by Jenn Sable
El gasped, “I knew it, you beast!” she cried.
“Oh, shut up, El. All you self-entitled bitches are the same. How about this? I’ll shoot your boy toy as my way of saying thanks for not knowing where Winnie is any of her fucking bank account numbers. This whole trip has been a complete waste of time. Or, has my little proposition helped to jog your memory?
El started to cry. “I don’t know any of those fucking bank account numbers. Please, don’t hurt him! I love him!”
Heavy footsteps were coming down the hall now. Devin’s eyes widened, and he leveled his gun at me and barked, “Don’t you fucking move,” then ducked his head around the corner and quickly pulled himself back into the office.
“I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but I think I’ve had enough fun for one day. Sorry, trooper, but now I need to shoot you to make sure things go as plannedーnothing personal.
Devin leveled his gun at my chest, and El screamed.
A sickening thud resounded through the room, and then Devin’s tall frame pitched forward and fell like a downed tree. He landed flat on his face.
Standing in the doorway was Everett Probst carrying a bloody shovel. “Did I get him?” he asked.
“Everett, you clobbered him,” I sputtered, in total shock.
“I told you; I take care of what needs to be taken care of.”
El and I gaped at the old man. “Everett, how in the world did you get here?”
He cleared his throat. “Drove my old truck. It backfired about half-way up your lane. I’m surprised you didn’t hear it.”
Police sirens sounded outside as several cruisers sped up the inn’s lane. I turned to El and finished cutting her free from the chair, and she flew into my arms and started crying.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. We’re okay,” I soothed, rubbing my hand in slow, wide circles on her back.
El tightened her grip around my waist. “I thought. For a second, I thought... I was going to lose you, and I couldn’t imagine waking up in a world without you in it,” she said, choking back tears.
I pressed my forehead against hers. “I’m right here, El. I’ll always be right here.”
Epilogue - One Year Later - Eloise
“And that, ladies, is how you awaken your feminine fire!” said Tula, and thunderous applause filled the parlor.
I stood in the far corner of the room, observing women from Frost Forest, Axe Hollow, Bloombury, a few newcomers from Clear Creek, and our special guest, just in from Paris, Winifred Langley, all standing to give our resident sex therapist, the magnificent Tula Cooper Parks, a standing ovation. A year ago, I’d never would’ve thought I'd have been able to turn the Lamplight Teahouse into a local hot spot. I was thankful that Office Bob Herr had made a full recovery and that Devin Sharpe was behind bars. I felt safe. And very loved, becoming Winnie’s tea heiress had come as a shock and had its own set of challenges, but all my needs in life were met. I didn’t need to marry a Bloombury millionaire, I became a Frost Forest heiress instead. I was surrounded by my loving and supportive sisters and was lucky enough to spend every night in the arms of my handsome, protector, Troy.
Chloe Rosen caught my eye from the other side of the room and gave me a big thumbs up and a wide smile, before she snapped a few pictures from various angles to upload to our website and to use for new ads. Sammie and the twins cheered the loudest, but it was my heart that was filled with the most love and gratitude. Especially when two strong arms wrapped around me from behind, pulling me against a warm, muscled chest and a smooth, masculine voice whispered, “Honeysuckle, I can’t wait to hear what you learned tonight.”
Smiling, I looked up over my shoulder, and Troy gazed down at me with a very peculiar look on his face. “Hmm, what’s that look for? I don’t know that one.” I murmured.
“Once the house is empty, I have a surprise for you,” said Troy, his eyes sparkled.
I arched an eyebrow. “Oh? And where might I be receiving this surprise?”
Troy’s storm-colored eyes held mine, and my heart started beating faster when a slow half-smile appeared on his handsome face. “In the kitchen.”
“I can hardly wait,” I murmured.
Troy took both of my hands in his and raised them to press kisses onto the backs of my knuckles. “Oh, there’s a dress code for the event.”
I arched a brow. “Really?”
He nodded and gave me a sexy smirk. “Pajamas only.”
I laughed, and he winked before turning away to climb the steps to our bedroom. I watched him climb, loving the way his muscled frame moved with assured confidence. That was my man, my love, and my protector.
“Here, El, something to wipe the drool.”
I turned to find Sammie pressing a dainty cloth napkin into my hand.
I gave my big sister a smug grin. “I don’t even care. He does make me drool!”
Sammie laughed and pulled me into her arms for a quick hug. “Let me squeeze you before I take the twins to the lodge with me tonight.”
“Thank you for coming to Feminine Fire,” I said.
Sammie’s brows raised. “Are you kidding, thank you! And don’t be surprised if you get a thank you card in the mail from Owen now that I’ll be walking through the door tonight fully grounded in my feminine power!”
We laughed, and Sammie turned to go, but quickly looked back. “Oh, and you’re still available next week to go with me to the doctor? Owen feels terrible that he and Zach will be out of town. I told him that this was going to happen; there are so many fertility treatment appointments, and the schedule is so strict.”
“Of course, always,” I said.
Sammie smiled. “Thanks, sis. I love you,” she said and put her fingertips to her lips and blew me an air kiss.
“I love you, too,” I said, overjoyed that my big sister was allowing me to support her through this journey.
Once the house was quiet and all the guests had left this evening’s Feminine Fire session, I meandered toward the noises I heard coming from the kitchen. Troy was clanging dishes, and I heard the introduction to Bad Company’s “Feel Like Making Love” blasting on the radio. Troy was grooving in some pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. He caught my eye and started along to the lyrics while gently guiding me back out of the kitchen.
“What’s going on in there?” I asked, smiling.
“Baby, when I think about you,” Troy sang, pinning me with his sexy, smoldering eyes.
“What are you making at this hour of the night?”
“I think about love,” he continued, ignoring my question but allowing his eyes to positively undress me, I started to feel the heat rise through my chest.
“You’re so funny,” I giggled.
“Darling, don’t live without you and your love.” He started moving his shoulders.
“Troy Witmer, are you trying to seduce me with your dance moves?”
He wagged his brows. “One hundred percent, yes. Now, go put on your pajamas so you can join my dance party.” Troy turned me around to face the stairs and playfully smacked my ass to encourage me to start marching toward the steps.
The kitchen door, which was always open, was closed when I walked downstairs in my teal pajama pants and a soft gray T-shirt. I’d pulled back my hair into a loose ponytail and opted for no bra. I turned Troy into a hungry wolf each time he saw my peaked nipples push at the fabric of my shirt and knew he was only one thin layer away from soft, squeezable mounds that loved his touch.
I playfully knocked on the kitchen door. Troy appeared seconds later and spoke through the closed door. “Eloise Evans, are you in your pajamas?”
“Yes, I promise I’m in my pajamas,” I laughed.
Troy swung open the kitchen door and welcomed me into a sigh-worthy scene of glowing candles, soft music drifting through the air, and the delicious aroma of hot cocoa. Troy’s eyes connected with mine, and his smile immediately turned hungry when he swept his gaze over me from head to toe and kept glancing and lingering on my b
reasts.
“And here I thought I was going to be one doing the seducing tonight, yet you just show up, and I’m putty,” he murmured and took me in his arms.
I smirked. “What are you talking about?”
He buried his nose in my hair. “God, you smell so good. What is that?”
“Soap?”
“It can’t be, I’ve never wanted to eat soap before,” he said, cupping my face.
“Did you invite me into the kitchen to eat me?”
We locked eyes, and then both started laughing. “Well fuck, now I am thinking about it. I did clear the table, and if I kneel and you lean back and rest your thighs on my shoulders . . .”
I swatted him on the chest. “Troy Witmer!”
“Sorry, you make me... feel things,” he said and smiled boyishly.
“Well, speaking of smelling things, do I smell my mom’s hot cocoa bubbling away?”
Troy inhaled and puffed out his chest a fraction of an inch. “Yes, you do. I have been practicing when you go out, and I think you are going to be impressed. Here, sit, please.” Troy walked me over to the kitchen table and pulled a chair out.
Two fresh mugs of hot cocoa with a thick coating of fresh whipped cream sat on the table between us, and I was speechless. “Fresh whipped cream?”
Troy smiled and nodded. “Yeah, do you like it?”
“I love it. What’s the occasion?” I asked.
“The occasion is knowing that my happiest moments are spent with you,” he said.
Breath caught in my throat and a warm tingly feeling nestled low in my stomach. “Oh?”
He nodded. “Yeah, and the craziest thing is that I’ve known that for a long time now. I might have always known.”
Breathe. Then, keep breathing. I tucked a few curls behind my ears.
Troy smiled as he watched me. “El, every time I drink cocoa late at night, dance in a kitchen, hell, light a lantern, give a foot rub, open my arms for a hug, bare my soul, face a challenge, make love, and make a life . . . I want it to be with you.”
I couldn’t speak. Words sat in the back of my throat, but tears rushed forward in their place.
Troy slid one large hand across the table, and I slid one hand half-way to meet his.
“I want it to be with you too,” I said, blinking back tears.
“Eloise Evans, will you marry me?”
“Yes.”
Troy stood and pulled me into his strong, warm arms. “Did I hear you say...”
“Yes.”
He pressed his forehead to mine. “Again.”
“Yes.”
“Always?” he asked.
“Yes.”
THANK YOU FOR JOINING me for the first of my three book Evans Sisters stand-alone series! Once again, I hope that you’ll continue to spend the summer in Frost Forest and fall in love alongside each sister.
Don’t miss the next Evans Sisters Series novel, My Heart’s Guardian, where Rose is swept off her feet by Clear Creek’s favorite soldier, Colton Stone in a sweet and steamy novel with themes of: fake relationship, best friend’s big brother, military romance set in a small town that has a slow burn that builds up to heated passion with a sigh-worthy happily ever after! Follow me on Facebook so you don’t miss it!
Love always,
Jenn Sable – Author
[email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/jennsableauthor
Accidentally Perfect, Brocker Brothers Novel 1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083HBYQBY
SHE NEEDS CASH AND I want the property she just inherited. It’s perfect.
Except for the troublesome ironclad will that none of us knew about! No problem, one fake trip down the aisle will solve all our problems. What’s the worst that could happen?
Billionaire Ryan Brocker thought his fake marriage to an old childhood friend was a brilliant, no feelings attached, business move. An accidental pregnancy was not part of the plan, neither was falling in love.
Ryan can stoke the embers of a woman's desire from across a crowded room with his unwavering gaze and arrogant smirk alone. He is the king of seduction without attachment.
When an important business deal causes a long-forgotten childhood friend, Kristin Tice, to come back to the small town of Clear Creek he isn't expecting her to wreak havoc on his carefully guarded heart.
He thought he knew how to keep his composure . . . until his impostor bride's honey-brown eyes start haunting him, her soft curves make his fingertips itch to touch her, and the sound of her full-throated laugh causes his body to tighten with need.
For the first time in his life, Ryan is the one trying to get a woman to fall for him. Can he turn this pleasurable hoax into something real or will she vanish with his heart this time?
IF YOU LOVE A SWEET AND STEAMY ROMANCE THEN READ THIS SIZZLING STAND-ALONE FROM MY BILLIONAIRE SERIES.
IT HAS AN ALPHA BILLIONAIRE WITH THEMES OF FAKE MARRIAGE, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, ACCIDENTAL PREGNANCY, AND SMALLTOWN ROMANCE WITH AN INDEPENDENT FEMALE LEAD, NO CLIFF-HANGERS, AND A HEARTWARMING HEA!
SCROLL UP AND BUY NOW WITH 1 CLICK TO START READING THIS SERIES TODAY!
Accidentally Mine, Brocker Brothers Novel 2
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084C49FDB
How did I end up becoming the protector of my best friend’s grumpy, little sister from the world’s biggest douchebag?
I have a company to run and women to chase . . . except now I have to keep my eyes on, and my hands off, the feisty, drop-dead gorgeous Allison Clark so I can protect her from guys like me.
The last time our eyes connected though, I started wondering how I had missed her growing up into a golden goddess.
Now she has me wrapped around her little finger.
It’s madness, all of it. If I don’t figure out a way to resist Allie there will be hell to pay.
But I see the way she looks at me. I see the way she bites her lip when I’m around.
I know a lifelong friendship and is on the line, but I have to make her mine.
DO YOU WANT TO CURL UP WITH A HEART-MELTING SLOW BURN? THEN READ THIS SWEET AND STEAMY BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE FROM MY BROCKER BROTHERS SERIES OF STAND ALONES WITH A SEXY ALPHA PROTECTOR AND THEMES OF ENEMIES TO LOVERS, BIG BROTHERS BEST FRIEND, AND AN INDEPENDENT HEROINE IN A SMALLTOWN ROMANCE WITH NO CLIFF-HANGERS AND A SIGH-WORTHY HAPPILY EVER AFTER! FIND IT IN THE KINDLE STORE OR READ FOR FREE IN KINDLE UNLIMITED TODAY!
Accidentally Devoted, Brocker Brothers Novel 3
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084T5PR7M
GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD neighbors, not printing false accusations in the paper. I don't know who this pretty little tree hugger thinks she's talking about, but I’m not the devil this vixen has made me out to be.
I can be friendly. Even charming, I’m told.
I’m a powerful billionaire whose family runs this small town. When it comes to business, I'm the boss, and I get what I want. Now, I want her.
They call me the Prince of Clear Creek, but Samantha Evans calls me evil.
She thinks running a fake smear campaign against me is going to stop me from building on the land next to her nature-loving, bird-watching inn.
Wrong.
Clearly, she doesn’t know anything about me.
Yet.
But she will, because I just made reservations.
IF YOU LOVE A SIZZLING SLOW BURN THEN READ THIS SWEET AND STEAMY BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE FROM MY BROCKER BROTHERS SERIES OF STAND ALONES WITH A SEXY CEO, ALPHA PROTECTOR AND THEMES OF ENEMIES TO LOVERS, AN OLDER MAN WITH A YOUNGER WOMAN, SMALLTOWN ROMANCE WITH NO CLIFF-HANGERS AND, OF COURSE, A HAPPILY EVER AFTER! SCROLL UP AND BUY NOW WITH 1 CLICK OR READ ON KINDLE UNLIMITED TODAY!
Accidentally Yours, Brocker Brothers Novel 4
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086BRPDM2
FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE it, they say.
What was I thinking when I agreed to be in a fake relationship with our small-town’s smoking hot, billionaire bad boy, Mason Brocker?
&nbs
p; I've known and hated him forever, but the truth is, we have what the other needs.
I’m perfect, he’s not and needs me for social clout.
He’s rich and has a big empty building that my nonprofit desperately needs.
This for that. Done.
Except . . .
We can’t keep our hands off each other.
And our white-hot desire for one another is scorching more than our sheets.
This fake relationship is burning down my long held doubts about Mason and kindling feelings of something else entirely.
At the end of this passionate game of pretend will we be brave enough to take a chance at being real partners, lovers . . . parents?
IF YOU LOVE A SWEET AND STEAMY ROMANCE THEN READ THIS SIZZLING STAND-ALONE FROM MY BILLIONAIRE SERIES.
IT HAS AN ALPHA BAD BOY WHO IS A PROTECTOR AND HAS THEMES OF ENEMIES TO LOVERS, ACCIDENTAL PREGNANCY, AND SMALLTOWN ROMANCE WITH AN INDEPENDENT FEMALE LEAD, NO CLIFF-HANGERS, AND A HEARTWARMING HAPPILY EVER AFTER!
Accidentally Divine, Brocker Brothers Novel 5
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087YTN1S8
AN INNOCENT, LATE-NIGHT dessert turned into a delicious taste of what’s on the other side of friendship.
I'm a young billionaire who has long denied my feelings for my friend, Chloe Rosen. She’s my favorite sidekick and BFF. She’s also officially off-limits, but that doesn’t stop me from fantasizing about her. I’m only human, after all.
Too bad everyone knows that love rarely lasts and romance kills friendships, right?
We agreed to bend the rules, just for one night. We needed to satisfy our curiosity and to cut some of the sweet, pent up tension.
But there was no going back to normal since that night. I refused to cave into feelings fueled by desire. Yet, I lost Chloe somehow, even while trying to preserve our friendship.