Wicked Charm

By Jenn Hype

I liked to date, but I wasn’t looking for love.

Problem is, you don’t meet someone like Nathan and just walk away. He’s the total package. Thoughtful, kind, sexy as hell. And so wickedly charming I’m helpless to resist him.

He’s pretty much everything I need and everything I didn’t think I’d ever have. But one thing after another seems to go wrong for us. Hectic schedules, Nutella disasters, crazy friends and, oh yeah, a kidnapping.

He’s there through it all, though. Without me even having to ask. So the question is: Will I get my happily ever after, or am I going to stand in the way of my own happiness?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Living Hype, Ltd.
• Release date: Jul 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463879115

Jenn Hype

What's up world - I'm Jenn Hype. Author, mother, wife, singer/songwriter, aspiring comedian - I wear many hats. Some of them fit, some of them look ridiculous, and all of them are fun. Life's too short to take anything too seriously, so I don't. Sarcasm is my go-to, especially when it's most inappropriate. Need someone to make an uncomfortable situation even more awkward? I'm the girl for the job. I'm ridiculously A.D.D. and I own it. I have a serious addiction to ecards and the majority of my Pinterest account is dedicated to them. The key to my heart is glitter and caffeine - my needs are basic. I'm a bookaholic and I crush hard on my book boyfriends and their authors. Some might call me obsessive, but I disagree. That word really doesn't do justice to how crazy I get when it comes to something I'm passionate about. I'm not afraid to go fangirl on you, so don't test me. Anything else you want to know, feel free to ask. I'm an open book, and I love to hear from readers.

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Wicked Charm

Jenn Hype

Wicked Charm

Copyright ©2019 by Living Hype, Ltd.

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Living Hype, Ltd.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval without permission in writing from the author.

This book is a work of fiction, though very loosely based on a true story. None of the content should be considered factual in any way. Surnames, locations and other details have been changed or altered.

Book design by J. F. Rountree

www.jennhype.com

[e-mail]

Smashwords Edition July 2019

The dedication of this book goes to Nathan and MeKelle.

And I'll tell you why.

Some months ago, I got an email through my website from some guy wanting to know if I'd write a book for his fiancée. For some weird reason, she liked my books, and he thought it would be a cool birthday gift if I would write something specifically for her.

At first I was like... Whaaa?

But after talking to Nathan through email, I realized this couple was pretty amazing. And to be able to do something like this for them would be a new, fun experience.

It took about a hundred emails full of prying questions to which Nathan answered without complaint. I went back and forth, stressing for days over how much of the book should match their actual story. I wanted to include enough detail that MeKelle knew Nathan had taken the time to make sure this was personalized.

In the end, I took some specific details from their lives but changed locations, surnames and other aspects of their lives. While mostly fiction, I think I found a decent balance. Hopefully.

So if you're still reading this ridiculously long dedication, go away and start reading the book already!

CHAPTER ONE

Nathan

How was your date last night?

I strode past Malcolm, doing my best to ignore him. Since part of my day would involve tagging along on his assignment so I could get a better idea of the type of strain they put on their bodies day to day, I knew I couldn't avoid him for long. I'd take any delay I could get. Discuss my love life with the guys at work? Nope. Not again. Not after they got me drunk last week and managed to get me to admit every embarrassing detail of the dates I'd been going on. They'd been mocking me relentlessly since.

Hey, don't be like that, Nate. I'm genuinely interested.

And he wasn't lying. He really was interested. Interested in gleaning more info he could use as ammunition for some sort of hazing I seemed to be enduring. Which is why I kept on pretending he didn't exist. Silent treatment, not really the best defense mechanism, but it was all I had at the moment.

Loverboy! Liam shouted when I entered the break room, Malcolm hot on my heels.

I'd never been a particularly angry person. I subscribed to the glass half full philosophy and tended to find a positive in just about every negative. But damn if my coworkers didn't have me itching to knock their teeth in.

They meant well. I knew that. Sort of. It's what I kept telling myself anyway. I mean, I'd witnessed them giving crap to each other daily. They could take it as much as they could dish it, and they dished it out to everyone in equal parts.

In a way, I think them giving me a hard time meant I'd been accepted into their little group.

And what a group they were. Never a dull moment with these guys. Especially where their women were concerned.

Can you guys knock it off? I asked while grabbing the ingredients for my protein smoothie from the fridge.

Do you have to drink that nasty shit every morning? It looks like sludge, Liam whined, turning his nose up in disgust.

Better for you than that swill you guys chug all day long, I retorted, motioning towards the coffee pot. Which you better start weaning yourself off of.

Both men groaned from behind me and I chuckled.

I wasn't ex-military like the other guys. CJ had hired me to keep all the guys in tip-top shape for their jobs. I specialized in training those with disabilities, which is how I'd met CJ. The gym where I used to work had a lot of vets as clients. One day CJ and I had gotten to talking about the difficulties of relearning your body after injury. He told me a little about his company and how it had been growing quickly. His men were working longer days and he worried about their health. To stay in top physical shape it takes more than just a few trips to the gym every week.

That's where I came in. With a BS in nutrition, part of my job was to customize diets for each of his employees, along with workout routines and monitoring their health. Not an easy feat. Grown men fighting over having to eat vegetables? Most days I felt like I worked with kindergarteners.

Patience had never been an issue for me. Until lately.

Though it had nothing to do with my job.

And everything to do with her.

MeKelle.

We'd connected through a dating app. I'd been casually dating for a while. Not really looking for love but not avoiding it either. Thirty-three wasn't old, but it wasn't young either. Meaningless hookups just held no appeal to me. I preferred monogamy, even if short-term. Eventually I wanted a family, and hopefully before I was too damn old to enjoy it. That meant putting myself out there. And honestly? I enjoyed dating. Treating a woman to a nice dinner, putting a smile on her face, being a gentleman. Even if it never led to a second date, I wanted to make sure I never wound up in the 'dud' category when she looked back over her dating history.

Not to mention how rare it was for a woman to be treated the way she deserved. There were so many assholes out there. It never failed to piss me off when my date's eyes lit up from a simple gesture, something as small as opening her car door or pulling out her chair. Giving her my undivided attention, even if she bored the life out of me, as a show of respect. Half the time my dates tried to throw themselves at me by the end of the night simply because I'd been nice to them.

I never took them up on those offers. The ones so thirsty for affection and attention because the pricks they'd dated in the past had been too self-centered to make them feel appreciated. They deserved a fun night out without the expectation of sex at the end. And they needed to know it.

All women were different. And I could appreciate them for their differences. Still...

I couldn't define what I was looking for in a partner. I only knew I'd recognize it when I saw it.

And again my mind went back to MeKelle.

Our schedules never aligned. No matter how many times we tried to set up a date, it never worked out. Wouldn't normally be that big of an issue, but we'd been talking regularly and I knew already she was someone I needed to meet. How quickly I'd become addicted to our conversations. Despite being a grown-ass man chock full of testosterone, I found myself checking my phone eighty-thousand times a day to see if I had a message from her.

Hence my irritable moods lately. I went back and forth with myself a thousand times a day, alternating between berating myself for being such a loser for desperately wanting to hear from someone I barely knew, to barely being able to contain my excitement every time my phone lit up with her name. Up and down, my mood never stayed the same throughout the day. It was taking a toll on my health. Something I