Page 2 of A Touch of Heaven

They will pay. Every single person involved. I’m not a princess anymore. They’ll learn I’m the fucking queen, and every single one of them will bow down to me and cower in fear before I destroy them.

And anyone who tries to stop what’s about to happen will regret the day they crossed paths with me, including the man holding me in his arms right now because every single one of them is to blame.

CHAPTERONE

BROOKE

A few weeks earlier

It’s the first day of summer, and I’m here for it. I step out into the hot air, and the warmth immediately hits my skin. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I can’t wait for what this season will bring.

It’s as though I can smell the ocean already. I can taste the salt spray from the waves on my tongue. I can feel the ocean water cooling my toes and hear the water lapping on the sand. Freedom—that’s what it feels like, and I honestly want it more than anything.

I can’t wait to leave Asheville. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a pretty town, full of old architectural buildings, there’s a lot of history here. It’s one of those towns where they would talk about the founding fathers in class at middle school. A bunch of old rich white dudes decided to build on this land blah blah, insert eye roll here.

The problem is, it’s not very big, and there’s not much to do. The highlight of a weekend is just another house party with people you’ve known for years or milkshakes at Benny’s. Those are about the only two options for a “great” weekend. I grew up here, and as much as I used to love it, as I get older, I realize it can be stifling at times. I feel like I’ve outgrown it.

Does that make me sound awful?

It’s small, not like a huge city, and everyone knows each other’s business. It’s frustrating as hell hearing all the rumors that were more than likely true, yet no one’s business except those involved. Secrets here are hard to keep. That’s the worst thing. You can never make a mistake without it being splashed all over the town.

I remember being at school and everyone’s phones going off within seconds of each other as the gossip spread about whatever poor unfortunate soul stepped out of line that day.

And even though I’m not at school anymore, I still hear it. I even know that Jennie, the assistant at the local mayor’s office, had slept with her dad’s boss last weekend. I had never spoken to her, not once, yet I know everything about her private life. It’s a little ridiculous. If Jennie wants to have a torrid affair with an older guy, good for her.

Hell, isn’t that what I want?

I’m not about gossip. I never have been. I had seen how it ruined people’s lives before; therefore, I guard my secrets well. The biggest one of all is kept hidden away. Not even Nate, my best friend, who knows all my secrets, knows that one.

Okay, well, maybe that was for a different reason besides not wanting to become the joke of Asheville. That secret haunted my dreams nightly. If it came out, everyone in town would know, and chances are it would destroy my best friend and others involved. I would never want that for myself or my friends, which is why I can’t wait to graduate from college and leave this place.

I plan to move to a big city, one where I can get lost in a crowd and have adventures I can only dream of. I don’t know which city yet. I figure I would close my eyes and point to somewhere on a map. The nearest city would be my new home.

I decided to study Drama and English Lit at college. I want to write when I get older and create worlds people can fall in love with, and I know I can write anywhere I want. My trust fund that kicks in when I turn twenty-one will allow me to live my dream without struggle.

We moved here from Chicago when I was five. My parents had lived in big cities their whole life. They had met in college, and it was love at first sight. My mother followed my dad from city to city as he built his media empire. They were now the third-largest media and advertising company in the US. When the business began to run itself, they decided they had enough of city life and semi-retired, though my dad still had a hand in making major decisions in the business. Ironically, they couldn’t wait to move to a small town, and I couldn’t wait to move out of one.

But this summer is different. Away from this town, away from the gossip, away from the dullness of my college life, away from everything and anything I could never want. Well, except for one thing. But that was one thing I could never have, and that was coming with me, anyway.

Nate, my best friend, had worked on my parents for weeks to allow me to go on vacation with him and a few others, and they finally caved on one condition. I could go if I wasn’t the only girl.

My mother seemed to think me going on vacation with a group of boys meant wild orgies and drugs. I could only wish, but nothing that exciting or thrilling ever happens to me. Not that I would turn down an orgy with Chase, Asher, and Jax, even if I am a virgin. That would be way too hard to turn down.

So, I invited Harper, my girl bestie, and basically my sister. She had joined mine and Nate’s dynamic duo a few years ago, and honestly, I can’t imagine my life without her. She is utterly crazy about Asher, one of the guys coming with us, so it was an easy sell. They’re not really talking right now though, their dynamic has shifted, I just don’t know the reason why. I need to speak to Chase about it.

Her parents are away for business or traveling the world for ninety percent of the year, so no one is around to tell her no. Her family doesn’t care enough to look after her, let alone tell her she can’t go. I hate my overprotective parents sometimes, but I was always aware I would rather have them, than parents that didn’t care at all.

Harper became part of our trio when we were juniors in high school and now attends the same college as us. She had come from another small town and instantly set her social status. Since small towns like to gossip, she announced everything she needed and wanted to say to everyone she met. Hard to gossip when everyone already knows everything about you.

I’ll never forget how she just sat at our lunch table in the cafeteria. “You two look like the only people I’ve met today with a brain of their own. Friends?” The memory brings a smile to my lips. Harper doesn’t give a crap about anything, and I envy that about her. She lives every day as if it’s her last. To hell with the consequences. She’s bold, loud, and knows what she wants, or maybe I should say who she wants, but that’s another story.

Harper is simply stunning. Her long blonde hair always looks perfect, like she’s spent hours on it, but I know differently. It naturally looks incredible even when she gets out of bed. Half the time, she doesn’t even brush it.Bitch!

She’s just a little taller than me, but with how she dresses, you would think she’s six foot with legs for days. I don’t know how she does it, it doesn’t matter what I wear; I always look five foot two. She could be a model but instead wants to be a designer. Harper’s like me and wants to get out of this small town and follow her dream. She has the same bright blue eyes as Nate, and I sometimes wonder if she’s his secret twin. There’s a startling resemblance.

I exhale deeply, letting go of the tension and worries. I can’t wait to just have fun and let go. The fact it was only hours away thrills me to the core.

A low chuckle breaks me from my fantasy, and I open my eyes, looking over to see my best friend. His golden blond hair shines in the sunlight, the easy messiness of it blowing in the breeze, and those gorgeous eyes that sparkle with teasing like usual. I narrow my eyes at him playfully. “What are you laughing at?”

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