Twist of Fate: A Heartbreaker Bay Novella Read online

  Twist of Fate

  A Heartbreaker Bay Novella

  By Jill Shalvis

  1001 Dark Nights

  Twist of Fate

  A Heartbreaker Bay Novella

  By Jill Shalvis

  1001 Dark Nights

  Copyright 2019 Jill Shalvis

  ISBN: 978-1-970077-29-2

  Foreword: Copyright 2014 M. J. Rose

  Published by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  Book Description

  Twist of Fate: A Heartbreaker Bay Novella

  From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis comes a new story in her Heartbreaker Bay series…

  When the one you want …

  Daisy doesn’t believe love is ever-lasting, so it’s ironic as hell that she parlayed a business degree into a wedding planning business. More ironic still is her latest job bringing her back into contact with the man who’d taught her that love can’t last.

  Is the one you can’t have…

  To say Diego has been taught the hard way to bury emotions is an understatement. But when he’s called home to help the brother he hasn’t seen or spoken to in years, that’s one thing. It’s another entirely to also come face to face with the first woman he ever loved. First and only…

  Can love conquer all?

  Daisy’s learned to depend only on herself, and Diego is and always has been an island of one. And yet when they’re together, even when they’re bickering, still wary and haunted by memories of what was … it’s magic. The question is, how to find their way back to each other…?

  **Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

  About Jill Shalvis

  New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis writes warm, funny, sexy contemporary romances and women’s fiction. An Amazon, BN & iBooks bestseller, she’s also a two-time RITA winner and has more than 10 million copies of her books sold worldwide.

  Jill lives with her family in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters (Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is mostly coincidental). She does most of her writing on her deck surrounded by more animals than humans. Which is quite astonishing considering she’s a city girl who was plucked from the wilds of L.A. to the wilds of the Sierra’s. Most of her books come from a combination of hard work, cookies, and hot guy pics, and not necessarily in that order.

  Also from Jill Shalvis

  Click to purchase

  The Heartbreaker Bay series

  SWEET LITTLE LIES

  THE TROUBLE WITH MISTLETOE

  ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE

  CHASING CHRISTMAS EVE

  ABOUT THAT KISS

  HOT WINTER NIGHTS

  PLAYING FOR KEEPS

  WRAPPED UP IN YOU

  The Wildstone series

  LOST AND FOUND SISTERS

  RAINY DAY FRIENDS

  THE LEMON SISTERS

  THE GOOD LUCK SISTER

  Coming Soon

  ALMOST JUST FRIENDS

  THE SUMMER DEAL

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights

  Click here to explore

  COLLECTION ONE

  FOREVER WICKED by Shayla Black

  CRIMSON TWILIGHT by Heather Graham

  CAPTURED IN SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  SILENT BITE: A SCANGUARDS WEDDING by Tina Folsom

  DUNGEON GAMES by Lexi Blake

  AZAGOTH by Larissa Ione

  NEED YOU NOW by Lisa Renee Jones

  SHOW ME, BABY by Cherise Sinclair

  ROPED IN by Lorelei James

  TEMPTED BY MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian

  THE FLAME by Christopher Rice

  CARESS OF DARKNESS by Julie Kenner

  COLLECTION TWO

  WICKED WOLF by Carrie Ann Ryan

  WHEN IRISH EYES ARE HAUNTING by Heather Graham

  EASY WITH YOU by Kristen Proby

  MASTER OF FREEDOM by Cherise Sinclair

  CARESS OF PLEASURE by Julie Kenner

  ADORED by Lexi Blake

  HADES by Larissa Ione

  RAVAGED by Elisabeth Naughton

  DREAM OF YOU by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  STRIPPED DOWN by Lorelei James

  RAGE/KILLIAN by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright

  DRAGON KING by Donna Grant

  PURE WICKED by Shayla Black

  HARD AS STEEL by Laura Kaye

  STROKE OF MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian

  ALL HALLOWS EVE by Heather Graham

  KISS THE FLAME by Christopher Rice

  DARING HER LOVE by Melissa Foster

  TEASED by Rebecca Zanetti

  THE PROMISE OF SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  COLLECTION THREE

  HIDDEN INK by Carrie Ann Ryan

  BLOOD ON THE BAYOU by Heather Graham

  SEARCHING FOR MINE by Jennifer Probst

  DANCE OF DESIRE by Christopher Rice

  ROUGH RHYTHM by Tessa Bailey

  DEVOTED by Lexi Blake

  Z by Larissa Ione

  FALLING UNDER YOU by Laurelin Paige

  EASY FOR KEEPS by Kristen Proby

  UNCHAINED by Elisabeth Naughton

  HARD TO SERVE by Laura Kaye

  DRAGON FEVER by Donna Grant

  KAYDEN/SIMON by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright

  STRUNG UP by Lorelei James

  MIDNIGHT UNTAMED by Lara Adrian

  TRICKED by Rebecca Zanetti

  DIRTY WICKED by Shayla Black

  THE ONLY ONE by Lauren Blakely

  SWEET SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  COLLECTION FOUR

  ROCK CHICK REAWAKENING by Kristen Ashley

  ADORING INK by Carrie Ann Ryan

  SWEET RIVALRY by K. Bromberg

  SHADE'S LADY by Joanna Wylde

  RAZR by Larissa Ione

  ARRANGED by Lexi Blake

  TANGLED by Rebecca Zanetti

  HOLD ME by J. Kenner

  SOMEHOW, SOME WAY by Jennifer Probst

  TOO CLOSE TO CALL by Tessa Bailey

  HUNTED by Elisabeth Naughton

  EYES ON YOU by Laura Kaye

  BLADE by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright

  DRAGON BURN by Donna Grant

  TRIPPED OUT by Lorelei James

  STUD FINDER by Lauren Blakely

  MIDNIGHT UNLEASHED by Lara Adrian

  HALLOW BE THE HAUNT by Heather Graham

  DIRTY FILTHY FIX by Laurelin Paige

  THE BED MATE by Kendall Ryan

  NIGHT GAMES by CD Reiss

  NO RESERVATIONS by Kristen Proby

  DAWN OF SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  COLLECTION FIVE

  BLAZE ERUPTING by Rebecca Zanetti

  ROUGH RIDE by Kristen Ashley

  HAWKYN by Larissa Ione

  RIDE DIRTY by Laura Kaye

  ROME’S CHANCE by Joanna Wylde

  THE MARRIAGE ARRANGEMENT by Jennifer Probst

  SURRENDER by Elisabeth Naughton

  INKED NIGHTS by Carrie Ann Ryan

  ENVY by Rachel Van Dyken

  PROTECTED by Lexi Blake

&n
bsp; THE PRINCE by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  PLEASE ME by J. Kenner

  WOUND TIGHT by Lorelei James

  STRONG by Kylie Scott

  DRAGON NIGHT by Donna Grant

  TEMPTING BROOKE by Kristen Proby

  HAUNTED BE THE HOLIDAYS by Heather Graham

  CONTROL by K. Bromberg

  HUNKY HEARTBREAKER by Kendall Ryan

  THE DARKEST CAPTIVE by Gena Showalter

  Also from 1001 Dark Nights:

  TAME ME by J. Kenner

  THE SURRENDER GATE By Christopher Rice

  SERVICING THE TARGET By Cherise Sinclair

  TEMPT ME by J. Kenner

  Sign up for the 1001 Dark Nights Newsletter

  and be entered to win a Tiffany Key necklace.

  There's a contest every month!

  Click here to subscribe.

  As a bonus, all subscribers can download FIVE FREE exclusive books!

  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  About Jill Shalvis

  Also from Jill Shalvis

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights

  Foreword

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Author’s Note

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Six

  Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights

  An excerpt from Wrapped Up in You

  Special Thanks

  One Thousand and One Dark Nights

  Once upon a time, in the future…

  I was a student fascinated with stories and learning.

  I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and

  the art and science of love and magic. I had a vast

  library at my father’s home and collected thousands

  of volumes of fantastic tales.

  I learned all about ancient races and bygone

  times. About myths and legends and dreams of all

  people through the millennium. And the more I read

  the stronger my imagination grew until I discovered

  that I was able to travel into the stories... to actually

  become part of them.

  I wish I could say that I listened to my teacher

  and respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I

  would not be telling you this tale now.

  But I was foolhardy and confused, showing off

  with bravery.

  One afternoon, curious about the myth of the

  Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to

  see for myself if it was true that every day Shahryar

  (Persian: شهريار, “king”) married a new virgin, and then

  sent yesterday's wife to be beheaded. It was written

  and I had read, that by the time he met Scheherazade,

  the vizier's daughter, he’d killed one thousand

  women.

  Something went wrong with my efforts. I arrived

  in the midst of the story and somehow exchanged

  places with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had

  never occurred before and that still to this day, I

  cannot explain.

  Now I am trapped in that ancient past. I have

  taken on Scheherazade’s life and the only way I can

  protect myself and stay alive is to do what she did to

  protect herself and stay alive.

  Every night the King calls for me and listens as I spin tales.

  And when the evening ends and dawn breaks, I stop at a

  point that leaves him breathless and yearning for more.

  And so the King spares my life for one more day, so that

  he might hear the rest of my dark tale.

  As soon as I finish a story... I begin a new

  one... like the one that you, dear reader, have before

  you now.

  Chapter 1

  Wearing nothing but a pair of jeans and a bad ‘tude, Diego Stone lay on the sky bridge of his boat and stared up at the San Francisco sky. It was butt-ass cold, turbulent and moody, all of which suited him just fine.

  He had no idea why he’d left sunny, warm, sexy San Diego.

  Oh, wait, he did.

  He’d received a text asking him to show up for his brother’s important, all-hands-on-deck wedding planning lunch that, as Rocco’s best man, Diego was required to attend. A text. And not from Rocco, but from his fiancé, Tyler.

  Hands behind his head, feet crossed, Diego purposely relaxed his body one inch at a time. It was a technique he’d learned early on during a childhood as tempestuous and unstable as the sky above him. A childhood he’d spent right here in San Francisco.

  When he cleared his head the best he could, he rose to get things over with. Being back in town for the next week was going to suck hard, but he knew of only one way to get through shit, and that was to plow straight ahead.

  As far as command performances went, he could’ve tried a little harder to muster up some enthusiasm, but after ten years of being an island of one, he was out of practice at the whole family thing.

  The French House at one p.m., the text had said. And, apparently, his presence was both needed and required. Funny, because once upon a time when Diego had desperately needed and required Rocco’s presence, he hadn’t gotten it.

  Damn. And here he’d told himself that he was over the past.

  He glanced down. He’d spent the past few years running a small boat charter service for a guy who didn’t like to get his hands wet. Since Diego loved being on the water, the job had been tailor-made for him. He moonlighted as a tattoo artist as well to keep his skills honed, and he loved that gig, too. But in his current lifestyle, dressing up meant tucking a t-shirt into his board shorts.

  The French House was a high-end restaurant that he was pretty sure no one in his family had ever been to, but he was willing to bet the place frowned on jeans. Shit. Moving below deck, he stripped and stalked to his closet where he upgraded to black pants and a slate-colored button-down, both of which at least matched his mood. At the last minute, he added a jacket because why get this far, only to get refused at the door.

  He borrowed a motorcycle from an old friend and hit the road, still brooding. It’d been a long time since he and Rocco had been in the same room at the same time.

  Even longer since they’d been in the same room at the same time without yelling at each other.

  When Diego walked into the restaurant, a maître d’ with blue, spiked hair and a bowtie greeted him. “I’m here for the Stone wedding planning lunch,” he said.

  The bowtied maître d’, who looked to be around twelve, shook his head. “I don’t see a wedding planning lunch… Oh, but I do see a Stone reservation. This way, sir.” And then he turned and started walking through the restaurant. The place had been built over the pier in such a way that, combined with all the glass walls, it felt like they were walking right on the waves.

  For a guy who lived on the water, it was annoying as shit to feel off balance. Oh, wait, that wasn’t the water at all, but the fact that he could see a table nestled in a corner of glass walls just up ahead. A table for four. And three of the seats were occupied. Rocco, his fiancé Tyler, and…a blast from Diego’s past that he had thought to never see again.

  Daisy Evans.

  He staggered back a step as if he’d been shot. Pierced in the damn heart. He put a hand to his chest, shocked to find that he wasn’t actually bleeding. Could’ve fooled him by the amount of pain he was suddenly in.

  The three at the table looked cozy. His brother, the guy’s fiancé, and the woman Diego had once loved more than life itself leaning into each other, speaking quietly but earnestly, smiling easily, laughing…

  Diego realized that he’d stopped in hi
s tracks right in the middle of the restaurant. Rocco glanced over and saw him. “Diego,” his brother said, coming to his feet, gesturing him closer.

  Diego’s feet took him there, though he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze from Daisy. Ten years. It was almost too much to process. It’d been ten years, and just the sight of her still rocked him off his axis. With immense difficulty, he tore his gaze off her and looked at his brother.

  Rocco grinned. “It’s good to see you.”

  Diego didn’t smile or speak. Wasn’t even sure he could.

  The twelve-year-old-looking maître d’ was trying to get him to sit. He’d pulled out the empty chair and was gesturing to it with a flourish of his hand.

  Rocco looked at Diego with a half-smile and some worry in his eyes.

  He should be a helluva lot more than worried.

  Tyler, who Diego had never met, came out of his chair and moved around the table. And then he wrapped Diego up in a hug. The guy was a foot shorter than Diego, but that didn’t deter him one bit. He just gave Diego a warm squeeze as if they were old friends and then pulled back—leaving his hands on Diego’s arms—as he smiled up into his face. “You’re as gorg as the pics promised,” he said. “Nice to finally meet you. Won’t you sit? We’ve ordered, I hope you don’t mind. But Daisy’s on a lunch break from her office and has limited time today.”

  And then, somehow—Diego would never know how—Tyler gently nudged him into his chair, fussing over him a moment and making sure he had his water and napkin.

  Tyler then turned and did the same to Rocco, letting his hands linger. “Darling, you too. Let’s sit. Let’s toast. Let’s lunch. Let’s have our little chitchat to clear the air, it’ll all be good.”

  Diego’s brother took a deep breath and nodded. Downed a glass of something that was most definitely not champagne. He started to speak but stopped, then swore beneath his breath and rubbed his eyes.