Love Burns By Adrian J. Smith

General Release Date: 17th August 2021

Word Count: 79,076
Book Length: SUPER NOVEL
Pages: 303

Genres:

CELEBRITIES,CONTEMPORARY,EROTIC ROMANCE,GLBTQI,LESBIAN

Add to Goodreads

Book Description

A chef must learn to open her heart when challenged by her young but wise nanny, who has a knack for turning up the heat.

Kimberly Thompson—or Kim Burns, her stage name—is a celebrity chef whose career is taking off. As a single mom who has a penchant for being a bit of a bitch, she goes through nannies like the flavor of the month until Becca Kline is sent to her by Kiddie Academy.

Becca—known as ‘the fixer’—is often sent to homes considered to be troublemakers. In charge of caring for four-year-old Michael, she is determined to make this job her last before student teaching in the fall and finishing up her degree, which she has been working on for the better part of a decade.

Neither Kimberly nor Becca are prepared for the changes headed toward them, and they both have to learn the hard way that love doesn’t wait or discriminate.

Reader advisory: This book contains references to drug use.

 

The knocking was incessant. Becca tossed in her bed and threw the blanket over her head, trying to fall back into sleep, but the knocking kept up—pounding and pounding and pounding. Growling, she flipped the blanket off herself in a fit of rage. Pressing her feet to the cold floor, she wiped at her eyes and muttered a curse under her breath as the banging on the door got louder and the doorbell chimed in as well.

“Jesus Christ,” Becca groaned and got to her feet, heading toward the front door. No one else was up in the house. The sun was up, shining brightly through the windows, almost blinding her. As she got closer to the door, Becca heard a voice shouting through it.

“Kimberly, open up! Come to the fucking door. Seriously, Kimmie. Open the damn door.”

Becca glanced around to make sure Kimberly wasn’t hiding in the kitchen or on the couch. She hesitantly stepped toward the door and peeked out of the small glass window before unlocking it and opening it.

“Who the hell are you?” a man with wide eyes shouted before trying to get around her.

Becca planted her feet firmly, refusing to open the door any farther.

“Who the hell are you?” she countered. “Don’t you think it’s a bit obnoxious to pound on a poor woman’s door until someone comes to answer it? Aren’t there better methods of getting someone’s attention rather than being a beast in a suit?”

She eyed him up and down, deciding right then and there that she didn’t like him. He was dressed impeccably, but his demeanor was all man, all power, all superior entitlement.

“I own this house.”

“Bullshit.” Kimberly’s voice echoed down the hall as feet pattered heavily on the floor.

“Daddy!” Michael ran right by Becca and wrapped his arms around the man’s legs, burying his face in his pants. “Why are you here?”

“Yes, why are you here, Bradley?” Kimberly snapped.

Becca decided to step to the side, thinking Kimberly had this handled better than she could, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to leave all together.

“Who is she?” He jerked his head in Becca’s direction and spat the question.

“Our new nanny.”

Bradley wrinkled his nose at her as he picked up Michael and stepped into the house. Becca shut the door behind him, attempting to ignore the disgust in his voice and the fact that she suddenly felt like she’d been torn down two or three notches on the equality scale.

Kimberly repeated her initial question. “Why are you here?”

“I went to the hospital this morning and someone told me my wife had been in last night for a broken wrist.” Again, he glared at Becca.

“Jesus, isn’t patient privacy anything these days?”

“Not when it’s your wife.”

“I am not your wife.”

Becca’s back went ramrod straight, and she reached for Michael, ready to take him out of the room. Kimberly must have caught the move because she put a hand up to hold Becca off.

“I am not your wife,” she repeated and smiled down at Michael.

“I am still on file as your emergency contact.”

“Well, I’ll be changing that ASAP,” she muttered. “I fell at work. Broke my wrist.” Holding up her tightly wrapped hand with noticeably swollen fingers, Kimberly smirked. “Becca here was so kind as to take me in to be seen. So, you can thank her then apologize for being such an ass.”

Bradley’s demeanor instantly changed. He ducked his head slightly and almost shuffled his foot like a scolded toddler. “I am sorry for making assumptions—”

“And for being an ass…” Kimberly added.

“And for being an ass,” Bradley repeated. “And thank you for taking such good care of Kimmie.”

Kimberly rolled her eyes but didn’t add anything else. Instead, she turned around, plopped down on the stool at the kitchen island like she had the night before and relaxed. After a pause, she shot a glare at Bradley. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

He sighed, joining her in the kitchen with Michael still in tow. “I’ll go back in a minute. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m fine,” Kimberly said, exasperated.

Becca wasn’t ready to fully leave Kimberly on her own yet, so she headed to start the coffee that both of them would no doubt need. She also wasn’t sure Michael was going to be up for hearing their conversation. Filling the pot with water, Becca set up the coffee maker while also keeping one ear attuned to the rest of the suddenly full kitchen.

“Who did you get a referral to?” Bradley had picked Michael up and cradled him against his side. Michael melted into him.

Kimberly waved her good hand and shook her head. “I have no idea.”

“What?”

“It was late. I just woke up. Let me catch my bearings.”

“You need to see Jim.”

Kimberly rolled her eyes. Becca leaned against the counter, both hands gripping the edge as she watched the dysfunction unfold in front of her. Michael hopped down from Bradley’s arms and headed for the pantry. He came over with the box of cereal. Without thinking, Becca reached for the bowl and helped get him set up with his breakfast. The coffee percolating scented the kitchen with its deep fragrance.

“I will see whomever I want to see,” Kimberly threw back. “It may be Jim. It may be someone else.”

“Do you want me to take Michael for the rest of the week, so you can rest?”

“No. I’m going back to work tomorrow.”

“You can’t do that!”

Kimberly shot Bradley a glare that Becca was happy to not be on the receiving end of. Shivers ran down her spine as she watched anger build behind Kimberly’s eyes before she tamed it to a slow roil. Her icy tone echoed throughout the house. “I will be going to work tomorrow.”

“Kimmie, you could hurt yourself even more.”

“That is my lot to lose. I am going to work tomorrow. I may not be cooking tomorrow, but I am going to work. There is certainly enough stuff to go around that I can and will find something useful to do.”

Bradley put his hands up in the air in surrender. “Please take it easy, though.”

“Fine.” Kimberly put her head on her good arm on top of the kitchen island and closed her eyes.

Becca sensed her defeat and exhaustion. There was no masking it. Bradley stepped into the kitchen proper and pulled out a mug, filling it with coffee after reaching around Becca and getting into her space. Once again, Becca refused to move, forcing him to awkwardly angle his body to circle hers. She wasn’t about to back down. When he stepped away, Kimberly watched them curiously.

Bradley headed for the door, but Michael caught on and raced over. He grabbed Bradley’s leg and screamed, obviously not wanting him to leave. Both Kimberly and Becca stayed still while Bradley peeled Michael off him. “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks, bud. You’ll have all weekend with me. We can go to the movies and to the park.”

Michael brushed away tears. “Really?”

“Really, really. I promise.”

Nodding, Michael stepped away just enough for Bradley to sneak out of the front door and shut it. Within another second, Michael was at the door, on the floor, throwing the world’s biggest fit. Kimberly sighed and slowly went to get up, but Becca stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“I’ve got this one.”

She headed over to him, sat next to him on the floor and pulled his small form into her lap. Becca leaned against the wall and shushed him gently, letting him cry. Michael curled into her, and she pressed a kiss to his head.

“What’s going on, kiddo? What are you feeling?”

“I’m sad,” he muttered through sniffled sobs. “I miss my daddy.”

“I bet you do. But you know your daddy will come back, right? He’s not gone forever. He’ll always come back for you.”

Michael nodded visibly calmed. His sobs became less, his sniffles further in between and he wiped his eyes, even though they were mostly dry. After a few more minutes of snuggling, Michael tensed and gasped.

“What?” Becca asked.

“My cereal is soggy.” The whine was once again in his tone, and Becca knew she’d have to head it off before he had a second breakdown for the morning.

“You know what? You’re probably right. Why don’t you go get dressed for the day, and just this once, I’ll make you a brand-new bowl.”

“Really?” Michael asked sheepishly.

“Really, really,” Becca answered.

Michael burst up from her lap and raced down to his room. Becca was far slower to get up, but once she got to the kitchen, Kimberly stared at her with a look she couldn’t quite read. It was either surprise or appreciation, but there was something else mixed in that Becca couldn’t put her finger on.

Kimberly broke the silence first as Becca set the soggy cereal into the sink. “He really is an ass, but he’s also a great dad.”

“I can see that,” Becca answered, unconvinced.

“He really is.”

“Why did he think he could just come in here like that?”

Kimberly glanced down the hallway toward Michael’s room. “He wanted to stay married. I didn’t. I’m not going to stay with someone who obviously isn’t into me that way—or women in general. He loves me still—or the idea of me. He loves Michael. But I did not want an open relationship. I did not want to be made to feel like I was less than. So I kicked him out after I caught him cheating again and told him to go live his own life, which he is doing a really crappy job at.”

Becca snorted. “I guess.”

“Oh no, he is. He lives about three lives—one as an invasive cardiologist at the hospital, one as a father and one as a college boy who parties every night of the week and jumps on top of anyone who will let him.”

“What?” Surprise laced Becca’s tone. She grabbed another bowl and set it on the counter.

“It’s true. Want to make me one of those?”

Without thinking, Becca grabbed a second and third bowl for each of them. “How’s your arm this morning?”

“Sore. All of me is sore. I feel like I’m a hundred years old.”

“Definitely don’t look a hundred. Maybe fifty,” Becca teased.

Kimberly smirked.

“Word of advice, though, before Michael comes back in here. Don’t have those conversations or talk to Bradley like that in front of him.” Becca wasn’t sure she wanted to see Kimberly’s reaction, but she hoped she’d listened.

“I know. I try, but I get sucked into it.”

Becca kept her mouth shut, knowing that if she said anything else it wouldn’t help the situation and would probably only push Kimberly in the opposite direction than she wanted. She finished making their breakfast and poured herself and Kimberly some coffee. Michael came running out and sat next to his mom. Becca put the bowl in front of him, and he dug into it.

“Seeing as how you’re going to be here all day now, would you mind if I take the time for myself?”

“Got a hot date?” Kimberly shot back, malice edging her tone.

“No. I have an exam coming up, and I would like the extra time to study.”

Kimberly turned her head slightly and narrowed her eyes in question.

“I’m working on my bachelor’s degree, remember? I only have a couple of semesters left. Didn’t you read my file?”

“Of course I did.”

Becca could clearly see she had not. Shoving the odd feeling off, she explained, “I’m working on getting my degree in teaching. I want to teach elementary school.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, I have a test. I could really use the time to study if you don’t need me today.”

“Sure.”

Becca escaped to her room and sat on her bed with her cereal bowl in hand. That had been a far more eventful morning than she had anticipated. Settling into the quiet of her room—her sanctuary—Becca mentally took note of everything she wanted to accomplish that day. She was going to make the most of her newfound free time.

 

Buy Links

Choose Your Store
First For Romance

Amazon

Adrian J. Smith

Adrian J. Smith has been publishing since 2013 but has been writing nearly her entire life. With a focus on women loving women fiction, AJ jumps genres from action-packed police procedurals to the seedier life of vampires and witches to sweet romances with a May-December twist. She loves writing and reading about women in the midst of the ordinariness of life. Two of her novels received honorable mentions with the Rainbow Awards.

AJ currently lives in Cheyenne, WY, although she moves often and has lived all over the United States. She loves to travel to different countries and places. She currently plays the roles of author, wife, mother to two rambunctious toddlers, and occasional handy-woman. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, or her blog.

Enter and get a First For Romance Gift Card!

Adrian J. Smith Love Burns Giveaway

ENTER HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO GET A FIRST FOR ROMANCE GIFT CARD! Notice: This competition ends on 31ST AUGUST 2021 at 5pm GMT. Competition hosted by Totally Entwined Group.