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Chapter 51
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Struck by Love Chapter 52
Three weeks after Laura had enthusiastically accepted the offer of a future position within the soon-to-be newly formed Bell Star division of Tsar Enterprises, Angelo arranged a celebratory evening at Painter’s Cove on Saturday night. Along with Sarah and Barry, who was taking the night off to just enjoy himself, Angelo brought Nikolas along. Painter’s Cove was three quarters full at this point and felt warm with colorful lights strewn about, giving a soft glow over the murals. Nikolas commented how it was a welcoming place, not pretentious, just comfortable and artsy. The five of them sat down at the best table in the house, with a good view of the stage, which Barry had taken the liberty of reserving. Laura snuggled into Angelo, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. His thick, dark hair had his usual tousled look. He was dressed in casual black jeans, a dark grey jacket and light blue button down shirt that set off his eyes nicely. His shirt collar was open a tasteful thr
Struck by Love Chapter 53
Laura's jaw dropped in total shock. She recognized the tune right away. She looked to Angelo. “This is my favorite song!” He smiled. “I know. Sarah was kind enough to provide me with some valuable intel.” Sarah winked at her. The guitarist and keyboardist started playing the familiar melody. It was instantly recognizable to the audience, who again cheered. Shanna closed her eyes, and swayed to the music. She started singing her song: Dreams Carried Me Through. Her distinctive, rich voice was clear and soulful. Laura’s eyes began tearing up as she listened. She loved this song. She couldn’t believe this was happening, what Angelo had done for her. He saw her reaction and held her close, kissing her cheek. Nikolas was swaying to the music. Sarah and Barry smiled at them and held hands. Sarah knew how much that song meant to Laura. She had talked about it often, how it spoke to her. The audience was rapt, listening to Shanna’s unique and beautiful voice singing the well-
Struck by Love Chapter 54 (Telos)
Six months later, Laura woke up feeling happier and more complete than she ever had in her life. She was now Mrs. Tsarkopolis. She lay there for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the soft light streaming through the white curtains. She smiled as she felt the soft swaying of the 120-foot luxury yacht, the Sea Star, that Angelo had chartered for their two-week honeymoon through the Greek islands. He had wanted to show her where his family was from and do it in style. She closed her eyes again. She found the sensation of being on the water relaxing. She stretched and yawned, then rolled over. Angelo was still sleeping. The white sheet had slipped down to around his waist. Laura lay there looking at her husband. They had just spent their first night together as husband and wife. His face looked peaceful. She looked at his thick, dark hair, all askew, framing his face; the humidity giving it a wilder look. She loved it; it gave him an almost boyish charm. She looked at his long
Struck by Love Prologue
“Dammit!” Laura said as she spilled her coffee on her light floral blouse. She hadn’t seen the crack in the sidewalk as she was juggling her bag and coffee cup, trying to keep up with the foot traffic. “Just great. I hate Mondays,” she mumbled to herself as people hurried past her on their way to work on this bright, sunny day. She silently scolded herself for trying to cram a last-minute errand in before work. She carried on as she reached into her bag to pull out a napkin. She tried to wipe the coffee off, but only succeeded in rubbing it in further. Not looking up from tending to the stain, she bumped into a man, hard. “Ouch!” she exclaimed, but then realized she had spilled more coffee, this time on him. “Oh no, I’m so sorry.” Automatically she reached out with her napkin, already half-stained with coffee to wipe the coffee off of his suit sleeve. The man intercepted her hand. She looked up, expecting to see a disapproving frown and to be chastised for not watching
Struck by Love Chapter 1
After work, Laura met her best friend Sarah at their favorite lounge, Painter’s Cove in Brooklyn. It was a cozy little place with live music and murals all over the walls, which were painted by local artists. Laura loved the place. It was their neighborhood haunt. The drinks weren’t too expensive and the people were friendly and welcoming. Not like the places in Manhattan, where they felt the heat of condescending, disapproving looks for not being up to snuff. The two 28-year old friends had tried it once, but had felt very uncomfortable with the rest of the patrons. The women looked like they came straight of the fashion magazines they were so done up and wearing expensive designer clothes and shoes. They were also stick thin, unlike Laura's and Sarah’s curvier forms. The girls also got sticker shock once the bill came. It was $20 plus tip for each of their glasses of wine. Way out of their budgets. Since then, they had stuck closer to home, where they fit in and didn’t h
Struck by Love Chapter 2
A week went by and Laura had still been working late nonstop at her advertising representative job at Kinetic Advertising. She was exhausted. Adding in her commute time from Brooklyn to Manhattan, it made for very long days. She dreamed of one day living in Manhattan, but her finances made that an impossibility for the foreseeable future. Her boss, Raquel, one of the partners in the firm, was making her work long hours on a new campaign for their latest client. Sarah had been hounding her to make contact with Angelo, but then work took a turn for the worse. She was starting earlier, working through lunch, and eating dinner at her desk. She was exhausted, stressed out, and wasn’t up for making a call to a practical stranger. She had no time to go out right now anyway. Laura wanted to work her way up in the advertising world, but she knew it would be uphill all the way. Unfortunately, it seemed right from the beginning she had a testy relationship with her boss. Although R
Struck by Love Chapter 3
“Do you need to go?” he asked. He gave her a compelling look, one that said, Don’t go. “No, I’ve got a couple of minutes,” she said, now gazing at his pillowy lips. She thought of how good it would likely feel to kiss them. “Good,” he replied. “There a table over there,” he said, pointing to a cozy corner spot. “Allow me,” he said, as he reached for her work bag. “Okay, thanks,” she said, trying to come out of the erogenous trance he had her in. His hand brushed her shoulder ever so slightly as he took the bag off of her shoulder. Her skin tingled with exhilaration. Calm down, girl, she admonished herself. She was stunned by the strong reaction she had to this man. Angelo pulled out a chair for her. She sat down. She straightened out her slim-fitting skirt that had ridden up her legs a little. He stole a glance at her shapely legs as she adjusted her black skirt and then placed her workbag on an extra chair. He slid the other chair a bit closer to hers and
Struck by Love Chapter 4
Laura called Sarah that night. “Hi, it’s me,” she said as she flopped on her bed, feeling completely drained. “Hey, what’s up? I was wondering when I was going to hear from you.” “I know, I’m sorry. Work has been nuts again. More overtime.” She grabbed a cushion and held it to her stomach. Jasper jumped up next to her, settling down on her comforter. “Again? Is she ever going to pay you for all that overtime?” “It doesn’t work like that,” Laura said. “I have to prove myself, work my way up the ladder. This is part of paying my dues.” Sarah scoffed. “It sounds like she’s getting free labor for Kinetic Advertising and taking advantage of someone younger than her, who’s just building their career, just because she can intimidate them.” “Yeah, that probably sums it up. She doesn’t even say thanks or offer to get dinner in.” Laura was twisting her hair with her fingers. “You know, I’m starting to think less that she’s making you prove yourself, and more that
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