Mostly Risky Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Mostly Risky

  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

  About Heather B. Moore

  Copyright © 2019 by Heather B. Moore

  E-book edition

  All rights reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief passages embodied in critical reviews and articles. This is a work of fiction. The characters, names, incidents, places, and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.

  Interior design by Cora Johnson

  Edited by Kelsey Down, Lisa Shepherd, and Kimberley Montpetit

  Cover design by Rachael Anderson and Steven Novak

  Cover image credit: Deposit Photos #21975529

  Published by Mirror Press, LLC

  THE WOMEN OF AMBROSE ESTATE

  MOSTLY DANGEROUS

  MOSTLY PERFECT

  MOSTLY PERILOUS

  MOSTLY RISKY

  AMELIA AMBROSE’S GENEALOGY

  Ambrose Sisters:

  Sofia

  Lauren

  Emma

  Amelia

  Kendra

  Katelynn

  Lauren’s Parents:

  Poppy Ambrose Chambers

  Randall Aaron Chambers

  Grandparents:

  Lillian Marie Ambrose Millet

  Richard Jacob Millet

  Great-Grandparents

  Helen Elizabeth Ambrose Burton

  Walter Charles Burton

  Great-Great-Grandparents

  Margaret Florence Thorne Ambrose

  George Frederick Ambrose II

  All female descendants are given the extra middle name of Ambrose.

  MOSTLY RISKY

  A haunting curse. A voice from the past. A truth that will break her heart.

  The Ambrose curse has stopped Amelia from following her heart. She’s accepted her fate as part of the generations of Ambrose women who’ve lost their husbands too young. So Amelia is determined to never marry, to never allow herself to fall in love.

  Grigg Edison has been patient long enough. Two years, in fact. When Amelia confesses that she’s ready to test the power of the curse, all he wants is a chance. He’ll do anything, including risking his heart in order to uncover the origin of the ancient legend.

  But for Amelia, the risk may be too great, and the roots of family lore too deep.

  Amelia Ambrose scrolled through her contacts, then wrote down five names. She took her time in writing each name, letting the memories wash over her. It was after hours in her office, so no one was about and no one would disturb her. No one would see her list. Ambrose & Edison Capital had cleared out for the night, so Amelia would have the place to herself until the janitorial service showed up around nine.

  She traced the letters of the first name on her list again. Each of the men had been almost-boyfriends. Definitely at the top of her dating list. But for one reason or another, things hadn’t quite worked out.

  Okay. There was only one reason.

  The curse that had plagued her family for generations, in which any man who married an Ambrose woman would meet an early death.

  Truth really was stranger than fiction.

  Back home, in Ambrose, Texas, were a half dozen graves to prove that the curse was real. Very real.

  Yet now . . . two of her three older half sisters, Sofia and Lauren, had found a way to break the curse. For them. But broken all the same.

  Amelia traced the second name again with her pen. She wished she knew what would break the curse for her. But her half sisters had been vague, saying something about giving up what she loved most. Whatever that meant. They said she’d know it when she became serious about a guy.

  She outlined the third name.

  It was time. She was going to go for it. Pulling up the first name on the list, she pushed SEND on the phone contact. If Bryce still lived in Denver, then it was a good time to call. The phone rang once, then twice, and she imagined him grabbing his phone from wherever he’d set it in his home gym and seeing her name on the Caller ID. Did he still have her number? Or would it show up as Unknown?

  Bryce was religious about working out and had the body to show for it. His workouts were twice a day. Once before his job as a patent lawyer began, and the second workout before the dinner hour, which for him was around 8:00 p.m. So right now was the best time to call him.

  The phone clicked over to voicemail, and Amelia realized she hadn’t counted the rings. Had he sent the call to voicemail? Or had it rung into voicemail?

  When Bryce’s recorded voice came on, Amelia found herself smiling at his upbeat tone. So like Bryce. She decided to leave a message. That’s how serious she was about finding a boyfriend for real now.

  “Hey, Bryce, it’s Amelia Ambrose.” She couldn’t hold back a nervous half laugh. “I know. It’s been a while. But you’ve popped into my mind a few times recently, and well, I wanted to check in. See how you’re doing. My number’s the same. Take care.”

  She’d done it. With a happy exhale, she clicked END on the phone.

  “Wow,” a deep voice said. “You called B Tots?”

  Amelia yelped and placed her hand over her startled heart. Then she spun around in her swivel chair to see Grigg Edison leaning against the doorframe of her office, all long-legged, classic crooked smile, deep-brown eyes filled with their usual amusement.

  “Grigg, I didn’t hear you come in.” Grigg was the Edison, as in the other half of Ambrose & Edison.

  The edge of his mouth tugged up a bit more. “I’m like a panther, don’t you know?”

  She needed to hide her list. How could she do it without attracting Grigg’s attention? He was the nosiest person in Colorado. He also said the most ridiculous things.

  “Did you forget a report or something?” she asked in a nonchalant tone, despite the rapid thump of her heart.

  “No.” He scoffed. “You know I don’t take home reports or anything else that resembles work.”

  It was true, and she was insanely jealous of that particular quality he had. She was always working, it seemed. Although, she was trying to change that. Beginning with finding a man to date whom she didn’t have to break up with.

  “So why are you here, Grigg?”

  His half smile returned, and he scrubbed a hand through his dark hair that always managed to look groomed and charmingly disheveled at the same time. Men.

  “I saw your light on my way back from dinner.” He straightened and sauntered toward her. “It’s late, Millie. Have you even eaten?”

  No. And don’t come any closer. She had to cover up the list. She turned her chair a bit and reached for the paper without looking at the desk and making it seem obvious.

  But true to Grigg’s observant nature, he noticed. And acted.

  “What’s this?” He stepped past her in a flash and snapped up the list. “You’re making me another to-do list? . . . Oh . . .”

  Amelia rose to her feet because that was the only way to contend with a six-foot-five guy like
Grigg Edison. Who, by the way, had been the star quarterback at The Ohio State during his college years. Then had a late-season injury that put him out of the running for any NFL potential. He had refocused his education and gotten his MBA in finance. And now he ran the operations of their investment firm, and last year, she’d signed him on as partner.

  She’d never regretted hiring the talented, sharp-witted finance whiz, until this moment.

  “Please give it back, Grigg, it’s nothing—”

  “These are all guys you’ve dated,” Grigg said, holding the list out of reach, which wasn’t hard to do.

  Amelia was only five foot six, something Grigg had teased her plenty about. That their heights were inversions of each other’s. And she’d kicked off her high heels the moment the last person in the company had left for the night.

  “Yeah, I know,” she said, reaching again with a little hop this time. “I wrote the list. I think I know what’s on it.”

  Grigg stepped back, but Amelia followed. She grabbed his other arm and tugged him toward her, which wasn’t easy, since he might be lean, but he was also strong.

  “Bryce, Clint, Hayden . . .” He was literally dragging her with him as he backpedaled. “Peter? Jack? What are you up to, Mills?”

  She both hated and loved it when Grigg called her Mills. As far as nicknames went, it was pretty basic, but it also told people they were close friends. On the other hand, she wanted to be respected in the finance industry, not only as a businesswoman but as a successful executive. And not be teased by her partner.

  “Grigg, give me that list.”

  He stilled.

  She’d used her mom voice. Or at least what he’d called her mom voice. Usually he’d laugh, but somehow, thankfully, he didn’t now.

  “Here.” He lowered his arm and handed her the list. Then he folded those well-sculpted arms of his. “Spill, cuz. You know I’m not going to be happy if you hook up with any of them. Especially B Tots.”

  List in hand, Amelia’s rising panic began to dissipate. Cuz was another name he’d adopted for her. A few months into their working relationship, a couple of their clients had asked if they were boyfriend-girlfriend. No. Not even close. Griggs had blurted out that they were cousins. Later, he had told her that of course they were cousins. Probably eight or ten times removed, but still cousins.

  But the nickname had worked in their favor in more than one situation. It stopped any gossip or speculation about a man and woman who worked so closely together and were both still unattached. Which Amelia could now remedy on her side of things.

  “Bryce being allergic to potatoes, or more specifically tater tots, is not something you should make fun of.”

  “I stand by my original assessment,” Griggs said, leaning against her desk so that he was still in her space. He was good at that. Getting into her space until he got the answers he was seeking. Whether it be with work life or personal life. “I’ve never heard of a person being allergic to tater tots, but not other types of potatoes.”

  “It’s the spice, I guess,” she said, “or the way they’re created at the manufacturing plant. I don’t know, and it doesn’t concern you.”

  At this, his brows arched. She’d seen that expression before. Many times. In fact, she knew all of Grigg Edison’s expressions. All his moods. What made him laugh. What made him angry. What made him leave the office at 6:00 p.m. sharp every night and arrive the next morning at 7:45 a.m.

  “Mills . . . you’re wounding me.”

  His hand on his heart was so dramatic, and if Amelia had been in a better mood, she might have laughed. But she hadn’t wanted this interruption. She hadn’t wanted anyone to see her list.

  She tucked the list into her bag, then proceeded to power down her laptop, unplug the cord, and load everything up.

  “Hey, I’m sorry.”

  His voice was low, deep, and sincere. She looked up at him, into those dark-brown eyes of his that many women swooned over. Thing was, Grigg didn’t really date. Well, he dated, but not anyone long-term. Said he’d had a serious relationship the last couple of years in college, but the woman had ditched him when he’d gotten injured. Apparently she’d wanted to be an NFL player’s wife.

  “Sit down,” she said with a sigh. “I have something to tell you.”

  Grigg wasn’t about to turn down Amelia’s order to sit, but he was leery all the same. He couldn’t believe he’d walked in on her calling an old boyfriend. Well, boyfriend was too strong of a word. Amelia Ambrose believed she was cursed and could never be in a serious relationship, or get married for that matter.

  She’d told him all about her deep-rooted Texan family, her billionaire grandmother, and the family curse one night when they’d both come into work over the weekend. She’d told him how the Ambrose family property covered about fifteen thousand acres to run cattle and produce oil. Her grandmother had kept the business running after her husband died young in the 1950s.

  It seemed that Amelia had inherited her grandmother’s love for running a business and spending all hours to do it. Working weekends was a rarity for Grigg, but a commonality for Amelia.

  Grigg had learned to listen to his body after spending his entire life, starting at age ten, playing football. There had been no rest, ever. And when he’d torn every ligament in his knee with two games to go in his college football career, he’d gone through physical and emotional hell for six months.

  He’d also learned that there was more to life outside of nonstop, high-level achievement. The world of finance had been something to occupy his mind and give him new goals, ones that didn’t start at the crack of dawn lifting weights and end at midnight in an ice bath.

  Now he lived by the clock in a different way. His work had a definite starting and ending time each day.

  Grigg sat in the chair next to Amelia’s desk. She remained standing for a moment, as if she were unsure of how to begin. This was intriguing. Amelia Ambrose wasn’t usually at a loss for words, but he’d noticed the higher pitch in her voice and the flush of her cheeks when he’d snatched the list from her desktop.

  “Don’t tell me, you found a way to break the Ambrose curse,” he joked.

  But she didn’t laugh. In fact, her dark-blue eyes were as serious as he’d ever seen them. Some women enhanced their beauty with makeup. Amelia needed no makeup as far as he was concerned. Early in their career together, he had found himself coming into the office on weekends, not to work but to see her. Because that was when she dressed in jeans and wore her black hair in a messy ponytail. Sans makeup. Beautiful.

  Then she had told him about the Ambrose curse and how there was no future for her with any man. Which included him, of course. Not that he’d been crushing on her. No, he respected her as a colleague too much for that. Okay, he’d been crushing on her, and he likely still was, he guessed. In a completely arms-length sort of way. He hadn’t dated anyone seriously since working with Amelia, and yeah, he’d used his college breakup as an excuse, but it wasn’t the full reason.

  So he’d stopped coming to the office on the weekends, because truthfully it was too hard to be around her one-on-one when her guard was down. When her smiles and laughter were unchecked and unfettered. When it was just the two of them, for hours and hours—working, yes, but also talking and teasing.

  “I’ve told you about my older sisters, well, half sisters, right?”

  “Right,” Grigg said, eying her. “Sofia, Lauren, and Emma?”

  She nodded, seeming pleased he’d remembered their names.

  Of course he remembered. It being a Thursday night, she was still wearing one of her power suits, and although she’d ditched her high heels somewhere, she still looked the part of a composed businesswoman. Except for when she’d been trying to wrestle the list away from him.

  Her mascara was a bit smudged, and she’d tugged out whatever updo she’d worn that day, so her dark hair tumbled about her shoulders. This was a look he wouldn’t ever complain about.

  “I
talked to each of them tonight,” Amelia continued. “I know. I’m not the best sister in the world, and tonight must have been a record. But there’ve been some things going on among the Ambrose women lately that caught my attention.”

  Grigg leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. “Such as?”

  She bit the edge of her lip, a sure sign that she was hesitant about something. “Well, both Sofia and Lauren have discovered how to break the curse.”

  Well. This was unexpected. He liked that her dark eyes gleamed with excitement, but if there truly was a curse at all, how could they really know? Unless her sisters married and their husbands didn’t die in the next five to ten years.

  She lifted her hand. “I know, I know what you’re thinking, but it’s true. Although I don’t know exactly how I’ll break the curse over me personally, since they all said that I’ll know it when I’m with the right man. The man I fall in love with, that is.”

  Grigg swallowed the pebbles that had suddenly lodged in his throat. “Thus, the list of five potentials?”

  Her smile was slow, but genuine. “Exactly.”

  “Can I see it again?” he asked.

  This time she didn’t hesitate, since apparently confessing had made her more eager to share. She dug the paper out of her laptop bag and handed it over. Grigg scanned the list, if only to give himself something to do while his thoughts jumbled and separated and jumbled again. He probably read over the names a dozen times, maybe even two dozen times, before he lifted his gaze to meet Amelia’s anticipated one. He had met four of the five men on the list while she had been dating them. The only one he didn’t recognize was Hayden, but with a name like that Grigg was pretty sure he didn’t need to meet the guy. Hayden would be an automatic cross off.

  “So,” Grigg began in a slow tone, “you call each of these guys and tell them, ‘Sorry for breaking up with you, but I’m now available because I know you won’t die if we get married’?”