I’ve been trying to restrain myself this entire time, but there’s so much I want to know, and I know he wants to know about me. He nods as he opens it and drains the little box. “A shot of Tequila would be a little better, but grape juice should work just as well,” I joke. “The only thing you told me was that you were a liaison for Public Relations and Research and Development,” I say with a shrug. He lets out an angry sigh and shakes his head. I can’t imagine him being entrusted with such a valuable position knowing he could become Chris at any time. The details of your job were mostly confidential,” I say, clearing my throat. It would seem Chris’ opinion of them must not be much better. I know his dad didn’t have an obvious affection for them. “Do you know exactly what did I there?” he asks tightly. “You-uh-Cal made good money working for the Crestfields.” I see his hand tighten around his drink. Well…” I try to think of how to explain this. “It’s just, well the car you’re driving isn’t exactly a base model and then, uhm…the ring you threw at me the other day looks pretty expensive, and Chicago isn’t exactly the cheapest place to live, and you never mention having a job…” he says, letting out a nervous laugh and rubbing the back of his head. Why do you think that?” I ask hesitantly. For him to put all the pieces in place, he'll have to follow his heart, and that might cost him everything. All he knows is that Lauren is the missing piece to a puzzle he must solve. The closer he gets to her, the more his rock-solid plans begin to crumble. She's intriguing, beautiful and, try as he might, he can't stay away. That's when a woman named Lauren arrives on his doorstep.

He's finally settling into the life he's always wanted, and he's making plans he only dared to dream before now. Christopher Scott is in love and newly engaged to Jenna, who saw him through an illness he didn't think he could survive. Love nearly broke her once, and her daughter doesn't need two broken parents. She can't afford to give in to her heart's desire again. The day she meets Chris, all those feelings she thinks she has bottled up tightly come spilling out.

The walls she had carefully built around her begin to collapse. until she learns the reason for Cal's abandonment. At twenty-five, while raising their daughter on her own, Lauren is finally moving on with her life. Lauren Brooks fell in love with Cal Scott at twenty-one, married him at twenty-two, and had her heart broken at twenty-three when he walked out of their marriage.

Almost Broken by Portia Moore