BECKONED, Part 1: From London with Love

FIRE AND ICE. What happens when you meet the right person, at the wrong time? Danish real estate scion, Soren Lund, has never been a risk-taker. MBA school was simply the next step on his path as heir apparent. When he gets into the best business school in Europe, he goes, despite the fact that it’s in passionate, unpredictable Barcelona. All is going according to plan - until a fiery Californian shoots into his life like a comet, knocking him off course. Spitfire Angela Holguín lives her life amassing stories for her future rocking chair days. When the opportunity to be an exchange student for a semester in exciting Barcelona comes around, she jumps at the chance. Her goal: a grand romance. She sets her sights on the brooding Dane, but Mr. Buttoned-Up misses his chance when a dashing Scot swoops in. A year later, the Scot invites Angela to visit him in London where he’s doing his summer internship. Looking for some inspiration for the children’s book she’s now writing, she happily agrees. The cosmic twist? Soren is there too, and this time, he’ll do anything to win her over. Buy BECKONED, Part 1: From London with Love Now! Enjoy the beginning of this slow-burn, second chance series, inspired by food, travel, and Jane Austen. Find out what readers call “a wild roller coaster of emotion...that left me weeping and smiling.” "Aviva Vaughn's debut will sweep you off your feet. BECKONED is a vibrant, sensual story about longing and second chances. Get ready to fall in love." -Mia Hopkins, Award-Winning Author of THIRSTY, called one of the best romances of 2018 by The Washington Post "Aviva Vaughn's debut is a breath of fresh air, delivering adventure, travel, food, and of course, romance." -Auden Dar, Author of the Interlude Duet, 5-star review "I loved this book! I could not put it down, I found myself walking through my house and staying up way passed my bedtime to finish. This story has you needing to flip pages to find out what's going to happen. The chemistry between these two was off the charts. The story was told so well I felt like I had known the characters for years. I felt like I was right there with them." Laid Back Bitches Book Blog, 5-star review "I can't believe that this is Aviva Vaughn's debut novel, as it was fantastic! Her super talented writing style was very evident in the way she described the two cities that Angela and Soren's journey went through, as it made me feel like I was there in person. Plus the romance was more realistic in the way that life can get in the way with bad timing. The push and pull has me on the edge of my seat, with my heart racing, and loud f-bombs dropping. That's all that I can say without giving out some serious spoiler douchery, as I just want yell the whole story from the rooftops! I CANNOT WAIT for the next book, as I will be waiting impatiently! HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!" ~The Power of Three Readers, 5-star review "What a great start to a series. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down until I finished it, I had to find out what was next. I would love to travel and see all the things these characters do. I felt as though I was right there along for the ride beside them." ~Lena, 5-star review "Such a fantastic start to this new series! The writing sparkles, and the vivid descriptions perfectly capture the essence of London and Barcelona. " ~Christy, 5-star review "Woah!!!! Absolutely Amazing Read! A must read for any foodie, world traveler and romance lover!" ~Erin, 5-star review "This is an incredible romance story. Hot and steamy, yet slow and sweet, this story is one that I would compare with some of the classics like Pride and Prejudice. Ms. Vaughn is a masterful story teller." ~Krystal, 5-star review "I found myself stealing away to read this book. Every moment I could grab it and get a few more pages in, I took it! The love story was so tantalizing. The lovers, Angela and Soren, have incredible chemistry and the love scenes are so erotic." ~Natascha, 5-star review "If you like to read about faraway places, amazing food, culture, second chances, and romance, this is the book for you! I can't wait to sit down and devour the second book. "~Liz, 5-star review "What a great book! And to think that this is only the first in the series! "Beckoned, From London with Love," by Aviva Vaughn is one of the best written books I have read in a very long time. " ~Melissa, 5-star review "A vacation in a book! Beckoned Part 1: From London with Love by Aviva Vaughn is the first book in this series. I love when I can find a new series to read and better yet a new author to love." ~Kristi, 5-star review "Beckoned was so much fun. Aviva Vaughn's unapologetically sensual, witty, and headstrong female lead is a modern day Lizzy Bennet." ~Amy, 5-star review "Beckoned, Part 1: From London with Love by: Aviva Vaughn is a love story that keeps you on the edge of you seat. I couldn't put it down when I started it. I needed to know what happened. The characters and the story made me feel like I was a part of the story with them. This is the first book I have read by this author and cant air to read the next books in the story." ~Amanda, 5-star review ---------------------- SPECIAL NOTE FOR PART 1: Welcome to BECKONED, a series that readers have called "...the best series I've read in my entire life!" "...realistic, surprising, and emotional." "...so well-written, you feel you are in the story with the characters." The BECKONED series covers five years, and--just like real life--it takes time to develop. It is truly a single story in six parts and at first the pace might be slower than you are used to as we introduce you to the worlds of Angela and Soren; two graduate school students around thirty, who are just beginning to figure out the paths they want to take in their lives both personally and professionally. Also like real life, good choices are made, bad choices are made, and sacrifices happen, but if you stick with it, I promise that you will be rewarded with an incandescent ending that will leave you surprised and breathless. If you like books that skate the border of >>>literary fiction<<<<, then this is the series for you. The series has over 300 reviews with an average rating of 4.4+, so take a chance and dip your toe into the world of BECKONED! Please note: Part 1 ends with a Happy for Now Part 2 ends with a Cliffhanger Part 3 ends with a Happy for Now Part 4 ends with a Happily Ever After (or is it?) Part 5 ends with a Happy for Now Part 6 ends with an incandescent Happily Ever After --------------------------------------------- Dearest Reader, I wrote BECKONED for many reasons, but first and foremost, I wrote it to feature the kind of people I know: diverse, smart, complicated men and women. My heroines are strong and educated, and my heroes are polite and respectful. As an avid reader, I wanted to see characters that looked like me and my friends and reflect the world I want to see. I also wanted to write a beautiful book. I consider BECKONED to be a modern story told in an old-fashion way with lots of metaphors and beautiful phrases, and where the sex is explicit but also elegant. So if you are a Word Nerd like me, then you will love BECKONED! If you choose to embark on this journey with me, you--and your taste buds--will get to visit London, Barcelona, Bath, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Costa Rica, New Zealand, and Copenhagen. It will be a fun--and delicious--ride! There are even recipes in some of the books as well as soundtracks to give you a multi-sensory experience. BECKONED is a single story in six parts and should be read in order. The intimacy is steamy, but it is slooooooow burn and is distributed throughout the books because of how the couples' relationships change and deepen. Birthing BECKONED has truly been a labor of love, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! BUCKLE UP and enjoy the journey. Wishing you love and romance, ~Aviva Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 1: It's Complicated July 3, 2001 Ah London, Angela thought as she emerged from the grimy Mile End tube stop of the London underground into the muggy summer afternoon. She drew in a deep breath of acrid air, and smiled despite the bitter taste in her mouth and the uncomfortable stickiness under her arms. Although she just got off a red-eye from Los Angeles, she felt full of energy and excitement. She had made it, and she couldn't wait to start her adventure in London. Travel was one of Angela's great passions and she was hoping that her exploration of London would provide her with inspiration for the children's books she was writing. Sure she had come to England's historic capital at the request of a certain person, but he wasn't the real reason she was here. No, the real reason was to taste the food, see the city, and make memories. She loved to imagine that she lived in the cities she visited and tried to experience them the way a local would, which was why staying at apartments washer favorite way to travel. When the offer of a free apartment in the heart of London was made to her, she knew she had to take it. Ugh, humidity. She stowed her light wrap in her carry-on and twisted her glossy, mahogany hair up into a sloppy bun, securing it with the rubber band she always wore on her right wrist. Always practical and thrifty--not to mention living on the strict budget of a budding entrepreneur--she decided to walk the fifteen minutes from the subway to her dear friend Marco's apartment, near Canary Wharf, instead of catching a cab.She studied the MapQuest printout that she brought with her and picked the most direct route. Grabbing her black, wheelie bag with the giant piece of duct tape on it--nicknamed R2 because of its resemblance to a certain android--she started walking down the street purposefully. The uneven sidewalk confirmed her decision to wear tennis shoes, but she was less happy about the jeans she was wearing as they began to stick to her with perspiration. She wheeled R2 over cobble-stoned streets and weedy, empty lots filled with broken glass, taking in the small storefronts with dirty windows and graffiti, and began to rethink the wisdom of her decision to walk. This is definitely one of the dodgier walks I've ever done by myself and I look like such a tourist with my luggage. She moved onto the largest street she could locate on her printout, hoping she might catch a cab or at least surround herself with more people, but the streets were deserted like a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie, where even the silence seems loud. I guess everyone's at work, she thought, swallowing the sizable lump in her throat. Her heart was racing and a layer of cold sweat on her back made her shiver. She remembered the last time she felt this way. It was in Washington, D.C. six years ago where she spent the summer of her junior year in undergrad as an intern. She remembered a man, strung out on drugs, pretending to have a gun in his pocket and asking her for money. The streets had been quiet and deserted that day as well. Get a grip! She cleared the memory from her mind and picked up her pace as she puffed out her chest and lifted her chin; projecting the most confident walk her 5'-4"-frame could manage. After ten minutes of speed-walking she arrived at Marco's nondescript, off-white,utilitarian apartment building that bordered another empty, overgrown lot surrounded by a chain-link fence. The shiny new skyscrapers of Canary Wharf sparkled in the distance like the newly minted coins that had paid for them.Her shirt clung to her, damp from her sweat and the steamy humidity, but her relief at arriving safely at her destination was exhilarating. Marco had not been able to take off work to meet her, but had left a key for Angela with an elderly neighbor. She knocked on the door to 5B and came face-to-face with a sweet-looking older lady in a yellow daisy house dress and matching slippers. Although the outfit bordered on the absurd, it was a sunny contrast to the sterility of the building's white hallways and cold tile floor. After getting the key, Angela walked over to Marco's apartment, fit the large key into the industrial-looking lock and opened the metal, security door. She walked into his flat, closed the door, quickly slipping out of her shoes and sweaty clothes. She glanced around the simply-furnished apartment. There was a couch, coffee table,side table and floor lamp in the living room all in various depressing shades of beige or brown. On the living room wall hung the only visible piece of artwork: a poster about a Picasso exhibit in a black plastic frame that must have been at least 20-years-old. Clearly this apartment was a full-time rental. Dressed only in her nude-colored skivvies, Angela walked over to the air-conditioning unit and snapped it on. It began to hum loudly; the cold air felt delicious against her overheated skin. She stood there, pirouetting from front to back,fanning herself until she was no longer sweating. She walked back to the entryway, unzipped R2, threw on a pair of loose linen pants and a white tank-top, and dialed Marco from the prepaid European mobile phone she purchased during her time in Spain last year. "Ciao bella, cómo estás? Was your flight good? Did you get to the apartment okay?" he asked in the English/Spanish/Italian combination that they reverted to whenever they spoke to each other. Although Marco spoke almost flawless English it was always with the thick, musical accent of his native Italian. The faint clacking of keyboards could be heard in the background. The worker bees at Marco's high-tech start-up sounded busy at their computers. "Sí, sí, I did. The flight was fine...I slept most of the way. And yes, I got to your apartment okay." She pulled back the dark brown curtains in the living room to reveal a narrow patio and a view of the empty lot next door with Canary Wharf in the distance. She could just make out an abandoned car with no doors, almost obscured by weeds in the vacant lot. That's an interesting juxtaposition. She walked back towards her luggage. "It's a good thing it was daylight and I can take care of myself! You aren't exactly living in the best neighborhood. I think I saw some rats mugging a pigeon outside." She grabbed her heavy Nikon SLR and returned to the patio door. "Oh come on, it's not that bad," he said, exasperated. "It's not good either." She used the heavy, manual camera to frame the expensive, new high-rises of the wharf in the background with the abandoned car in the foreground. Click. Click. Click. She took a few different shots, changing the focal point of each one. She couldn't wait to get the film developed back home. Maybe she would even use them as references for sketches. He sighed. "Okay, so maybe it isn't the best neighborhood. But unlike most of our school friends, I'm not working at a bank this summer. That flat was all I could afford. Besides, Canary Wharf is up-and-coming." Angela walked the five steps to the wall of white laminate cabinets adjacent to the front door that--along with a two-burner stove and mini-fridge--constituted the kitchen. "Let me know when it has come-and-went, okay?" She opened the flimsy cabinet door, grabbed a glass and filled it with water, which she gulped down thirstily. "Okay, okay," he chortled musically. She walked over to the sofa and plopped down. It was uncomfortably soft. "So who all is in London? Maybe we can get a group together for dinner and dancing tonight," she said hopefully. Dancing was one of her favorite things to do, and it was even more fun in Europe where everyone liked to dance, versus the States where the dance floors were usually filled with groups of women and the walls lined with men holding their drinks and watching. "There are a few of us here. Do you remember Federica and Edgar? They are both here, oh yes and Soren is here too, and so is--" "Soren?"She sat up, cutting him off. Federica and Edgar were minor acquaintances, but Soren...just his name sent a thrill through her veins. It had been almost eight months since she had seen him. Her face grew warm recalling how red his lips appeared against his pale skin. She rubbed the back of her neck unconsciously. Her almond-shaped eyes narrowed in thoughtful consideration of this new morsel of information. Suddenly her nebulous adventure to London was taking on a more purposeful shape. "Yes, Soren is here and so are a few others. Why don't I SMS you their phone numbers and you can reach out to everyone? I'll also send you some ideas for dinner.Now, I have to get back to work. Let me know which restaurant you want me to meet you at and I'll get there as early as I can. Ciao, ciao," he said with finality, his tone leaving no room for further questioning about Soren. But the questions came anyway. What's he doing now? Is he seeing someone? Has he ever mentioned me? Her heart flip-flopped as she pictured Soren's brooding, blue eyes that were the color of the ocean on a stormy day. Soren is here.