All Time Love Read online

  Beverley Hollowed

  Dedicated to the three men in my life

  Brian, Aaron and Ant,

  You light up my world on my darkest days

  We have an All time love xx

  I would like to start as always by thanking my husband, Brian. You are my best friend, my person, my partner in crime and the love of my life. Thank you for never giving up on me and for all your help, patience, your support and your unconditional love. You are my rock and my happy place… I love you more :) xxx

  Thank you to my two beautiful boys Aaron and Anthony. Love you all the way around the world and back xx

  To my five little shining stars, keep shining brightly and light up my dark skies xx

  To my uncle Tony, love you so much xx

  To my Dad and Mam, I hope you are watching over me and that I have made you proud. Love you and miss you every day xx

  To my other best friend Barbara, thanks for always supporting me and reminding me what a real friend is xx

  To Beverly Brantley, thank you for always being there. For kicking my butt when I needed it. Thanks for never letting me give up on myself live (love) you always xx

  To Gemma Tucker, Sally Orchard and Jennifer Kinkle Gross, thank you for your help and for all your support. I love you girls Xx

  To Roxanne and Pamela, thanks for all your hard work xx

  To all my awesome Girls in Author BFF and Book Besties. It’s a privileged to call you all my friends and to be part two awesome groups… love you all xx

  Finally, a big thank you, to you the readers, for your loyal support and your kind words of encouragement over the last two and a half years has kept me going when the journey got too hard. This journey would mean nothing without you all….. Love always …..Bev xx

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Epilogue

  All Time Lover©

  Beverley Hollowed has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  Cover design by Beverley Hollowed

  Book design by Beverley Hollowed

  Editing by Barbara Kelly LTD

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

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

  For further information, contact the author at [email protected]

  Chapter 1

  “I’m bored,” Mason James sighed as he pushed up from his chair, walked to the full length window of his thirtieth floor office and looked down at the bustling traffic below. He was a senior partner at Bryant, James, Colby and Associates. A high profile law firm in New York.

  “You just won the case of the decade,” Andrew Pope, Mason’s best friend said with a laugh, from the large, black leather corner sofa on the far side of Mason’s office. “I would have thought you’d be tired.”

  “I need a distraction,” Mason thought out loud, his eyes still fixed on the street below. “Someone I can have a little fun with. Someone who will do exactly as I wish.”

  “Mason, I thought you said after the Jessica episode,” Andrew said, as he leaned forward in his seat. “You were giving that shit up.”

  “I did,” Mason shrugged, as he turned to look at his friend. “But things change. That’s just how life is.”

  “No,” Andrew frowned. “They don’t. You are lucky that you weren’t killed. Not to mention, you had that Clarisse Locke asking all sorts of questions about you.”

  “The District Attorney’s little lap dog doesn’t scare me,” Mason said as he retook his seat behind his large mahogany desk. “She will never find a piece of dirt on me when it comes to my work. I don’t play like that. And frankly, what I do in my private life is my own damn business.”

  “And Jessica?” Andrew asked.

  “Jessica was a troubled soul…” Mason replied.

  “Who you pushed over the edge,” Andrew shot back.

  “Please, she was already fucking nuts!” Mason said angrily. “It wasn’t my fault she was a fucking bunny boiling psycho. I never promised to love her. I never promised to love anyone. I told her from the beginning, I wasn’t the settling down kinda guy. I like keeping my options open.”

  “I just think you are better off without all that shit in your life,” Andrew sighed. “Find a nice girl, settle down, you are in your thirties now.”

  “Okay, Mom,” Mason laughed.

  “Laugh all you want,” Andrew said as he stood up and fastened his suit jacket. “But this lifestyle won’t always make you happy. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a very pregnant wife waiting for me at home.”

  “We still on for tomorrow?” Mason asked as he watched his friend walking towards the office door.

  “I’ll meet you at the court at two,” Andrew said as he opened the door. He stopped and turned back to his friend. “Go home Mason, get some rest.”

  “Goodbye, Drew,” Mason replied and smiled. His friend stared at him for a moment and Mason knew he was biting his tongue to stop himself from saying more. Instead, he just smiled at Mason once more before he turned and walked out the office door.

  Andrew Pope had been Mason’s best friend since high school. The truth was, Andrew was more like a brother than a friend. In fact Andrew’s family had taken Mason in when he was sixteen. His mother walked out when he was twelve, unable to cope with his father’s drinking.

  His father couldn’t deal with his mother leaving and the drinking got worse. One night Mason was woken up by his father dragging him out of bed by the hair, to make him something to eat. It was two in the morning. When Mason told his father that he wasn’t cooking and that he needed to sleep because he had to get up for school the next day, his father went berserk. He grabbed the thin, timid teenager and smashed his head on the stove. Mason collapsed to the floor, dazed and confused, as his father began to kick him again and again, until mercifully, Mason blacked out.

  When Mason woke up three days later, Andrew and his Mom were next to his hospital bed. He had a concussion and three broken ribs. His father had called the emergency services and said that Mason had fallen, but when they arrived, it was clear what had happened. They called the police and his father was arrested.

  Mason agreed not to press charges as long as his father never came near him again. He moved in with Andrew’s family when he was released from the hospital and never spoke to his father from that day on.

  The phone on Mason’s desk buzzed. He reached for it and pressed down on the intercom.

  “Yes, Sophie!” Mason snapped abruptly a
nd regretted his tone immediately.

  Why the fuck am I in such a bad mood? He thought to himself. I need a holiday, a little R and R. A good fuck would also help. How long has it been? Two months? Christ, no wonder I’m in a fucking bad mood.

  “Mr. James,” Sophie whimpered and Mason rolled his eyes. “Your three o’clock is here.”

  Fuck! Mason thought with a groan. I forgot I was meeting with Simone Anderson today. I am in no mood for this woman. She is all hands and innuendos. I am horny but not desperate.

  “Show her in,” Mason sighed and braced himself for the nightmare that was Simone Anderson.

  “Mason, darling!” She exclaimed dramatically as she came bounding in the office door, big blonde curls bouncing everywhere, unlike her fake tits that didn’t move an inch. She was, as always, wearing the latest Chanel suit, a fur coat loosely hanging from her arms and enough diamonds that could sink the Titanic.

  She was everything Mason detested in a woman. Fake, plastic and easy.

  “Simone, as always, a pleasure,” Mason said as he stood to greet his client. This was the part of his job he detested. Sucking up to greedy assholes, who insisted on breaking the law again and again.

  “Sophie, will you get Mrs. Anderson something to drink please?” He said, turning his attention to his assistant who was standing at the office door.

  “Scotch, neat,” Simone said without even looking at the girl. Mason looked at Sophie and gave her a smile.

  Sophie hurried over to the mahogany bar in the corner of the office and poured Simone’s drink. Once she was done, she hurried out of the room, leaving Mason alone with Simone.

  “So, Simone,” Mason said, as he slipped back behind the safety of his desk. “What can I do for you today?”

  “It’s Colton Jr,” she said as she pulled a packet of cigarettes from her purse.

  “You can’t smoke in here,” Mason quickly said before she could light it.

  “Not even just one?” She pouted.

  “Afraid not,” he shrugged. “It’s the law.”

  “Oh you and your laws,” she huffed as she shoved the pack back into her bag.

  “I don’t make them, Simone,” Mason laughed. “I just practise them. Now, what has Colton Jr done?”

  “Oh he has gotten himself into a bit of trouble with some girl,” Simone sighed. “She claims she is carrying his child.”

  “Simone, I am a defence lawyer,” Mason said and exhaled a deep, impatient breath. “You need a family lawyer. I can recommend someone.”

  “But I wanted you to take care of this,” she replied indignantly. “It’s what we pay you for.”

  “Simone,” Mason said as he got up from his chair and walked around the desk. “This is not my area of expertise. Now, I could do it for you, but surely you want the best person to take care of Colton Jr’s interests.”

  “I suppose you are right,” she sighed. “I don’t want this little madam to get a red cent from us. She is not even from our social circle. Just some waitress he met in a bar one night.”

  “And is the child his?” Mason asked out of curiosity.

  “He said it could be,” she replied matter of factly, as she gathered her belongings together and stood up. “The stupid boy says he loves her, but his father has talked some sense into him.”

  Mason looked at the woman and bit his tongue hard. She really was a disgusting person. She was clearly all about herself and she didn’t care who she stepped on, including her son.

  She took a step closer to Mason and the smell of stale cigarettes mixed with far too much perfume, invaded his senses. Rubbing her hand across his chest, she smiled.

  “It’s such a pity you aren’t taking the case,” she purred. “I think you and I would work very well together.”

  She slid her hand down his chest, towards his cock but before she reached it, Mason grabbed her hand and pulled it from his body.

  “Now, now, Simone,” Mason said with a smile and tried to keep his temper and gag reflex in check. “You know I don’t mix business with pleasure.”

  “That’s not what I heard,” she replied, clearly angry with his knock back.

  “Well then,” Mason replied, still smiling. “Clearly you have been misinformed.”

  He released her hand and walked towards the door. Opening it, he turned back to Simone who stood and watched him in disbelief.

  “I will have Sophie make an appointment for you with one of the other partners that can help you with your problem,” Mason said as she walked towards the office door. “I hope things work out for Colton Jr.”

  “Thank you,” Simone said as she passed him, but Mason knew she didn’t mean it. Still, he couldn’t help but smile, knowing he had pissed her off.

  He stood and watched her as she walked down the corridor, trying to balance on her ridiculously high stilettos, blonde curls bouncing wildly, fur coat almost falling off her. Suddenly the thought occurred to him, from the back, she bore a striking resemblance to Miss Piggy. That thought made him laugh out loud.

  “Are you okay, Mr. James?” Sophie asked, surprised by his sudden laughter.

  “Couldn’t be better,” he replied and smiled at the girl. He turned to go back into his office but stopped and turned back to his assistant. “Actually can you cancel the rest of today’s meetings, I think I am going to call it a day. Once you have done that, you can leave, too.”

  “Certainly, Mr. James,” Sophie replied.

  Ten minutes later, Mason was stepping through the building’s revolving door. He decided to leave his car in the underground car park and walk the three blocks to his penthouse apartment.

  He loved autumn in New York. He always had. The colours of the trees, the smells, the sounds. Whenever he felt restless, he found that a walk through Manhattan always calmed his soul, but not today.

  Maybe he needed a proper break. Clearly, all work and no play made Mason a very dull boy. He needed to find something to occupy him, or to be more precise, someone. He missed the thrill of having someone on their knees before him, willing to do anything he desired, purely to please him.

  Part of him wondered if he wanted to go down that road again. Was he ready to have a little fun again?

  He thought about Jessica. How had he not seen how messed up she was? He knew she had episodes, but she seemed fine. When he woke up in her bedroom and it was filled with smoke, he really thought his days were numbered. When he ran to the door and it was locked, it took everything he had to keep his cool. He knew panicking would have gotten him killed. He had no idea where Jessica was but he knew he needed to get out of the room and get them out of the house, and he needed to do it fast.

  He kicked and kicked the door until finally, the lock gave way and it burst opened. He made his way down the hallway, struggling hard to breathe in the thick smoke, as the flames licked up the walls. Each step he took became harder and harder to breathe. Finally he reached the living room which was now almost engulfed with flames. He saw Jessica laying on the floor, motionless.

  With every ounce of strength he had left inside him, he pulled her up from the floor and made his way to the front door. Pulling it open, Mason stumbled out into the front driveway and collapsed to the ground.

  He has no memories after that. But the memories he did have were enough to give him plenty of bad dreams. Even six months later, he could still remember all the smells and the sounds from inside that house.

  Perhaps Andrew was right, maybe it was time to settle down and have a family, but Mason couldn’t see himself as the happy family man. The one thing he knew for sure was, family and happy didn’t necessarily go hand in hand.

  What the hell is wrong with me? He thought to himself. I need to get out of this city for a while. Help me clear my head.

  Suddenly he hit something and a mass of long brown curls were sent tumbling to the ground.

  “Oh my God!” He exclaimed as he reached down to help the girl he had just knocked off her feet, up from the pavement. “I am so sorr
y, I wasn’t minding where...”

  He stopped mid-sentence when the most beautiful and unassuming pair of chocolate brown eyes peered up at him, and for the first time in thirty four years, Mason James was speechless.

  Chapter 2

  What the hell was that? Amelia thought to herself. She felt like she had hit a brick wall and her ass hurt from landing, unceremoniously on to the pavement. OUCH, MY ASS!

  “Oh my God,” she heard as she gathered herself together. “I am so sorry, I wasn’t minding where...”

  She looked up and came face to face with the picture of perfection. A dark haired, blue eyed Adonis, in a perfectly fitted suit, looking like he just stepped out of a magazine.

  Typical, she sighed bitterly. Couldn’t have knocked me on my ass on a day I have my hair and make-up perfect, instead of looking like hell.

  She looked at the Adonis expectantly for a few moments, waiting for him to finish what he was saying but he seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

  Pretty but stupid, she thought sadly as she looked at him.

  “I’m so sorry,” Mason said, shaking his head and snapping out of his trance. “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me. I wasn’t minding where I was going.”

  He took hold of her hand and pulled her up from the ground in one swift movement, then gripped her arms to steady her.

  “OUCH!” Amelia yelled as a pain shot down her leg from her tender backside. She knew her ass was gonna bruise badly.

  “You’re hurt,” Mason said, still holding Amelia’s arms firmly. “Please, let me take you somewhere to have you checked over.”

  “I’m fine,” Amelia insisted with a laugh, as she wiped the dirt from her backside, she winced but she quickly tried to disguise it. “Honestly, it’s okay, just hurt my pride mostly.”

  She pulled her arm free a little more abruptly than she had planned to.

  “I am sorry,” Mason said looking a little surprised by her actions. “Please, I would be happier if you let me make sure you are okay.”

  “There really is no need,” Amelia insisted, giving him a nervous smile.