Bennett Family Series

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Synopsis

From Book 1:

A Bennett Family Novel

This time they may just find love.

Evelyn Bennett's life was forever changed five years earlier. A broken engagement and a devastating injury were just the beginning of what was to come. With the death of her beloved grandfather, she is once again confronted by Sebastian O'Connor, a man she had vowed never to work for again.

Sebastian O'Connor has found himself at a crossroads. He has inherited a fifth of a company from a man he had once worked for and respected. He had left because he refused to take orders from Evelyn after the company had been left in her less-than-capable hands. But things were now different, and after a vote, he would take over the company, making Evelyn take orders from him.

There was no love lost between Evelyn and Sebastian from the day they met. That was about to change. Now that each of them owns equal shares of Evelyn's grandfather's business, neither of them wants to relinquish control to the other. When old, buried secrets come to the surface, they find themselves uniting for the well-being of the company. Somewhere between Sebastian's confusing kisses and Evelyn learning to deal with old hurts and insecurities, the pair find themselves attracted and in a relationship neither expected.

From The Author: Sebastian can be a bit domineering. Evelyn does a pretty good impression of a shrew. These two people meet again five years after they had parted on not-so-good terms to find that they are now different people, people who may just find that this time there is love between them. This is a standalone novel, approximately 94,000 words. I love a story with people who are less than perfect. Please note this is an open-door romance. I hope you enjoy. – Lizzy Castle.

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Publisher: In The Air Publishing

Content advisory: Open door romance.

Sample

From Book 1

Chapter One

The bedroom was done in soothing sage greens with accents of bright orchid pink.  When the sun came up in the morning, light filtered through the gauzy cream-colored curtains, easing her into wakefulness.  The sanctuary feel of the room had been purposefully created with the help of her family.  It was supposed to be relaxing and calming.  The fresh flowers decorating the low table and dresser were supposed to appeal to her senses.

Nothing in the room could calm her today.

Evelyn Bennett refused to humiliate herself again.  Her grandfather had called it “her cussed stubbornness,” but Evelyn called it something else.  Self-preservation.  Evelyn stood in nothing but her plain, functional white underwear while she struggled into her back brace.  The thing was harder to fasten than a bridle and harness.  She prayed that for today it would be enough.  By the end of the day, her back would hurt.  Her hip would hurt.  Her knees would hurt.  She only hoped that her pride remained intact.  When it was all one had, one defended it fiercely.

“Evie, hurry up.  We’re going to be late.”  Anne Bennett hollered up the stairs.  Evelyn would have laughed at the unladylike display, but she was too upset.  She was also too tired to remember to correct Anne for calling her Evie.  It had been a childhood nickname, and she’d never broken her grandfather of it.  The woman he’d married seven years earlier had picked it up as a result.  Since the rest of the family used it as well, Anne wasn’t letting it go without a fight.

“I’m coming.  I can’t imagine what your rush is.”  Neither of them wanted to go to the lawyer’s office today.  Of course, neither of them had wanted to go to the hospital the month before when Howard Bennett slipped quietly into death, either.

Tears stung Evelyn’s eyes, and she pushed them ruthlessly away.  She refused to cry, and crying publicly would be the ultimate humiliation.  Her grandfather hadn’t been the type of man who was comfortable with tears.  If he thought his granddaughter and his wife were weeping uncontrollably over his death, it would have made him cringe.

“What are you doing?”  Anne watched in disbelief as Evelyn fought with the brace.  “You hardly ever wear that thing anymore, though heaven knows we keep trying to get you to.  Take it off, get your dress on, grab your cane, and let’s go.”

“I am not bringing the cane.”  Evelyn’s tone was final, but it never got through to Anne.  She took her role as a grandmother quite seriously.  Never mind that she wasn’t old enough to be her grandmother.  Anne was old enough to be her mother, perhaps, but not her grandmother.  Evelyn was twenty-five, and Anne was forty-four.

“I am not using the cane,” she reiterated as she saw Anne’s temper start to build.  Evelyn managed to completely fasten the stupid contraption and went for her dress.  She looked bigger than she was in the baggy dress, but it hid the brace and was comfortable.  All of Evelyn’s clothes were comfortable and easy to put on, and in soothing colors much like her bedroom.  The clothes had functional lines and were easily managed.

She turned her head side to side, then grabbed a couple of hairpins.  She pulled her hair back into a strict bun.  Wouldn’t the wavy reddish-brown hair that now hung to the middle of her back surprise Sebastian?  He’d called her short hair boyish and unfeminine.  It was probably the most flattering thing he’d said to her that day, no matter that it was an insult.  He’d insulted her in much more hurtful ways than calling her unfeminine.

“Everyone knows you use a cane, Evie.”  She gave the younger woman an exasperated look when it became apparent that Evelyn wasn’t going to listen.  “Your cousin David and your cousin Leslie have never made fun of it.  They care about you too much to feel anything but sympathy for what you’ve been through.  I’ve seen it, your sister has seen it, and her husband has seen it when he’s at work with you and when you visit.  Even the lawyer has seen it.  Stop being so sensitive.  You had an accident, and you need it.”

Evelyn felt the unreasonable panic rise.  It always did when she thought about the crippling “accident.”  She couldn’t tell her family she was sure it wasn’t an accident.  They’d think she was crazy.  She thought she was crazy.  She had no real memory of what happened.  She had been horseback riding alone.  Though the trail was a public one, she had been fairly isolated that day.  In her more rational moments, she knew it had to have been an accident.  Her dreams were her only proof, and she kept them to herself.  The ominous dreams threatened her peace of mind, and she refused to discuss them.  It would just be another excuse her family would use to try to get her back into therapy.

She took a deep breath and practiced the techniques the therapist had taught her to help her stop the panic attacks.  Her heart rate slowed, and the blind panic faded.  She knew Anne was watching her and feeling helpless.  It was a response she was used to.  She hated the sympathy almost as much as she hated the constant supervision. 

Evelyn got a better grip on her emotions and concentrated on finishing getting ready.  She dabbed a bit of powder on her face and wondered if she should add a bit more makeup.  She hadn’t seen Sebastian in five years, not since he’d witnessed her most public humiliation.  Today Sebastian was the person she didn’t want to face.  He hadn’t seen the cane, and she didn’t want him to.  She needed to project all the strength she could, although she was sure he knew about the accident.  Funny how pride worked.  But he’d been there to see almost every humiliating moment of her life, and she’d had enough of looking like a fool.

Sebastian had been there during her awkward teenage years when she’d been having a hard time dealing with her thin, bony body and lack of development.  He’d been there when her mother had embarrassed the entire family before running her car off a cliff road because she’d been high and drunk.  He’d been her boss and had watched as she’d struggled to do her job while she failed time and again.  He’d been there when she’d made a fool of herself by accusing her sister’s soon-to-be husband, Sebastian’s nephew John, of cheating with her cousin Leslie.  Leslie had been dating Sebastian at the time, and he hadn’t appreciated the accusation one bit.  And he’d been there when she’d been left standing at the altar, her wedding gown swamping her thin body, her limbs visibly trembling.  He’d capped it when he quit his job with her grandfather’s company earlier that same day, saying he wouldn’t take orders from her.  Her grandfather was putting her in charge of the company, and Sebastian predicted that she and her cousin David would ruin the business in less than five years.  The final humiliation was that he’d been right.  He’d find that out today.

Evelyn did a final check in the mirror.  Anne had been seeing to it that Evelyn ate right.  Her body had filled in a bit, and she looked pretty good, if you covered up the scars.  Her breasts had finally made a late appearance.  They might only fill out a B cup, but on her thin, short frame, they looked much bigger.  Her hair had lost a lot of the brassy red color and was a more attractive shade of brown with red highlights.  Her eyes were still an odd gray color, but with the right makeup and contacts instead of her old glasses, they stood out nicely on her rather plain face.  With her small nose, square chin, and high forehead, she wasn’t a great beauty, and she knew it.  She tried to make up for it with a strong attitude and willpower.

“I’m ready.”  It was a big fat lie, but Evelyn grabbed her purse anyway.  The drive was going to be long, and already she could feel her muscles tensing.  The doctor had warned her time and again to lessen her stress levels.  If her body relaxed, her muscles wouldn’t tighten, and her back and leg wouldn’t hurt so much.  It was easier said than done.

The minivan Anne had bought five years ago allowed her to stretch out, and she had been so grateful for the legroom that she hadn’t reprimanded Anne for buying something that had been solely for her benefit.  Evelyn could drive herself now, but in the early days after her accident, driving had hurt more than it was worth.  Five years ago, Evelyn had an impractical but cute sports car.  With her busted left hip, she just couldn’t get herself in and out of the low-slung car.  She’d sold it, along with her most prized possession, four years earlier.

Anne helped Evelyn into the van.  She drove slower than usual when Evelyn was in the van and tried not to make any sharp turns.  Evelyn had assured her time and again that she was much better, but ever since she’d refused to have the last surgery, Anne had been overbearingly protective.  At least she was overprotective when she wasn’t nagging.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Sebastian.  It’s been a long time.  He called after the funeral.  He was sorry he missed it.”  Anne took another corner and watched Evelyn from the corner of her eye.  She didn’t know if Sebastian was the sole reason for Evelyn’s sudden nerves, but Anne was certain he was at least a small part of the tension that was clear in Evelyn today.

“I wasn’t aware that he called.”  Evelyn wasn’t surprised he had, but she hadn’t known.  He’d kept in touch with Howard and Anne Bennett, but he’d been in Europe the last five years, supposedly learning about the overseas markets.  He couldn’t have made it any plainer how much he wanted to get away from her.

Evelyn glanced over at Anne.  Sebastian had introduced Anne to Howard eight years before, and they’d married a year later.  Anne and Sebastian had been friends for a long time.  Evelyn knew Anne had been best friends with Sebastian’s older sister, and the friendship had been passed along.  Anne was closer to Sebastian’s age than she was to Howard.  Sebastian was thirty-eight this year.  His birthday had been last month, Evelyn knew.  She knew just about everything about the man.  It was funny how you could dislike someone so much and still be fascinated by them.

“He did.  I called him, but he was on a business trip and couldn’t fly out for the funeral.  When he got back, he offered to come so I wouldn’t be alone, but I told him I had you.  When he received word from the lawyer that he was mentioned in the will, he called again to say he’d be here.”

Evelyn imagined what he had to say about her being the one to console Anne, but she refrained from making any comment.  Anne knew that the two of them didn’t get along.  There was no point in dragging up an old feud.

“Has he visited with John, do you know?”  John was not only Evelyn’s executive assistant; he was also her sister Kimberly’s husband and Sebastian’s nephew.  John had started with the company shortly before Sebastian had quit.  Evelyn had given John a promotion to be her assistant right before her accident, right after Sebastian had left.  John thought she did it so she could keep an eye on him.  He married her younger sister almost four years ago, just after Evelyn had recovered from the majority of her injuries and had gone back to work.  John had been acting as an executive assistant to her grandfather, who had taken back the reins while she recovered from her accident.

On her first day back at work, John told her he was marrying Kimberly; it was just too bad if she didn’t like it, and that she could fire him if she liked.  Evelyn had shrugged, ignoring the hurt she’d felt at the verbal attack.  But she knew she’d earned it when she’d accused him of having an affair with Leslie.  The real question was why he had decided to stay on with her?  She knew he was happy with his position in the company and with the large paychecks he received, but that explanation didn’t completely satisfy her.

“Sebastian has been out to visit his parents and sister, but I don’t think he’s seen John.  I know they chat from time to time.  And of course, Sebastian has been back to see his kids a few times.”

Evelyn dropped the subject of Sebastian and closed her eyes for a while.  The drive took an hour, and by the time they got there, Evelyn was ready to get out of the van.  When she had to sit for long periods, she always took a break and stretched.  She managed to get out of the van with the brace on by herself.  She could maneuver much more easily with the cane, but she gritted her teeth and headed for the office.  Anne trailed slightly behind her, ready to give her a hand should she need it.  Evelyn had been trying to exercise her independence, but it was hard when people were always doing things for her without asking if she needed them to.

“Do you need to stop at the bathroom?”  Anne held the door open for Evelyn and made it a point to look like it wasn’t a calculated move.  Anne hated it when Evelyn refused to take her cane.  It was a rare occurrence, but this wasn’t the first time.  Anne had a spare in the back of the van, and she would drag it out if it looked like Evelyn needed it, no matter what Evelyn had to say about it.  She understood Evelyn’s pride.  She also understood her embarrassment.  Evelyn had a habit of not letting things go.  Her embarrassment over what had happened five years ago was still as prominent today as it had been then.  Evelyn put on a good act, but it was only that, an act.

Evelyn shook her head in response to Anne’s question.  She didn’t want to fight with the brace.  The sooner they got over with whatever the lawyer had to say, the better.  Evelyn knew the company was to be divided equally between Howard’s four grandchildren.  Evelyn and Kimberly were on one side; David and Leslie were on the other.  Neither Kimberly nor Leslie cared about the chemical company that Howard owned, and each would vote with their respective sibling.  The votes always ran two to two.  Howard had been the deciding factor in the decision-making at Brown Chemical Labs.  David had one idea of how things should run.  Evelyn had another.  Howard chose between the two.  In the last few years, the decisions had swung equally between the two of them.  Without Howard, Evelyn knew the company didn’t have a chance.  She and David would never agree on how to run the company.  Howard liked to say that the competition made both of them work harder.  Now it would destroy the company Howard had bought out years ago and rebuilt.

Evelyn carefully measured her steps and kept her body rigidly straight.  Anne’s lips pursed, but she didn’t say anything.  As the secretary led them into the conference room that was being used for the will reading, Evelyn wasn’t worried about upsetting Anne.  She was concentrating on the upcoming confrontation.  Howard’s long-standing attorney, Bruce Bickerstaff, gestured for them to enter the room.

“Come in and have a seat.”  He took Evelyn’s arm and seated her.

Evelyn gave him a slight smile in thanks while internally gritting her teeth.  “Thank you, Mr. Bickerstaff.”

“No problem.”  He held a chair for Anne.

Evelyn knew Sebastian was in the room.  She refused to look his way, although she could feel he was watching her.  He was sitting next to David, who had Leslie, John, and Kimberly between him and her.  Evelyn turned her attention to Kimberly.  Kimberly was bottle-feeding six-month-old Patrick.  John was on the other side talking quietly to Leslie.  John was the peacekeeper in the family.

“How is he doing?”  Evelyn turned carefully in her seat.  Kimberly was frowning at her, and she knew the reason why.  Kimberly nagged her just as much as Anne.  They thought that between the two of them, they could bully her into having another surgery to fix her back and hip.  Evelyn wanted nothing to do with another surgery.

“He’s fine.  I see you’re feeling spry today.  Where’s your cane, Evie?”

Evelyn was going to correct her sister but dropped it.  Every member of the family called her Evie, even though it annoyed her.  Because she was annoyed, she forgot to watch her temper.  “I threw it in the trash.”

“You didn’t!”  Kimberly ignored all the turned heads their way.

“Of course, I didn’t,” she whispered.  “Would you please be quiet?  You’re embarrassing yourself.”  Evelyn prayed that they weren’t overheard.

“I’m not in the least embarrassed.  You should be, though.  Your behavior lately has been getting out of hand.  Perhaps your therapist would have something to say about your outrageous behavior.”

Evelyn wanted to tell her that she hadn’t been to her therapist lately just to see how she’d react, but John interrupted.  He turned and patted Kimberly’s shoulder.  “Your sister is a big girl.  She knows what she’s doing.  Don’t you, Evelyn?”

When Evelyn shifted her eyes, they clashed with Sebastian’s instead of John’s.  That cool reserve was still there, she noted.  His piercing green eyes were glued to hers.  His hair was still that almost black shade.  The light spattering of silver in his hair had barely grown in the last five years.  He was still tall and lean.  His body was still wrapped in the trappings of sophistication, and they still only barely masked his true personality.  He could be cruel when he felt like it.  He could be openly passionate when he cared about something.  She knew few dared cross him.  He’d grown up in rough neighborhoods, and that fact was a permanent part of him.  He might look like a businessman, but his rough background was always only partially hidden.

He swamped her five foot four by seven inches.  He wasn’t the tallest man in the room, but he was the hardest, both in looks and personality.  To her, he was a massive presence.  It had always been that way.  The thirteen years he had on her didn’t help alter the impression of power.  His age only increased it.

“Hello, Evelyn.”  Sebastian watched as she shrank into herself.

“Sebastian.”  Evelyn pulled her eyes from his.  That dark, deep, gritty voice made her quiver.  It had been too long since she’d seen him last.  It had taken years to get used to her reactions to his powerful presence.

“If we’re all ready, I’ll begin.”  Bruce interrupted.  Evelyn knew he was feeling the increased tension in the room.

Anne took over.  As the oldest in the room and Howard’s widow, she held the authority.  “Please begin.”  She didn’t bother to glance around to see how they all took the decree.  Howard had been the driving force behind the family.  As his wife, she had wielded the same power.

For the first few minutes, it was Howard’s personal effects that were divided up.  Anne would keep the house.  Everyone expected it.  Howard had openly adored his much younger bride.  Anne, in turn, loved Howard.  The years that separated them had meant nothing.  Howard’s money meant nothing to Anne.  No one doubted either one of their motives for the hasty marriage.

By the time the business was brought up, everyone was satisfied.  Nothing in the will had been a surprise.  All the various members of the family, except for Evelyn, had their own homes, and they all had their own money.  The business was what everyone had come to hear about.  So far, Sebastian hadn’t been mentioned, and it made Evelyn nervous.

If Howard hadn’t left any of his personal effects to Sebastian, then that meant he’d left something of his business.  Evelyn felt ill as trepidation gripped her.  She didn’t want to hear what came next but knew she had to sit through it.

The room was silent as they all waited for what came next.