Grand Lake Colorado Series
A Complete Small-Town Contemporary Romance Collection
Alexis Winter
Contents
My Crush’s Brother
Prologue
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
Epilogue
Hate You Forever
Whoever said forgive and forget never met Memphis Styles.
1. Jade
2. Memphis
3. Jade
4. Memphis
5. Jade
6. Memphis
7. Jade
8. Memphis
9. Jade
10. Memphis
11. Jade
12. Memphis
13. Jade
14. Memphis
15. Jade
Epilogue
Falling for the Sheriff
1. Nina
2. Bryce
3. Nina
4. Bryce
5. Nina
6. Bryce
7. Nina
8. Bryce
9. Nina
10. Bryce
11. Nina
12. Bryce
13. Nina
14. Bryce
15. Nina
Single Dad Dilemma
1. Violet
2. Carson
3. Violet
4. Carson
5. Violet
6. Carson
7. Violet
8. Carson
9. Violet
10. Carson
11. Violet
Epilogue
Billionaire’s Unexpected Bride SNEAK PEEK
Chapter 1
Also by Alexis Winter
About the Author
Copyright © 2020 by Alexis Winter - All rights reserved.
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In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.
Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.
Prologue
Pearl-6 years ago…
The day I met my best friend Trevor Winthrop was the day I fell in love with him. We were barely seven years old and on the playground during recess. I complimented his Empire Strikes Back T-shirt.
He threw a rock at my face.
Later, he apologized…or, rather, he showed up at my house with his mother forcing him to apologize. By then, I had developed quite a shiner, and I partially hid behind my mom so he couldn’t see it. A few years later in middle school, he confessed to me that he had a crush on me, and his friends had teased him about me. That’s why he threw the rock. I guess it was his way to prove to them that girls were nasty.
“I can’t believe you’re going all the way to Chicago for college. You totally bailed on our plan to study at UC Boulder.” I flop back on his bed, sending a pile of his neatly folded graphic T-shirts tumbling to the floor.
“Do you mind? I recall you saying you were going to help me pack, not make more of a mess,” he teases as he bends over to pick up the fallen shirts. I sit up and begin to refold the pile. I smile as I look through them. Each one tells a little story about a time and place.
“Hey, remember when we went and saw this movie?” I hold up the battered X-Files: I Want to Believe tee. “We bought fake IDs because we thought they’d toss our asses out!”
Trevor shakes his head and chuckles. “For the record, I wasn’t that worried, but you were so certain they would know we were only twelve, you had a constant line of upper lip sweat the two days leading up to the show.”
I wipe away tears of laughter at the memory. The attendant didn’t even ask for ID. He was barely sixteen, and I’m sure he couldn’t care less two twelve-year-olds were going to see a PG-13 movie.
There wasn’t a lot to do in our small town of Grand Lake, Colorado. We spent the majority of our time at the movies, one of our houses, or the local hobby shop looking for comic books we hadn’t yet read. With a population of just over 500, everybody knew everybody in this town.
Trevor and I had become inseparable after sixth grade. He had outgrown his shyness of being friends with a girl, and it certainly helped that I was just as big of a nerd as he was. We spent our summers building forts and pretending to hunt elk with our homemade bow and arrows. We’d swim in the lake and look at the stars at night as we lay out on my giant trampoline. No matter what was going on, Trevor could always make me laugh. He’d point out a cluster of stars and tell me some ridiculous story about how it was a recently discovered constellation in the shape of a donkey named asseus major. The truth is, though, he was incredibly smart. He would teach me all about space and black matter, how intricate our solar system was, and how insignificant it made him feel. I knew from a young age that Trevor was destined for great things.
“What are you thinking about?” I didn’t realize that I was lost in my memories, staring at the floor, an unfolded T-shirt wadded up in my hands. Apart from the few girlfriends he’d had in school growing up that took away his time, we’d spent almost every day together, and now, he is moving over a thousand miles away. To say I am struggling to cope would be an understatement.
“Oh, nothing. Just excited for you is all.” I try to choke back tears, but one escapes and trickles down my cheek.
“Hey, P, don’t be sad.” He wipes the tear away and pulls me in for a hug. I love that he calls me P. Nobody else does. “I know we always talked about going to college together, but the University of Chicago has one of the best mathematics and statistics programs in the country.”
I pull away from him and smile sincerely this time. “I know, Trev. I meant it when I said I’m happy for you. You’re way too damn smart to be stuck in this town. Besides, you’ll come home to visit and we can spend summers together. Hell, maybe I’ll get out to the big city and visit you.” I playfully punch his arm before making my way to his bedroom door.
“I promised my mom I’d be home to help her with canning some veggies from the garden. I’ll come to see you off tomorrow, I promise. Just promise me one thing…don’t forget about us here in the mountains when you make it big-time okay?” He laughs and shakes his head before I head out the door.
One
PEARL-PRESENT DAY
“Pearl, you’ve got a table of pissed off customers. They said they’ve been waiting twenty minutes for their beers!”
I roll my eyes at Delilah and grab a pitcher from the kitchen, walking over behind the bar to fill it from the beer tap.
“Well, maybe if someone wasn’t too busy ogling the local talent, I could get some damn help around here,” I practically shout as our bartender, Will, ignores me and tries his hardest to look down the top of a very well-endowed stranger he’s chatting with.
I drop the pitcher off at the table of pissed-off guys, apologizing and promising them it’s on the house. I make my way around to the rest of my customers and make sure everyone is happy...for the moment.
“Del, I am so sick of this shit.” I pull angrily at my apron string
s before pulling it over my head and taking a dramatic seat on a few empty crates in the back. “Why did I even go to college if all I am is a beer wench?”
“The problem isn’t that you went to college, sweetie. It’s that you came back to this shit hole town,” she says, not missing a beat as she plates four orders of country-fried steak and mashed potatoes. “We both know you had no business coming back here.”
“My mo—”
“And don’t you dare say your mama needed you, because this town takes care of its own. We would see to it that her needs were taken care of, and you know that.” She gives me a stern look before loading up her tray and backing her way out of the kitchen.
She’s right. I don’t want to admit it, but at the same time, this is my home. I love my small town. I have big dreams for it. I want to see more businesses come in and be successful. Of course, I hope they’ll also hire me as their marketing manager so I can get out of this rat-hole diner.
I let my chin sink down onto my hand, daydreaming about what life in Chicago is like for Trevor. I haven’t seen or heard from him in over two years.
All those plans we had about spending summers together never happened. He met a girl his first semester and spent every free minute with her family on the East Coast. Can’t say that I blame him.
He came back to town once after graduation, and he wasn’t the skinny nerd I’d fallen in love with all those years ago. He was a man, tall and built, with a thick mop of floppy brown hair that framed his sparkling green eyes perfectly. He looked like a damn model. I could see happiness radiating from him, and I knew he’d never end up back in Grand Lake. I was silly and naive for thinking nothing would change between us. I couldn’t deny the intense physical reaction I still had when I saw him. His voice, which had become thick and rich like molasses, sounded like it had dropped about two octaves.
We had agreed to meet up for drinks, and I was going to finally tell him how I felt. When he touched the small of my back as he walked me to my mom’s doorstep that night, I felt electricity between us. That’s when he told me he had something to tell me: he was engaged and permanently settling in Chicago. I felt my heart shatter into a million little pieces that night. I’ve lived with regret since then. Well, actually, I’ve lived with regret long before then too. I didn't want to break up his relationship. I just needed to tell him how I felt.
“Pearl!” Will shouting my name from the front of the restaurant startles me back to reality. I jump to my feet and retie my apron before shoving my way through the kitchen doors.
“What?” I snap back with my chin tucked against my chest as I finish tying the strings around my waist. I look up to a pair of piercing blue eyes, clear as the sky, staring back at me. Blake Winthrop, Trevor’s older brother. He has the same strong look but with an edge. His jaw is prominent, with a thick smattering of dark, almost black scruff. His hair is shiny and lays an inch or two past his collar. He reaches up a well-worn hand and rubs it gruffly against the side of his jaw, making an audible scratching sound like sandpaper.
“Oh, hey, Blake. What can I get you?” I stammer a little.
“My ma sent me. She wants you to come by the cabin office when you get off. What time can I tell her you’ll be by?” He doesn’t bother with pleasantries. Something I’m used to with him. We haven’t had a lot of conversations over the years, but I often saw him around his parents’ house when I was hanging out with Trevor. He terrified me as a kid. He was big, way bigger than Trevor. He had outgrown their dad by the time he was in eighth grade. I remember he always had a different girl around the house, usually out back in his parents’ hot tub, when they weren’t home.
“Uhh, for what, exactly?” I love their mom, but it is a little strange to have her beckon me over. Why not just call or text me?
“You’ll have to take that up with her. What time?” He shoves his hands deep into his Levi’s without breaking eye contact. I’m a grown-ass woman now and this man still intimidates me. His broad shoulders strain against the fabric of his flannel shirt. He’s the antithesis of Trevor and always has been. He was the star quarterback of the football team growing up. He always had a muscle car he was rebuilding and a big-boobed girl by his side.
My eyes catch a glimpse of the tip of his pink tongue as it darts out to lick across his full lips. I’ve always found him attractive—you’d have to be completely blind not to—
but seeing him standing in front of me right now, I notice things I hadn’t before, like the small thatch of curly dark hair at the base of his throat and the way small lines form around his eyes, giving him a distinguished, sexy appeal.
“Jesus Christ, woman. Are you having a seizure or what? I ain’t got all day.” He throws his hands up in the air, exacerbated, as I snap back to reality.
“Oh, uh, sorry…uh, I’m off at three, so I’ll swing by after.” I quickly turn and race back in the kitchen before the blush on my cheeks betrays me. What the hell was that?
By the time three o’clock rolls around, I’m itching to race over to the Winthrop’s cottages to see what Adele needs. Normally, I’d be worried, but Blake didn’t seem to have any concerns. Speaking of Blake, I wonder if he’ll be there too.
Since when do I care what Blake Winthrop is up to?
I pull my sputtering Beetle into the parking lot of the Grand Lake Cottages and make my way up the steps of the office. A neon VACANCY sign flickers a few times as I knock on the door before letting myself inside. “Knock, knock!”
Adele jumps up and pulls me into a tight hug before gesturing to a small table next to a chair. “Here, I have some tea and a snack for you. I know you’ve been hard at work on your feet all day. Take a seat.” I thank her before diving into the cookies and casually looking around to see if anyone else will be joining us.
“Well, I’ll get right to it, Pearl. I need your help.” She sits back behind the desk and gestures around the room. “We’ve slowly been losing business over the years, and I need a young millennial...is that what you kids are called? I need help with the Facebook and social me...—whatever it’s called. I know you went to school for that, so I’d like to bring you on.”
I can’t help but smile. I’ve been dying for the chance to actually use my degree and finally get away from waitressing.
“Now, before you get too excited, this is just part-time. I need help a few days a week, and maybe if you like it, we can talk about a full-time position if business gets busier.”
“Mrs. Winthrop, I would love to! I am beyond excited for this, so thank you!” I jump back up and pull her in for another tight hug.
“Well, that settles it, then. I’ll have you come in tomorrow and sit down with Blake. He can fill you in on everything.”
“Blake?” I say, trying to sound casual.
“Yes, he’s taking over the business now, so he’ll be your boss.” I swallow down a lump in my throat. Great. The Big Bad Wolf is my boss. “Oh, and before I forget, Trevor is coming back to town this weekend.”
“Really?” This time I can’t hide the excitement.
“Yeah, unfortunately. He broke up with his fiancée, but you didn’t hear that from me.”
Two
Blake
I’m not too excited about the idea of taking over my parents’ failing cabin rental business, and now I have to babysit my brother’s nerdy best friend in the process?
I climb into my truck and run my hands over my face, letting it sink for a moment. I’ve never been the golden child in my family. Even when I was the star quarterback and prom king, my parents were too focused on Trevor’s science fair projects and his accelerated classes. I’m not bitter or angry at Trevor, we always got along just fine, but I felt more like a second father to him rather than an older brother. The nine-year age gap and the fact that I always felt I had to protect him from bullies in school contributed to that. Growing up in a small town, our entire kindergarten through high school was all in one building.
The shrill ringing of my cel
l phone brings me back to reality. I answer it without even looking at the name. “Hello?”
“Hey, big brother. How’s it going? You sound like I caught you sleeping.”
“Hey, man. When you getting your ass back to town?” I jump back out of my truck and kick at the dirt on the ground.
“I’m actually in an Uber heading to the airport now. My flight gets in around eleven. I was hoping you could set up a cabin for me if there are any available?”
“Ha, yeah, you can have your pick of the litter. We currently have only two occupied, one by me.”
“The business is doing that bad, huh? Man, Mom didn’t let on it was that serious of a situation.” I could hear the worry in his voice.
“Yeah, she’s in denial. Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it under control. You just get your ass home and buy me a beer.” I don’t let on that I’m just as worried. After Dad passed, Mom tried her best, but she couldn’t keep up. I was around to fix things here and there, but my contracting business kept me away and on the road most of the time. It wasn’t until recently that I decided to put my business on hold and take over the cabins. I told my mom this was it. This was a last-ditch effort. If it failed, she needed to consider selling the business.
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