Edge of Perfection

By Richelle Bruch

Lola was a normal girl. Ian was more than average. When both meet up, Lola will soon learn that her life is not what she was told, and her world shifts suddenly. Ian will be by her side to guide her through, but will he be able to guide her through the most challenging times of their lives or possibly the end as they know it?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9798887316604

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

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

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

About the Author

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Edge of Perfection

Richelle Bruch

Copyright © 2024 Richelle Bruch

All rights reserved

First Edition

Fulton Books

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2024

ISBN 979-8-88731-659-8 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88731-660-4 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Prologue

Being called to confer with the Greater Angels could not be a good thing. As it turned out, I was not the only Earth Angel to be called. There were twelve of us in total. When we had left, the twelve of us realized we would be one in a great battle that I don't think any of us realized the importance of. The Greater Angels went to many lengths to ensure victory for our side. They entrusted us with creating the best army to accomplish this task. The only thing is that they would be our children. Earth Angels were given to us, with memories implanted that we were their parents and raised them from birth. Our children would grow together, love each other, and become a unit. We would do everything in our power to create a sense of family and love.

With one look at our Earth Angel, I knew the Greater Angels had entranced us with a love I could only compare to my love for Adam. I never realized how much a human loved their children until this moment. She was perfect, and everything about her made her ours. She was fully grown but looked so childlike at the same time. The instant her eyes met us, she came running and hugged us, calling to us, Mom. Dad. I knew this specific purpose was going to test everything in me. I relished in the love emotion, and I would have a hard time telling the difference between my purpose and the current faux love I felt for her. Glancing at Adam, I could see the tears sliding down his face. She would turn our life upside down and bring us closer to her. I loved her and would do anything I could for her, even die. She was perfect. She was Lola.

You all know your role in this war. Please accomplish it. The Angel race is depending on you, the Greater Angel in the middle spoke, and then they all vanished. We knew our roles, but I knew that Adam had a different plan in life. I had hoped when this moment happened, he would change. But I could feel in his being that he felt more resolved with what he wanted to happen. Our lives will never be the same, and I hoped that Lola would bring us back to where we were at one point. She had the world on her shoulders, and I would do anything to relieve that from her.

Chapter 1

Lola

Walking up to the door was the end of an amazing experience and the beginning of a journey that I didn't know or care where it was going to lead. It was the last party of the year, the party that if you were not at, you would forever regret. I had made it through my senior year in high school, even though it was not hard. The excitement was still there. My life had never been hard. I came from a family with old money and lots of it. So we never struggled, and I always got what I wanted. Being productive at school was a simple task, and unlike most kids my age, I was great at every subject. I lived a very perfect life. I wasn't like the other kids in my school that had their parents' money to give them an ego problem just because they traveled the world and had the latest gadgets. I never had an ego; there was just something in my soul that made me nice to a fault. Not just nice but trusting. Even when people would use me, I never thought twice about continuing a relationship with them. For some reason, I always think the best of people.

The party had been going on for an hour or longer already. I had decided earlier that I would show up fashionably late. I hadn't had a boyfriend in a few months, and I wanted a summer fling. So I figured a grand entrance would be the best way to get attention on me. I was going to find a guy tonight. I was leaving in August for college, so I wanted something to occupy my mind for the summer but nothing serious. I didn't want to go off to college attached. So many people told me that was the number one rule. Walking through the door to the party was surreal. It looked like a music video. Arms were in the air, swaying to the beat of the music, and red solo cups were stacked all over the place. It was so hot that the walls should have been sweating. I didn't realize I was that late. Everybody was in full party mode, so much for my grand entrance. I instantly started to scan the overfilled house for my two best friends. I wasn't sure how I was going to find them in the sea of bodies. Everywhere I looked, there was a face. I had to squeeze myself sideways to move through the crowd. I recognized almost everybody, but my two best friends were nowhere to be found. I had grown up with these girls. We were all born within one month of each other, and it was a running joke for us to pretend that our parents planned their pregnancies so we could be best friends.

Lola! I knew instantly that it was Nicole; she was the only person I knew that could be heard over the music. Turning my head in that direction, I thought I had heard my name. A huge scream was released from her lips, and then she tried to run over to me. After a few moments, she made her way to me, and I wrapped my arms around her and let a scream out. Nicole towered over me. I was only five-two, and she stood six-foot tall. I was sure she was taller than that, but once Nicole hit the six-inch mark, she wouldn't let anybody know exactly how tall she was. She was gorgeous, yet she still had doubts about her height.

Where is Susie? Nicole looked around to see if our best friend was following behind her. Of course, she is with Reese in a dark corner someplace. With a hint of annoyance in her voice, Nicole waved the question off. Lately, the two of them have been bickering a lot more. They were exact opposites in personalities, and they always butted heads, but it was even more lately. Reese had been Susie's boyfriend for like three years now. They have been together it was hard to keep track anymore. The two of them were inseparable, and it was cute to see how in love they were with each other.

Nicole grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the back of the house. I couldn't hear what she was saying but picked up a piece, and she was going to introduce me to some guys. The music must have gotten louder as more people were showing up because it was nearly impossible to hear Nicole, which was never hard to do. I followed her through the crowds of people, waving to everybody as I passed by them. The feeling at the party was electric, on the verge of being addicting. This was going to be a night nobody wanted to end and everybody would remember forever. It didn't take us long to reach the back door. Nicole turned on her heels and got as close to my face as possible without touching it.

Ian is the perfect guy for you. Nicole slightly twisted her neck, and her eyes went in the direction of the pool. I followed her gaze, and I immediately noticed them. There were only two people in the backyard I didn't know. But it was more than that. A feeling went off in the pit of my stomach that yearned for me to run to him. I didn't even know this guy's name, and I wanted to feel his arms wrapped around me, holding me tight and protecting me.

He was incredibly tall, and his jet-black hair was not long or short. It was a perfect length. He wore it messy, and it was sexy with just a slight wave to it. When our eyes met, I knew instantly that there was nothing that would stop us. We would conquer the world together. My lungs burned from the air being sucked out of me by the feelings I was experiencing. I hadn't even touched this guy or heard him speak, but I knew we were connected. I wasn't sure what connection we had, but it was there, and I felt things I had never felt before in my life. I was overwhelmed by the feeling that we knew each other, and it was more than just an acquaintance. It was almost like I was indebted to him, and he was indebted to me. We owed each other the world, and I could only hope I could pay him back.

Nicole snapped me out of my inner thoughts by grabbing my hand and pulling me hard in the direction of the two guys. They were standing next to the pool, watching the action going on around them. No one was talking to them, and I couldn't help but wonder if it was because of their size. They both were big and intimidating. They stood strong and confident. I could hear the laughter coming from the pool. I didn't understand how anybody could actually be in it. It was still too cold out to be swimming. Judging by the beer cans scattered around, the kids flinging themselves around the water weren't feeling much of anything right now. It was the same group in the pool that was always in the pool. The guys, who everybody knew, were out just to get some action and the girls willing to give them some. The only problem, it was the same people every time. You would think they were sick of the same old thing. Judging them isn't my thing. I just wasn't one of the crew. I had dated plenty of guys from our school, but it always ended the same way. I was never ready to have sex with any of them. I wasn't saving myself for something special or anyone like that. I just didn't want to give it away either, not to someone who I wasn't completely in tune with.

I hadn't noticed while in thought that Nicole had pulled me next to him while I was in thought about the debacle in the pool. The guy for me, as Nicole put it. I could instantly feel the pull between us snap tight, being so close to him. Nicole knew I didn't want anything serious, but I couldn't help but think she knew that this was more—the way she glanced back and forth between him and me. It was suspicious, and being on high alert from being so close to him just made me super aware. My arms and legs suddenly felt like they were asleep. The tingling sensation grew through my whole body, and I instantly tensed up. I could barely lift my head to meet eyes with the two guys. My body wanted to run in the other direction, but my heart was drawn to him. I was completely and utterly confused. I had never felt this way before. I have always been sure of myself and knew what to do and when to do it.

After what felt like an eternity, I was able to raise my head enough to meet the eyes of Brian, his best friend. Brian was a head taller than Nicole, which put him in the range of six feet, six inches or so. His sandy blond hair was curly, and he looked like he couldn't ever do anything with it. He had emerald green eyes with flecks of bright red throughout. Brian's eyes instantly reminded me of my own. He was muscular and had a tattoo of some foreign symbol on his neck. The tattoo just barely came out above the collar of his polo shirt. I wanted to see the whole tattoo but instantly stopped myself from asking to see it. He reminded me of the stereotypical surfer boy, very relaxed and confident of himself. If I didn't feel the pull from him, Brian definitely was a viable option for the summer fling I wanted. Nicole, as if she could read my mind, instantly latched onto his hand like a leech trying to feed. I would have laughed and called her out on it if I had any control over myself. She was trying so hard, but I wasn't sure if it was to get Brian's attention or to claim him as her own. It didn't matter either way. I was totally in a trance over him.

He raised his hand toward me, and I flinched back. I hadn't meant to, but it was automatic. I threw my arm forward with no control, looking like a total fool. I heard him say his name, Ian, and I managed to mutter and stutter my name out, Lo-o-laa. I wanted to run and hide. I can't believe I was acting like this! This was not myself. I am not this way. My life was perfect. I was perfect. I had it all, and here, I was not able to even tell some freaking guy my name without looking like an idiot. What the hell was going on with me? After a few more awkward seconds, Nicole began her normal flirting routine, which consisted of telling Brian all about her and how amazing she was. Nicole managed to get any guy just by talking about herself. It was funny to watch her work her magic. That's what Susie and I had always called it. The guys almost always looked like they were entranced while talking with Nicole. She had a zero percent failure rate. Though she never kept them long. She had a rule: three months and that was it. She was always telling me how she just knew that she was going to find her husband before she went to college. It was starting to look like Nicole thought Brian was the one. That is probably why she attached herself.

Chapter 2

Ian

I didn't know what to think when I first saw Lola. She was my everything, and to watch her walk away, not knowing anything, chipped at my heart. Fear flew and took over my body that I had never felt. I will never understand why her parents kept so much from her. Lola was something to celebrate, and she was going to be mine. I know she felt the pull the second I laid eyes on her. I could feel my whole body turned and twisted, begging me to move forward to her. I had to hold onto Brian's shoulders to anchor myself. My stomach tightened, and my hands started to sweat. I looked over to Brian, hoping he would be laughing at my reaction to finally seeing Lola. He wasn't laughing at all. His eyes locked on Lola's friend and never left her. That's just what Brian needed, another fling to occupy his mind. The kid has seen more action than a superhero.

With every step she moved closer to me, my heart would flutter. Her eyes stayed locked on me. I knew at that moment that she could never deny that we were meant to be together. I clenched my jaw tight when they finally reached us, and my heart stood still. She was the girl I was told I would spend the rest of my life with. I was not happy about the details when my parents first told me. I had been told my whole life that I had no choice in what I was going to do with my life, that I had to do what the Greater Angels had planned for me. I was bred for a purpose. I found out when I was eighteen. Whether I agreed with the purpose or not, I had to complete it. The consequences were too great to ignore—a lifetime in the pits of hell. I had honestly contemplated between the two. I was never one to be told what to do.

I was never happier about anything in my life until now. I had made the right decision no matter how hard it was to make. I chose after a few months to try to accomplish my specific purpose. I decided because my mother's pleas convinced me. I could not stand the pain I was causing her any longer. And now that Lola appeared in front of me, she confirmed that my mother was right. She was perfect. Lola had hair so long it danced across her waistline every time she moved. It was thick and looked so smooth. The wind blew her scent toward me, and I was, for a second, skyrocketed to heaven. There was nothing else that smelled so sweet and comforting than her. I closed my eyes in the hope of taking