Too Bad... It's Complicated Read online

  Too Bad... It's Complicated

  Emma Vikes

  © Copyright 2019 - All rights reserved.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters are all productions of the author’s imagination. Please note that this work is intended only for adults over the age of 18.

  Interior Book Design and Typesetting by FormatNow International

  www.FormatNow.com

  Contents

  Teaser

  Special Offer

  Prologue

  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

  Epilogue

  A Note From The Author

  Too Bad… I Couldn’t Resist (A Sneak Peek)

  Teaser

  Chapter 1

  Also by Emma Vikes

  Join My Romance Reader Group

  About The Author

  Teaser

  “Had our parents never gotten together, I would’ve been with her. As a couple, we would’ve been amazing. Too bad it’s complicated now!”

  Patrick Cunningham

  Britney Baldwin, the gorgeous golden-haired daughter of Senator Christopher Baldwin and the future heiress of Baldwin Stocks is completely off limit.

  But Patrick can’t stop thinking about her.

  She is epitome of grace, beauty and sensuality. And every time his eyes land on her, all he can think is how much he wants to mark her as his own.

  Pat knows that acting on whatever feelings he has for Brit will be his downfall because she is his step sister.

  But one event.

  One announcement.

  One night of mourning of her heartbreak leads them to bed, probably fueled by liquid courage or by their own insatiable desires for each other that both have kept hidden for so many years.

  They decide that it will remain an untold secret between them, but there's something Patrick needs to hide from Britney – a Bigger Secret!

  What Is It???

  “Too Bad… It’s Complicated” is the second book in the Too Bad series of standalone contemporary romance novellas with no cliffhanger, no cheating.

  If you believe in “Happily Ever After” with a high dose of steamy love sequences and suspense, that will raise your heartbeats, then you will love “Too Bad … It’s Complicated” by Emma Vikes for sure.

  Are you ready for a wild ride with Pat and Brit?

  Then grab your kindle and your favorite bucket of ice-cream and dive in!

  Special Offer

  Are you interested in reading a hot and steamy contemporary romance story for FREE that would make your heart beat faster, gasping for breath?

  * * *

  Then surely you need to try out “THE SECRET LOVER”.

  You will get the link to download the above freebie at the end of this book.

  Prologue

  Patrick

  11 years ago

  The knock on my door was gentle, almost soothing. Nothing like the knocks I'd grown used to in the past five years. There was no rush or urgency about this one and, for a moment, I was transported back five years ago, when our family was intact and my mother wasn't jumping from powerful businessman to renowned politician, wiggling her way into their bank accounts and leaving them when she had been bought enough.

  I heard the door open slowly, the creak of the fine mahogany door filling my room. I sat up on the bed and watched as my mother slowly crept inside. Even in the darkness, I could see what she was wearing and, even at night, she still looked prim and pristine. Lara Cunningham was decked in a maroon silk robe, her platinum blonde hair tucked tight in a bun. Sometimes I thought my mother was a supernatural creature. She looked like she’d never aged a day.

  “Pat?”

  I closed my eyes at the tenderness of her voice. It had been a while since I’d heard her say my name in a motherly tone. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed it, how much I’d missed the mother-son bond we used to have before dad had left with a girl that would’ve been the same age as my deceased sister, Paula, who’d died tragically early.

  I sat up on my bed slowly and turned on the lamp on my bedside table. The soft glow of white light illuminated her face. She sat on the edge of my bed, cautious. “I’m glad to see you’re awake.”

  The red digits of my alarm clock read that it was fourteen minutes till midnight. I’d got into bed nearly an hour and a half ago when I was done with all my homework. “Did you need something, mother?”

  She winced at the formality, which surprised me. She hadn’t said a word since I began calling her mother instead of mom. Sometimes I thought she basked in it since most of the kids in my school called their parents such. It made her more a part of the Upper East Side, which collected snobby kids that hated their parents. Sometimes I think Paula’s death changed our mother for the worse because she seemed to crave power more than anything. A lot of the time, recently, I didn’t think she was the woman who’d raised me.

  “I haven’t been a good mother lately, have I?”

  The question caught me off-guard. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to answer it because I wasn’t sure how she wanted me to answer it and what she wanted to hear. Parents could be tricky like that at times, my mother most of the time. She must’ve seen my hesitation because she smiled slightly and then nudged my knee gently with her hand.

  “It’s okay, Pat, I won’t get mad at you if you tell me the truth.”

  I brushed my hair to the side, so it didn't fall over my eyes as I gave her my response. "Yes. You're making dad look good."

  “You haven’t called me mom in five years.”

  “So you did notice.”

  Mom scooted closer to me on the bed so her hand could touch my face. “I’m sorry, Patrick. When Paula died, I…I forgot how to be a mother. Joining the ranks of the Upper East Siders parents didn’t benefit me much either.”

  I chuckled. “At least it gave you more tips on how to look the part.”

  Her hand lingered on my face, and I leaned my head against it, relishing my mother's touch that I'd missed for five years. Still, I knew she hadn’t come here to apologize. "You didn't come here for that."

  She pulled her hand away and looked down, and I couldn't help but sigh. A part of me wondered if this was an act, but a part of me wanted desperately to believe that she was willing to build another bridge to replace the severed one. “You’ve always been such a bright boy, Patrick. A trait your father liked to claim you got from him but here’s a little secret, you got it from my side.”

  “What’s this about mom?”

  Mom touched my hair and brushed up the strands that kept falling over my eyes. “I’m seeing someone.”

  The other times she’d told me that she was dating someone, she’d always dropped it so casually or left me to find out about it myself from a classmate or a friend. I searched her green eyes for answers, and all I got was a wild glint in them, a wistful gleam that made me think maybe this one was different.

  “What happened to Michael Trough?”

  I’d found out she was seeing the enigmati
c CEO of the Trough Fashion Line through a gossip website. I’d confronted her about it and she just casually waved me off and told me to mind my own business because she wasn’t complaining about the girls I dated and brought to events. Mom sighed and then lowered her hands and brought them together.

  “It didn’t work out between us, Patrick. Mike was too…feminine for me." She waved her hand and then offered me a soft smile. "But Chris is different. He's passionate and driven, and he has such a big heart for serving people, Pat. He's so…inspiring. And I can just imagine how much that would affect you as you grow up. You need that kind of role model in life, that kind of father figure.”

  I sat up straighter and stared at her in confusion. “Father figure? Mom, what the hell are you talking about?”

  It's then that I noticed it. The diamond glinted under the lamp's light, and it was nestled perfectly on my mother's finger. My jaw clenched, and my hands closed into fists as I pieced it all together. "You're marrying a guy I’ve never even met?"

  Mom sighed. “I knew you’d react this way. Chris was sure you would take it in your stride, but you're nothing like his daughter who never questions things.”

  My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Wait, I’m not only getting a step-father but a sister too? Mom, are you sure your head is in the right place? How long have you known him?”

  She touched my head, and her thumb caressing my cheek. "I've known him for a while. For three years, to be exact. It was an on again, off again thing, Patrick, but neither of us was ready for real commitment. He used to be your father's associate, so we've known each other for a while."

  I looked at her with narrowed eyes. “Who is he?”

  “Christopher Baldwin,” she answered and sighed, “you’ve met him quite a few times and admire him if I say so myself.”

  She wasn’t lying.

  Christopher Baldwin was the man I wished my father was. A family man, a brilliant entrepreneur, a smart businessman who knew how to negotiate and, most of all, he had the charisma of someone running for office. He was the kind of man I aspired to be no matter how much my father used to dampen my spirits about my poor grades and lack of social skills.

  I remembered the tragic event that took Christopher Baldwin’s wife’s life. I had been present at the funeral, and in my hazy memory, I remembered the young girl tucked into her father’s arms, clutching a small stuffed animal, but I couldn’t remember what it had been. But I remembered how pretty she looked with her long blonde hair and pretty hazel eyes. She was sweet too, and too young to have lost a parent in that way.

  “Mom…”

  “Give him a chance, Pat,” she said, smoothing out my hair with a brush of her hand, “and maybe you’ll find that this isn’t half as bad as you think it is. We’ll be having brunch tomorrow with Chris and Britney. Please, Patrick, don’t ruin this for me and I promise you, you’ll get a family that you deserve.”

  The following morning, I stared at myself in the mirror, making sure that my tie wasn’t crooked. One of the rules of being a part of the Upper East Side was to make sure that you always looked your best. My father was born and bred in Brooklyn. My mother was a part of the filthy rich. Maybe it was love that had brought them together, but still, it was their differences that had torn them apart.

  Downstairs, I could hear loud voices and my mother’s unmistakable flirty laugh. It made me cringe. But I knew that I had to get my ass downstairs and meet them. In five years, this was the first time that my mother had asked me for a favor and, to be honest, I wasn’t entirely appalled with the idea of being Christopher Baldwin’s step-son.

  However, the thought became appalling the moment I reached the last step of the stairs and came face to face with the Britney Baldwin.

  I hadn't seen her since her mother's funeral all those years ago. I was told she went to an all-girls boarding school the year after her mother had died. On vacations, she went to the Hamptons with her father and our paths just never crossed. That explains why her appearance took me by surprise. Britney was two years younger than me, but there was no denying that she was growing into a fine young woman.

  Her golden locks cascaded down her back in soft curls that I would have loved to run my hands through. Her hazel eyes shined and looked golden under the soft light streaming through the windows. She was smiling and beaming as she talked with mom, her eyes crinkling at the sides and her dimples showing as she laughed at whatever absurd thing my mother was telling her.

  “Ah, Patrick! It’s nice for you to join us!” It was Christopher who first spotted me and moved closer to where I stood. He placed an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close, a grin on his face. “Patrick, you’re growing into a fine man, I see. I can almost imagine you as CEO and running your own business.”

  It was the kind of compliment I’d never received from my father, the kind my mother used to shower me with when Paula had still been around. A declaration of who she wanted me to become. Christopher's hand was heavy on my shoulder, and the wide smile on his face held the kind of warmth that my father's smiles never had.

  “I can make that happen for you, kid.” He patted me on the chest. “If you give me a chance."

  The brunch wasn’t very eventful. It was mostly filled with stories about how mom and Chris had met and awkward moments for me whenever they started being sweet with each other. It was clear that my mom adored him, and I could see in Chris’s eyes that he liked my mother too, that his feelings were sincere and his intentions were clear.

  “So, we’re gonna be siblings, huh. I’ve always wanted a brother.”

  I had excused myself from the table and gone to the balcony for fresh air. I hadn’t expected Britney to follow me. Her eyes fell on the cigarette in my hand and her eyebrows raised, a sneaky smile playing on her face. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell, big brother.”

  I scoffed and continued to suck on it. It wasn’t that being called big brother bothered me. It was just that Britney was the same age as some of the girls I dated. How good she looked didn’t help much either. “How’s boarding school?”

  Britney shrugged her shoulders and grabbed the cigarette from my mouth and placed it between her lips. She didn’t cough it out but sucked on it and blew the smoke with sassy confidence, like she was completely used to it. I wanted to ask her if that was what she had learned at boarding school, but it seemed rude to say it out loud.

  She must've read my thoughts because she chuckled and leaned her back against the railing. "Boarding school is boring. If you want to ask why daddy shipped me there, well, it's simply because I'm so tired with people bringing up my mother. Daddy thought a change of perspective would do me well. It's only been two years, but I'm doing well. I kind of miss New York though, I might ask daddy to enroll me back next year. Your school has a sister school, right? If I remember it correctly.”

  “St. Monica is just across from mine,” I mumbled and watched as the corner of her lips lifted up in a smile. She lifted a finger and traced my jaw with it slowly. For a moment, I wondered if she was teasing me.

  “Good, at least there will be more boys to see. That’s the worst con of boarding school, the lack of testosterone bothers me.” Britney finished off my cigarette and dropped it on the ground, smirking at me. Her eyes traveled from my face and down my body, slowly, like she was checking me out. “Too bad we’re family now.”

  Chapter 1

  Patrick

  Present Day

  The crowd had already gathered when I arrived. It wasn’t surprising, Senator Christopher Baldwin always knew how to get himself an audience. He was the most loved and most celebrated senator in the state. It’s been two months since he came back to New York. He always seemed to be busy, squirming his way into the president’s favor and that of the entire country.

  “Patrick! Son!” Chris greeted me when he spotted me, giving me a big fatherly hug. I returned it with the same enthusiasm.

  Chris and I had bonded well over the past ten years since he had become
my step-father. He started out as my friend, genuinely curious about getting to know me and thus he had come to know me better than my biological father ever had. He hadn’t reprimanded me for my drinking habits during my teen years and early 20’s. He wasn’t judgmental. He left the disciplinarian role in my mother’s hands and regarded me how he would regard a nephew or a friend. It was a nice relationship, and I felt at ease with him. He saw me as a son too and tried as hard as he could to make it seem like he didn’t favor Britney too much over me.

  My mother on the other hand…

  “Patrick just finished his Master’s in Harvard last summer,” Mom began to say. Well, to put it into more specific terms, she began to brag. “Top of his class still. A degree in political science and business. He’s also considering being in office.”

  Beside her, Christopher chuckled. "He still has a lot more training to undergo, but I'm sure Pat's up for it. The boy's always been a troop to learn new things." He ruffled my hair like he always had when I was younger, the gesture affectionate.

  “Ah, seems like he’s more of his step-father’s son than his own biological one,” Harold Quinn mused, looking at me up and down. He was one of Chris’s financial advisers and the executive assistant in Chris’s stock exchange company.

  I just smiled at him, acting as bashful and humble as I could. One of the many things that Chris had taught me. Act like your feet are on the ground even when your ego is soaring and inflating like a helium balloon. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”