Trust in Me

By Bethany Lopez

Roni’s dreams of becoming a contemporary dancer were smashed under the brutal rage of her ex-husband's fists. Getting divorced and starting over at the age of twenty-two was never her plan, but maybe in Texas, she'll find her path. When the town's local player, Rich, opens a Rec Center, she sees a way to rekindle her dancing dreams...and maybe have a little fun with her sexy new boss.

Rich never expected to fulfill his dreams in the town he planned to leave behind, but that's just what he's doing. His reputation as a noncommittal ladies' man might make it challenging to earn respect in the business world, but he's willing to prove that he's serious. In fact, when it comes to pursuing Roni, he's more than willing. But she's taking a page out of his book, not wanting to risk another relationship. Can he convince her that his playboy days are over and that she can trust him with her heart?

Trust in Me is the third novella in the Friends & Lovers Trilogy. You can get all three books in the series, plus a bonus ending for each couple, in the Friends & Lovers omnibus.

Friends & Lovers Trilogy reading order:
Make it Last
I Choose You
Trust in Me

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bethany Lopez
• Release date: Feb 11, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301335374

Bethany Lopez

Bethany Lopez is a USA Today Bestselling author of more than thirty books and has been published since 2011. She's a lover of all things romance, which she incorporates into the books she writes, no matter the genre.When she isn't reading or writing, she loves spending time with family and traveling whenever possible.Bethany can usually be found with a cup of coffee or glass of wine at hand, and will never turn down a cupcake!Sign up for her newsletter and get a free eBook! https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r7w3w5

Book preview

Chapter 1

Where are you going? The tiny brunette next to him asked with a pout. Rich smiled down at her and gave her a kiss on the forehead as he moved one hand under the covers to search for his underwear.

I gotta go finish packing up. I’m heading home tonight.

The brunette sat up quickly, not bothering to grab the sheet that fell from her naked body. Confusion crossed her features as she asked, Are you going home early for break?

Rich paused his search and took a moment to appreciate her perky breasts, then looked into her deep brown eyes. No, doll, I’m going home for good. I finished my last class yesterday, that’s why I was at the bar last night. We were having a going away party of sorts.

Her mouth formed a small O, then turned down into a pretty little frown.

So, you mean I won’t ever see you again?

Rich finally found his boxer briefs and swung his legs over the side of her queen sized bed to put them on. He stood up to pull the underwear over his slender hips, and reached down to grab the jeans that were peeking out from under her bed. He pulled them up, but didn’t bother with the zipper; instead he crawled back onto the bed and kissed her full lips.

Probably not, doll. I don’t have any plans to come up here again anytime soon.

She kissed him back, then watched him scoot back off of the bed and grab his shirt from the top of her dresser in the corner. He felt her eyes on him as he pulled the dark gray shirt over his head. Rich brushed his hands through his shaggy brown hair in an effort to tame it a bit. He slipped on his shoes, then went back to the bed to give her a final kiss goodbye.

She grabbed his face in her hands to intensify the kiss. She trailed her lips across his jaw, pausing to pay homage to the cleft in his chin.

Bye, doll.

Do you keep calling me ‘doll’ because you don’t remember my name? she asked.

No, I call you doll because you are as sweet and delicate as a doll, Rich said with a wink. I never forget the name of a woman I’ve spent time with, Sam. I promise you that.

When he left her room, she was still sitting in the middle of her bed. Bare from the waist up, her dark hair flowing around her shoulders, and a beautiful smile on her face.

God, he sure did love women!

Rich walked to his car with a grin on his lips and a hop in his step. He couldn’t wait to load up his car and leave campus, Sam already a fond memory. He opened the door of his rusty old Charger and paused to rub his hand along the dashboard the way he always did when he entered his car.

He’d bought the car recently out of necessity. She wasn’t new by any stretch of the imagination, but she was reliable. He couldn’t afford to buy a new car right now, since all of his hard-saved money was going towards his dream of opening a Rec Center for the kids in his hometown. One day he’d be able to get the car of his dreams, but for now, he wanted to make sure his car knew that he appreciated her every time he started her up.

He kept the windows down as he cruised toward the house he’d shared with some buddies over the last couple years. He was sure he’d miss hanging out with the guys, but he was excited about going back home and seeing his family and friends full-time.

The last time he’d been home had been for Halloween, and he’d had a great time hanging out with everyone. Bree and Colin had come home for the party, and he’d been thrilled to see how happy they were. Shoot, it seemed like all of his friends were hooking up. Kara and Pete were still going strong, and since he talked to Kent quite often, he knew that his friends’ relationship with Nicole was moving along pretty rapidly.

His parents wanted him to move back in with them until he got settled, but Rich was ready to be on his own. He’d had the contractors renovate the back part of the warehouse that would be the Rec Center so that he could live on site. He figured it would work for a few years while he got the center up and running, then, if things went according to plan, he would rent it out to employees once he was ready to invest in a house of his own.

For now, he was ready to be a grown-up.

And, if he was being honest with himself, he was looking forward to seeing a certain tall blonde again. Sure, Roni acted like he was a pain in the ass every time she saw him, but he couldn’t help but like that about her. Most of the women he encountered enjoyed his company, even went out of their way to get it. It was kind of nice to meet someone who didn’t drop her panties when he turned on the charm.

He didn’t believe that she found him as repulsive as she pretended to, but she sure didn’t make anything easy, he thought with a chuckle. That was one of his favorite things about her, and there was a lot about her that he liked.

Getting Roni to give him a chance was a challenge that he was really looking forward to accepting.

Chapter 2

Roni felt the sweat trickle down her back and she moved with the music. Her head was clear as she let the beat guide her. She felt freer than she had in years.

She danced for over an hour before she felt like she needed to stop and get some water. She stood and looked out the window as she drank. She couldn’t keep the smile from stretching across her face.

She felt happy here. Not only happy, but content and safe. She loved being close to her brother, and was thrilled that he had found someone like Nicole. The two of them were so cute together, it bordered on nauseating, but it was wonderful to see Kent so in-tune with another person.

Roni loved the apartment she shared with Nicole. It was basically her apartment now, since Nicole spent most of her waking hours at work or with Kent.

Roni enjoyed the time alone.

She’d gone straight from her parents’ home, to the one she’d shared with Hank. When she’d first arrived here, she’d bunked with her brother, and now she was living with Nicole. This was the closest she’d come to having a place of her own, and she found that she really liked having the time to herself.

She looked at the clock and realized that she’d have to shower and get ready for work at the Bar & Grill soon. She’d been hostessing for a few months now, and she liked the job and the people she worked with, but it wasn’t what she wanted to do long term. She really wanted to start dancing full time again.

Roni understood that she would never become a professional dancer at this point, she’d been away from it for too long, and wasn’t getting any younger, but all she’d ever wanted to do with her life, was dance.

There weren’t any dance studios in town, which she thought was not only sad on a personal level, but for the kids in town who didn’t have the opportunity to take classes.

Dance had helped her get through her childhood.

She’d been thinking a lot recently about what Rich was doing with the warehouse downtown. As much as he annoyed her, she had to admit that he was producing something wonderful for the community, and the children in it.

A Rec Center that would offer classes and a place for the kids to go to was a wonderful idea, and she couldn’t help but want to be a part of it. Her brother told her he thought it would be great for her to teach dance lessons there, but she had another idea. She just had to bite the bullet and talk to Rich about it.

Roni knew that this center was his baby, but she really wanted to own something of her own, now she just needed to find Rich and see if he would buy in on it.

She’d heard that he was back in town and staying on the construction site. She thought if she got ready now, she’d have time to talk to him before her shift started.

After she was ready, she drove to 5 th street and stood nervously outside the warehouse. It was so much bigger than she’d imagined, and looked like the unused warehouse that it was, but she could see the potential in it. She felt a flutter of excitement in her belly.

She made her way through the warehouse, careful to avoid the areas that were currently being worked on, towards the back of the building. That’s where Kent said Rich’s rooms were.

When she came upon a white door slightly ajar, and heard the music streaming out of the room beyond it, she figured she’d found the right place.

She pushed the door open and peered inside. Her jaw dropped and her eyes seemed to freeze open at the site before her.

There was a makeshift bed in the corner, boxes strewn about the room, and a door that led into a small bathroom. In the center of the room Rich stood in nothing but basketball shorts. His very toned and naturally tanned body glistened with sweat as he worked the speed bag before him, his fist moving rapidly as they punched.

The quick curl of lust in her belly shocked Roni. She’d never had such an intense and immediate reaction to a man before. Even more shocking was the fact that it was Rich that caused her body to suddenly feel infused with liquid heat.

He hadn’t heard her enter. The music was too loud, and he was totally focused on pounding the bag.

Roni couldn’t look away. She felt a visceral need to touch. As the muscles rippled under his skin with each movement,

Reviews for Trust in Me

[alwaysyaatheart · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Trust in Me is the third book in the Friends and Lovers trilogy and I think it is my most favorite of them all. Why, because it's Rich and Roni's story. I just fell in love with Rich in the beginning of the series and have grown to love him more as it progressed. He is a total hottie and he knows it, he has a killer smile, a killer body, and is a total man-whore. I don't know what that says about me, but I seem to always fall for the man-whores and bad boys. Rich isn't your typical man-whore who loves and leaves them feeling angry. He just loves women and has a way of making each one feel special and loved.....swoon......sigh. When Rich meets Roni he knows almost immediately that there is something different about her and he wants nothing more than to know her better. Roni is Kent's sister and has had a really rough life, is recently divorced, and has been left physically and emotionally scarred as a result of her experiences. Roni also won't give into Rich's charms, and the man is pretty irresistible. She denies her feelings as long as she can, but eventually has to test the waters and see if Rich tastes as good as he looks. Rich is crazy about Roni, but when Roni's past comes crashing in around her any hopes of a relationship with Rich seems to dissolve around her. I loved the romance between Rich and Roni. It is the steamiest of all the books so far, and rightly so, especially when Rich is involved. We also get to see all the gang in this book and they all play a big part in the story. It was really great to see how this group has remained friends, and despite their histories together, all manage to love each other and get along really well. I enjoyed where Bethany took this series, and I especially enjoyed the bonus endings which seemed to wrap things up for each couple and bring closure that gave them all their HEA. Overall, The Friends and Lover's series is a great contemporary romance series and if this is a genre you enjoy, then I would certainly check this series out.

[thicks-4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. I must say of the three books this is the one that impressed me the most. I thought this one was more in depth than the others with a stronger story line. All in all the growth from high school to the present and the fact the writer gives you more on each character and keeps it consistent makes this an enjoyable series. As you progress from book 1 - 3 the writer keeps this happy group together through thick and thin supporting and teaching each other. The love their friendship supplies to each of them is demonstrated over and over in each book.