Upside Down (Breaking the Rules #3) - A.M. Madden Page 0,3

meant she was equally surprised to see me. That unfortunate coincidence had sent any other personal interaction careening off a cliff. We’d agreed to keep it to ourselves and not complicate things unnecessarily… or at least I had agreed. Kelly wasn’t quite on board with that.

Even after she’d transferred out of my class, assuming that would persuade me to resume a relationship.

It hadn’t.

Even after she’d applied for the TA position this year and supplied enough glowing recommendations to my department head that she’d earned the job—and the chance to get closer to me.

It hadn’t.

What it had done was force me to have a conversation with her. She believed my resistance came from my job. She said we could be good together and even offered to transfer to another school if I felt the same.

The problem was, I didn’t… and I didn’t want her doing anything so drastic in hopes something would happen.

Older than the typical freshman, Kelly had taken a few years off after high school to care for her ailing mother. It was the reason I assumed she wasn’t a student.

By the time she’d enrolled in college, five years had passed, and the difference in age set her apart from all the other students. She had more in common with me than them. That had only fueled her infatuation with me over the last two years.

I often wondered: If I had felt that spark with Kelly on our one night together, would I have thrown my professional oath out the window to take a chance on love?

But the entire subject was a moot point because I didn’t feel that spark.

And then I’d met Riana, and Kelly had backed off.

Now she obviously saw a new opportunity.

“Okay, well, have a great vacation,” she said but still loitered at the edge of my desk.

“Thank you. You too.” Standing and hoisting my loaded-up messenger bag over my shoulder, I gave her a genuine smile. “I’ll see you next week.”

Chapter Two

Cooper

Ten steps out of the automatic glass doors and my T-shirt and jeans had already begun to stick to my body. The Florida heat felt foreign after weeks of frigid temperatures in New Jersey, making the winter coat draped over my arm a nuisance.

Still happy to be there, I slipped on my shades and was dragging my suitcase toward the waiting black limo when my cell rang.

“Yes, I landed,” I said as a hello to my brother. “And yes, I see my car.”

“Good. I need my best man to get his ass on this boat.”

“On my way.”

I slid the phone back into my pocket after my driver greeted me with a smile. “Mr. Stanton. I’m Victor. Can I take your bag?”

“Yes, thank you.” As he placed my luggage in the trunk, I tossed my coat on the leather seat and slid into the deliciously cool interior with a sigh.

My brother, Sam, and his fiancée, Lydia, had decided to take our sister Rebecca’s offer and have it on the luxury yacht she; her husband, Marco; and their business partner, Ricky, owned.

They’d started their business two years ago after Marco had been fired from his cruise director job for becoming romantically involved with one of his employees—aka my sister, Rebecca.

It had taken guts for them to throw caution to the wind and follow their hearts. Instead of kowtowing to the executives at Sunset Cruises, they’d both quit and taken their best friend with them to begin a company of their own called RMR, Inc… their initials. The ship’s name was Bella Viaggi, or BV as they often called it. According to my Italian brother-in-law, it meant beautiful travels, his one and only goal with my sister.

My envy for the relationship that those two had ran deep. Rebecca was so sure of their love she’d left New Jersey with a man she’d known for a few months, married him, moved to Florida, and started a whole new life. Their son, Antonio, had come shortly after, and my sister had never been happier.

“When you know you know,” she’d offered as an explanation.

I couldn’t relate.

BV filled a void in the cruising industry, catering not only to those who could afford spending a week on a yacht while being catered to hand and foot, but also to those who wanted to experience that kind of lifestyle firsthand.

And for the next week, Bella Viaggi would host yet another epic love story among my siblings. It’d been a long time coming for Sam and Lydia. After having started off as childhood sweethearts,