Hotshot Deceiver: A Hero Club Novel

by K E Osborn

  I can’t contain my excitement as I bounce on my toes. “Yes, Eddie. Yes!”

  Everyone laughs as Eddie tenses. “No, wait, I have to say something first.”

  I stop bouncing, trying to calm myself down.

  He takes a deep breath and begins speaking. “Lyric Griffin, from the moment I first laid eyes on you out the front of Love and Lavender, I knew I would be weak for you. You make me weak in every way because when I’m around you, it’s hard to breathe, hard to think, hard to be anything other than surrounded by you. Weak. The thing is, though, you’re strong. You’re stronger than any other woman I’ve ever known. Your love, your passion, your devotion, and your energy lift me, making me a better man. You make me weak, yet I also feel like I’m the most powerful man in the universe, and it’s all because of you. Your strength gives me strength. Your love gives me love. You once told me your world doesn’t revolve when I’m not in it. Well, Lyri, my universe enters a black hole when you’re not around. I need you like a grenade needs a pin. Together, we are explosive. Apart, we’re a hot mess of chaos and disruption…”

  My heart warms at his words. I know what he’s saying—he can’t live without me either.

  “Lyri, I’m in love with you, that much is clear… I love the life we’ve created in our little dove. I know we’ve had various styles of parenting growing up, but our baby… I promise you, our little girl is going to have her parents home on weekends and weeknights. She certainly won’t have to take the fall for anything we do in our lifetime. We’re going to do better, Lyri. We’re going to be better…” He pauses. “But I want to do it as your husband. I need you as my wife. I want to raise our little girl in a home where her family is together as much as they can be.”

  I wipe my nose with the back of my hand to stem the flow of emotions pouring out of me. He’s making me so undeniable happy right now.

  “So, Lyric Griffin… will you do me the absolute honor of marrying me?”

  I sniff, now calmer than before. “Yes.”

  When he slides the ring on my finger, it sends a wave of euphoria right through me. The crowd erupts into a loud cheer as Eddie jumps from the deck, pulling me to him in a tight embrace. “I so want to lift you up and swirl you around right now, but I don’t want to hurt our little dove in my excitement.”

  I pull back, grabbing either side of his face to move in and give him a deep, passionate kiss. My tongue collides with his, and I kiss him for all he’s worth, showing him how much I love him. I need him to feel the devotion I have for him because I love Eddie with every ounce of my being, with every molecule in my heart. Eddie is it for me, and now our family will finally be complete.

  A clearing throat startles us, and Eddie and I break apart from each other to see Dad and Senior.

  I tense, so does Eddie.

  I guess in the heat of the moment, we forgot about everyone else, and our families would have heard all the parenting talk about us doing better.

  My dad’s the first to speak. “Kids, Senior and I know we weren’t the best role models for you both growing up. Neither of us were there for either of you in the way we should have been. You’re right. We were shitty parents.”

  “But we’re going to be here for our first grandbaby, and we just hope there’s going to be many more,” Senior adds.

  I smile at our two fathers as does Eddie. I detach from Eddie, pulling my father in for a hug. Eddie does the same with his father, and it feels like a small crack that was there is slowly mending.

  “Thank you. Knowing you’ll be there for our little dove means so much to both of us,” Eddie announces.

  He couldn’t have said it better.

  “It really does. We can’t change the past, but maybe we can make one hell of an amazing future,” I suggest.

  Both our dads nod as the music starts getting louder. One of Savage Lies’ songs comes over the speakers, and Dad shakes his head. “Jesus, do we really sound like that?”

  Senior slaps his shoulder. “Maybe if you had the right production team, it could do wonders for you, Stylo. Come on. Let’s go talk.” Senior drags Dad away to talk shop, and I roll my eyes.

  “That’s probably going to end in a deal being drawn up,” I say.

  Eddie shrugs. “Not for us to worry about. Right now, I want to take you somewhere and kiss the fuck out of my fiancée.”

  “We can’t leave the party, hotshot.”

  He yanks my hand, pulling me. “Like hell, we can’t.”

  We rush toward the pool house, chuckling like schoolkids. Eddie can’t keep his hands off me, but as we slide the door open to walk in, Paisley and Jase are walking out of the bedroom, adjusting their clothing. We all stop dead, staring at each other while the music of the party thumps loudly behind us.

  It’s a standoff.

  Eddie watches Jase. My eyes are fixated on Paisley when my lips slowly turn up in the corners.

  They were in there fucking.

  And they know we know.

  “Don’t say a thing,” Jase announces loudly while grabbing Paisley’s hand. He drags her to the door.

  Eddie and I stay quiet as they rush out as if nothing happened.

  We let them go.

  I don’t want to make a thing of it and risk any issues coming from whatever that was. But the sexual tension between those two has been simmering since the karaoke bar.

  “Do you think this is the first time?” I ask Eddie.

  He watches them walking hand in hand back to the party. He bobs his head. “Oh yeah, definitely.”

  I let out a laugh as Eddie leads me over to the love seat, and we fall on it, cuddling into each other. “I hope it becomes something. They both deserve to be happy.”

  A slow smile creeps up on Eddie’s face, his eyes sparkling in delight. “Me, too, but I don’t want to think about Jase right now.” He leans in, kissing my neck.

  A shiver shudders down my spine as I pull my left hand up, gazing at my brand-new absolutely stunning ring. I let out a contented sigh. “I love it, Eddie. It’s perfect.”

  He pulls his head from my neck. There’s nothing but love and adoration shining in his eyes. “You’re perfect. Without you, my life truly would be meaningless.”

  My heart swells. “You are my world, Eddie Covington, even if you are a hotshot deceiver.”

  He chuckles. “Yeah, but I’m your hotshot deceiver, Mrs. Covington.”

  “Not married yet, but I do like the sound of that.”

  “Me, too, hummingbird. Me, too.” He presses his lips to mine, and we kiss passionately on the sofa, my fiancé and me, while the party is in full swing around us. But it doesn’t matter what’s happening around us because with Eddie and me, it’s like we’re on our own plane of existence. We’re so attuned to each other we can block out all the outside noise and just be us. It’s how we’ve gotten this far.

  He hid his true self from me because of where I come from—because of my family.

  I come from a long line of musicians.

  Pure rock royalty.

  But the only people I want to sing for are Eddie and the family we’re creating.

  Eddie knows that. He understands why, and he’s totally fine with having me all to himself. The moment I heard his story, my trust in him was built to the ceiling and flowing over the top.

  I failed him once before.

  He failed me too.

  But we’ll never make those mistakes again.

  Because a love like ours is unbreakable, and there’s no deception in that.

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  First and foremost, I would like to thank Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward for allowing me to be a part of their incredible world. This journey has been a fantastic ride, and I’m so incredibly honored to be a part of it. I had the best time writing about your character, Eddie, researching his story and then developing it into one of my own. Living in the Cocky Hero World for a while was a lot of fun, and I really hope to do it again in a follow-up book to Hotshot Deceiver.

  To Dan: Thank you for all the work, dedication, and extraordinary effort you have put into making this world work. Your endless emails and the ability to answer any question is incredible. You’re a saint. Without you, this entire Cocky World wouldn’t be possible. Thank you!

  To Kaylene: Thank you for not only being the best mother I could ask for, but also the first point of call in my editing and formatting process. You take my raw material and make it shine. Being a part of this world means everything to me, so the way you helped me shape Hotshot Deceiver into the best it could be makes me so honored. Thank you. For everything.

  To Lauren: Thank you for fitting me in to work on Hotshot Deceiver. I was so excited to work with you and have you as an editor for the first time. I have only heard great things, and your work is exceptional. You always meet me with a friendly face and a kind ear. Working with you was a breeze. Thank you for all your hard work on Hotshot Deceiver.

  To Nicki: Thank you for all the work you put into my books by proofreading them. You always manage to find the nit-picky issues and make it just perfect. Thank you. For everything.

  To my alphas: You three ladies go above and beyond. I couldn’t imagine being in this industry without you. You simply make my work better. You pull it apart in just the right way and point out the things I never even would have thought of. Thank you for being in my life. I couldn’t do this without you.

  To all of my awesome beta readers: Thank you so much for the effort you put into Hotshot Deceiver. Your thoughts and ideas are always above and beyond. What more could I possibly ask for? My beta team rocks!

  To Kellie: Thank you so much for another outstanding cover. This one had to suit a brief, and with that in mind, you nailed it, like always. The color, the texture—his eyes! Everything is perfect. Thank you

  To Reggie: Thank you for the epic photograph of Michael. This image is absolutely stunning and depicts my character, Eddie, to a T. You always come through for me. But not only that, you’re so easy to work with. Thank you for always being there when I need to call on you.

  To Michael: Thank you for being my Eddie. Your image is precisely what I had in my mind when I went into this world. With the help of Reggie, you both nailed the cover of Hotshot Deceiver. I love how, with the help of Kellie from Book Cover by Design, the three of you came up with something stunning. This is a favorite cover of mine, and I’m so happy you’re a part of it.

  To my beautiful, playful, and utterly adorable pup, Bella: This book has a considerable pet component to it. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a massive animal lover. You are the best part of every day for me, and I love that you’ve been with me for every part of my writing journey. You’re a goofball, but I love you for it. Never change.

  Last of all, I want to thank YOU, the reader. Your continued support of my writing career is both humbling and heartwarming. I adore my readers so much and honestly, couldn’t keep going without the love and support you all show me each day. Thank you for believing in me, and I hope I can keep you entertained for many, many years to come.

  Much love,

  K E Osborn xoxo

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  Australian author K E Osborn was born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia. With a background in graphic design and a flair for all things creative, she felt compelled to write the story brewing in her mind.

  Writing gives her life purpose. It makes her feel, laugh, cry, and get completely enveloped in the characters and their storylines. She feels completely at home when writing and wouldn’t consider doing anything else.