No one makes my blood boil like Cayden Hennington.
When I finished second in my class in law school, he finished first.
We interned at the same firm—he got hired while I didn’t.
Now we’re opposing counsel on my first big solo case, and I refuse to lose to him.

I will not think about the way his lips taste or how he makes my heart race. I won’t dream of that night we argued until our clothes came off.

That night is irrelevant because I am over him.
(I’m also lying to myself).

However, we’re both professionals, right?
Wrong.
One stupid drink is all it takes after six hours of intense negotiations to find myself right back in his arms and in a world of trouble.

There is a thin line between love and hate, and we are destined to choose a side.

Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.

Book Type:

Romance

Excerpt: Destined For Me

Coming here was a risk, but after running across the street, getting her a coffee and flowers and waiting outside her building for two fucking hours, I asked the security guard to call up again and he smirked, letting me know she left already.

“Who let you in?” Hadley asks through gritted teeth.

“Your very kind doorman who was thrilled because I come bearing gifts…a peace offering of sorts.”

I hold up the coffee, that’s completely ice cold, and isn’t safe to drink, and the flowers that are now in desperate need of water.

She eyes the cup. “What are you really doing here?”

“I explained, I come in peace.”

“There is no peace with you.”

I let out a quick chuckle. “That’s true. But regardless, I stopped by the office, waited there for hours while you had already left, so I didn’t want the flowers and coffee to go to waste.”

Her arms cross right under her breasts, pushing them up just a bit. Eyes up, Hennington. “You bought the coffee hours ago?”

“I did, but in my defense, I would’ve been here sooner if I didn’t have to bribe someone from your office to give me your address after realizing you ghosted me.”

“That’s a breach of privacy, so thanks to them,” she huffs.

“I’m very persuasive.”

“I bet you are. Also, I didn’t ghost you since I never was supposed to even see you.”

Little does she know there was no breach from her office. I called my brother, asked him to call Sean Arrowood, saying she forgot her credit card with me from lunch, and that’s how I got it. I don’t plan to tell her that though.

A beautiful girl with red hair and freckles splattered across her face comes to the door. “You must be Cayden.”

“I am.”

She flashes a dazzling smile. I know many guys who would fall at her feet, but my gaze doesn’t linger long. Instead, my eyes go back to Hadley with her soft brown hair the shade of coffee or mocha, and those eyes. Those fucking green eyes that are impossible to forget. No matter how much I’ve tried.

“I’m Melanie.” the redhead extends her hand.

I flash my signature smile and return the gesture. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Hadley makes a gagging noise. “Don’t fall for it, Mel. That smile has felled many women.”

“You would know,” Melanie says under her breath, but not low enough I didn’t catch it.

“So, you talk about me?” I ask a little playful, but also curious.

“Only what an ass you are and how you think your shit doesn’t stink.”

“I never said that, and I’m not an ass. If I were, I wouldn’t come here with flowers and coffee. I would’ve just annihilated you in negotiations rather than try to work it out like adults.”

Hadley shakes her head. “You forget, I know you, Cay. I know your tricks and your charms.”

“All I keep hearing is that you think I’m charming.”

“I recall the word was ass.”

Melanie’s eyes volley back and forth as we bicker. “You know what?” Her cousin claps her hands and we both turn to her. “I just remembered that I have to go to work and fix a few patterns before the seamstresses get in.”

“Tonight?” Hadley asks.

“Yeah, I meant to do it before I left and…just totally slipped my mind.”

Hadley’s eyes narrow and she speaks through a fake smile. “Can’t you go tomorrow?”

“Nope. It’s super important. You wouldn’t want me to mess up the line, would you?” Melanie turns to me. “It was great meeting you, Cayden. You are everything I hoped you’d be.”

Not sure what that means, but her leaving is clearly making Hadley uncomfortable, and while my goal isn’t that, it should make the negotiation a little easier if she’s off her game.

“The pleasure is all mine.” I lay it on thick by grabbing her hand and kissing the top of it.

“Oh, please!” Hadley grumbles.

Melanie laughs, seemingly immune to my game. She leans in to where Hadley can’t hear. “A little less on the asshole and more on the fun with that one.”

“Thanks for the tip.”

She pats my chest. “Good luck.”

“Traitor,” Hadley mutters as Melanie grabs her purse and heads out the door.

After she leaves, Hadley and I stand there, in the awkward silence. It’s a good thing I planned ahead a little bit.

“Did you eat yet?”

She shakes her head. “Not really.”

“Good.”

I take a step back into the hallway, and grab part two of my plan. Pizza.

There is nothing in the world that makes this woman happier than pizza. I happen to know this as we shared many of them in college and working on cases when we were both interns.

She eyes the box dubiously. “This is your plan?”

“Do you have whiskey?”

Her eyes sparkle with what I hope are memories of the past and she shakes her head. “Whiskey is a mistake.”

“Whiskey is never a mistake.”

“Come in, I can never turn down pizza and I’ll grab the bottle.”

That was what I was hoping for.