Tempting Brooke
A Big Sky Novella
By Kristen Proby
1001 Dark Nights
Tempting Brooke
A Big Sky Novella
By Kristen Proby
1001 Dark Nights
Copyright 2018 Kristen Proby
ISBN: 978-1-948050-32-6
Foreword: Copyright 2014 M. J. Rose
Published by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.
Book Description
Tempting Brooke
A Big Sky Novella
By Kristen Proby
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristen Proby comes a new story in her Big Sky series…
Brooke’s Blooms has taken Cunningham Falls by surprise. The beautiful, innovative flower shop is trendy, with not only gorgeous flower arrangements, but also fun gifts for any occasion. This store is Brooke Henderson’s deepest joy, and it means everything to her, which shows in how completely she and her little shop have been embraced by the small community of Cunningham Falls.
So, when her landlord dies and Brody Chabot saunters through her door, announcing that the building has been sold, and will soon be demolished, Brooke knows that she’s in for the fight of her life. But she hasn’t gotten this far by sitting back and quietly doing what she’s told. Hustle is Brooke’s middle name, and she has no intention of losing this fight, no matter how tempting Brody’s smile -- and body -- is.
**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.**
About Kristen Proby
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristen Proby has published more than thirty romance novels. She is best known for her self-published With Me In Seattle and Boudreaux series, and also works with William Morrow on the Fusion Series. Kristen lives in Montana with her husband, their pug and two cats.
Also from Kristen Proby
The Big Sky Series:
Charming Hannah
Kissing Jenna
Waiting for Willa – Coming soon!
Kristen Proby’s Crossover Collection – Coming March 12, 2019
Soaring With Fallon: A Big Sky Novel by Kristen Proby
Wicked Force: A Wicked Horse Vegas/Big Sky Novella by Sawyer Bennett
All Stars Fall: A Seaside Pictures/Big Sky Novella by Rachel Van Dyken
Hold On: A Play On/Big Sky Novella by Samantha Young
Worth Fighting For: A Warrior Fight Club/Big Sky Novella by Laura Kaye
Crazy Imperfect Love: A Dirty Dicks/Big Sky Novella by K.L. Grayson
Nothing Without You: A Forever Yours/Big Sky Novella by Monica Murphy
The Fusion Series:
Listen To Me
Close To You
Blush For Me
The Beauty of Us
Savor You
The Boudreaux Series:
Easy Love
Easy Charm
Easy Melody
Easy Kisses
Easy Magic
Easy Fortune
Easy Nights
The With Me In Seattle Series:
Come Away With Me
Under the Mistletoe With Me
Fight With Me
Play With Me
Rock With Me
Safe With Me
Tied With Me
Burn With Me
Breathe With Me
Forever With Me
Stay With Me
Indulge With Me
Love With Me
The Love Under the Big Sky Series:
Loving Cara
Seducing Lauren
Falling For Jillian
Saving Grace
From 1001 Dark Nights:
Easy With You
Easy For Keeps
No Reservations
Tempting Brooke
The Romancing Manhattan Series:
All the Way
Discover 1001 Dark Nights
Click here to explore
COLLECTION ONE
FOREVER WICKED by Shayla Black
CRIMSON TWILIGHT by Heather Graham
CAPTURED IN SURRENDER by Liliana Hart
SILENT BITE: A SCANGUARDS WEDDING by Tina Folsom
DUNGEON GAMES by Lexi Blake
AZAGOTH by Larissa Ione
NEED YOU NOW by Lisa Renee Jones
SHOW ME, BABY by Cherise Sinclair
ROPED IN by Lorelei James
TEMPTED BY MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian
THE FLAME by Christopher Rice
CARESS OF DARKNESS by Julie Kenner
COLLECTION TWO
WICKED WOLF by Carrie Ann Ryan
WHEN IRISH EYES ARE HAUNTING by Heather Graham
EASY WITH YOU by Kristen Proby
MASTER OF FREEDOM by Cherise Sinclair
CARESS OF PLEASURE by Julie Kenner
ADORED by Lexi Blake
HADES by Larissa Ione
RAVAGED by Elisabeth Naughton
DREAM OF YOU by Jennifer L. Armentrout
STRIPPED DOWN by Lorelei James
RAGE/KILLIAN by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright
DRAGON KING by Donna Grant
PURE WICKED by Shayla Black
HARD AS STEEL by Laura Kaye
STROKE OF MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian
ALL HALLOWS EVE by Heather Graham
KISS THE FLAME by Christopher Rice
DARING HER LOVE by Melissa Foster
TEASED by Rebecca Zanetti
THE PROMISE OF SURRENDER by Liliana Hart
COLLECTION THREE
HIDDEN INK by Carrie Ann Ryan
BLOOD ON THE BAYOU by Heather Graham
SEARCHING FOR MINE by Jennifer Probst
DANCE OF DESIRE by Christopher Rice
ROUGH RHYTHM by Tessa Bailey
DEVOTED by Lexi Blake
Z by Larissa Ione
FALLING UNDER YOU by Laurelin Paige
EASY FOR KEEPS by Kristen Proby
UNCHAINED by Elisabeth Naughton
HARD TO SERVE by Laura Kaye
DRAGON FEVER by Donna Grant
KAYDEN/SIMON by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright
STRUNG UP by Lorelei James
MIDNIGHT UNTAMED by Lara Adrian
TRICKED by Rebecca Zanetti
DIRTY WICKED by Shayla Black
THE ONLY ONE by Lauren Blakely
SWEET SURRENDER by Liliana Hart
COLLECTION FOUR
ROCK CHICK REAWAKENING by Kristen Ashley
ADORING INK by Carrie Ann Ryan
SWEET RIVALRY by K. Bromberg
SHADE'S LADY by Joanna Wylde
RAZR by Larissa Ione
ARRANGED by Lexi Blake
TANGLED by Rebecca Zanetti
HOLD ME by J. Kenner
SOMEHOW, SOME WAY by Jennifer Probst
TOO CLOSE TO CALL by Tessa Bailey
HUNTED by Elisabeth Naughton
EYES ON YOU by Laura Kaye
BLADE by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright
DRAGON BURN by Donna Grant
TRIPPED OUT by Lorelei James
STUD FINDER by Lauren Blakely
MIDNIGHT UNLEASHED by Lara Adrian
HALLOW BE TH
PRINCE ROMAN by CD Reiss
THE BED MATE by Kendall Ryan
DIRTY FILTHY FIX by Laurelin Paige
NO RESERVATIONS by Kristen Proby
DAWN OF SURRENDER by Liliana Hart
COLLECTION FIVE
BLAZE ERUPTING by Rebecca Zanetti
ROUGH RIDE by Kristen Ashley
HAWKYN by Larissa Ione
RIDE DIRTY by Laura Kaye
ROME’S CHANCE by Joanna Wylde
THE MARRIAGE ARRANGEMENT by Jennifer Probst
SURRENDER by Elisabeth Naughton
INKED NIGHTS by Carrie Ann Ryan
ENVY by Rachel Van Dyken
PROTECTED by Lexi Blake
THE PRINCE by Jennifer L. Armentrout
PLEASE ME by J. Kenner
WOUND TIGHT by Lorelei James
STRONG by Kylie Scott
DRAGON NIGHT by Donna Grant
TEMPTING BROOKE by Kristen Proby
HAUNTED BE THE HOLIDAYS by Heather Graham
CONTROL by K. Bromberg
HUNKY HEARTBREAKER by Kendall Ryan
THE DARKEST CAPTIVE by Gena Showalter
Also from 1001 Dark Nights:
TAME ME by J. Kenner
THE SURRENDER GATE By Christopher Rice
SERVICING THE TARGET By Cherise Sinclair
TEMPT ME by J. Kenner
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Table of Contents
Book Description
About Kristen Proby
Also from Kristen Proby
Discover 1001 Dark Nights
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Six
Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights
Discover More Kristen Proby
Discover the Kristen Proby Crossover Collection
Special Thanks
One Thousand and One Dark Nights
Once upon a time, in the future…
I was a student fascinated with stories and learning.
I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and
the art and science of love and magic. I had a vast
library at my father’s home and collected thousands
of volumes of fantastic tales.
I learned all about ancient races and bygone
times. About myths and legends and dreams of all
people through the millennium. And the more I read
the stronger my imagination grew until I discovered
that I was able to travel into the stories... to actually
become part of them.
I wish I could say that I listened to my teacher
and respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I
would not be telling you this tale now.
with bravery.
One afternoon, curious about the myth of the
Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to
see for myself if it was true that every day Shahryar
(Persian: شهريار, “king”) married a new virgin, and then
sent yesterday's wife to be beheaded. It was written
and I had read, that by the time he met Scheherazade,
the vizier's daughter, he’d killed one thousand
women.
Something went wrong with my efforts. I arrived
in the midst of the story and somehow exchanged
places with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had
never occurred before and that still to this day, I
cannot explain.
Now I am trapped in that ancient past. I have
taken on Scheherazade’s life and the only way I can
protect myself and stay alive is to do what she did to
protect herself and stay alive.
Every night the King calls for me and listens as I spin tales.
And when the evening ends and dawn breaks, I stop at a
point that leaves him breathless and yearning for more.
And so the King spares my life for one more day, so that
he might hear the rest of my dark tale.
As soon as I finish a story... I begin a new
one... like the one that you, dear reader, have before
you now.
Prologue
~Brody~
My dad is an asshole. He’s yelled and thrown fits my whole life. Whether he tried to scare me, or was just being a massive jerk, doesn’t matter.
He’s a dick.
But last night, he hit me for the first time. Like, full-out hit me because he said I’m a man now, and I can take it.
And I fucking hate him.
I’m meeting Brooke Henderson, my neighbor, at the end of our block, just like we always do on weekdays. We walk to school together every day, and have since we were in grade school.
She’s been my friend forever. She’s small, with long dark hair and big brown eyes, and she might be the one person in this world that I’d do almost anything for.
“Hey,” she says with a big smile as I wait for her on the sidewalk. Her smile is my favorite. It reaches all the way to her eyes and lights up her whole face. “I’m not ready for Mr. Koch’s math test today. I’m just so bad at it.” She loops her arm through mine and offers me a bite of her breakfast burrito, which I happily accept. “Do you have any finals today?”
“Just English.” I pass her burrito back and cringe when we walk down a curb. It makes my ribs sing in agony.
“Are you okay?” she asks, staring up at me with worried brown eyes, and I want to tell her everything. How he screams at both my mom and me for hours. How he used to smack her around, but now he’s decided to move on to me.
But I can’t because I’m afraid she’ll never look at me the same way again, and I couldn’t stand that.
“I’m fine,” I lie. “Just didn’t sleep a lot.”
“I sleep like the dead,” she says. “I slept until noon on Sunday. Noon! That can’t be normal.”
“It’s probably normal.” I don’t think I’ve ever slept until noon. My dad would never permit it.
“We have to hurry.” She picks up the pace, and I want to moan as my ribs cry out from keeping up with her. “I want to get to class early to get some math help.”
“You know I’ll help you whenever you want.”
“Well, come on. I’ll take you up on it.”
* * * *
Three years, and I’m done.
That motherfucker put his hands on me for the last time yesterday. Just before graduation, he pulled me into his bedroom and kicked me in the ribs until I was sure I’d cough up blood. Trying to defend myself only makes it much worse.
As usual, my mom cried, and begged for him to stop, but it didn’t do any good.
I’m eighteen. I have a car, and about a thousand dollars that I hid away over the past two years from my job. I begged Mom to go with me, to leave him and this good-for-nothing town and make a new start.
She refused.
I don’t want to leave her, but if I stay, I’ll end up killing him, and I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in jail. I don’t want to live like this anymore.
I need to leave.
This town never did anything good for me. Aside from Brooke, who I don’t even speak to anymore because my life went into the shitter, and I didn’t have the balls to talk to her about it
.
Nothing good has come from being in Cunningham Falls.
I throw my one bag of clothes and personal things behind the seat of my Ford truck and speed off, not looking back.
Chapter One
~Brooke~
“I stopped at the post office and got the mail,” my sister, Maisey, announces as she marches into my shop and drops a stack of envelopes and catalogues on my table.
“Thanks.” I reach for the envelopes first and thumb through them. “Lots of bills here.”
“Always,” she says with a smirk. “Who knew that being a business owner would be so expensive?”
I stare at her for a moment and then bust out laughing. “We did.”
“Oh yeah.” She sniffs at some pink hydrangea blooms, fussing over them. Maisey and I are less than a year apart, so we’ve always been close. Opening businesses at the same time, and supporting each other through that process, just seemed natural.
An off-white envelope catches my eye, and I pull it out from the rest, immediately opening it.
“Holy shit,” I mutter.
“What?”
“Hold on.” I skim the letter, and then shake my head. “No. Absolutely not.”
“What the hell?” Maisey demands, so I read the letter aloud.
Dear Ms. Henderson,
I’ve recently inherited the building your business resides in. I intend to sell the building. This is your sixty-day notice to vacate. I’ll be in Cunningham Falls next week to meet with you in person, should it be necessary.
Respectfully,
Brody Chabot
“Shit,” Maisey whispers and drags her fingers down her face. “I guess that means I can’t rent the space next door now.”
Maisey makes delicious wedding cakes, and her business has skyrocketed in the past year. She’s been baking out of her house, and we host tastings here in my shop. When the space next door became vacant, she was hoping to move her bakery in there.