by Isla Drake
"Whatever I decide, huh? I thought you said I was fired."
"Well," he says, taking my hands and pulling me to my feet. "I know how stubborn you can be." He kisses me lightly, taking the sting from the words. "So, yes. It's absolutely your decision. I'll stand behind you, no matter what." He smiles and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “God, I wish you could see how amazing you are.”
I feel my heart clench as I look into his blue eyes. I twine my arms around his neck, pressing against the length of his body. Finn’s hand cups my cheek, his touch gentle.
"Thank you," I say, feeling my eyes prick with tears.
Finn's brows draw together in confusion. "For what?"
I shake my head, unable to find the words. "Just...everything. You. This. It's not something I ever really imagined I'd have. And I was good with that. I was content. I had Liam and a job I love and friends." I shake my head, trying to explain what I can barely formulate into thought.
"I didn't know anything was missing until I saw what I could have with you. What we could be. So, thank you."
Finn shakes his head. "You really have no idea, do you?" he says. "Before you and Liam came into my life, all I cared about was work and whether I was letting my brothers and sister down. I didn't think I had room for anything else. You showed me that it's possible to have more. To have everything I need and still be enough for everyone else. I'm the lucky one."
"I love you,” I say, leaning closer. “Kiss me, Finn.” And he does.
End of Book One
Epilogue
Quinn
“Hey Quinn.”
I let out a sigh of relief when I hear Hannah’s familiar voice coming through the phone at my ear.
I try to make my voice light, easy, carefree. “Hey. You busy?”
“Not at the moment,” she says. “You’re on speaker and Liam is in the backseat.”
Hannah’s learned her lesson over the years. I’m not always the best person to have on speakerphone without giving me a heads-up to be on my best behavior.
“Liam!” I don’t have to pretend to be happy to talk to him. “How’s my favorite kid in the whole world?”
I can hear the smile in his voice. “Good, Aunt Q. When are you coming to see me?”
I laugh. “I like a man who gets right to the point. That’s actually what I was calling your mom about.”
“What’s up?” Hannah asks.
“Well,” I begin, trying to remember how I’d rehearsed the words over the last half hour. “I know it’s last minute, but what are you doing this weekend?”
The line is silent for a minute and I worry that she’s going to tell me they have plans or they’re out of town. When I’d pulled up in front of Hannah’s house earlier and no one was home, it had taken me a few minutes to remember that it was the middle of the day on a Thursday. Of course, no one was home. Liam has school and Hannah’s at work. I’m not sure where my mind went. Hannah speaks again, breaking into my thoughts.
“Nothing that I know of,” she says. “Finn’s out of town to meet with a potential vendor but we might have lunch Sunday if he’s back in time. Maybe start moving some of his things over.”
“Hmm.” I say, drawing out the word.
“Shut up,” she mutters.
I laugh. I love that my best friend has found the right guy, even if he was under her nose for the past 7 years. It gives me hope that maybe I can find my guy too. I love how happy she is, but I can’t resist teasing her just a little.
“It’s not nice to say shut up,” Liam chimes in.
“Yeah, Hannah,” I say, smiling. “It’s not nice to say shut up.” I hear Liam’s giggle in the background and it nearly makes me forget all my problems.
“So, does this mean you’re coming for a visit?” Hannah asks, making my stomach roll with nerves.
“Actually,” I say, biting the bullet. “I’m sort of already here.”
“What?”
Sitting on Hannah’s front porch steps, I see a car come into view. A smile spreads across my face and I stand. I only live a few hours away from Hannah and Liam, but we haven’t seen one another in months due to our work schedules. Hannah parks in the driveway next to my car. Liam bolts from the car and runs toward me. I catch him in a hug and swing him around in a circle though he’s nearly too big now. I feel a pang of sadness for all I’ve missed of his life, but I hide it behind a broad smile.
“Oh my god, you’re a giant! When did you get so big?”
Liam laughs. “When you weren’t looking.”
“That’s for sure.” Hannah walks over more slowly than Liam had.
Hannah points back to my car. “What happened to your tire?”
I wave a hand at the question. “I got a flat on the way here. No biggie.”
She pulls me to her in a hug and I feel a million memories wash over me in the space of a second. Hannah is more than my best friend. She’s the sister I never had and the closest thing to family I can count on. We’ve been forced to be long distance besties for so many years that we’ve basically perfected the art. But it doesn’t make it any less amazing when we finally get to see one another again.
“I missed you,” I say, giving her one last squeeze.
“Me too.”
Hannah looks around. “Where’s your bag?”
I force my face into a casual mask and wave away the question. “I’ll grab it later. I need to pee.”
Hannah laughs and makes a joke about my small bladder before hurrying to unlock the door. I head straight for the bathroom. I wasn’t lying about needing to pee. I’m also avoiding the conversation I know is coming once Hannah finds out my real reason for this surprise visit. I use the bathroom and wash my hands. Then I take several seconds to stare at my reflection and take a few calming breaths. My hair is contained in a tight bun as it had been for work this morning. It’s still in remarkably good shape, considering all that happened this morning. I avoid that line of thinking and go back to my reflection.
I wonder if I’m masking the strain well enough or if Hannah can see it under the make-up I put on to hide the circles under my eyes. I wonder if I’m having a panic attack or a mental breakdown. I lean in close, studying my pupils as though they might reveal some hidden secret. I sigh. In the end, it doesn’t matter what I look like. There’s no way I can avoid telling Hannah. I can’t stay in the bathroom forever. I’m just trying to put off the conversation as long as possible. When I open the bathroom door, it seems my time is up. Hannah stands there with her arms crossed over her chest and my car keys in her hand.
“I went to get your bag for you,” she says in a low voice. “But there isn’t one.” Her eyes narrow slightly. “Quinn, why did you come here today out of the blue? Why aren’t you at work? And why didn’t you pack anything?”
My vision blurs before I even realize that my eyes are filled with tears. Hannah’s arms come around me immediately, hugging me to her. She doesn’t know why I’m here or why I’m crying but she’s there for me anyway. That’s what family means.
“Shh,” she whispers. “It’s going to be okay.”
I shake my head, but no words come. No, I want to tell her. I don’t think you can fix this one for me. But I remain silent, crying into my best friend’s shoulder and wondering how I made such a mess of my life.
A word from Isla
I hate writing about myself. I hate it so much I decided not to do it for this book. I’ll just say that Isla Drake is a pen name that I decided to use so I could write all the dirty, smutty romance novels I want and not feel judged. I also write other types of books under my real name and this kind of separates the two.
I’ve had this idea bouncing around in my head for a few years, but I kept putting it on the back burner in favor of writing other, less smutty books. But 2020 was a bit of a shitshow and I decided to embrace the part of my brain that resides in the gutter. At first, I worried I wouldn’t be able to write the kind of things I love to read in some of my favorite st
eamy romance books. Turns out, I was wrong. Sometimes I blush as I sit alone in my office and write some of the naughty things these characters do, but it doesn’t stop me from writing them.
Now, about the King family. I wanted to write a story about a small town, a big family and finding love where you didn’t expect it. I think I pulled it off with Hannah and Finn. They’re two people who are so caught up in being there for the people they care about that they forget to look out for themselves. I did worry whether I could realistically write about a single mom finding love. It’s not something I’ve ever experienced, so I hope I did Hannah justice in this book.
I’m sure you can guess that the next book is about Quinn. I originally was going to write a totally different book for her and not until much later, but she kept popping up in my head and wouldn’t let me ignore her. I don’t know if you noticed, but she’s not the most subtle girl. She’s also having a bit of a hard time when we officially meet her in this epilogue. She’s a complex character who hasn’t always had the easiest time of things. I originally planned to match her up with one of the twins, but something about quiet, steady, serious Ronan called to me. He needs someone like Quinn in his life, even if he doesn’t realize it at first. And Quinn needs the sort of steadying presence that Ronan brings to the table. Of course, they’re both going to fight against it though. Neither of them is the sort to give in easily. Sparks are going to fly.
Anyway, I hope you guys love the King family and Oak Hill as much as I love writing them. Follow me on Facebook for updates.
Books In This Series
King Family Romance
Welcome to Oak Hill, North Carolina. It's a small tourist town on the coast where everyone seems to know everyone else and you can't throw a rock without hitting a King sibling. The King family is known to everyone in Oak Hill. Partly because of the tragic deaths of their parents when the youngest King was just 14 and partly because they own two of the most lucrative businesses in town.
Now the Kings are all grown up and finding love of their own. Each book in the King Family Romance series follows a different King sibling as they find love. Lots of steam, no cliffhangers and a guaranteed happily ever after at the end of each book. Don't miss out on this small-town steamy romance series.
Trusting a King
Am I losing my mind? I mean, probably not. Did I leave a 6 figure job with no notice and drive halfway across the state with no luggage and no plan for my future? Yeah, I might have done that.
Okay, so maybe I wasn't in my right mind. I panicked. I acted on impulse. That might also explain why I kissed the hot cop who stopped to help me change a flat tire. And holy hell, was it a kiss! But it's totally fine. I'll never see him again, right?
Wrong.
It turns out Ronan King--Mr. Hot Cop himself--is the brother of my best friend's boyfriend. And aside from being incredibly sexy in a uniform, having a handy ability to change a tire, and the sexiest mouth I've ever kissed, the man has no redeeming qualities that I can see. He's surly, uptight, boring and has zero sense of adventure. We couldn't be more opposite if we tried. When we're forced to work together while the happy couple goes out of town for two weeks, I worry we might just kill one another.
Living under the same roof with Ronan for 14 days will either help us finally get along or I'll smother him with a pillow in his sleep. Either way, I'm hoping it'll help me find a way to stop fantasizing about him.