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  Breathless

  Nashville Nights Special Edition

  Part One

  Cheryl Douglas

  Copyright © by Cheryl Douglas

  Smashwords Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, including photocopying, graphic, electronic, mechanical, taping, recording, sharing, or by any information retrieval system without the express written permission of the author and / or publisher. Exceptions include brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Persons, places and other entities represented in this book are deemed to be fictitious. They are not intended to represent actual places or entities currently or previously in existence or any person living or dead. This work is the product of the author’s imagination.

  Any and all inquiries to the author of this book should be directed to: [email protected]

  Breathless © 2013 Cheryl Douglas

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  Nashville Nights Family Tree

  The Turners

  Trey and Sierra Turner - Nashville Nights, Book One, Shameless

  Jared and Elaine Turner - Trey’s parents

  Alisa Turner - Next Generation, Book One, High Stakes

  The Coopers

  Josh and Lexi Cooper - Nashville Nights, Book Two, Fearless

  Jay and Victoria - Josh and Ashley’s son and daughter-in-law / Nashville Nights, Book Seven, Hopeless

  Mike and Tori Cooper - Josh and Ashley’s son and daughter-in-law / Nashville Nights, Book Eight, Careless

  Aiden Cooper – Josh and Lexi’s son / Next Generation, Book Two, Trade Off

  Brianna Cooper – Josh and Lexi’s daughter / Next Generation, Book Three, Game On

  Ava Cooper – Jay and Victoria’s daughter / Next Generation, Book Eight, Blown Away

  The Spencers

  Luc and Marisa Spencer – Nashville Nights, Book Three, Ruthless

  Nikki Spencer – Luc’s daughter / Nashville Nights, Book Five, Relentless

  Ryan Spencer – Luc and Marisa’s son / Next Generation, Book Three, Game On

  Evan Spencer – Luc and Marisa’s son / Next Generation, Book Four, Burn Out

  The McCalls

  Ty and Avery McCall – Nashville Nights, Book Four, Reckless

  Anna McCall – Ty and Avery’s daughter / Next Generation, Book Five, Fast Track

  Nick McCall – Ty and Avery’s son / Next Generation, Book Six, Time Out

  J.T. McCall – J.T. and Derek’s brother / Nashville Nights, Book Five, Relentless

  Nikki Spencer – McCall – J.T.’s wife / Nashville Nights, Book Five, Relentless

  Lauren McCall - J.T. and Nikki’s daughter / Next Generation, Book Seven, Face Value

  Derek McCall – J.T. and Derek’s brother / Nashville Nights, Book Six, Heartless

  Ashley McCall – Derek’s wife, Jay and Mike Cooper’s mother / Nashville Nights, Book Six, Heartless

  Breathless

  Part One – Eli Rea has been in love with Jamie most of his adult life, but he has his pride. If she wants to waste her life fantasizing about a man who never loved her half as much as he does, he decides to let her have her way, no matter how much it hurts him to let her go.

  But is Jamie ready to say good-bye to the best friend she’s ever had or will she realize that sometimes taking a detour to love is the best way to find it?

  Part Two- Keith Armstrong has a reputation as a player, with good reason. It’s not that he doesn’t want to find love, he just hasn’t… yet. He’s known Tara for years, but it isn’t until fate throws them together that he realizes she may be the only woman who can tame him.

  But is Tara willing to take on the challenge, or will she decide she isn’t willing to play a high stakes game with her fragile heart?

  Table of Contents

  Part One

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Part Two

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  About the Author

  Coming July 2013

  Part One

  Chapter One

  Jasmine Taylor was determined to get loaded. Not just tipsy on a glass of wine or two; she was aiming for forget-the-rest-of-the-world-exists drunk.

  She’d just heard the news. Her ex-fiancé, Brent Armstrong, was getting married. She liked his girlfriend, and she knew they were perfect for each other, but that didn’t dull the pain. For years, she’d dreamed of reconciling with Brent and making up for cheating on him with her ex-boyfriend and best friend, Eli Rea.

  Her friend and partner in crime, Nellie, was busy making eyes at a cute guy at the bar when the waitress set Jasmine’s two tequila shots on the table. Jasmine wasn’t a big drinker, but that night would be the exception. Alcohol was the only thing that would dull the ache in her chest.

  Nellie had suggested sex would help, but Jasmine decided she’d rather wake up with a hangover than a stranger.

  Nellie glanced at the shot glasses. “You’re not really gonna drink that rotgut, are you?”

  “That’s the plan.” Jasmine went through the ritual of salt and lime. She’d never had tequila before and hoped she was doing it right. She’d seen Eli drink shots enough times that she was fairly confident. One…two. Oh, God. She gripped the scarred wooden table, praying the drinks wouldn’t come back up as fast as they’d gone down.

  Nellie giggled and reached for her beer. “I warned you. That stuff is potent.”

  Jasmine’s eyes watered as she choked out a cough and slapped her chest. One thing was certain: she would never acquire a taste for tequila. “I don’t care.” She reached for the water Nellie had the foresight to request when they ordered their drinks. “The point is to forget my problems tonight. If this can help me do that, I’m willing to suffer the taste.”

  Nellie raised her mason jar of beer. “This’ll do the job just as well, and it won’t taste like rubbing alcohol.”

  Jasmine wasn’t a beer drinker. She didn’t mind an occasional glass of wine, but that wouldn’t help her achieve her objective. She needed to throw them back, fast and hard. The sooner mind-numbness set it, the happier she’d be.

  “I don’t know why you’re getting so worked up about Brent getting engaged.” Nellie reached for the bowl of peanuts in the middle of the table. “Y’all broke up years ago. You didn’t speak to him the whole time you lived in L.A., and he was already seeing Ava when you came back to town. You knew they would get married eventually. It was just a matter of time.”

  Jasmine and Nellie had been friends since high school, so Nellie’d seen Jasmine through her failed relationships with Eli and Brent. Eli was her high school sweetheart, the guy she’d always assumed she’d marry when she graduated college. Jasmine quickly realized she wanted to live a little though, experience the world, date other men, and find out if he was really the one. As soon as she met Brent Armstrong, she realized she and Eli wer
e better off as friends. She still loved him, but she wasn’t in love with him anymore. In fact, she wasn’t sure she ever had been.

  “I don’t want to talk about that. I came here to forget about him, remember?”

  “Suit yourself.” Nellie raised an eyebrow when Jasmine gestured to their waitress. “Don’t you think you should order some food if you plan on drinking like that?”

  “I’m not hungry, I’m thirsty.” Jasmine knew her friend was right. Alcohol and an empty stomach was a recipe for disaster, but whatever went down would likely come up at some point, so she decided to stick with her plan.

  Aiden Cooper, Eli’s head coach, approached their table with a smile. “Hey, y’all.” He glanced at the empty shot glasses. “You celebrating something, Jasmine?”

  “Something like that,” she muttered, sliding the glasses to the other side of the table. She looked at Aiden and felt her vision getting a little blurry. Good, the booze was taking effect. One or two more should be just enough to make her forget she was alone, with no prospects, while the love of her life was marrying his soul mate. “How’ve you been, Aiden?” The grin on Nellie’s face told Jasmine her words were starting to slur.

  “I’ve been good,” he chuckled. “You?”

  “Good, good. Busy with work.” If not for her job as an architect, which she loved, she might be seriously depressed.

  “Glad to hear it.” He smiled. “I’m here to meet my buddy Ryan, so I should catch up with him. It was good to see you.”

  “Yeah, you too.” Nellie propped her chin in her hand and watched Aiden walk away. “It’s too bad Eli’s coach is married. He’s hot.”

  “He’s a sweet guy,” Jasmine admitted. Since Aiden was also Ava’s uncle, getting too close to him and his family would be a mistake. The last thing she wanted was to be invited to an event where she would have to watch Brent dote on his beautiful bride-to-be. “But he’s very, very married. Besides, he’s too old for you.”

  Nellie’s eyes traveled around the bar. “I think it’s time I start considering older guys. I’m getting tired of wasting my time with guys our age who don’t know what they want.”

  The only older man Jasmine had ever dated was Brent, and he definitely knew what he wanted and how to get it. Maybe her friend was right. Perhaps they should both consider dating older men. But Jasmine was selective. Not just any man would do. He’d have to be sweet and considerate. He’d have to understand that she was a workaholic and… Who was she kidding? She would never find a guy who checked all her boxes.

  The waitress returned, and Jasmine ordered two more shots. Nellie rolled her eyes, but Jasmine didn’t care. She wasn’t trying to make smart decisions. She was shelving propriety in favor of recklessness for one lousy night. She could almost hear her sweet mama chirping about acting like a lady, but as Miranda would say, “This wasn’t her Mama’s broken heart.”

  “You’re gonna be sorry when you’re making out with the porcelain goddess in a few hours,” Nellie said and laughed at Jasmine’s appalled expression.

  Jasmine hated being sick, and Nellie knew it. “Two more should do it. Four won’t make me sick.”

  “Sure they will. When the last time you had more than a glass of wine?”

  Jasmine had to think about it. “When the team wives and girlfriends got together to raise money for the Christmas toy drive at the hospital. I had two glasses that night.”

  Nellie planted her tongue in her cheek. “You never did explain why you got involved in that. You’re not Eli’s wife. You’re not even his girlfriend.”

  “No, but I’m his friend and it was for a good cause.”

  Since Nellie’s relationship with Eli had always been strictly platonic, they had an easy rapport without sexual tension. Jasmine envied that. Her relationship with Eli had always been complicated… and confusing. She and Eli hadn’t slept together since the night that ended her engagement. She’d felt sick with guilt, and she’d broken down and told Brent everything. They were already on the verge of ending their rocky relationship, but that didn’t make her betrayal easier. Jasmine didn’t take commitment lightly, and she’d never believed she would cheat on the man she loved.

  Jasmine shook her head when she started to replay that night in her mind. When she’d sought and found comfort in Eli’s arms, it felt so right, as though she’d finally found her way home. That had haunted her for years--she still felt guilty about it--but she had to move on. Brent and Eli had, and it was time for her to do the same. Living in the past was torture.

  “You keep telling yourself that.” Nellie smiled over the rim of her mason jar. “I think you didn’t want him to ask that girl he was dating. What was her name again…Bambi?”

  “Barbie.” Jasmine wrinkled her nose. “That’s what she looked like too: a plastic Barbie doll. Don’t tell me a girl like that is gonna wanna go four wheeling with Eli on his parents’ ranch.”

  “When was the last time you went four wheeling with Eli?” Nellie chuckled. “It’s not exactly your thing either.”

  “Yeah, but I grew up on a farm. We like to do a lot of the same things. We always have a good time at the shooting range and--” She stopped when she realized she was trying to convince her friend she was compatible with a man she didn’t even want.

  “I think it’s interesting you’ve never liked any of Eli’s girlfriends.” Nellie waited until the waitress set Jasmine’s drinks on the table. “Ever wondered why?”

  “Because he always chooses women who are all wrong for him.” Jasmine set up the drink and threw it back before she could remember the pain of the burn. “Maybe if he chose someone more his type, I wouldn’t have to question every decision he makes. He’s one of my best friends. I don’t want to see him get hurt by a woman who doesn’t deserve him.”

  “What kind of woman would you like to see him with, Jamie? Someone like you?”

  Eli, Nellie, and her family were the only people who still called her Jamie. When she moved to Los Angeles, she’d changed her name because her modeling agent suggested it. She always hated the name Jamie. It made her feel like a boy. Jasmine made her feel like a woman.

  “I want to see him with someone who’ll make him happy.” She threw back the second drink. That would have to be her last. She couldn’t stomach another. Hopefully four would be enough to get a serious buzz. It should be. As Eli liked to remind her, she was a lightweight.

  “I just find it curious that you don’t think he’s ever had a girlfriend who’s good enough. Lord knows he’s been through at least a hundred women since y’all broke up.”

  Nellie was right. Eli was a player, but since he was gorgeous and a wealthy professional athlete, women seemed willing to accept whatever scraps he threw their way. Jasmine thought his taste in women was pathetic and told him so every chance she got, but he always laughed and told her he was passing time with other girls and saving himself for her.

  ***

  Eli cursed Jamie’s name all the way to Jimmy’s bar. Aiden called to tell him his ex-girlfriend was wrecked and probably needed a ride home. Eli had been on a date with a lovely lawyer Lasting Connections set him up with, but he’d cut the evening short. That’s the way it had always been. Jamie needed him, so he dropped everything to come to her rescue. He loved her and always would, as simple as that.

  She considered him a close friend, which was why Eli didn’t push for more. He wasn’t desperate. He’d never had a shortage of women willing to keep him company, but when he befriended Ava, who ran an upscale dating service, he decided to look for a woman he could be with forever. He wasn’t getting any younger, and he’d already wasted too many years loving Jamie. It was time to find a woman who would love him back.

  He pulled his Land Rover into the parking lot and barely threw it in park before jumping out. Someone as stunning and falling down drunk as Jamie would be a target for the cowboys at Jimmy’s. He had to get in there and stop her from doing something stupid. Just the thought of someone taking advantage of her
made his blood boil. He’d been looking out for her as long as he could remember, and even if Ava helped him find someone else, he couldn’t cut Jamie out of his life. She had been his anchor for too long.

  Eli nodded to the doorman who ushered him inside. He quickly spotted Jasmine sandwiched between two cowboys on the dance floor and headed straight for her. “The lady’s with me,” he said, grabbing her upper arm and pushing the men aside. Both men glared at him until recognition dawned in their eyes.

  “Hey, you’re Eli Rea, aren’t you?” one of them asked.

  “Eli!” Jamie said, throwing her arms around his neck. “What’re you doin’ here?”

  He tried not to get distracted by the scent of her shampoo or the way his body reacted to her over-zealous greeting. God help him, he didn’t know if he’d ever get her out of his system. Grabbing her chin, he forced her to hold his gaze. “How much have you had to drink tonight?” He glared at the two cowboys she’d been dancing with. “Did y’all buy her any drinks?”

  “No,” the smaller of the two men said, raising his hands, “we just hooked up with her on the dance floor. She said she wanted to dance, so we were obligin’.”

  “Yeah, I saw that.” He shot both men a warning look. “Get lost.” They wasted no time obeying his command.

  Aiden came up and put his arm around Eli’s shoulders. “I’m glad you made it, buddy. The lady definitely needs a ride home.”

  “No, I don’t,” Jasmine said, pouting. “We took a taxi.”

  Eli looked around the bar for a familiar face. Was she there with a date who’d let her drink so much? If so, Eli intended to teach him a thing or two about how to treat a lady. “Who’re you here with?”