Nice Girl to Love: Three-Book Collection (#1 Resisting the Bad Boy #2 Falling for the Good Guy #3 Choosing the Right Man) Read online

  Table of Contents

  TITLE PAGE

  Copyright © 2013 Violet Duke

  BOOK DESCRIPTION

  OTHER TITLES BY THE AUTHOR

  DEDICATION

  Resisting the Bad Boy (Book One)

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  Falling for the Good Guy (Book Two)

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Choosing the Right Man (Book Three)

  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

  EPILOGUE

  Sneak Peek of Finding the Right Girl by Violet Duke

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  NICE GIRL TO LOVE

  THE COMPLETE THREE-BOOK COLLECTION

  VIOLET DUKE

  Copyright © 2013 Violet Duke

  All rights reserved. This book and any portion thereof may not be reproduced, scanned, transferred, or distributed in any print or electronic form without the express written permission of the author. Participation in any aspect of piracy of copyrighted materials, inclusive of the obtainment of this book through non-retail or other unauthorized means, is in actionable violation of the author’s rights.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, media, brands, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and registered trademark owners of all branded names referenced without TM, SM, or (R) symbols due to formatting constraints, and is not claiming ownership of or collaboration with said trademark brands. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is purely coincidental.

  Copyedits by Victory Editing and Danielle Romero Editing

  Cover design by Violet Duke

  Excerpt of Finding the Right Girl © 2013 Violet Duke

  Ebook ISBN-10: 0989163334

  Ebook ISBN-13: 978-0-9891633-3-0

  BOOK DESCRIPTION

  This is the complete Nice Girl to Love series collection, which contains: Resisting the Bad Boy (Book One), Falling for the Good Guy (Book Two), and Choosing the Right Man (Book Three).

  THE ONE SHE NEVER THOUGHT SHE COULD KEEP...

  Abby Bartlett is the quintessential nice girl. Between teaching, volunteering, completing her PhD, and helping her best friend raise his daughter, Abby never gets the chance to be anything but nice. That is, until the all-wrong-for-her man she's only ever known from afar starts daring her to simply take that chance for herself. His sage advice? Try something wild and fast. Preferably him.

  An unbridled, hotshot attorney with a not-so-little black book, Connor Sullivan has earned himself quite the bad boy reputation. But in his defense, he's a very conscientious one. He knows far too well that sometimes in life, love isn't enough...or worse, not even a factor at all. To avoid that misery--and repel the drama--Connor has a firm ‘nothing over a month’ rule. Who knew a nice girl would be the one to make him want to break all his rules?

  THE ONE SHE NEVER HOPED SHE COULD HAVE...

  Abby is well aware that everyone thinks she’s in love with her best friend Brian. He is, after all, the type of man a nice girl should be with—the polar opposite of the bad boy—the kind of guy who didn’t let his wife’s decade-long illness stop him from showering her with a lifetime of love every second until her dying day. But everyone’s wrong; she couldn’t possibly be in love with him. Because she’s never once allowed herself that option.

  It’s taken a while but Brian has finally come to terms with surviving the woman he spent half his life loving, a third of it losing. Truth is though, he wouldn’t have ‘survived’ any of it really had it not been for Abby—sweet, incredible Abby—the woman he’s never once had to picture his life without, never realized he couldn’t truly live without. Until now. Now that he’s finally able to love her the way she deserves, the way he knows she wants to be loved…by his brother. Who’s giving him exactly one chance to speak now or forever hold his peace.

  A DECISION SHE NEVER DREAMED SHE’D HAVE TO MAKE...

  And now it’s up to Abby to decide between the bad boy wanting to start a life with her and the good guy fighting for the life they’ve already built.

  Praise for the Nice Girl to Love books:

  “Emotional, sexy, and so unique!” -- Carly Phillips, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

  “Prepare to laugh, cry and fall in love! Choosing a man has never been this wickedly irrestible.” -- Skye Jordan, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

  "A heartfelt, fast-paced, and fun read!" -- Lauren Blakely, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

  "A sexy, often emotional treat that will resonate with the 'nice girl' in all of us." -- Lexi Ryan, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

  "A sexy must read filled with humor, heart and smokin' hot love scenes!" -- Melanie Shawn, Author of The Hope Falls Chronicles and The Crossroads Series

  OTHER TITLES BY THE AUTHOR

  NICE GIRL TO LOVE (Serial Romance) Series

  RESISTING THE BAD BOY, Book #1

  FALLING FOR THE GOOD GUY, Book #2

  CHOOSING THE RIGHT MAN, Book #3

  NICE GIRL TO LOVE

  (The Complete Three-Book Collection)

  FINDING THE RIGHT GIRL

  (A Nice GUY to Love spin-off novel)

  CACTUS CREEK Series

  -- Available Now –

  A LITTLE COMBUSTIBLE CHEMISTRY

  LOVE, CHOCOLATE, AND BEER

  -- Coming May 2014 --

  LOVE, TUSSLES, AND TAKEDOWNS

  -- Coming July 2014 --

  A LITTLE FUTILE RESISTANCE

  -- Coming September 2014 --

  LOVE, ENDZONES, AND SIDELINES

  -- Coming November 2014 --

  A LITTLE HOLIDAY MEDDLING

  DEDICATION

  To my writing friends who keep me sane, keep me inspired, and continue to make this entire ride all the more fun. Lexi Ryan, Lauren Blakely, Carly Phillips, Melanie Shawn, J.S. Scott, and Skye Jordan—I love you ladies!

  Resisting the Bad Boy

  (BOOK ONE)

  Abby Bartlett is the quintessential nice girl. Between teaching, volunteering, completing her PhD, and helping her best friend raise his daughter, Abby never gets the chance to be anything but nice. That is, until the all-wrong-for-her man she's only ever known from afar starts daring her to simply take that chance for herself. His sage advice? Try something wild and fast.

  Preferably him.

  An unbridled, hotshot attorney with a not-so-little black book, Connor Sullivan has earned himself quite the bad boy reputation. But in his defense, he's a very conscientious one
. He knows far too well that sometimes in life, love isn't enough...or worse, not even a factor at all. To avoid that misery—and repel the drama—Connor always makes his one and only rule crystal clear right from the start. Absolutely nothing more than a month.

  Turns out, a whole lot can happen in one month.

  CHAPTER ONE

  GLANCING ACROSS THE ROOM at his guests, Connor Sullivan was pleasantly shocked to see his brother Brian arrive at the party with a date on his arm. As most everyone in his house tonight could attest, Connor wasn’t used to failing. He was one of the most sought-after corporate attorneys in the Western U.S. with a courtroom reputation even his friends referred to as notorious—due in part to the impressive number of times and ways he’s been held in contempt for his clients.

  So sue him, he enjoyed the rough and tumble victories.

  He fought hard for his wins, and he did it well. But when it came to helping his little brother cope with being a widower at the age of thirty, Connor had no clue who to fight, or how to win. Aside from paying off a decade’s worth of hospital and care facility bills from his sister-in-law’s battle with early-onset Huntington’s, and creating a scholarship in Beth’s name for youths plagued with the debilitating disease, Connor had felt useless to Brian after her death. All he’d been able to do was give him space, the only thing Brian insisted he needed.

  For nearly a year.

  So, when Brian called a few months back to ask for a favor, Connor had all but tripped over himself to give him a blind take-any-organ-you-want yes.

  Turns out, Brian just wanted his daughter to have somewhere to hang out every day afterschool until he could pick her up in the evenings throughout the fall term. It was hardly even a favor. Connor adored his niece Skylar and since he lived so close to the middle school she’d just gotten a boundary exemption to attend, walking over to his home while he was at work was the perfect solution.

  Not that Brian wouldn’t have simply quit his side coaching job to be there for Skylar had Connor said no. Brian would move mountains for that little girl. In fact, with Skylar’s best friend moving away not long after her mom’s death, Brian had done everything short of stalking the educational board to get district approval so the two best-friends-since-daycare could at least be in the same school again this upcoming year.

  Thank God it had worked out. Connor couldn’t imagine what it was like for an eleven-year old to lose her mom the way she did. She’d barely said one word throughout the entire holiday season last winter. Really, the school transfer was the first thing she’d seemed truly happy about all year.

  Ditto for her dad.

  By all accounts, Brian was clawing back from the edge of the cliff he’d been hanging onto by his fingertips for far too many years. But it was slow going. Logically understanding that Brian had to tackle this on his own didn’t make it any less of a bitch for Connor; it just made him craftier about how he snuck in the big brother thing. Luckily, it was summer in Arizona and he had a pool. Simple as that. Even with the endless hours he now kept as an equity partner at Caldwell, Sullivan & Phillips, squeezing in poolside barbeques for Brian and Skylar had become a weekly priority. Which paid off big time. After a month of regular cookouts, it was no longer uncommon for Brian to show up at the house unannounced, grab an unoffered beer, and plant himself on the couch to catch a game uninvited.

  It was nice having his brother back.

  For the better part of a decade, Brian’s singular mission had been to give his wife a lifetime’s worth of happiness every day, while hiding his own anguish over her heartwrenching physical and psychological decline. Connor knew it used to kill Brian to watch Beth gradually give up raising her own child the worse her motor functions became. Even before she’d become bedridden. That’s when Connor had begun jumping in to take Skylar as much he could, mainly since the eldest Sullivan matriarch had about as much experience being a warm grandma as she’d had being ‘mom’ instead of ‘mother’ when he and Brian were kids. In fact, she’d asked to be third in the caretaker line-up, following Brian’s best friend from college—a nice girl Connor vaguely recalled meeting years ago. So basically, it’d been a nonstop two-person job to shield Skylar from what was happening to her mom.

  There had been no shielding Brian, however.

  Beth had been Brian’s world, his high school sweetheart, the girl he’d come home vowing he was going to spend his life with the day he’d met her.

  Receiving the devastating news that Beth’s time with him would be far shorter and infinitely rougher—mere weeks after their unplanned child was born—simply prompted Brian to love and live every day following like it was their last.

  And he’d only been nineteen at the time.

  Truth be told, while Connor had always admired Brian’s extraordinary, absolutely nonhereditary capacity for love, he’d been a little glad to see the tragic love story finally came to an end. Awful as that sounds. He’d adored his sister-in-law, really. But the time was long past for Brian to move on with his life.

  Tonight, it looked like he was finally starting to.

  “I’m going over to say hi to my brother. Do you want to come along or are you good here?” Connor asked his date for the night, the always stunning Victoria, a divorce lawyer from a rival firm who just happened to be between men this week.

  “Brian’s here tonight? How wonderful,” replied Victoria with her token radiant smile, the most effective tool in her arsenal to detract attention from her constantly wandering eyes. “Give him my best will you? I’m going to mingle. The Adonis in the gray pinstripe is looking mighty lonely there in the corner.”

  Connor rolled his eyes. “Alright, have fun. Just be sure to stay away from the men at my firm…the women too, for that matter. Last year alone, you sent our sweet, bright-eyed bankruptcy fifth-year into a funk and later had two of the probate guys ready to kill each other.” He frowned in remembrance of that catastrophe. “Actually, you know what? Check where they work before you even start speaking to them at all.”

  “No promises,” she sang out as she sashayed off.

  He sighed. Despite the very real threat her refusal to behave was sure to present, Connor still found himself smiling after her. Victoria was the only constant female in his life for four years running now. How that managed to happen was one of life’s great mysteries. He supposed she fell in the friends with benefits category, though calling her a friend was a bit of a stretch…and he’d politely stopped all transactional ‘benefits’ after the first month. Okay, so she was more of a trophy-date-on-demand with a well-advertised rolling re-enrollment policy on lapsed benefits. That aside, they actually had a very nice thing going. She’d accompany him to black tie functions to save him from vapid socialites on the prowl, and he’d reciprocate if ever she needed. Fortunately, her revolving dating door spun faster than his did so he rarely had to carry out his end. Not that she wasn’t a nice enough woman. But her glib old money view on the world was a bit much to take at times.

  Hearing the unmistakable peal of Victoria’s flirt-giggle carry across the room, Connor found himself mildly curious about who she was trying to close, so soon in the game. Peering over, he snorted out a laugh when he saw it was none other than Clay Gibbs, the man who put the ass in pompous.

  The only reason Connor let his assistant invite the privileged nitwit tonight was because Clay was a third generation firm client on a very short leash. With him here, the bail money they kept in the safe for him actually had a fighting chance to remain there.

  “Oh, what a surprise, Victoria didn’t stay to say hi.”

  The long lost sound of Brian busting his chops had Connor beaming from ear to ear—he couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard him do it. “Yeah, well, you know Victoria.”

  “Nope, I sure as hell don’t. And I prefer to keep it that way.”

  Connor chuckled. “I’ll be sure to tell her there’s a man in Arizona inexplicably immune to her charms. Glad you could make it out tonight, man. And with
a lovely date, no less.” Looking over at the pretty brunette standing beside Brian, Connor had to work hard to keep his reaction in check. Seeing her vintage pin-up girl figure from across the room earlier, he hadn’t expected the face accompanying the voluptuous body to be so…sweet.

  Wholesome even.

  “I’m Connor,” he said smiling, thrown a bit by the quick glimmer of humor he saw flash in her eyes.

  “Hi, Connor. It’s nice to see you again.”

  Again? Crap, did he know her? He carefully scanned her fresh-faced features once more. Wide, guileless eyes—a charming novelty he was positive he hadn’t encountered in years—untinted lips, a light tan that actually appeared to be from the sun, and rich, dark auburn locks done up in a ponytail more comfortable than fashionable. There was no way in hell he knew her. She was the very definition of a buxom beach babe brunette, if such a category existed, with an appealing blend of innocence and intelligence behind a pair of unaccountably sexy, cliché-free glasses. Definitely not his usual type. Pity. “I’m so sorry, have we met before?”

  Brian glared at him, looking more than a little disappointed. “Dude, it’s Abby. Abby Bartlett?”

  This was Brian’s friend from college? Wow, she sure grew up. In a nice girl with a hot halo sort of way. “Abby, of course. My apologies. We met in the hospital right after Skylar’s birth.”

  Those deep brown eyes of hers were outright laughing at him now. “And maybe a couple more times since then.”

  Well that just ratcheted his chagrin up to full-blown guilt.

  Her quick hey-don’t-sweat-it smile didn’t help one bit…the playful brow tilt that followed soon after, however, did. “Relax, Connor. How about this—the next time you introduce yourself to me again, I’ll be sure to pretend I know what the inside of your house looks like for ‘other’ reasons. Be all indignant. Make you squirm a bit. That ought to square us.”