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Expert:
JACOB
I don’t want to be in New Mexico.
I don’t want to be in Albuquerque.
I don’t want to be anywhere near my sisters,
The ones who left me like I never mattered.
I don’t want to, but I have to.
I just graduated college and I got an amazing job offer here.
My new coworkers, like most people, are annoying,
But I decide to be sociable for one night.
And then Brittany walks in.
BRITTANY
It’s hard to get guys to talk to me, much less agree to a date.
Everyone from around here is too afraid of my brother,
And too annoyed by my overwhelming personality.
So when someone new moves to town and works with my friends,
They don’t hesitate to set us up on a blind date.
We don’t have any problem with chemistry,
But Jacob doesn’t want to stay in New Mexico
He doesn’t want to put down any roots here.
And what will happen when my overprotective brother finds out?
Full Book:
Prologue
Jacob
I’d never been to New Mexico before I moved here. Even when my parents drove down here to see my sisters, I didn’t come with them. I was busy with school and, admittedly, too angry to give a shit. Our family was broken, and I wanted nothing more than to get away from them, just like the rest of my siblings. It’s our one and only family tradition.
Jewel, my oldest sister, left when I was a junior in high school, and although she found time to make an appearance at Sapphire’s graduation, she didn’t come to mine. Sapphire always held a belief that Jewel didn’t leave us on her own, that she was being abused by her rich boyfriend, and he wouldn’t allow her to communicate with us. I thought she was just like our brother, Michael, and had cut us out of her life without looking back.
Sapphire was right, of course. I should have known she was. With how close the two of them were growing up, sometimes it was like they had the power of telepathy. Four years later, she tracked Jewel down and found her here in hot, hot Albuquerque. I still don’t understand why anyone would come to this place by choice.
Even when I moved, it wasn’t to reconnect with my sisters. It was for myself, because I’d graduated college and gotten a job offer I couldn’t refuse at a tech company.
I considered turning down the position and taking one with a lower pay rate, but my options were to take a job in my hometown or move here for twice the pay. Everyone in my family knows that staying around my parents isn’t a life. That’s how my three older siblings ended up in terrible situations- they left without a plan. I had a plan.
I was going to live my life to the best of my abilities without getting attached to anyone in the city- especially my sisters. Unfortunately, my career just happened to bring me to the same damn place they live.
I wasn’t going to get sucked into staying here, though, no matter how good the money was. I wasn’t going to find reasons to stay in this city. As soon as I saved up some money and had some work experience under my belt, I was going to get the hell out of here. It might take a year or two, five at the most, but I was getting back to what I’d planned- getting out of the southwest and finding a home somewhere that I’m not at risk of being related to my neighbors.
I thought that being here would be an experience I would rush to escape. Until I met Brittany.
Chapter One
Jacob- Five years ago
“Right this way, sir,” the hostess of the restaurant says as she guides me through the restaurant to where my coworkers are already waiting.
I didn’t want to agree to this, but they invited me out to celebrate my joining of the team. Why would these people want to hang out with me, a person that’s still practically a stranger? I don’t see the point, but maybe When we get to the table, I shuck off my jacket and take a seat beside the guy whose cubicle is right next to mine in the office.
“Can I start you with something to drink?” the hostess asks.
Pausing, I look around the table. I’ve never been here before, and I have no idea what they serve. It seems like all the girls have glasses of wine and the guys have some kind of brown cocktails, which tells me the entire evening is going to be one long performance. Everyone in attendance is playing a part, and I have to fall in line to keep my time here bearable.
I like whiskey. Not whiskey mixed with soda, or watered down with ice, or stirred around with mint leaves- just whiskey. This week has been too long to drink something I don’t like. “Whiskey,” I tell the young woman with a sigh. “Whiskey ne-”
