Passion Abroad – A Billionaire Romance Novel

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Blurb:

A billionaire, vacation, BWWM romance story. Part 1 in the Vacation Tales series. Erica definitely needs a change. Between her no-good cheating ex, and her soul-sucking job, her life is miserable. When she goes on a much-needed vacation, meeting another guy was never in her itinerary.

But when Daniel appears like out of a dream, her life is changed forever! Handsome billionaire Daniel defies all her expectations… And it’s not just his money, but his dashing good looks, great personality, and perhaps even something that will one day lead to love. And as their romance deepens, the world seems to open up to endless possibilities.

But will Erica and Daniel still be passionate about each other after they finish globe-trotting? Or will their whirlwind romance lead to unexpected drama that will force them to break things off for good? Discover now in this BWWM vacation romance novel by J A Fielding.

Chapter 1

Erica Hayes had spent the better part of the weekend sending back the wedding gifts. Writing the apologies was the hardest part and as much as she hated doing it, the truth was that she could not stand having gifts that reminded her of the wedding that was supposed to take place. She took a deep breath when she was done writing the last note and put it in the envelope.

She never really did understand why the woman was always left to deal with the mess in the aftermath. She always wondered why it couldn’t be the other way round. Maybe for once men needed to have a taste of what life was like when the shoe was on the other foot. She sat down and sighed before switching on the TV.

From the corner of her eye, she could see her phone screen blinking on and off. She had put her phone on silent mode and unhooked her house phone. She needed her space. She needed the silence. And it was better that way because every time her phone would ring it would be some person with heartfelt apologies about her wedding and honestly she’d heard enough of that already.

As she sat there, she thought of Eli and the times they’d had. But even though she was trying to focus on the better days of the relationship, her memories seemed set on the day she busted Eli cheating…

It was on a Thursday afternoon and she was feeling on top of the world as she walked to her white BMW.

“You really showed them, Hayes,” said Morris Kirkland, her boss, with a smile.

“Thanks, Mr. Kirkland,” she said with a smile. Morris leaned on the hood of her car and looked at her.

“You keep that up and I will definitely be seeing you in the partnership list soon,” he said. Erica smiled and nodded.

“That is perfect because I have really been wondering when that raise was going to come,” she said. Morris smiled and then laughed.

“At this rate, sooner than you think,” he said before he walked away leaving Erica standing there with butterflies in her tummy. She could not help but feel proud of herself. She had taken on one of the most difficult cases she had ever heard of and she had killed it. A five million dollar settlement was not something people expected especially since the initial offer had been four hundred thousand dollars. Actually, no one had seen that coming, not even the other lawyers. Everyone thought that she would probably get a million or a million and a half, not more than that. Guess everyone was more than a little shocked when they heard the ruling.

 As soon as she got in the car, she cranked up the radio and smiled to herself as she sang along to Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer.

“Oh yeah. There ain’t no school like the old school,” she thought as she sang along. She passed by Antonio’s Grill, one of her favorite restaurants. She had made it a habit to get a celebratory dinner of ravioli and cherry tomatoes from Antonio’s and as usual, she always got two dinners. She had just walked out of Antonio’s when she decided to give Eli a heads up and let him know she was on her way.

“That’s odd,” she thought when Eli didn’t pick up. “Maybe he is in the bathroom or something,” she thought as she started her car. She shrugged and buckled in before she began driving home. She had considered getting a touch up on her hair but she shrugged the thought off. “If it was good enough for the jury, then it is good enough for Eli,” she said to herself as she caught a glimpse of her reflection.

Erica liked to consider herself as a small person with a big personality. She had learned to love and appreciate her height the day she discovered high heels. After spending her years in high school and college being the short girl, she had made a decision to see her glass as half full especially since she was the most promising student in her class. After college, she got into the prestigious Kirkland & Smith, the leading law firm in the country and according to Forbes, the third largest firm in the UK and US combined. Most of her classmates were jealous since she was earning almost triple what they were making in her first year alone. Two months into the new job, Erica had already earned a name for herself. She was like the Bethany Horowitz at Kirkland & Ellis, small but dangerous.

When she finally got home, she looked at her reflection in the mirror before she pulled out the pin that held her loose bun in place, letting her thick luxurious brown hair flow on her shoulders. She grabbed the takeout boxes from Antonio’s Grill and stepped out of the car but when she saw her reflection in the driver seat window, she frowned. She put the boxes on the car roof before she took off the jacket she had on leaving her in a cream colored pencil button down knee-length dress. Braving the cold Vermont weather would definitely be worth it in a few minutes. She twisted her head to the side wondering what to do to look a little sexier, not that she needed any help or anything.

“A button or two should do the trick,” she thought as she undid two buttons –and then a third. A smile played on her lips when she saw how perfect her cleavage looked. It was like looking at two amazingly perfect cushions on her chest. She grabbed her bag and the takeout boxes before she walked into the house.

“Eli! Babe I’m home,” she announced when she walked into the three bedroom house she shared with her fiancé. She looked around the living room and raised an eyebrow. There were two wine glasses and some Chinese takeout boxes. The TV was on but there was no sign of Eli. She shook her head as she put her bag down and kicked off her shoes before she began clearing the table. This was classic Eli. He would always entertain his friends and forget or ignore to clean up. “Too bad you ruined your appetite. I brought us ravioli for dinner and you know what that means. I won!” she said excitedly as she walked the two glasses to the kitchen. She put her hands on the counter and wondered why Eli was not answering. A smile played on her lips when she realized that Eli must have been in the bathroom. He hated talking while on the can. He always said it was bad manners. But Erica could not wait to share her good news. She quickly made her way out of the kitchen and began walking down the hallway. But when she touched the doorknob, her heart skipped a beat. She saw a shoe outside her bedroom door, a shoe that didn’t belong to her. She tried taking deep breaths as she walked towards her bedroom. There was no telling what she would find. Her mind was going crazy with all the different but possible scenarios waiting for her on the other side of the door. When she got there and pushed the door open, she gasped in anticipation but all she saw was an empty bed. An empty unmade bed. She looked around and blinked back tears when she saw a black satin skirt and a flowered blouse on the floor. She could hear the shower running in the bathroom and the clothes on the floor along with the unmade bed told her more than she needed to know. But for some reason, she found herself slowly walking towards the bathroom. She wanted to stop herself but for some crazy reason, she couldn’t.

“Oh my God,” she said in a low voice when she opened the bathroom door and came face to face with a naked Eli who was pinning a naked woman to the bathroom wall. She opened her mouth to speak but she was not sure what she was supposed to say. She gave him a disappointed look before she pulled off the princess cut engagement ring and threw it at him. She spun on her heel and walked out of the bedroom leaving Eli calling out to her but she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear anything he had to say. All she knew was that the wedding was off and she could not stand being in that house a second longer. As the tears finally began rolling down her cheeks, Eli chased after her as she ran out to her car and started the engine. As she drove away, the red Prius parked opposite her house finally registered in her mind. She had seen it before, many times before…which meant that this, Eli’s indiscretions had been going on for a while. As she drove off, she could not help but wonder if he had cheated on her because she was always busy working.

“No, this has nothing to do with you, Erica. He made the choice to cheat because he didn’t deserve you,” she told herself as she drove off but even those encouraging words were not enough to make her feel better about herself. The next thing she knew, Eli’s stuff was gone from the house. He had moved out and moved on with his life without giving her as much as an explanation. And even though Erica knew she deserved an explanation, she didn’t really want anything that reminded her of Eli’s betrayal.

Erica was staring at the ceiling with the sounds of Pierce Morgan in the background when she heard her apartment door open. She rolled her head to the side to see her sister Emily and her longtime friend Cassandra walking in.

“That officially marks the last service provider canceled,” Cassandra said as she sat down next to Erica.

“Thanks guys, I couldn’t have done this without you,” Erica said forcing out a smile.

“By the way, you should really lock up. The world is a dangerous place to be in nowadays,” Emily said in a cheerful voice. Erica looked at her and shook her head.

“I literally live in a building practically owned by the police department,” she said. That may have not been reason enough but for her it was enough. It had always been enough knowing that eighty per cent of her neighbors had firearms; legal firearms.