Heart of Glass

By Sabrina A. Eubanks

Natalie Wyatt is a beautiful poet and a lovely person, but she has some serious issues that keep her from having the life she really wants, and what she really wants is to fall in love and be happy. When she meets Donovan Hartley he hands her happiness on a silver platter but when Natalie's inner demons threaten the little slice of heaven that they've found, Natalie seriously wonders if Donovan will be able to love her through anything, and if her love for him will free her once and for all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sabrina A. Eubanks
• Release date: Oct 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386923527

Book preview

Heart of Glass

Sabrina A. Eubanks

Published by Sabrina A. Eubanks, 2018.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

HEART OF GLASS

First edition. October 13, 2018.

Copyright © 2018 Sabrina A. Eubanks.

Written by Sabrina A. Eubanks.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

HEART OF GLASS

For DJ

HEART OF GLASS

Chapter One

True love is an elusive thing, so when you find it, it’s sage advice to grab it with both hands and refuse to let it go; being that life is often jarringly unamusing, odd, and sometimes very ironic, holding on to a good thing is the thing to do, because you may never again meet another person who truly sets your soul on fire. Natalie Wyatt had been fed a similar line by various people for most of her life, and for many years, she had believed it was true.

Unfortunately, as life went on and her age progressed, the thought of true love—the very idea that there was one person on the face of the Earth who was perfect and meant for just her—began to seem more and more like tales of the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy; things you told people who were very young and lacked enough life experience to be cynical and believed that magical things still exist in the world.

Nat had lost that ridiculous, childlike faith a long time ago. Jaded wasn’t exactly the right word to describe her feelings about the elusive happily-ever-after, as she was not quite at the point of being totally hopeless and hadn’t given up entirely on love just yet. She’d just stopped looking. Besides, she had other issues to deal with before she gave love any serious thought. Being completely honest with herself, Nat knew that even though she was an extremely attractive woman with a lot to offer, she had a bad track record; most likely, the problem was the person staring back at her from the mirror. Of course, as is the case for most people, it was hard for Nat to admit her own shortcomings. Sometimes the hardest thing in the world to do is to admit that you, yourself, might need a little fixing.

Nat finished mixing a Campari and soda, put it down in front of the flush-faced patron, and looked across the room at her current crush, wondering if she could somehow manage to catch his eye. Donovan Hartley was expertly tickling the ivories and crooning a very sexy rendition of You’d Be so Nice to Come Home to. She was sure the man had no idea how damn fine he was, with his deliciously caramel skin and his large, beautiful brown eyes and insanely ridiculously long lashes. His voice was sinfully sultry, a rich, smooth tenor with an upper range that reminded her of Eric Benét, and Nat couldn’t help feeling that he was belting out those lyrics exclusively to her. He’d had his head down, but when he looked up, his eyes were staring right at her. Donovan didn’t hold the captivating gaze though; instead, he smiled a little, closed his eyes, and continued to sing his song.

Natalie wasn’t sure what the little exchange had done for him, but it had definitely warmed the room for her. She wasn’t exactly sure if Donovan was interested in her or not in any serious way, but they’d been involved in quite a bit of mild flirtation: a look here, a smile there, but nothing serious—no exchange of words and not even a hello, at least not yet. Then again, Natalie hadn’t been working at Delight for very long.

Natalie Wyatt was the author of four published books of poetry. Her literary works had done very well, but she still needed a side hustle to make the rent, so she tended bar. Three months earlier, she’d been the bartender at another intimate little supper club a little farther downtown. Intermezzo had been a fun gig, until she’d gotten involved with her last boyfriend. That hadn’t ended well, so she decided to leave before it had a chance to get more than a little strange. Her sister, Georgia, and her best friend, Romaine, had advised her to look for love outside of her workplace, but that was hard for Nat. After all, when she wasn’t writing, work was the one place she always seemed to be.

It’s about time for last call, Natalie, her boss said, taking a seat at the end of the bar.  Get me a club soda, and let’s start wrappin’ things up.

It was just fine with Natalie, because she’d already made up her mind to at least say hello to Donovan that night, maybe even try to get to know him a little better. Last call! she shouted, then walked over to her boss. Here you go, she said, setting the club soda down in front of him. We had a busy night. You may have to restock the vodka, Nat said with a smile, looking her boss over politely. He was gorgeous, but he was also very much off limits. Not only was he her boss, but he was also happily married to an equally gorgeous and nice lady named Bliss, and they were the proud parents of gorgeous twins, a boy and a girl. Bliss technically ran the club, but Mr. Brown was at Delight more than she was, because Bliss spent most of her time at his other two clubs, Shelter and Cream.

No problem, Nat, he said, returning her smile. There was a little gleam in his eyes, his way of coolly noting the fact that she’d just checked him out. And you can call me Chase like everybody else. You’re doin’ a good job here. I’m not gonna fire you, so there’s really no need to kiss my ass.

Natalie tossed him her round-eyed, innocent