Hard Hearted: Billion Dollar Hearts, #1

By Bethany M. Sefchick

James Livingston has been dumped!  He's a billionaire!  He doesn't get dumped!  Unfortunately for him, this time he has and he now has a handful of days to find a new date for a destination wedding being held on his family's private island off of Cape Cod – preferably a date that has no designs on marrying him.  Which is a bit difficult because just about every woman James knows wants to marry him.  Except James isn't the marrying kind.  He also doesn't believe in love.

 

Callie Morgan has known James for years.  After all, she's his sister's old college roommate and current best friend.  Except that Callie doesn't exactly move in the same social circles that James does.  She does, however, know exactly what kind of man James is and always has been.  She's also under no illusions about him as a potential lover, let alone boyfriend.  In other words, in James' eyes, she's the perfect date.

 

When James makes Callie an offer she can't refuse, she quickly finds herself swept up in a whirlwind, week-long adventure she could have never imagined.  Is Callie strong enough to resist the so-called "Livingston Magic" and keep James at arm's length or will she be seduced by the man she's had a crush on for years?  And will James ever realize that the woman he's been looking for has been right under his nose all along?

 

This 105,450 word novel is written in the modern romance style for a slightly hotter and sexier read.  It may not be appropriate for younger audiences.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bethany M. Sefchick
• Release date: Jun 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201979447

Bethany M. Sefchick

Making her home in the mountains of central Pennsylvania, Bethany Sefchick lives with her husband, Ed, and a plethora of Betta fish that she’s constantly finding new ways to entertain. In addition to writing, Bethany owns a jewelry company, Easily Distracted Designs. It should be noted that the owner of the titular Selon Park - one Lord Nicholas Rosemont, the Duke of Candlewood, a.k.a. "The Bloody Duke" - first appeared in her mind when she was eighteen years old and had no idea what to make of him, or of his slightly snarky smile.  She has been attempting to dislodge him ever since - with absolutely no success. When not penning romance novels or creating sparkly treasures, she enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, and lavishing attention on any stray cats who happen to be hanging around. She always enjoys hearing from her fans at: [e-mail]

Book preview

Chapter One

Damn it all, anyway!  James Livingston threw his cell phone down on his desk and spun around to face the glittering Boston skyline.  This view usually always calmed him but today it simply enraged him even further.  All the women in this city and not one of them is willing to be my date to this damn wedding?

A low, female voice chuckled from just beyond the doorway of his state-of-the-art chrome and glass office.  I have no idea why women aren’t positively swooning at your feet right now, brother dear.  What with your sparkling personality and all.

Shut it, Lizzy, James growled at his sister, though there was no real heat in his tone.  As his younger sister, Elizabeth Livingston – who went by Lizzy to her friends and family – could get away with just about anything and she knew it.  How did you get into my office suite anyway?

Lizzy sauntered inside as if she owned the place, which, to be fair, she partially did.  Though a multi-billion-dollar, global company, Livingston Corp still maintained its world headquarters in the same Boston skyscraper that their great-grandfather Augustus had purchased generations before.  It was also a family-owned business and though she mostly worked at home these days, Lizzy had an office just down the hall from James.

James just hadn’t known she was in that office when he’d started making calls to try and find a date at this late hour.  If he had, he would have been a lot quieter.  And a lot more circumspect.  The last thing he needed were rumors starting that the so-called Bastard of Boston couldn’t get a date for one of the most exclusive weddings of the year.

Normally, women would be climbing over each other to be seen on his arm, especially at such a high-profile event.  Not this time, apparently.  Damn Darya and her skinny, bony, billionaire-seeking ass anyway.

This time when Lizzy laughed, it was the full, rich sound that was so familiar to James.  It also contained just a hint of mockery.  Your newest guard dog at the door?  Chloe?  I had her in tears after a single glance.

You did not!  James strode across his office, flung open the door, and peered out into the dimly lit reception area beyond.

Much like his office, the reception area was furnished in leather and still more chrome, accented in dark, rich jewel-toned colors.  It was also deathly quiet and very, very empty.

It shouldn’t have been.  Chloe still should have been at her desk.  Damn her and Lizzy too while he was at it, his foul mood not improving in the least.

I can assure you, I did.  Lizzy studied her nails before polishing them on her suit jacket, as if she considered bringing the woman to tears an accomplishment.  Chole nearly cries each time she answered the phone, James.  She’s hardly appropriate executive assistant material, no matter how good her ass looked in a skirt.

That was the one thing James loved about his sister, no matter what else she did or said.  She didn’t pull any punches and she wasn’t afraid to talk dirty when the need arose.  Right now, she apparently felt the need had arisen.  His grandmother would have approved.  His fussy, bitchy mother?  Not so much.

So she had a nice ass.  What of it? he snapped, even though he knew that was exactly why he had kept Chloe around when he should have fired her weeks ago.  Because she was incompetent.  Beyond incompetent, actually.  Besides, why is it so difficult to find qualified people these days? he all but growled, beyond irritated.

Again, perhaps your charming demeanor might have a little something to do with your inability to keep qualified office staff.  Lizzy sauntered into James’ office and dropped down into a chair.  You’re not exactly the easiest person to work for you know.  She waved a hand in the air.  Bastard of Boston and all of that?  At this point, I probably could have just waved at the poor girl and she would have taken off running.  Even if she was competent, you probably have her scared half to death with all of your snapping and snarling.

James scribbled a note to himself to contact the employment agency in the morning and have them send him another assistant.  Then he paused.  This would be his third assistant this month.  Maybe he should just switch agencies if the one he had on retainer was this incompetent.  He made another note to look into that as well.

Normally he’d have his assistant do this sort of grunt work but as she was the one that needed to be replaced, he didn’t think he had much choice.

What is it with women in this city, Liz? James asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.  Why are they all so damn difficult to deal with?  So high strung and moody?  He spared her a quick glance.  Present company excluded, of course.

I can be just as difficult as the rest, Lizzy snorted rather inelegantly.  Just ask Mark.  You just have to put up with me because I’m your sister.  Then she paused.  But from what I overheard just now, I take it your plan to find an uncomplicated date to Charles’ wedding isn’t going so well.  When he gaped at her she waved that damn hand in the air again.  It’s not like it’s some big secret.  You realize that, right?  You’re the hottest thing in the tabloid media these days.  Or rather, your pathetic love life and questions about your so-called ‘Livingston Magic’ are.

Spinning away from the rapidly darkening sky, James sank down into his chair and leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment.  He didn’t want to be having this conversation.  At all.  He wanted even less to be having it with Lizzy.

Still, it might not hurt to get her input into this matter.  Because much as he hated to admit it, he wasn’t having much luck for reasons he didn’t understand.  Hell, he was a billionaire!  There should be women just lining up to date him!

Finding an acceptable date also shouldn’t be so damn difficult.  Yes, he and his ex, Zara McLean, had broken up five months ago.  Yes, he’d dated about nine different women since then.  Yes, he had a reputation as a love ‘em and leave ‘em billionaire playboy.  And yes, Darya, the flighty international supermodel, had left him only days ago when she claimed to have fallen in love with someone else.

Still, it shouldn’t be that difficult for him to find a mere date to the society wedding of the year.

Didn’t every woman want to attend a so-upper-crust-there-were-nose-bleeds wedding on an exclusive private island just south of Cape Cod where only the elitist of the elite dared to tread?  Didn’t they want the opportunity to be photographed on his arm by every gossip rag out there in the hopes of advancing their career?  Or being linked with him and his name and his family’s fortune?  A fortune he mostly controlled?

At the very least, didn’t they want to see rich and famous race car driver Charles Aston – yes, of that family – and world-famous actress Adrienne (no last name really needed but she had one anyway) Anders tie the knot in a multi-million-dollar ceremony that would be talked about for years?  Especially if the entire pink and purple, tulle and silk covered extravaganza even happened after both of them had been caught cheating?

It’s…complicated, James finally replied, realizing how stupid he sounded especially since all he wanted was an uncomplicated date.  Everything is complicated, it seems.

What about Darya? Lizzy asked, even though James suspected she probably already knew the answer and just wanted to twist the proverbial knife a little bit more.  Didn’t the two of you go out two days ago?  Some kind of corporate auction event?

James opened one eye.  She dumped me at that same auction for an old guy who just happens to be an oil tycoon in Texas.  Said she’s in love.  That’s he’s the love of her life or some other nonsense.  He closed his eye again.  He’s got more billions than me, I guess.  That was all she was ever after from me anyway.

Lizzy snorted again, giving James a hint at just how much she was enjoying dissecting his love life.  Or rather lack of a love life.  Give it time.  He won’t have that kind of money with Darya around.  Then she sobered.  Seriously, James, you mean you can’t think of one woman who would spend a week with you on a romantic, secluded island in the Atlantic without wanting to either gouge your eyes out or run screaming into the ocean?

That’s not funny, he snarled but the evil grin on Lizzy’s face indicated she thought it was.

Yes, it is.  This time the smile became a smirk.  Face it, James.  Your reputation has finally caught up with you.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Whatever.  But the answer is still no.  I can’t think of one woman.  Or find one quickly.  Not unless I pay her and I am not about to do that.  James opened his eye again.  Remember Colin last year?  He tried to pass off that hooker as his girlfriend at his Uncle Louis’ 70th birthday party?  The gossip rags are still roasting him over that one.  No thanks.

He sighed, not waiting for Lizzy to add her thoughts, however hilarious she might think them.  I just need a plain, simple, uncomplicated woman.  Pretty but not movie star gorgeous because those women are nothing but trouble.  Ideally, she would be polite, well-educated, polished, and able to hold her own in our world.  Preferably one who already knows everything about me so that she won’t go running the first time I snap at her.

Wow.  You aren’t asking for much, are you?  Lizzy shifted in her chair, still clearly enjoying nettling him.  Do you even know any women like that?  Outside of that overactive imagination of yours, anyway.

James shook his head, his gaze straying out the window.  No.  Then he paused as an idea popped into his head.  Well…maybe.

It was a radical idea, certainly.  Some might say that it was stupid.  It was also so brilliant that he didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of it before.  Or rather, thought of her.

Because there was one woman who met every qualification he’d just listed and she knew him well.  Except she often couldn’t stand to be in the same room with him.  That might be a problem.  Unless he had some assistance in winning her over first.

I would need your help with her, Lizzy.  I mean, she does think I eat small children for breakfast, or at least she acts like it some days.  You might have to make call or two on my behalf first.  He grinned, well aware that the look that normally charmed most women would not be the least bit effective on his steel-hearted sister.  I’d also be in your debt.  Big time.  All you need to do is convince her.  She’s your best friend, after all.

Instantly, Lizzy was out of her chair.  She marched across the room and knocked James’ feet off his desk where he had them propped up before spinning his chair around with another hard smack of her hand.

"No!  Absolutely not!  I forbid it!  Don’t you dare go near her, James Livingston!  She is my best friend and you’ve already put her through hell.  No, she is my only true friend, and you will leave her alone!  Don’t even think about it!"

What?  James held up his hands defensively, though he was well aware of the wicked smile that was already spreading across his face.  The same smile that occasionally coaxed Lizzy into seeing things his way.  You have to admit that she would be perfect for the job.  Or role.  Whatever you want to call it.  She fits all of the requirements and she already knows me.  She’s also not afraid of me, even though she knows I’m a bastard, so it’s unlikely that she would be suckered in by my, what did you call it?  Oh, yes.  My sparkling personality.

Leave Callie alone!  Again, she’s my best friend!  She’s also not one of your trollops or a hooker or a toy you can play with!  Lizzy crossed her arms over her chest and growled, though in reality she looked more like a toy poodle with her slightly frizzy hair than the pit bull she likely envisioned herself as being.

James now scowled right back at his sister, not cowed for a moment.  Lizzy might be a terror in the boardroom but so was he.  If anything, he was worse.  He also never lost.  He wasn’t about to start now.

I wouldn’t dream of toying with her.

But James would dream of dating Callie.  Well, one date anyway because really, she was exactly what he was looking for right now.  In more ways than one.

He was also not about to admit that over the years he had, on occasion, also wondered what Callie looked like naked.  Lizzy would hang him by his balls for that.  Lizzy had made it crystal clear over the years.  All of her other friends were fair game for James to date.  Just not Callie. 

Strong and independent and brilliant, but also poor in comparison to them, fellow New Englander Callista Morgan had fought tooth and nail to both be accepted at the elite, Ivy League school of her choice, as well as earn the scholarships necessary to be able to afford the tuition.  Despite being partially raised in the foster care system, she had somehow managed to do both, much to the surprise of her foster mother who had never had a kind word for the girl she’d taken into her home to use as nothing more than an additional source of income for a few years.

With no real financial resources of her own, Callie had relied on special grants to help pay for her on-campus housing.  She had also considered herself extremely fortunate to snare a dorm room that, to be fair, no one else had wanted because it was so far removed from the rest of the students.  In fact, this particular dorm room had long ago been given the nickname The Dungeon.

Unfortunately, Callie’s joy at securing The Dungeon hadn’t lasted long.  James knew this because he had been the one responsible for crushing that joy and giving the young woman what had probably been one of the worst times of her life.  After the deaths of her parents, of course.

Because he, the notorious Bastard of Boston had struck again.  Except that for once in his life?  He’d lost.  To Callie.

Concerned about his baby sister attending college on her own, James had all but demanded that the university give Lizzy a private room where he could have a guard or two stationed in the vicinity without being noticed.  There had been several high-profile kidnapping attempts around that time and only a few days earlier, James had received word that Lizzy was one of the targets of future plots.

James wasn’t about to let anything happen to Lizzy.  Nor were his grandparents, except that by then, they were too old and frail to fight that kind of battle.  James’ and Lizzy’s parents were nowhere to be found, and they probably wouldn’t have cared even if James could have unearthed them from under a rock somewhere.

That left James to protect and defend his sister.  So protect and defend he had.  In his usual over the top manner, of course.

Three days after moving into The Dungeon, Callie had received a letter that she would have to find alternate housing because another, needier student required the room.  To James’s surprise, Callie had fought like hell against the edict, but in the end, she seemed destined to lose – both her dorm room and her place at the university since she truly couldn’t afford to live anywhere else other than possibly a cardboard box in a back alley somewhere.

However, when Lizzy discovered what James was up to, she had balked.  Not only did she refuse to live alone with guards outside her door, she also refused to attend the school at all.  Especially if her moving into The Dungeon would cost a far less fortunate woman her only shot at an education.  James had fought Lizzy, of course.  He’d yelled and threatened and railed.  He’d even threatened Callie.

Once.  To her face.  In the dorm room.  With Lizzy present.  At which point, Callie had nearly unmanned him with her knee and then slapped him across the face, her nails leaving a few marks that the press had immediately pounced on like the jackals they were.

James had never made that mistake again.  If nothing else, Callista Morgan had proved herself a worthy opponent.

Lizzy, too, had admired the way Callie had stood up to James.  In truth, James had admired that about Callie as well.

Everyone backed down when he roared at them.  Everyone quaked in their shoes when he began to rant and turn that wickedly evil smile of his on them.  The one that meant they weren’t going to win a single battle, let alone a war.

Everyone except Callie, that is.  If nothing else, James respected her for that.  No one else he knew, outside of his family, had ever stood up to him.  Ever.

In the end, James had been forced to relent.  Lizzy had moved into The Dungeon with Callie and the roots of what would eventually become Lizzy’s strongest, longest-lasting friendship were born.  From that point on, Lizzy had also been Callie’s biggest defender – even when it came to her own brother, apparently.

That didn’t mean that the two young women were immediate friends, however.  After all, Lizzy was a privileged, upper class young woman who spent more money on a single pair of shoes than Callie spent on food for six months.  Lizzy had been anxious as well, worried that a woman desperate for money would sell her out to the tabloids the first chance she had.

In the end, though, and for reasons that James never understood, a solid friendship had formed between the two women.  One that kept Lizzy far more grounded than James would have ever imagined.  In fact, they had become such good friends that Callie and Lizzy had been roommates all four years of school.  When Lizzy had left campus for a private apartment James had purchased for her, she had somehow convinced Callie to move with her.

Even now, James marveled at their bond.  He had friends of course, but he’d never had a friend like Callie.  Sometimes, he envied Lizzy that.  Not that he would ever tell her, of course.  He wouldn’t want that going to her head.

James, I said no.  Lizzy scowled at him, likely deciding he’d been quiet and lost in his thoughts for far too long.  Leave her alone.  She’s not for you.  Besides, you think she hates you, remember?

She does hate me, he countered quickly.  Well, maybe not hate.  More like intense dislike.

He did have to admit that maybe hate was too harsh of word to describe how Callie felt about him.  Even though, in James’ opinion, she didn’t even know him.  She also didn’t seem to truly dislike him either.  At least not recently.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that she didn’t trust him.

Not that he could blame her.  No one trusted him.  Not even Lizzy all of the time.

Conversely, James hadn’t done much to give Callie a favorable impression, but then, he was renowned for being a bastard.  So maybe she did hate him after all.  He wouldn’t blame her if she did and she wouldn’t be the first woman to despise him.

No, she doesn’t, Lizzy countered wearily, as if she could see she was going to lose this battle.  She doesn’t hate you and she likes you well enough most of the time.  She just doesn’t trust you.

In other words, Lizzy was echoing exactly what James thought, meaning he was right on the mark.  Not that he would tell Lizzy that either.  No sense in letting her ego get any bigger.  Then the two of them would never fit in a room together.

Same thing, James scoffed right back at her, feeling a bit more confident about this plan than he had only a few minutes ago.  But Lizzy, honestly?  She’s exactly what I need.

No.  Call someone else, Lizzy insisted irritably, though she was weakening.  He could tell.  Annoy them.  But leave Callie alone.  She only broke up with Richard six months ago.

Twirling around in his chair, James glared at Lizzy defiantly as he put his feet back up on the desk just to annoy her.  Richard Confer is a sleezebag dickhead.  He might be one of our set, meaning one of the ultra-wealthy New England jet-set that typically hung out together, but he wasn’t worthy of her.  Money doesn’t make him a good guy.  That’s why I told him again the other week to stay the hell away from Callie or I’d make sure his new crypto-currency business venture failed.

While I appreciate what you did, I’m not sure Callie would.  She doesn’t want us interfering in her life.  Also, having money doesn’t necessarily make you a good guy, either.  It works both ways, Lizzy challenged.  James, you know that I love you, but Callie?  I taught her how to live in this world of ours but that doesn’t mean she’s comfortable in it.  Functional, yes, but able to tolerate more than a day or two?  I’m not so sure.

That much was true, James allowed silently as he continued to glare at his sister.  Over the years, Lizzy had taught Callie how to move within the upper reaches of ultra-wealthy society.  The world inhabited by billionaires and their friends that few people would ever see.

Doing so had been necessary since Callie had attended so many family gatherings over the years.  That was where she had met that scumbag, Richard, after all.  However, James couldn’t say for certain if she’d ever been truly comfortable among them.

With Lizzy?  Yes.  The rest of them?  He didn’t know.

It would only be for a week, James countered.  She could manage that.  I know she could.  She could also meet people that would help her interior design business.  It’s not like she wouldn’t get anything out of this.

Lizzy kicked him lightly with the toe of her stiletto.  You’re still using her.

She’d be using me, too, he countered.  My connections, anyway.  That might be enough to make her say yes.  Hell, I think she’d enjoy it.  I’d be in her debt.

You’ll hurt her.  I said no.  Lizzy scowled at him again which was followed by another light kick.

It has to be her, Lizzy.  There isn’t anyone else.  She’s it.  I don’t know why I didn’t think of her before, but really?  She’s prefect.  She knows me and understands how I am.  She also doesn’t trust me.  Just like the rest of the family except for you.  What more could I ask for in a woman?  She’s perfect!

I don’t trust you, either.  For the record.

He flashed his sister a cheeky grin, becoming more and more pleased with his idea.  As I said, neither does she, so you’re even.  It’s perfect!

Honestly, James had no idea why it was suddenly so important that Callie be his date for this looming disaster of a wedding, but it was.

Perhaps it was because he was tired of women like Darya who only saw him as a bank account to be emptied.  Or Zara who wanted things he couldn’t give.  Or women like Rachelle who only wanted to advance her fledgling singing career.  Or Taffy or Mandy or any of the other numerous women he’d dated over the years.

Every single woman James had dated saw him as their ticket to something.  Fame.  Wealth.  Sometimes both.

Callie, however, had never asked him for a blessed thing.  He wasn’t even certain she would ask him for a helping hand if she were drowning and he was the only person around.  Even then she’d probably think long and hard about the matter.  Then she’d only ask grudgingly and with lots of strings attached.

She also truly didn’t like him, at least in some ways, despite what Lizzy said.  She thought he was cold and arrogant.  Too ruthless and too snobbish.  Too handsome (that one was a guess on his part, actually) and too rich.  Too much an alpha male as she had once termed him.

She wasn’t wrong.  James was all of those things.  It was all part of who he was.  He was a Livingston.  He was accustomed to winning at everything and having everything his heart desired at his fingertips.

Though Callie hadn’t said the words and probably never would, James knew he was handsome, as well.  He knew that because, well, he wasn’t blind or stupid.  He also owned a mirror.  A whole hallway full of them in one of his houses, in fact.

Women loved him and he loved them in return.  He didn’t need anything from anyone, either.

Except now.

He needed a date.

Because if he showed up at Charles and Adrienne’s wedding without arm candy?  Not only would he never hear the end of it but he would damage his image even further than it already was.  It took a lot to be a billionaire playboy with the so-called Livingston Magic.  More so to be Number Two on the World’s Wealthiest, Sexiest Bachelors list.  Even more to be termed The Most Elusive Man in the World.

Those things all added up to give him a mystique both in the boardroom and out.  That was something no amount of money could buy.  That mystique gave him an edge, an edge he desperately needed.

So no, he couldn’t show up to the wedding alone.  Nor could he show up with just any woman.  Or a woman who would, in the end, demand more than he was willing to give.  Or cause a scene.  Or just generally give him grief and be something other than a perfect lady.

James needed someone pretty and polished, someone who knew him well and could move within his world without causing a social scene.  Even better if she didn’t like him all that much because then she wouldn’t expect anything in return.  No matter how gorgeous she was and how perfect they looked together in photographs.  He needed someone immune to the temptations that came with moving amongst the ultra-wealthy and social elite.

In short, he needed Callie.  No other woman would do.

And in order to get her, he needed Lizzy’s blessing.

Give me her number, Lizzy.  Please.  Just make this easy on both of us.  James wasn’t above wheedling a little bit.  Especially not since he was desperate.

No.  Lizzy seemed adamant, but he was wearing her down.  James could tell.

He raised an eyebrow.  I’ll find her number on my own.  You know I can.  And I will.  Hell, he had an entire tech company at his command and they were more efficient than the CIA at tracking people down.  Then I’ll cold call her and you’ll have no control over how I approach her with this proposition.  I can tell her whatever I want.  Maybe even tell her that you sold her out to me.

That, of course, was one of Lizzy’s biggest weaknesses.  Much like him, she loved to be in control.  If she called Callie first?  She could spin this situation however she liked.  She could make it seem like a favor, one old friend to another.  But if James called first?  Well, then Lizzy couldn’t be sure what he would say.

You wouldn’t.  Lizzy narrowed her eyes as she searched his face, looking for something.  My God, you would, wouldn’t you?

I need a date, James replied, his voice steady and certain, his earlier anger vanished.  I need a woman who won’t go all mushy on me over the course of a week and think that I’ll marry her just because I don’t bite her head off.  I need a woman who knows going in what a bastard I am and that she can’t change me.  In short, I need a woman who doesn’t want me.  At all.  I need Callie.

Lizzy raised one perfectly groomed eyebrow.  That does describe her perfectly.  Then she narrowed her eyes again.  But it doesn’t hurt that she’s beautiful, does it?

She’s pretty, James corrected, but no, it doesn’t.  Every person on this planet knows I’d never date an unattractive woman.

Actually, the last time James had seen Callie, she’d been knock-out gorgeous, but if he said that, Lizzy might grab his dick and squeeze – hard – since she had strictly forbidden James from lusting after Callie in any sexual way whatsoever.

Other than that one night her senior year?  It had been easy.  Mostly.  Then again, that had been before Callie had gone out with Richard Confer and he’s transformed her into the kind of woman she’d never been before – the kind who visited high-end salons regularly and who bought designer clothes and wore stiletto heels.

Well, she didn’t do those things now but she had for a time.  It was during that time that James had seen the potential within Callie.  He knew exactly what kind of goddess she could be with the right wardrobe and the right salon behind her.

Not to mention a whole lot of money.  Which James just happened to have.  Buckets full of it, actually.

Before Richard, Callie had been pretty and, yes, James had wanted her.  She lived and breathed and didn’t immediately try to claw his eyes out or demand money each time she saw him.  Therefore, she was attractive to him.

During her time with Richard, Callie had been a she-devil goddess that the tabloids had all but swooned over.  Repeatedly.  Until they had broken up and she had dropped out of sight.

Now it was time for her to make a comeback.  On James’ arm.  As his girlfriend.  Well, a fake girlfriend anyway.  But still, a believable one.

Anything to restore the Livingston Magic.

You don’t need Callie, Lizzy repeated wearily, but James could see she was ready to give in and give him Callie’s number.  Find someone else.

It has to be Callie.  James knew his voice had taken on that strident tone that he didn’t like, but he couldn’t help it.  The wedding is next week, Lizzy.  Where the hell else do you think I’m going to get a date that checks off all of those requirements?  I can’t find one.  It has to be Callie.  Also, if you do this?  I’ll owe you a favor, too.  A big one.  After all, you’d be saving my ass in the press.  Just give me Callie’s number.  Please.

Callie with her lushly highlighted honey blonde hair and killer curves.  Callie with her heart-shaped face and misty, sea-green eyes that were so pale at times they looked more like mint ice cream than anything.

Not that James had noticed.  Not much anyway.

Callie with her intelligence and razor-sharp wit and utter disdain for him and everything about him.  Callie who would likely slice him to ribbons if he so much as tried to kiss her.

God, yes, he needed Callie.

Reviews for Hard Hearted

[Jericho Franke · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

APHOBIA: "She was an asexual presence in his life. That was it. End of story. Therefore, she had no idea what James could possibly want with her."