Her First Read online

  HER FIRST

  A NOVEL

  DIAMOND MCKENZIE

  Electronics Edition

  Copyright © 2014 4AllSeasons Publishing

  Published by

  4AllSeasons Publishing

  [email protected]

  Her First. Copyright © 2014 by 4AllSeasons Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages to be included in a review.

  All characters, names, descriptions and traits are products of the author’s imagination. Similarities to actual people – living or dead – are purely coincidental.

  Cover design by: SG Creations

  Chapter 1

  “Congratulations on your wedding, Madison.”

  “Thank you,” twenty-two year old Madison Allen replied as she looked up into the eyes of her co-worker, Owen Capers.

  “When will we get to meet the lucky groom?” Owen asked as he ate the last bite of cake on his plate.

  Her emerald eyes darted downwards as she repeated to him the response she had rehearsed and given everyone all day. “As soon as his schedule allows, I’ll bring him up to the office for everyone to meet.”

  Madison thanked everyone for coming to the wedding shower her manager insisted the department throw for her. She was fortunate to intern at Mirror Images, Inc. during her senior year of college. When she graduated last year, the head of the advertising department offered her a full time job. She jumped at the chance to be an account representative. Some of her sorority sisters were still trying to find employment in their fields.

  As an account representative, Madison was responsible for coming up with innovative advertising campaigns. Her accounts consisted of small to global companies in all types of industries. She had been receiving gifts from her clients all week. Deep down inside she felt guilty about accepting the gifts her co-workers and clients so thoughtfully picked out. She glanced at her watch. Her plane for Las Vegas would be leaving in less than twenty-four hours so she knew she had to get home to do some last minute packing. And when she returned to work a week later, she would be a married woman.

  Some of her co-workers helped carry her gifts to her car, congratulating her once more along the way. For the rainy season of April, it was a beautiful sun shining spring day and under normal circumstances she would have driven with the top down on her convertible candy apple Mustang, but today she had to worry about the trail of gifts and cards that she could possibly leave down the highway. So the windows being partially rolled down would have to suffice.

  As Madison stopped at a red light, the passenger in a midnight-blue SUV that was stopped next to her attempted to flirt with her, but she ignored his advances. As she sped away, she heard him yell obscenities at her.

  “That’s why I didn’t acknowledge your existence,” she blurted out.

  She drove the rest of the way home listening to one of her favorite Dallas radio stations. Taylor Swift's latest song blasted through her speakers as she drove home in rush hour traffic.

  When she pulled into the driveway of her two-bedroom ranch style home, she spotted a familiar car. It belonged to none other than her best friend, Charlotte. Madison had hoped to avoid Charlotte until after her return trip from Las Vegas, but luck wasn’t on her side.

  Madison got out of the car, deciding to come back for the gifts and cards later. When Charlotte saw Madison get out of her car, she got out of hers as well. The two greeted each other without speaking a word, but with a hug only. Madison could since that Charlotte wanted to explode with words, but as she followed her up the sidewalk and to the doorstep, she stood silently until Madison unlocked the front door and the two entered.

  “How could you plan on sneaking to Vegas without a word?” Charlotte said, closing the door behind her. “I had to find out from your sister that you were leaving in the morning.”

  Madison knew that she wouldn’t be able to keep her secret for long and really needed someone to confide in. “If you give me a minute to get settled, I’ll explain everything,” she said, setting her keys and purse down on the living room end table.

  Charlotte crossed her arms and with an attitude responded, “You’d better, because we’ve been friends far too long for me to hear about this from someone else. This really hurts. I thought we were close, but I guess I was wrong.”

  “Calm down. I’ll explain it all in a minute,” Madison announced, trying to calm her friend down.

  Charlotte frowned. “You definitely have some explaining to do, missy.”

  “Make yourself at home,” Madison said, as she headed towards her bedroom. “I’ll be right back.”

  When Madison returned to the living room she could hear some rustling around in the kitchen, where Charlotte was making herself a turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich. Madison went into the kitchen and took a seat on one of the wooden barstools at the island and sat silently until Charlotte finished making her sandwich and joined her on the barstool next to her.

  She and Charlotte had been friends and inseparable since first grade. Although they each had siblings, they were more like sisters. Charlotte could have been a model if she'd pursued it. Her fiery red hair was an eye-catcher. People seemed to always take notice of Madison's sparkling emerald eyes. They both shared the same likes, but when it came to dealing with issues, especially issues that involved men, they were complete opposites.

  Madison cleared her throat. “I know what I’m about to tell you might sound crazy, but please hear me out before you interrupt.”

  Charlotte took a bite of her sandwich and after swallowing said, “Sure.” She continued to eat while listening to Madison.

  “I’m going to Las Vegas because everyone thinks the ring I’m wearing is an engagement ring.”

  “Okay, I know that much,” Charlotte said in a nonchalant tone.

  “And they think I’m going to Vegas to marry my fiancé.”

  Charlotte almost choked. “What in the world? What fiancé? How could you keep something like this from me? Who is he? Do I know him?”

  Madison waited for Charlotte to stop blurting out questions. “Are you through so I can finish?”

  Charlotte took a sip of her drink. “Go ahead,” she said as she looked at Madison in amazement.

  “The key word is everyone thinks. I’m tired of my mother bugging me about getting married. I just graduated from college. You would think that I had time. But she wants me to be like my sisters and get married right after graduation."

  "Marriage is overrated if you ask me."

  "My mom doesn't think so. She thinks that all of her daughters should be married and now that I've graduated from college, she won't let up on me. I had to do something. The idea hit me after I saw this lady do it in a movie.”

  “Uh huh,” Charlotte said as she stared at her in disbelief. “The idea of what?”

  “If my family thinks I’m married, maybe they’ll stop asking me about my love life. Then I can go on with my life worry free. I won’t have to listen to the countless questions about why, when, etcetera.”

  Charlotte put her drink down and pushed her plate away. “So you’re telling me you’ve planned a fake wedding and everyone, including your family, thinks you’re going to Las Vegas to get married?”

  “Yes,” Madison said, putting her head down in shame.

  Charlotte looked at her with such pity before bursting out into laughter. “Girl, are you crazy? How in the world do you think you’re going to pull it off? You do have to come back. And when you do come back, without a husband I might add, what will you
tell everyone?”

  “Actually, I’ve told everyone he travels a lot and when he’s in town, we only have time for each other.”

  “You’ve been setting this up for awhile. I thought you bought the ring to ward off men you didn’t want to talk to. I never thought you would do something this stupid.”

  Madison defended herself. “I don’t think it’s stupid at all,” she said getting up from the barstool and began pacing. “Besides, I’m due for a vacation and this will keep people out of my business, especially the people at the office. Now maybe my director will stop flirting with me every chance he gets.”

  Charlotte shook her head and said, “I can see you telling people at work, but did you have to lie to your own family?”

  “You know my family. They’re as bad as my co-workers,” Madison said, throwing her hands up. “You know for yourself that they’re always asking me when I’m going to settle down. I’m sick and tired of being made to feel like something is wrong with me because I didn't get married after high school like my sisters," Madison said, in frustration.

  “I hear you, but still this is going to back fire and then what?”

  “This will bide me some time. I can always tell them it didn’t work out and I got a quick divorce.”

  “Sounds like you’ve thought of everything.”

  Madison walked towards the side door of her house, which was off the kitchen. “I sure did. Now help me get my wedding presents out of the car.”

  Charlotte shook her head and began to chuckle. “Watching you work your way through this one is going to be fun!”

  ***

  Madison’s trip to Las Vegas was filled with gambling and shows. In addition to enjoying Las Vegas, she rented a car and drove to Los Angeles to do more sight-seeing. On the plane ride back home to Dallas she closed her eyes and tried to relax, but the man sitting next to her annoyed her by constantly pecking on his keyboard. He noticed her irritation and offered to let her borrow his headphones so that he wouldn’t be as distracting, but Madison declined with a, “No thank you.”

  “Are you sure?” the gentleman inquired. “I have to finish this report or I won’t meet my deadline. I do apologize for the inconvenience.”

  Madison sighed and then opened her eyes. She turned to look at her traveling companion and noticed his captivating gray eyes, and although he wasn’t smiling, she could see the dimples in his cheeks. For once, she was at a loss for words.

  “Uh, yeah, I’m sure,” she stammered.

  “Well let me know if you change your mind,” he said as he continued to type away on his keyboard.

  Madison couldn’t take her eyes off of him. When he looked up from his laptop and caught her staring at him, she felt a little embarrassed, but snapped back with a catchy excuse. “Excuse me for staring, but you look familiar,” she lied.

  He smiled and assumed she was flirting. He didn’t mind at all. He’d lost his concentration now that she was finally warming up to him. From the moment Madison sat down next to him her alluring fragrance captivated him. The red blouse she wore accented the two things he admired most on a woman, pretty eyes and ample breasts.

  “I’m Ethan Campbell and you are?” he asked while extending his hand.

  “Madison Allen,” Madison replied, extending her hand as well.

  They shook hands and in unison they said, “Nice to meet you.”

  They both felt a jolt of electricity, and since neither knew how to respond to it, they remained silent. Ethan went back to pecking on his laptop and Madison pretended to be reading one of those airline magazines she had just pulled from the back of the seat in front of her. Several minutes later the stewardess headed down the aisle with the drink cart, offering each passenger drinks. When the stewardess got to them, Madison passed on a drink and Ethan appeared to be engulfed in his work and didn’t respond to the query.

  “The stewardess wants to know if you want something to drink,” Madison said, tapping Ethan on the arm.

  He looked up. “I’m sorry. Yes, a cup of coffee would be nice.”

  After the stewardess fulfilled Ethan’s request, they continued the rest of the flight in silence. Both tried to ignore the feeling of being in such close proximity to one another. Soon they heard the stewardess’ voice blared over the loudspeakers instructing the passengers to turn off all electronic items. As Ethan attempted to put away his laptop under the seat in front of him, he’d forgotten that he had sat his almost empty cup of coffee on the floor and accidentally splashed the remains on Madison’s shoes. He looked up to apologize, but nothing came out of his mouth. Madison jumped in her seat and blurted out, “Excuse you.”

  “I’m so sorry. I forgot that I had put it there,” Ethan apologized.

  “I just got these shoes and now they’re ruined.” She frowned.

  He pulled out his business card and wrote something on the back before handing it to her. “My home number is on the back. I’ll buy you another pair, regardless of the cost.”

  Although she knew she should be upset that he’d ruined a hundred and twenty dollar pair of shoes that she had received as a birthday gift, one look into his apologetic eyes almost made her melt in her seat.

  “Okay,” she smiled and said. “Trust me. I’ll be calling you. Let me give you my information, too.”

  He wrote down her information as she recited it to him.

  “Again Madison,” Ethan said as they headed off the plane, “I’m so sorry.”

  “Apology accepted, but it’s Ms. Allen to you,” she teased.

  Chapter 2

  Ethan’s brother was always late and today was no exception. As Ethan stood at the curb at pick-up outside of baggage claim, he took out his cell phone and called to find out why Frederick wasn’t at the airport to pick him up. He normally drove himself and parked his car in the secured parking garage, but it was at the dealership for its scheduled maintenance, so instead he had arranged for Frederick to be his means of transportation.

  The two brothers were total opposites. Ethan prided himself on being punctual and would rather be early than late. Frederick ran on his own clock; the clock of never being on time. Ethan was twenty-seven and although five years younger than Frederick, his six-four frame towered over Frederick by two inches. They both had inherited their mother’s olive complexion and their father’s alluring gray eyes. Ethan chose to wear his hair short, while Frederick opted for a clean shaven bald head.

  Ethan re-dialed Frederick’s cell phone number, but before it could ring, a charcoal gray Range Rover pulled up to the curve in front of where he was standing. “Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for almost an hour,” Ethan scolded as he threw his luggage into the back seat.

  Frederick, who was on his cell phone, bobbing his head to the beat of the tune that was playing in his CD changer, ended his phone conversation and responded, “I’m sorry. I got caught up in construction traffic on LBJ Freeway and then my phone kept ringing off the hook.”

  “I’ve called you twice. I swear our birth orders got mixed up. I should have been the oldest.”

  Ethan settled into the passenger’s seat as Frederick drove towards the interstate.

  “At least I didn’t leave you stranded,” Frederick said to his brother who was light-weight giving him the silent treatment. “That’s all that matters.”

  “You would say that.”

  “Anyway, what are your plans for Memorial Day weekend? A group of us are going to Cancun. Let me know and I’ll get your ticket.”

  Ethan thought about what happened the last time he hung out with Frederick and his friends and decided to pass. “I’ll take my chances on finding something to do around here.”

  “Whatever man,” he replied, as his cell phone rang again. “It’s your loss.”

  As they rode to Ethan’s house in Plano, Texas, Frederick updated him on what had been happening with some of their friends. Ethan halfway listened because he couldn’t seem to get his airline traveling companion off his mind. He cou
ldn’t get the softness of her beautiful eyes and the smell of her sweet floral fragrance out of his head. He knew he would be calling her the first opportunity he got.

  ***

  Madison sat on her camel colored suede living room couch checking her voice messages at home and at the office. Her mailboxes overflowed with congratulatory messages from people about her nuptials. At the end of her vacation, she thought about the hoax she’d pulled on everyone. She looked at all the gifts she’d received and a flurry of guilt consumed her. She would send every one of them back once she announced that the marriage had failed. In six months she would announce that she and her invisible husband couldn’t work out their differences and were filing for divorce. Yes, that is exactly what she would do. To Madison’s dismay, it still didn’t make her feel any less guilty as she knew for the next six months she would be living a lie.

  The next morning, she arrived at work ready to play her role. She’d almost forgotten to put the ring she’d purchased back on her finger. She had to make it look authentic. She applied her make-up so she would appear to have a happy newlywed glow. As soon as she entered the lobby door, she ran into some of the office gossipers.

  Different co-workers came up to her. “Hi. You look marvelous. We were all wondering if you were going to come back to us after your whirlwind romance.”

  Madison smiled and placed her left hand up to her mouth to show off her ring. “Now you know I couldn’t leave you guys. I love working here too much,” she lied.

  One of the ladies spoke out. “You never told us his name.”

  Madison began to get nervous. She blurted out the first name that came to mind. “His name is Ethan and he’s magnificent.”

  Another lady chimed in and asked, “So what’s your new last name?”

  Madison hadn’t thought about it, but answered, “Campbell, but I’ll still use my maiden name.”