Page 1 of Mr. Kelly

PROLOGUE

Theodore

I adjustmy tie one last time to keep from fidgeting. At least one-hundred pairs of eyes watch me as I wait for the only woman I’ll ever love to appear. Helena. My breath catches, heart stopping, because it cannot handle the amount of love I feel once she appears. It’s as if she floats towards me. Her movements are as agile and graceful as the ballerina she is. People may have not liked that she was a half-black principal dancer, but my eyes could not move from her. I was hooked the moment I saw her glide across the stage. I knew I'd feel honored to have her mother my children.

There are a few things that have been clear to me in life, and being a father is one of them. It’s something I’ve wanted all my life like some women know they’re born to be mothers. I’d begun to think I’d never find my other half, but there she was on the billboard. I was simply looking in the wrong direction. We clicked the first time we met. I’d pushed my way through the crowd at the meet-and-greet, unsettled until she was within touching distance. Our eyes locked and the rest is history. Notonly was I enthralled by her beauty, but her personality was mesmerizing.

We had a lot in common, along with a burning desire to have kids. Helena and I are a match made in heaven. The first time we made love, it felt like I could hear a symphony where everyone played perfectly. No discord, everything happening in time as if it were a manifestation for my fantasies. I was hooked.

The music from the quartet brings me back to the present. This isn’t a moment I’d want to miss anyway. Helena’s delicate fingers clutch her blush bouquet of peonies. She had to have them, and I was willing to pay any cost for her to get them. Knowing I’ve fulfilled that wish makes me beam with pride, just like the vision of her growing with my child fills me with lust.

Her white dress flows around her, making her look like a goddess who fell out of heaven after being created just for me. Her high cheekbones and rounder than almond-shaped brown eyes add to her dramatic yet elegant features. She smiles at me with her fuller bottom lip poking out just slightly. She is a vision, and I could not be happier to claim her as my wife.

Certainty fills my chest as I clasp her delicate hand in mine. I kiss her soft cheek, inhaling the sweet scent of her. I’ve grown to love it just as much as I love her. Our family and friends gathered to watch me and her promise ourselves to one another for eternity. Emotions clog my throat, tears glittering in her eyes, as I slide the big diamond onto her beautiful finger. It pales in comparison to her.

Her hand shakes when she does the same, but her voice is steady when she says the words I’ve been waiting to hear.

“I do.”

There isn’t any more I’d want from this moment. Today, I married the most beautiful woman in the world and cannot wait to spend forever with her. With a smile, I seal my promise with a kiss.

“Now introducing Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Kelly!”

No other statement was capable of filling me with such joy and pride. I got the woman who was my forever, and she is happy to be by my side. Lacing our fingers together, I look my bride in her warm brown eyes and kiss the metal that unifies us for infinity. Her excited blush arouses me, making me eager to get on with the day.

Chapter One

RIVER

Six years later

Me:When are you returning?

Mario: Sorry, River.

Me: What? No! Don’t do this!

Banging has already started on my door. The walls shake with the force of the blows and the wood moans as if it’s going to give way. It’s only a matter of time before I’ll be surrounded. Surly wasn’t playing when he told Mario to return his money. Money I didn’t even know he had or spent. Worse, I didn’t know Mario was doing anything with Surly. He’s a loan shark and a small-time bully big enough to have goons.

Thinking fast, I grab my bag with my identification and the only valuables to my name and climb out of the window. My upstairs neighbor always leaves her window cracked for her cat. Once I’m fully out, I quietly close the window and climb up while my heart thrashes its panicked tempo against my ribs. I just need to get away and lay low. I don’t want to be involved in Mario’s mess. Tears sting the backs of my eyes as I ease her window open.

Miss Tilda looks up at me with wide, surprised eyes magnified by her thick glasses. I hold my finger to my lips and apologize as I pass. Opening the door, I find the hallway empty,then turn to her and press my hands together in a silent thank you. I use the elevator because I expect they’d wait on the stairs. Pulling my hoodie over my head, I move in the opposite direction of the town car parked just before my building. I don't feel the relief yet since Mario has moved the target to my back by running off.

“Hey, bitch!”

My adrenaline spikes once they find me a few blocks over. I was almost to safety. Instead of checking to make sure they’re talking to me, I do the only thing I can. The pavement beats hot under my feet as I run as fast as my legs will take me. I’m sure my chest would be burning if fear wasn’t my main feeling. They yell at me to stop, but I keep going, weaving through obstacles to slow them down. People move out of my way or stare as I pass like I’m crazy, all while not bothering to stop the three men chasing me.

I want to cry, but escaping is my priority. This has nothing to do with me. I’m merely a victim of trusting the wrong man; a man I currently hate for his cowardice. He was supposed to love me, but he threw me in harm’s way the first chance he got. I don’t need to check my account to know what I’ll find. If he didn’t already have people hunting him, I’d kill him myself.

My fear has me acting out of character, but I need a major assist. Only one person comes to my panicked mind. I cut through the entrance that is off limits to employees and burst into an office I should never enter. I may be jobless after this, but being jobless is better than being hospitalized or dead.

I run towards the opposing figure with stern blue eyes as he growls at me for being in his domain. After a rushed apology, I slide under his desk and out of view. Three sets of feet stop at the entrance of his office.

“Did a woman just run in here?” one of them demands to know.

I frown while trying to calm the sound of my breathing. The goons must not know who my boss is based on their tone.

His scoff tells me he thinks the same thing. “No. Now get out and don’t enter this building again.”

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