London Bound: New Adult Romance (Chase Brothers) by Nana Malone Page A

shots for her portfolio, focusing on the rich colors and the lively, animated faces of the people she passed. Navigating through the market, she finally paused when she heard the sounds of Jamaican dancehall.
    Following the thumping drum and bass tunes, she tugged the earphones out of her ears and smiled at the familiar Sean Paul song. Immediately, her mind went to the party last night. Abbie flushed at the memory of Lex’s hands on her ass, urging her body to fit against him as he stroked her tongue with his.
    She had never been so reckless or stupid in her life. Ever . She didn’t make out with random strangers. No matter how beautiful they were. All the dating magazines and articles she’d poured over with her friends since she was old enough to be interested in boys said to play it cool. Act unavailable.
    Of course, then, there were the Cosmo articles that taught women to take charge and go after what they wanted and how to seduce a man. She chuffed as she wove through the crowd. She was not the seduction type. She was the one who thought everything through. She was the cautious one.
    Until Lex.
    Abbie couldn’t help a little snort. It sounded like such a cheesy line. Except he hadn’t delivered it like one. Though, she had a good idea of the kind of adventure he wanted to lead her on. The way his lips had slid over hers expertly, coaxing her into compliance. That was a man who had experience with a lot of women. Certainly more than his fair share. Like he made kissing a personal pastime.
    Tamsin said he was part of the R&B crowd, and there was probably no shortage of women ready and willing to be with him. Heat flooded her cheeks, and the irrational flare of jealousy irritated her. Not to mention he was rich and probably had the feeling of entitlement to go with it. If something happened with them and it went bad, it would probably get ugly for her.
    She finally found the source of the music and grinned. A group of young kids had taken over a corner of the market with an impromptu dance battle.
    Grinning, she snapped several photographs. One by one, the kids came over after krumping their way to their friends and checked out the images she captured. With every click, she’d stopped time on a particular emotion or feeling. Their live energy. How they moved. Their feeling. How alive they were. She’d born witness to it all.
    As the kids grinned and attempted to tug her into the dance battle circle, she laughed and shook her head. There was no way she was going to krump. But her new friends and fans didn’t want to take no for an answer. They dragged her in and immediately surrounded her. Abbie closed her eyes the let the sounds of Sean Paul and the voices fuel her movement as she enjoyed her moment in the middle of the dance circle.
    With the music blaring, her body moving, the smell of fried plantains in the distance, and the sounds of laughter coming from her new friends, she knew she’d made the right decision. No matter how scary, no matter how stupid it seemed. No matter what everyone said, she’d made the right choice in leaving. Her family didn’t know or understand her. Evan certainly didn’t understand her. All she had to do was let go and open herself to every new experience here.
    The act of letting go was the hardest thing she’d have to do. Her family was her family. She couldn’t change who they were, and the sooner she accepted that, the happier she would be. But she could let go of Evan. There was no returning from where they were. She didn’t ever want to go back.
    With the distance, she could clearly see how their relationship looked. On the outside, they were perfect. But on the inside she’d completely vanished. She could be strong and take charge and have fun.
    The music eventually transitioned to something else, and the kids howled and clapped for her. She waved goodbye to her new friends and took the slips of paper they handed her with their phone numbers so she could text them some