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    Beautiful Abyss: California Dreamers, #3
    Beautiful Abyss: California Dreamers, #3
    Beautiful Abyss: California Dreamers, #3
    Ebook133 pages2 hours

    Beautiful Abyss: California Dreamers, #3

    By Karen M. Bryson and Dakota Madison

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    About this ebook

    Chris Rhodes is a struggling actor on the verge of breaking into the business.

    Abby Sullivan works at her aunt and uncle’s nursery.

    When Chris sees Abby watering plants in the front of the store it’s love at first sight. Actually meeting Abby, however, proves to be much harder than Chris imagines.

    He spends nearly all of his money purchasing houseplants until he finally gets the opportunity to see Abby again.

    Sparks fly between them, but Abby is extremely hesitant to accept a date with Chris. Abby has a secret she’s desperate to keep, but Chris is just as eager to find out what it is.

    WARNING: This book contains foul language, insta-love and a little bit of hanky-panky. Buyer beware.

    CALIFORNIA DREAMERS is a series of interconnecting romantic comedy stories that can be read as STAND ALONE NOVELLAS or as part of the SERIES.

    The CALIFORNIA DREAMERS SERIES:

    (Not So) Good in a Room (Nellie’s Story)
    So Far Away (Maddie’s Story)
    Beautiful Abyss (Chris’s Story)
    Rookie Mistake (Cody & Maya’s Story)

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherShort on Time Books
    Release dateDec 15, 2016
    ISBN9781386509790
    Beautiful Abyss: California Dreamers, #3

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      Book preview

      Beautiful Abyss - Karen M. Bryson

      One

      I roll out of bed as quietly as I can. The last thing I want to do is wake up Penny. She’s definitely not a morning person. She’s mean enough after she’s had a shower and a few cups of coffee.

      Before that...you don’t want to know.

      She’s scares me, and I’m a pretty tough guy.

      She doesn’t expect me to stay. I don’t even think she wants me to. I’m here for one reason and one reason only: to screw her.

      I give her what she wants: a great time in the sack. And she gives me what I need: a manager for my acting career.

      Chris.

      Shit. I can’t believe I woke her up. 

      I need you back here at seven tonight.

      Her voice is way too loud for this early in the morning. It’s making my ears hurt.

      I’ll be here, I promise.

      Don’t be late. She hasn’t removed her sleep mask yet, which is a good sign. She may decide to stay in bed.

      Seven, I repeat. I’ve got it.

      Do you need me to text you a reminder?

      I’ve got it. I do my best not to blow up. Even though she’s twenty years older than I am I don’t like it when she treats me like a child.

      Actually it kind of freaks me out.

      I just spent half the night with my dick inside of her. I definitely don’t want to think of her as a mother figure.

      Not that there’s one motherly thing about Penny Wagner. She’s a ruthless bitch. And that’s actually saying something nice about her.

      She lifts her sleep mask just enough to peek at me. And don’t even think about bringing me another one of those ridiculous plants.

      I’ve been stopping by the local nursery a few times every week. The stops have not exactly been to buy plants for Penny. I keep hoping I’ll run into the gorgeous girl I saw working there about a month ago. Her long dark hair, tied back with a red ribbon, reminded me of Snow White from one of the few books I actually had when I was a kid.

      Not that I was much of a reader. I liked to look at the pictures of Snow White and imagine what it would be like to kiss her. Even as a grade schooler I was already thinking about the fun things girls and I could do together.

      Some things never change.

      Why can’t you just bring a bouquet of flowers like a normal guy?

      Because they’re dead. I tell her.

      She pulls the mask back over her eyes and I take that as my cue to leave.

      ***

      I’ve lived in California my entire life. My dad took off before I was old enough to have any memory of him. I was raised by my mom and step-dad. They weren’t the world’s best parents, but at least they didn’t leave me.

      For the most part they ignored me and left me to fend for myself.

      Luckily I’ve always been close to my cousin, Roscoe. I spent so much time with him that he was more like a brother.

      The two of us live together in his condo, but I’m not sure how much longer that’s going to last.

      His girlfriend, Nellie, has been slowly moving in. I expect it will only take a few more weeks for her to realize she’s wasting money having an apartment of her own.

      It’s awkward because I had feelings for Nellie. She’s so different from other girls. She’s cute, and smart, and super talented. But she’s also one of those people who marches to be the beat of her own band.

      As much as I hate to admit it, when I see her and Roscoe together I know the better man won her. They’re like two pieces out of the same pie.

      If she and I had gotten together it would have been like trying to mix pecan pie with apple crisp. At first you think the two together might work, but after the first few bites you realize the combination isn’t as great as you thought it would be.

      Penny demands all of my attention anyway. I wouldn’t call what we’re doing dating, but ever since the two of us got together I haven’t had time to bang anybody else.

      As much as I love sex, screwing Penny just so she’ll get me acting auditions is starting to feel like a chore.

      It’s not like she’s an old hag or anything. She’s definitely not a paper-bagger. The woman works out a lot and she’s got a great body. But she’s definitely a cougar, and I’m her prey.

      And Penny loves sex. More than any other woman I’ve ever been with, and I’ve been with a lot of women.

      I’ve been with so many women I quit keeping count.

      I probably would have dumped her weeks ago if she wasn’t getting me so many auditions.

      My career is just starting to take off. I don’t want to do anything to jinx it. 

      On the way home I stop by our condo’s mailroom to see if we’ve gotten anything. I remove a few bills from our mailbox along with a key. Our boxes aren’t big enough for most packages, so when something gets delivered that’s too large for the regular box the mailman places it in one of the eight larger package boxes and slips the key for the package box in our regular mailbox.

      The key is numbered 9. I stare at it for several seconds wondering what I’m supposed to do with it. There are only eight boxes numbered 1 through 8.

      Luckily I see Nellie hurry into the mailroom with her mailbox key in her hand.

      I got the mail, I tell her.

      Her face lights up when she sees me. Hey, Chris.

      I have a problem though.

      She frowns. What’s wrong?

      I hold out the package box key for her to look at. This key is numbered 9. There are only 8 boxes. I’m not sure what to do.

      She laughs. It’s not a problem.

      She removes the key from my hand, turns it over, and places it back in my hand. There. Problem solved.

      The key now says 6. She’s right. The problem is solved. That was easy. Thanks.

      One of the biggest reasons Nellie is with Roscoe and not me: they’re both much smarter than I am.

      I open package box 6, remove the package, and hand it to Nellie. It’s got your name on it.

      It’s a present for Roscoe, she whispers. Keep it a secret.

      Not more movie memorabilia, I hope.

      You know your cousin very well.

      One thing I won’t miss about living with Roscoe is his obsession with Quentin Tarantino. He has a shrine devoted to his movies in our living room.

      As Nellie and I head towards the condo she’s much quieter than usual. Is everything okay?

      Yeah, sure. Why?

      I don’t know. You look a little Peking. 

      As she tilts her head she gives me an odd look. Do you mean peaked?

      I nod. That’s what I said. I don’t want her to think I’m more of a moron than she already does.

      I like to think of myself as street smart rather than book smart, but sometimes I’m afraid I’m just not smart at all.

      She stops walking and turns to me. Don’t say anything to Roscoe, okay?

      Sure, what is it?

      He’s been putting a lot of pressure on me to move in. It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just... Her eyes search mine.

      Just what? I prod.

      She heaves a sigh. I know you’re still trying to get your career going. I don’t want to put you out.

      I can’t believe she’s worried about me. I shake my head. I can always find a place to stay. Don’t worry about that.

      Don’t be mad, she says. People usually don’t say that unless they’re getting ready to tell you something that really is going to make you mad.

      I brace myself.

      Roscoe told me about the situation with your parents. He told me about your dad leaving and you not really getting along that well with your mom and step-dad.

      I shrug. It’s not that we don’t get along. It’s more like they just don’t care about me. They do their thing and I do my thing.

      I don’t know what to say.

      You don’t have to say anything, I tell her. It’s just the way things are. Worst case scenario I can always move in with Penny.

      I mean it as a joke because I know damn well Penny does not want me living with her. She wants my dick inside of her for a while and then she wants me to go.

      Nellie’s eyes get really big. Please don’t do that. I know you feel like having sex with her is helping your career, but don’t move in with her.

      I won’t, I assure her. I meant it as a joke. But it’s really not funny if you have to explain it.

      I guess your jokes are as good as mine, she teases. I just wanted you to know that I’m not going to move in until you’ve got your career going and you can find your own place. I would never put you in that position.

      I shake my head before she has a chance to finish her sentence. I can’t let you do that.

      You and Roscoe lived together first, she counters.

      But the two of you belong together. The last thing I want to do is cock block Roscoe.

      "I don’t think that’s

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