I Knew You Were Trouble

By Vera Roberts

Rekindling the flame or just keeping each other company?

When Julian Rodriguez has to stay behind and attend to business matters, Kaia McCrae offers him the option to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with her and her family. Julian returns the favor by requesting her presence as he visits New York to see his family. While the pair has told their families their relationship is just platonic, no one quite buys what the music pair is selling.

Will the former lovers finally get past their issues and rekindle their romance? Or will it be business as usual?

I Knew You Were Trouble is a New Adult romance that deals with second chances, forgiveness, and renewed love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vera Roberts
• Release date: Feb 16, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311125057

Vera Roberts

Vera is the bestselling author of the number one D'amato Brothers series, the Scott & Mariana serial, and the Breakaway series.She loves chocolate, has a Netflix addiction, and seeing the Maury show in person is currently on her bucket list. She's also a member of both the BeyHive and RihNavy.Vera currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, Maks, son Bear, and cat Sushi.

Book preview

I Knew You Were Trouble

by Vera Roberts

For BESM.

Smashwords Edition

© 2015 Vera Roberts, All Rights Reserved

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Rekindling the flame or just keeping each other company?

When Julian Rodriguez has to stay behind and attend to business matters, Kaia McCrae offers him the option to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with her and her family. Julian returns the favor by requesting her presence as he visits New York to see his family. While the pair has told their families their relationship is just platonic, no one quite buys what the music pair is selling.

Will the former lovers finally get past their issues and rekindle their romance? Or will it be business as usual?

I Knew You Were Trouble is a New Adult romance that deals with second chances, forgiveness, and renewed love.

Did you ever meet someone and have them totally change your life? That every thought you ever had about life and yourself was changed … the way you look at life and people and even breathe. It’s like all that time you were hiding inside yourself till that person came into your life and suddenly everything was different. But even though they changed the way you looked and felt about things, they made you perhaps a little more cynical and untrusting of the world. And somehow it has to be learned that it’s possible to trust again. And not everyone is going to stare you in the face and lie to you. But it’s learning that, that’s the hard part. It’s not going to happen in a day … a week, or a month, but pretty soon you’ll begin to realize that not everyone is going to hurt you. And that’s when you’re happy.

- Anonymous

Prologue

Julian

If she were smart, she wouldn’t give my sorry ass another shot.

But Kaia is too smart for her own good and mine as well. She’ll give me another chance, though I don’t deserve it.

There are people who come into your life and make such a profound impact, you’ll never forget them. You may not talk to them anymore. Hell, you may not even be cool with those people. But you’ll never forget them. You’ll never forget how they made you feel. You’ll never forget how you made them feel. Good, bad, ugly, beautiful. It’s a part of life.

Kaia McCrae was the best thing that ever happened to me.

I don’t believe in love, at least for myself. It’s not that I don’t like love or I’m some anti-love asshole. I just never had time for love. Once women find out how much money you’re worth, and the connections you have, that tends to dry up the dating pool really fucking quickly. While I can never say I’ve been lonely, I’ve spent more time alone than I should’ve.

Then I met her.

It was a company rule: no fraternization.

Being in the music industry, it was a ridiculously impossible rule to enforce, and I think it was just there for shits and giggles. Artists date each other all of the time. Executives date the artists as well. Some of the relationships are real. Some are strictly for PR purposes, because we need to promote and sell albums. Trust me, it happens a lot more than you think.

With Kaia, though, it was real. Too real. Me dio un flechazo. Cupid gave me an arrow wound.

It’s like she breathed life into my soul and her love blanketed me. It was like licking honey off a thorn, as that old saying goes. Everything I knew before her was nothing. Everything I’ve known since her has been worthless. I’ve never been in love until I met her. It was weird, painful, awkward, yet beautiful.

And I blew it. I completely, fucking blew it.

I miss us. I miss the people we were before everything happened. I miss lying in bed with her, smelling her vanilla and mango-scented hair as I wrapped my legs around hers and pulled her close. Now, we can’t even look at each other without some sadness in our eyes, more anger in hers.

I have one more shot to get it right, to get us right. If I don’t, that’s it. She’ll never trust me again, and I will deserve every last bit of misery that comes my way.

Kaia

Working for your ex really sucks.

There’s no nice way to say it. It just does. I must be a masochist, because there’s no way I would be working for him and think there’s nothing wrong with it. There’s everything wrong with it.

We had a relationship that wasn’t supposed to be. He had age and years of experience on me. He could have any woman he wanted, and trust me, he has. But for some reason, I was a challenge to him. I honestly thought he would never be interested in me in a romantic way. What does a 25-year-old music executive want with a 20-year-old college junior? Apparently, everything.

He was different. I’m sure every girl says that about the man she loves, but it’s true. Julian had no issue listening to a Taylor Swift record with the same ease he would listen to a John Coltrane album. He was a Sci-Fi nerd and in turn, I became one as well. Julian was everything I thought I knew. He was everything the romance books say I should avoid at all costs. What is it with girls chasing the bad boys? Haven’t we learned we’ll only get hurt?

He didn’t try very hard to impress me. Hell, he didn’t have to try at all. One of my favorite memories is of us going to Las Vegas and eating at the local McDonald’s instead of hitting the hotel buffet. We spent the evening sharing fries and McNuggets as we talked about nonsensical things.

We did the silly little things couples do—we followed each other’s social pages, tagging each other in pictures, sometimes openly declaring our love, but not in an obnoxious way like some other couples do (you know who I’m talking about).

He took me to movie premieres, award shows, and industry functions. If I needed a gown, he made sure one was custom made for me, with matching shoes and jewelry. He paid one of my favorite singers to serenade me on Valentine’s Day, because he was overseeing a video shoot and couldn’t get away.

I decided early on in our relationship, I was going to give my V-card to him. No, not a Valentine’s; my virginity. My notorious V.A.G. I only hoped he wasn’t like some of the rappers on the label who loved to proclaim how much they loved to beat up the box. Ouch. My vajayjay is not a punching bag.

Julian took his time and gently loved me, though it was the most excruciating thing I’d ever experienced. From then, it just became better and we explored more. Turns out, I had a little bit of an inner freak.

Our relationship was beautiful. It was magical. Julian was the best thing that has ever happened to me.

And then it happened. I lost the baby. And when I lost the baby, I lost us as well.

Julian told me he worked more in order to not think about the loss, and focused on business. While he did that, he focused less on us, to the point we were strangers sharing a bed at night. We might as well have been roommates.

And it just disintegrated from there. It was like I never knew him and he never knew me. Maybe we never really knew each other. He broke me, threw away my heart, and pretended that things never happened.

When my internship was up, I was offered a position at NCE and for the life of me, I’m still questioning my sanity as to why I took it. Great pay? Sure. Access to the hottest artists before they make their worldwide debut? You got it. But now, Julian is my official boss. I have to sit in on meetings with him. His office is in direct view of my cubicle. When he heads to his office, he’ll pass by my desk. It’s unbearable.

It’s funny how seeing him makes me happy and miserable at the same time.

So, I need to correct my first statement—working for your ex doesn’t suck. Working for your ex that you’re still in love with, and who doesn’t love you back? Yeah... that fucking sucks.

One

A year ago...

Julian Rodriguez jumped up in bed as the high-pitched sounds of Mariah Carey blared through the living room speakers, rousing him from a deep slumber. He was warm and quite snug in his California King-sized bed, only to have the life scared out of him by All I Want For Christmas is You.

Jesus. He grabbed his phone and stared down at the time: 7:30 AM.

7:30 AM. This is bullshit.

After a few moments of gathering his thoughts, he placed both feet on the floor and grabbed a shirt to throw on. He made his way to the living room to see his prancing girlfriend do her best Mimi impersonation with a spatula.

Aren’t you a festive little thing? He smiled.

Kaia McCrae pointed the remote control to the speaker and turned it down. It’s time to get into the festive spirit, baby! She ran over and gave her older boyfriend a kiss. Today, we’re going shopping, like you promised!

Oh, yeah, he followed her to the kitchen as she prepared breakfast. What are we doing today, baby?

We’re getting all of the decorations! Ornaments, pillows, knick-knacks to make this house more festive! She scrambled the eggs.

Okay, he agreed, and what else?

Um, the tree? She chuckled. We definitely need the tree today as well, if we’re going to go to your family’s soon!

But we’ll be there for several days, Julian protested, the tree might grow dry here.

No, it won’t! She admonished and pointed the spatula at him, Don’t try to get out of getting a tree.

I’m not, baby. Julian felt himself getting into the Christmas spirit because of Kaia’s contagious enthusiasm. I’m looking forward to getting the tree and decorating everything.

It’ll be fun! She began preparing the plates. I think you’ll really like everything.

After breakfast, the pair hurried to get dressed and start a day full of shopping and decorating.

Hmm... Kaia paused as she stepped outside.

What is it? He asked.

I think we need to rent an SUV. She turned to him. And be sure to bring your black card. We’re going to need it.

Two

I can always tell you are somewhere else because I can be on fire right now and you wouldn’t even spit on me.

Julian blinked the memory out of his head and refocused his attention to his longtime assistant, Samantha Rocha. She was a slightly older woman with red hair, medium frame, and years on the younger executive. She was a sister and confidante to him in many ways, often bringing him homemade tamales and encouraging him to eat a cheeseburger or two to fill out his ridiculously fit frame. I’m here.

I know you’re here, that’s not what I said. She politely smiled. Are you still traveling to New York over the holidays?

Yes, he stated. I’ll be gone from the 26th until the 30th. I’ll leave the morning of the 31st to return here.

I don’t understand why you’re giving everyone else the week off, but you’re still working, Samantha shook her head, you need a vacation.

"I’m