Family Bonds- Drew and Amanda (Amore Island Book 2) Read online

  Family Bonds- Drew and Amanda

  Natalie Ann

  Copyright 2020 Natalie Ann

  All Rights Reserved

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without a written consent.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Author’s Note

  Also by Natalie Ann

  About the Author

  Blurb

  Prologue

  1. Figure It Out

  2. Lost In Life

  3. Buttering Me Up

  4. Other Plans

  5. The Cute One

  6. Special Reason

  7. What He Wanted

  8. High Hopes

  9. Time Of Her Life

  10. She’s Real

  11. Strained Relationship

  12. Major Points

  13. Answer Enough

  14. Tips All The Scales

  15. Training Wheels

  16. Confidence Boost

  17. Wonderful Things

  18. Huge News

  19. Dreams and Aspirations

  20. Seeking And Finding

  21. Doing His Job

  22. Hit The Jackpot

  23. Worthy of You

  24. Win Her Over

  25. Fell In Line

  26. Special Treatment

  27. Perfect Thing

  28. Spoil You

  29. Chasing Ghosts

  30. Felt Justified

  31. Clear Enough

  32. One Big Step

  33. Own Little World

  34. Find A Balance

  35. High Horse

  36. Suck It Up

  37. Better Off

  38. What Family Did

  39. Both of Us

  Epilogue

  Also by Natalie Ann

  About the Author

  Author’s Note

  Author’s Note

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

  Also by Natalie Ann

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  Amore Island

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  Family Bonds- Drew and Amanda

  About the Author

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  Blurb

  Two people wondering if they were destined to be alone might be fated to find each other on Amore Island.

  Amanda Moore only wanted one thing in life. A family of her own. A child she could raise and nurture better than her parents had done with her. When she thought she had exactly that, it was taken away from her and she’s never been able to find it again. Now she wonders if she ever will.

  Drew Bond has spent his life dodging the setups by his mother. She was adamant her sons needed to find a woman and she knew the perfect ones for them. But everyone she put in front of him only wanted two things from him—money and his name. All he wants is to find someone himself, but the one time he did, he’d been fooled and left heartbroken. Now he wonders if he’s just meant to be alone.

  Prologue

  “It hurts,” Amanda said as she gripped her mother’s hand.

  “Of course it does. Did you think it wouldn’t?” her mother said back, not a lot of emotion in her voice. Not a lot of caring or sympathy either.

  “Why won’t they give me something for the pain?”

  There was sweat on her brow and every other part of her body. Her stomach was tight and the pressure was massive. It felt like her midsection was full of rocks. She’d bet a board could be broken across her belly.

  “It was too late. You already started to have contractions and were too far along,” her mother said in the same know-it-all voice she’d used on her daughters their whole lives.

  “Why do I have to go through this?” she whimpered.

  The tears were running down her face. As if she wasn’t in enough pain this was all going to be for nothing.

  “You didn’t have to and you know it. You went against our wishes and this is the price you pay. This is why seventeen-year-olds shouldn�
��t be pregnant.”

  She’d been hearing this for months...ever since she’d told her parents she was pregnant. Thankfully she wasn’t showing by the time she graduated and no one really knew in school.

  But Randall knew. Of course he did. She’d told him the minute she knew about the baby.

  He’d panicked and told his parents who wanted her to end the pregnancy. Her own parents did too. Randall never really said one way or another what he wanted, but she didn’t care. It was her child and she was having it.

  Randall wouldn’t stand up to his parents either. Not when there was money involved. He went off to college at Harvard a few months ago and they’d only talked twice. The last time was well over a month ago.

  She’d have to assume they were done, though he never actually broke up with her. Must be the hundred-thousand-dollar check that was delivered to her two months ago was enough for him to wipe his hands of her.

  She wasn’t going to be bought. They couldn’t make her end her pregnancy either. She didn’t give a shit what anyone said.

  That check was going to set her up to raise this baby on her own.

  Or that had been the plan.

  The plan that wasn’t going to happen now.

  “I wanted this baby,” she said, sobbing.

  “We don’t always get what we want,” her mother said.

  Amanda let out another scream and the nurse came in. “There, there. I know it’s hard. And I know it’s painful. It won’t be much longer. Breathe through your mouth. Slow breaths. The doctor is on the way.”

  Her mother shot the nurse a look as if to say, “She deserves this for bringing shame on two families.”

  “How much longer?” she asked. “I can’t take much more.”

  “Not long. Your contractions are really close and you’re almost ready to push.”

  “It doesn’t matter though,” she said. She wasn’t sure what was worse. The pain in her body or the one in her soul.

  “I know, sweetie. I wish there was another way.”

  The doctor walked in a few minutes later and told her to start pushing. She was pretty positive it sounded like she was being murdered in the room, and it sure the hell felt like it, so why not shout it out.

  It wasn’t just her body that was being ripped apart, but her family and her heart.

  She’d be leaving this town the minute she could. She was taking her money and she was going far away.

  No one supported her. No one cared about her.

  Hell, the nurse was showing more compassion than her own mother.

  “You’re almost there,” the doctor said. Embarrassment was thrown out the window at this point with her legs spread wide, naked under the gown. Who knew what mess was on the floor from her body and she didn’t even care. She just wanted this over with.

  “I can’t do it again.”

  “One more,” the doctor said. “Just one more big push. I’ve got the head in my hand.”

  Hearing that was enough for her to gather all her strength, grind her teeth, and push with everything she had.

  “That’s it, I’ve got it now,” the doctor said. “Just relax for a minute.”

  There was silence in the room. Only her breathing could be heard, her mother looking over at the doctors and the nurses at the other side of the room.

  “Do you want to see the baby?” the doctor asked her while the nurses cleaned up the newborn.

  She was having trouble catching her breath. Not just from the delivery but the pain in her chest. “Yes. I want to name my baby. She’s really gone?” she asked, even though they’d told her hours ago there was no heartbeat when she had her appointment.

  She was only seven months pregnant and had pain so she’d called the doctor and drove herself there. The past six hours had flown by in one instant and lasted forever in another.

  “There is no heartbeat,” the nurse said coming over and running her hand on Amanda’s sweat-dampened hair. “Do you want to hold your daughter?”

  “Yes,” she said, taking in a deep breath. “Please.”

  Her mother got up and walked out of the room, not even looking at her daughter or granddaughter.

  Three weeks later, Amanda walked out of her parents’ life for good.

  1

  Figure It Out

  Fourteen years later

  “Drew, your mother is on line one.”

  Drew turned to look at his secretary, Connie. “I’m not here,” he said.

  His mother had been trying to call his cell phone too and he’d been avoiding her. It seemed like lately all she called for was to ask if he was seeing anyone or that she had someone she’d like him to meet. No, thank you.

  “It looks like you are to me,” Connie said back.

  He narrowed his eyes and went to turn into his office, but his older brother, Bode, stopped him. “She won’t give up.”

  “When did you get here?” he asked.

  “I came in the back door and I’m not here long. I’ve got a few other properties to check out today.”

  “Anything worth investing in?” he asked. Bode oversaw all the construction and maintenance for the rental properties, Drew, the sales and negotiating, the contracts for tenants and so on. He and his older brother had taken over the real estate business a few years ago so that his father could cut back and pretty much just sit on the board and boss them around...when he wanted.

  His parents had raised three boys that were all successful and it was time for them to enjoy their lives. It seemed that was what the Bonds did. Had a business that was passed down through the generations.

  Or most of them at least.

  “I’ve got my eye on two. Once I see the amount of work it needs I’ll have you go check it out.”

  “I’m trying to figure out how you find out about these houses before me when I’m the licensed realtor and you’re the contractor.”

  “Because I am the contractor. People call me for work and then when I’m there they start talking about other properties in the area or tell me they are thinking of selling. They know I’ll tell you.”

  It always annoyed Drew that Bode found out things before him when it shouldn’t. Must be the sibling rivalry.

  They didn’t have it with their youngest brother who chose to be a dentist. No, Coy was the smart one it seemed. Instead, Drew and Bode went into the family business and convinced his father to expand it from just real estate sales to construction and rental properties all over Massachusetts, not just a few on the island that had been in the family for years.

  “Whatever.”

  “Boys,” Connie said. “Your mother is still on the line.”

  “I told you to tell her I wasn’t here,” Drew said, turning to look at Connie’s grin.

  “I thought you were joking since you are standing in front of me.”

  He rolled his eyes. Sometimes things just went over Connie’s head. Bode smirked at him knowing exactly what was going through his mind.

  “Tell my mother I’m not here,” Drew said. “I’m leaving right now. If it makes you feel better then you can wait until I’m out the door.”

  “Okay,” Connie said just watching him. He let out a sigh, Bode laughed, so he went to his office, got his keys and phone, and left.

  He wasn’t to his car before Bode was walking out telling him to wait up. “Did she really pick up the phone when I was out the door?” he asked.

  “She did. She apologized for keeping Mom waiting and said she couldn’t find you.”

  “She doesn’t mind lying about that, but couldn’t say I wasn’t there?”

  “Who knows what she was thinking. Where are you going?” Bode asked.

  “No clue. I hadn’t planned on leaving, but I didn’t want to talk to Mom either.”

  “She’s getting a little bit crazy lately with the blind dates and you. Why is that?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “She doesn’t bug you or Coy.”

  “That’s because I was seeing someone so she
’s probably giving me some slack. She was on my case for months before I was dating Samantha.”

  “What happened with you two?” he asked. Though Bode hadn’t been dating Samantha that long, he’d seemed pretty ticked off over the split.

  “The same old same old,” Bode said.

  “She only wanted the name?”

  “Isn’t it always that way with us? Mom has it in her head that because she fell in love with Dad in one week when she was here with friends that everyone should fall in love that way.”

  Drew shook his head. “I wish she’d get over it. She’s so stuck on the myths of this island. Not everyone meets and knows right away. Things were different back then, but she won’t listen to us when we say that.”

  “She’s never going to change,” Bode said. “You know she’s always been a romantic. She sees the good in everyone and always has. She’s lucky Dad was a stand-up guy and didn’t take advantage of her.”

  “Which is why the three of us boys are probably so anti-romance. She should have had girls or something.”