Owen

By Becca Fanning

There was no chill in Mary Beth Chaudett's life. Everything was high stakes, high stress. From the outside, it might seem that the daughter of a millionaire rodeo promoter would have it easy. But Mary Beth knew the waters she swam in were full of nothing but sharks and minnows. She'd known plenty of minnows, and they's all had their dreams and lives devoured by bigger fish. Not me, she swore to herself. So if that meant she had to be meaner than the next girl, fine. If that meant she had to be more honest than the next girl, fine. It's just that Owen Hutch made her want to stop sharpening her incisors and start settling down. She had to fight extra hard against those ideas, but the magnificent golden-eyed man could make her tremble with a glance.
Owen Hutch was used to the attention, and not just because he was a six foot tall Bear Shifter. Everywhere he went, women fawned over him and men pretended not to stare. He was like a mirror of pure success: everyone looked at him and wondered what they would look like if they were as confident and self assured as he was. Walking into a room meant their conversations ended. Walking into a boutique meant their month was going to have record sales. All because he could ride a bull longer than just about anyone else in this sport. But then there was that sassy little thing with the blue eyes. He didn't impress her, and that made her all the more interesting...
This 10,000+ word BBW Bear Shifter Romance Novella has all the heat and passion you expect from a Fated Mates story!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gizmo Media
• Release date: May 23, 2021

Book preview

Fanning

Chapter 1

Sipping her macchiato as she walked beneath the palm trees on Rodeo Drive in her Jimmy Choo heels, Mary Beth Chaudett would soon get the devastating news that would change her life forever.

You have to stand up for yourself, she said into her phone, which was pressed against her long blonde hair, bleached by the California sun. She walked out of a designer boutique where she’d tried on outfits that equaled the monthly wage of the staff working within her mansion, but she’d left empty-handed. The outfits had been repulsive. She wouldn’t put them on a dancing hippo. I mean it, Claudette. Be the biggest bitch there is. Raise a fuss. It’s the only way to get the cow off your back.

But that cow is my little sister, Claudette pointed out.

Doesn’t matter.

It does. If you had siblings, you’d understand.

I understand plenty. Your sister tried to steal your boyfriend. Now she’s trying to steal your car by defaming you. Your dad had that car custom made for you. There’s no other in the world like it, and she knows it, so she’s using all the ammunition she has to talk it out of your garage and into hers. You have to fight back. Don’t let her walk over you. Stand up for yourself.

Beside the cobbled stone of the street, a homeless man sat on the sidewalk with a cardboard sign asking for supper. He wouldn’t last long. The police would be on him in an instant. Mary Beth quickly pulled a hundred dollar bill from her pocket and set it in the man’s hand before hurrying on her way.

Yeah, I guess you’re right, Claudette said, giving in. You know what she told Daddy yesterday? She said that because I was twenty-four, I should be working so that I could afford my own car. Can you believe it? The worst thing is, I think Daddy is considering it. I’m a little scared. You’re my age. You understand. We haven’t worked a day in our lives. I even paid the Geek Squad to do my homework in high school. Where the hell am I supposed to get a job?

I don’t know, Mary Beth said honestly.

That’s because your daddy has billions. He has more than enough to spread around.

No, not billions, she corrected her friend. But close.

The truth was, her papa would probably love it if she got a job, invested herself in something other than fashion, but he couldn’t talk. He’d been jobless at twenty-four as well, traveling around as an amateur bull rider in the rodeo, eating away at the trust fund set up by his father, an oil tycoon. It was only when her papa was older did he invest his money into organizing rodeo events. Now, he was a recognized name, the leader of the pack, responsible for events as elite as the world championships in bull riding, adding millions to the fortune he had inherited from his father.

Reluctantly, Mary Beth went into another shop. Ray Chaudett. It belonged to her papa, one of his latest business ventures. Known for