *****

  Blaine examined the structure of the building thoroughly as he made the walk through on the first floor. It was an old abandoned building that his company had acquired only a week ago and the contractor had told him that it needed to be demolished. “I'm afraid there's nothing worth saving, Blaine,” the man had told him, but he usually preferred to do the inspection and decide for himself. It had been an apartment building downtown and had been gutted by fire several years ago. Before that it had been neglected by the owners and had been a mess with several code violations and had been deemed a fire hazard.

  He'd checked out the location and done his careful research, realizing that the building had potential and the price had been drastically cut due to its many problems. He ran his gloved hand along the column and tested its strength. It had been built in the late 1900s and was as solid as they came, with the original hardwood pine and cut stones still standing. The demolition and work were due to start next month and was supposed to be finished by March of next year. He ran a hand along the spiral staircase and admired the original framework of it. There were things that could be saved and he was determined that they would be. He'd looked up the original blueprint of the place and had spent hours poring over it.

  Blaine Mallory had happened on this path of his career by chance. He'd come back from Iraq, disillusioned and partially broken by all that he'd seen and experienced and had spent the time wondering what to do with his life. He'd been honorably discharged from the army due to a busted knee and had come back home. But he realized that he'd never had a home and there was no way he was going back to where his misery had started, with parents who had argued and fought every single day of their lives. He'd rented a rat-infested apartment and had spent the days walking the neighborhood wondering what to do with his life. He had no real skills as he'd joined the army when he was eighteen and had come back four years later. He had a few thousand dollars saved up and was idly thinking of going to college to learn something when he'd come upon the old building set far back from the road.

  He almost went past it but something had drawn him back to it and he had pushed open the broken down gate and gone up on the sagging porch. He'd sat on the top step for a little bit and looked over the forlorn yard with the grass growing all the way up to his waist. He'd sat there for a minute before going inside. It was worse than the outside if that was even possible. But Blaine had seen something in the building that hadn't been apparent at first glance. He'd pictured it fixed up and painted with the window panes replaced and the fireplace refinished. It was a three-story house complete with an attic and he'd spent several hours exploring it before making his decision. He was going to buy it and fix it up himself and after that he was going to sell it for a profit. A fire had lit his dark green eyes as he thought about it fully.

  He'd found out who held the title to the broken-down place and had bought it for cheap, the owner eager to get rid of it. He'd moved out of his apartment and gone to live in the old house while he fixed it up. He'd done it himself, with the neighbor, a retired mechanic, coming over to watch him curiously and giving him a helping hand every now and then. Clarke had given him more than that, actually. The man had brought over food for him that his wife had made and had given him a fan when it got too hot inside the house. They'd sat on the broken-down porch drinking beer and shooting the breeze after a very hard day of work.

  Remodeling the old house had taken his mind off his messed up childhood and had given him a new lease on life. He'd been back to visit his parents a few times but nothing had changed and he'd stayed away, only visiting them once every few months. He'd finished fixing up the building in three months and had borrowed the lawnmower from Clarke and cut the yard. He'd also put a swing in the backyard and planted flowers. He'd enjoyed doing it and had stayed in the remodeled house for a month before he realized that he needed to put it on the market. He'd done so and had taken up Clarke’s invitation to stay with them when the house was sold.

  He had stared at the profit he'd made and then gone off to the next project. It wasn't long before he started to make real money and over the years had become a billionaire who was referred to as the man who had a knack for taking the broken-down and turning it into something beautiful. He poured himself into his work and apart from a few casual relationships he'd never been serious with anyone. He'd been scarred for life and had no intention of living the way his parents had lived.

  He climbed down the stairs and looked at the man who'd come into the building. “The structure is still sound. We're going to salvage what we can.”

  *****

  “Honey, it's so good to see you!” Grace Buchanan hugged her niece tight before letting her go. “I haven't seen you in three weeks.”

  “And I must apologize for that,” Skylar said with a smile as she took off her coat and hung it up. “You're my favorite person in the entire world and I need to visit you more.”

  “Nonsense girl,” the tall slender woman said briskly as she led the way into her large and comfortable kitchen with the smell of baking permeating the air. “You're busy and I get that. How are you?” Grace bent to take the batch of cookies from the oven and put them onto the counter before going to the stove to stir the hot chocolate to go with it.

  “Mother called and woke me up this morning,” Skylar said lightly as she sniffed the air.

  “Oh my Lord! What did she want this time?” Grace asked with a pained expression on her attractive and scarcely-lined face. Grace Buchanan was twenty years older than her niece, which made her seventy-one, but all of them had inherited the genes from Lola Buchanan who up u
ntil her demise twenty years ago at the age of eighty one had looked ten years younger. Grace did not look her age but looked like she was in her late fifties with her thick natural black hair caught up in a bun at the nape of her neck, having just a few strands of gray threading through them.

  “She wanted help in planning a party for her latest husband.”

  Her aunt stared at her. “What did you tell her?”

  “I told her that I was busy and she did her usual to make me feel guilty.” Skylar took the cup from her aunt’s hand and sniffed the hot chocolate. “That woman has never been there for me and it surprises me every time that she actually expects us to have a normal mother-daughter relationship.”

  Grace handed her the plate of cookies and sat down to enjoy hers. “Your mother has been selfish and self-absorbed her entire life. She was never satisfied with the life she had here in this house, she always wanted more. She would gaze into magazines and envy the women there and would say that she would one day be wearing designer clothes just like the ones in the magazine.”

  “Was she in love with the man who got her pregnant?” Skylar asked her aunt curiously.

  “I suspect she might have been but your mother’s penchant to fall in and out of love is well known. I suspect that she went after him because of who his family was.”

  Skylar sipped the delicious beverage thoughtfully. “My mother's been married three times and I have a feeling that she is far from finished,” she said shaking her head. “And you've have never been married.”

  “I was in love with someone when I was in my thirties.”

  “What happened?”

  Grace wrapped her fingers around the cup. “It was during that time that Mom got sick and you were here. I had no intention of leaving you guys alone.”

  “He wasn't prepared to be saddled with a sick mother and your niece,” she surmised.

  “I didn't give him the chance,” Grace said with a smile. “I told him that it would never work between us and persuaded him to leave.”