PRAISE FOR RACHEL VAN DYKEN
“The Consequence of Loving Colton is a must-read friends-to-lovers story that’s as passionate and sexy as it is hilarious!”
—Melissa Foster, New York Times bestselling author
“Just when you think Van Dyken can’t possibly get any better, she goes and delivers The Consequence of Loving Colton. Full of longing and breathless moments, this is what romance is about.”
—Lauren Layne, USA Today bestselling author
“The tension between Milo and Colton made this story impossible to put down. Quick, sexy, witty—easily one of my favorite books from Rachel Van Dyken.”
—R. S. Grey, USA Today bestselling author
“Hot, funny . . . will leave you wishing you could get marked by one of the immortals!”
—Molly McAdams, New York Times bestselling author, on The Dark Ones
“Laugh-out-loud fun! Rachel Van Dyken is on my auto-buy list.”
—Jill Shalvis, New York Times bestselling author, on The Wager
“The Dare is a laugh-out-loud read that I could not put down. Brilliant. Just brilliant.”
—Cathryn Fox, New York Times bestselling author
ALSO BY #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR RACHEL VAN DYKEN
Liars, Inc.
Dirty Exes
Dangerous Exes
The Players Game Series
Fraternize
Infraction
The Consequence Series
The Consequence of Loving Colton
The Consequence of Revenge
The Consequence of Seduction
The Consequence of Rejection
The Wingmen Inc. Series
The Matchmaker’s Playbook
The Matchmaker’s Replacement
Curious Liaisons Series
Cheater
Cheater’s Regret
The Bet Series
The Bet
The Wager
The Dare
The Ruin Series
Ruin
Toxic
Fearless
Shame
The Eagle Elite Series
Elite
Elect
Enamor
Entice
Elicit
Bang Bang
Enforce
Ember
Elude
Empire
Enrage
Eulogy
Envy
The Seaside Series
Tear
Pull
Shatter
Forever
Fall
Eternal
Strung
Capture
The Renwick House Series
The Ugly Duckling Debutante
The Seduction of Sebastian St. James
An Unlikely Alliance
The Redemption of Lord Rawlings
The London Fairy Tales Series
Upon a Midnight Dream
Whispered Music
The Wolf’s Pursuit
When Ash Falls
The Seasons of Paleo Series
Savage Winter
Feral Spring
The Wallflower Series (with Leah Sanders)
Waltzing with the Wallflower
Beguiling Bridget
Taming Wilde
The Dark Ones Saga
The Dark Ones
Untouchable Darkness
Dark Surrender
Darkest Temptation
Stand-Alones
Hurt: A Collection (with Kristin Vayden and Elyse Faber)
Rip
Compromising Kessen
Every Girl Does It
The Parting Gift (with Leah Sanders)
Divine Uprising
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2019 by Rachel Van Dyken
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Skyscape, New York
www.apub.com
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Skyscape are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
ISBN-13: 9781542043724
ISBN-10: 1542043727
Cover design by Letitia Hasser
Cover photography by Wander Aguiar Photography
To Tracey and Krista, I’ll never be able to express how much your feedback means to me on a daily basis. This one’s for you.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Prologue
MACKENZIE
“Mackenzie Allistar DuPont.” Alton drew out my name like it was part of me, the most important part. My gut twisted as he held my hands between his, squeezing my fingers so tightly they lost feeling, all before he leaned over my hand and whispered, “I can’t do this.” A sense of foreboding trickled down my spine. I swayed on my feet. It was wrong, the way he said my name like I was a thing and not a person. The way he looked at me like I was a stranger.
Blood rushed to my face as a choking sensation wrapped around my neck until I was afraid something was going to pop. I must have heard him wrong.
My head began pounding as whispers of outrage floated around the winery.
The very exclusive Prosser Winery.
The chocolate-brown hair that I’d so often run my fingers through at the nape of his neck provided no comfort like it used to. My eyes soaked in his features, his dark eyebrows looked like angry slashes across his forehead as he looked down at our hands in confusion like he wasn’t sure how we got to this point, but I knew. We were here because of our parents’ expectations. This moment had been bred into us since we could talk. It was a foregone conclusion.
He gave his head a shake and stood to his full height, released m
y hands, and simply turned around and began walking. My jaw dropped. He was walking away.
From me.
One step. Two.
My breath caught. The choking sensation around my throat worsened to a painful degree.
His sigh had said more than it should. It said all the things that hadn’t been spoken about. It said this was wrong. It said we were wrong.
My eyes filled with tears as my bridesmaids huddled around me in a flurry of swear words and cryptic comments like “I knew he would do this.”
Guests stood.
Dad started yelling obscenities.
His groomsman Jagger ran after him, most likely to punch him then talk some sense into what used to be his close friend.
But I was frozen.
Because I had done this to myself.
We’d done it to ourselves.
Partners. We were supposed to be partners.
And even though I hadn’t loved him the way I knew I should.
It still felt right.
Didn’t it?
My bouquet seemed to fall apart in slow motion as it hit the floor. The petals scattered around my perfectly pink pedicured feet, and I wondered if this was the ending I deserved after doing everything right. After being the perfect daughter. Perfect student. Perfect fiancée.
I started walking along the same aisle I’d just marched down seconds earlier with a bright smile and a wink in Alton’s direction.
I squeezed my eyes shut as my feet carried me farther away from the beckoning calls of my parents and the people that called themselves my friends. I knew the truth, though. Alton had been my best friend, my only friend, my one ally within the circle of people who wanted me only for my name, for my money. Friends? Now I had none.
I walked.
And wondered why my tears weren’t spilling onto my cheeks as I finally made my way to the first car I could find, hopped in the passenger side, and said, “Drive.”
Chapter One
MACKENZIE
Six months later
“What do you mean you’re on a plane?” Mom’s worried tone only made my decision more resolute. I chugged the first-class champagne like water and held out my glass for more, hands shaking around the tiny stem.
“Mom, I need a break from all of this. From everything . . .” My throat squeezed so tight I almost broke down and burst into tears. I hadn’t shed one yet, and I wasn’t about to now that I was sitting in first class on my way to Puerto Vallarta all by myself.
On the honeymoon I’d purchased as a surprise for Alton.
The bright-red reminder was on my calendar. It had been staring me down for months. I’d picked up the phone to cancel a dozen times, only to hang up. Was it because it was the last remaining thing that connected me to the life I thought we were going to have? Was I still holding out hope? After seeing him at work and being on the receiving end of more than one of his “bless your heart” smiles, I’d decided to use the trip as a show of independence and a “my life isn’t over, it’s just begun” sort of thing. Only now? Now I was clearly realizing I wasn’t okay, not by a long shot. When you’re okay you don’t chug champagne and hold tears back in first class.
It wasn’t just that I missed us.
I missed him.
My best friend.
We’d been inseparable since birth.
Our first baths had been side by side, as awkward and weird as that sounds, and our moms had been best friends.
We belonged to the same country club.
We attended the same high school, where as a cheerleader, I cheered for him. Alton Davis, star quarterback and the hottest guy to ever hit West Valley High. God, I could still see my dad’s face after Alton proposed, it was like the son he’d always wanted was finally going to become part of our family. I’d been so proud to flash that ring to anyone who asked. I’d finally succeeded in having it all, right? I was finally worthy of my parents’ dynasty.
I had said yes to the man I’d been glued to since I could talk.
The man who took me to prom every year.
The man who waited to sleep with me out of respect.
The man who had it all.
The man who was supposed to take over my father’s empire at my side.
So why had I felt empty on my wedding day even before he turned his back on me? I swiped a tear from my cheek.
“Honey.” Mom’s voice softened. “I’m worried about you. You rarely come to family dinners, I haven’t seen you at the club since—” She didn’t have to say it. Since I was left at the altar.
Since my marriage bust had become national news.
After all, it wasn’t every day an heiress to one of the largest and most sought-after wine brands was left at the altar. “Used Wine Back on the Market.”
Yeah, that had been a fun one.
With lots of memes.
Involving, you guessed it, fruit.
“One Cherry Less Popped.” That had been a personal favorite, since my dad also owned enough cherry farms to put any farmer in the nation to shame.
“I know.” I didn’t let her finish. I shuddered a bit as the captain came over the loudspeaker. I normally had Alton with me on every business trip. I wasn’t necessarily scared to fly, I was just . . . alone. So damn alone. “I promise I’ll call you when I land. I need this, though, I just need—” To breathe. I needed air. I needed to find out who I was without him. And if that woman even existed, since I couldn’t remember a time when I wasn’t by his side.
Thirty years I’d been part of a duo.
And now, now I was just . . . me.
It was depressing.
And six months ago when he’d walked out of my life.
I’d cut him out of mine.
It hurt too much, even if he was right in doing what he did.
Alton was always stronger than me.
I was a total people pleaser and he was the schmoozer who always had people eating out of the palm of his hand. He took charge, and oftentimes when I tried he told me he’d handle the situation. And he did. I frowned. Was that right? Was my future really that of a trophy wife with no thoughts of her own? No. No, that wouldn’t . . . I always thought he was similar to me, just wanting to please his parents, until finally, he didn’t. In the end he pleased himself and told everyone else to go to hell.
I hung up the phone to my mom’s murmured “I love you.”
And stared straight ahead as more champagne was poured into my glass. I tilted it back without a second thought, gulping the entire contents and then wiping the liquid from my lips with the back of my hand.
“Scared of flying?” came a cultured Spanish accent from next to me. It was barely noticeable, but I traveled enough to catch it. I slowly turned my attention to the guy who’d just sat down in the aisle seat.
Black Bose headphones hung around his neck, and he wore a tight Under Armour hoodie and a denim jacket, which indicated he was a guy who knew how to make comfortable look fashionable. He had this cool personal style that made me look. My eyes took in his burgundy skinny jeans and gray high-tops. I almost gave him a nod of approval for doing his own thing, when he turned a golden-eyed gaze to me and winked.
Caught. So embarrassingly caught checking him out.
Oh.
Oh.
I jerked my gaze away.
Like a kid caught stealing a piece of candy.
“No.” I finally found my voice. What had he asked? Oh right, flying. “I travel all the time, it’s just been a rough . . . day.” Or year. Yeah, let’s go with day, though. Don’t want to sound too pathetic.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said smoothly with another wink before ordering a glass of Merlot that I knew by heart. I’d tasted the first barrel. My mouth watered.
It was a good choice.
Damn him.
Men who knew wine were my weakness.
Alton had always—
Stop. I needed to stop.
Alton was gone.
Gone.
I cleared my throat. “Good choice, that’s one of my favorites.”
“Other than champagne?” He grinned, showing straight, white teeth that almost blinded me against his smooth, tanned skin.
“Other than champagne,” I agreed, still a bit tongue-tied as the flight attendant brought his drink in a stemless glass. He swirled the wine around, examined the legs, sniffed.
My jaw almost came unhinged as I watched him test it.
I waited on pins and needles for approval, not even realizing how much I needed it until he sipped the wine.
God, was I that ridiculous?
Needing a stranger to tell me I had good taste in my own father’s wine?
I really did need a vacation.
“It’s good,” he finally said.
“Good,” I repeated. “Good?”
He smirked at me. “Emotionally invested in wine, then? Just had a desire for champagne instead?”
I narrowed my eyes. “What about the aroma of cherries? I think if you take another sip you’ll also notice the robust—”
He placed a finger to my lips and whispered, “I said it was good, are you trying to change my opinion, then?”
My lips parted.
“Folks, looks like we’re first for takeoff. Flight attendants, please prepare the cabin.”
I watched in shock as he didn’t finish his wine but handed it off to the flight attendant. Annoyed, I decided not to speak to him the rest of the flight.
Great, now I was punishing a stranger because of his taste in wine.
I was going to die alone.
Damn it, Alton.
If he’d been there he’d have held my hand, rubbed his thumb lightly over my skin, and then later told me something like the guy was beneath us. Which wasn’t true. He had a very low opinion of anyone who wasn’t in his circle, which had always bothered me. Now I was nervous that the one thing I’d despised about him was rubbing off on me.
My chest tightened.
That’s why I needed this vacation.
I needed to decide who I was.
Because at thirty years old, when I looked in the mirror I didn’t see just me, I saw the man who was supposed to be by my side, along with all the flaws that somehow pushed him away. My need to please, my need for my parents’ approval, pushing my girlfriends away because I had him, because they made me lose focus on the prize—running the family business. Thirty years old and I had no life to speak of and now no fiancé.
Chapter Two
SLADE
Vacation had been the only option after getting offered one of the highest salaries in US soccer. They needed a face to sell . . . and I wanted to get away from my old team.