Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
It’s the perfect time to make a baby.
Here’s where I’m boyfriend cheated with my roommate, stole all my money, skipped town, and to top it off, I got fired from my job.
My life is a total wreck, which is why I go home with a knee-shakingly gorgeous, insanely rich stranger named Finn Crowley.
I’m into his bossy-and-controlling-alpha-jerk vibe, at least for one night.
But things get worse a few weeks later when I realize I’m pregnant.
And Finn leaves his arranged-fiancee so he can marry me instead.
Which I definitely did NOT ask him to do.
I don’t even want to be married to this guy, but it’s either say the vows or remain broke and alone.
I’ll put up with his possessive and demanding attitude for the sake of the baby.
At least until I find a way to escape.
Marriage of Sin is a standalone mafia romance in the Crowley Family series! It's steamy, banter-filled, and has a guaranteed happily-ever-after. Enjoy!
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter 1
Dara
There is no way in the world I can face my bank account sober.
But I also need to make sure I can afford to drink before I go into this bar and drown all my problems in overpriced wine.
I take a deep breath as I thumb through my phone. Around me, traffic buzzes along Boylston Street in downtown Boston, kicking up fumes. Young couples sit outside of bars talking in the early evening shade cast by enormous office and apartment buildings, dads push strollers, old people walk dogs, and here I am a few blocks away from where I work sitting on a bench beside a scraggly tree about to find out just how bad my life’s gotten.
Is this rock bottom? Let’s find out.
I unlock my banking app, close my eyes, take a deep breath, and open them again.
Zero dollars stare back. Zero in checking, zero in savings.
My heart sinks into my feet. Zero, zero, zero. Nothing across the board. I knew it would be bad—but this is so much worse than I ever could’ve imagined.
“Lucas, you motherfucker,” I whisper, horror and anger warring against sorrow.
I really wish I bought that drink first.
But at least I didn’t sit through the indignity of my card getting declined.
This wasn’t how I thought today would end. I figured it wouldn’t be great—getting woken up at six in the morning by my roommate and the man I thought I was going to marry, only to find out that they’ve been sleeping together behind my back, and oh, yeah, they’re in love, that’s not easy.
That was a pretty spectacularly horrendous way to start the day.
But it somehow took a nosedive at five-thirty when I was leaving the office, only to get a text.
Lucas: I’m so sorry about this morning.
Lucas: And I’m so sorry about the money and your things.
Lucas: It’s just, I’m in love with Christine, but we’re both broke. You’ll be OK, right? You have that amazing job. You’ll be fine.
I stared at my phone for the five-block walk to a local bar called Trevi’s before I finally worked up the nerve to find out what he meant by the money.
Which is why I’m staring at a bunch of big, fat zeroes.
I open the messages app and start texting furiously.
Dara: You emptied my bank account???
Dara: And what do you mean my things????
Dara: Lucas, you piece of shit, what did you do???????
I’m in full-on panic mode. I knew Lucas was a monster, but I never imagined he would sink this low. When we met in school, he was a lovable dork, a guy that loved cheap beer, football, and bad horror movies. I fell for him when he rubbed my feet during a marathon of Halloween movies.
I thought he was the one. Lucas isn’t anything exciting, but he’s been dependable, always there for me, always asking how my day went, always offering those lovely foot rubs of his.
So what if there weren’t fireworks? There weren’t nuclear bombs? It was steady. Comfortable.
Now it’s like my skin’s been peeled off, leaving me raw.
I’m about to call my ex when I hear my name called out. I flinch, look up, and find my manager, Johnnie, standing a few feet away flanked by a couple of Patagonia Bros in matching vests I don’t recognize.
“What are you doing all alone out here?” Johnnie asks, flashing me his patented Country Club Smile. He runs a hand through his wavy hair. “Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you outside of work, Dar.”
I grimace at the nickname. Nobody calls me Dar except for Lucas, even though I’ve asked him not to half a dozen times. “I was about to get a drink actually,” I say quickly, glancing down at my phone. The screen remains dead and quiet. No reply from the piece of crap that ruined my life. I’m thinking about calling the police, about getting the FBI involved, but mostly about tracking him down myself and killing him with my bare hands.
But I know it won’t help.
Because whether I catch Lucas and strangle the life from him or not, my heart’s still broken.
And my bank account’s still empty.
“You should come with me, Patagonia Bro 1, and Patagonia Bro 2 over to McNally’s. Come on, Dar, you seem fun. Let’s have a good time, yeah?”
He doesn’t actually say Patagonia Bro, but I blank out their names on purpose. I don’t have time for this, but Johnnie’s my manager at a heavily male dominated accounting firm, which means I have to smile, bat my eyelashes, and play nice. Otherwise, they call me a bitch behind my back, and I don’t get promotions or raises.
“Sorry, I’m meeting a friend,” I lie, shifting uncomfortably. “Otherwise, I’d totally come.”
“A guy friend?” Johnnie sits next to me while his Patagonia Cronies leer at me, both of them grinning, like this is totally normal behavior. Johnnie’s breath reeks like liquor. Did he cut out early and start drinking or something? “What’s his name? Actually, don’t worry, it’s fine. I just figured, you know, since there’s a vibe here, it might be fun to explore it outside of a professional setting.”