All His Lies (Manhattan Misters Book 2)

by Maya Hughes

  I triple-checked the map on my phone and pulled up to what had to be the biggest house on the street. I rolled my window down, cranking the handle, leaned out and hit the intercom button on the small box at the gate. A bead of sweat trickled down my back.

  "Yes?" The voice reminded me of something out of a movie. A butler or something. English. Snooty.

  "I'm here for Frankie." Please let this be the right place. Actually, scratch that. Please let this be the wrong place. Maybe she was one of the maid's kids. Lived on the property. Watered the lawn?

  "And who may--" The voice cut out.

  "Come on in, Grim. I'll be right out," she said, out of breath.

  The gate swung open, and I drove my car up the driveway, the engine growling the whole way. I drove past an open garage with at least eight cars in it. Cars I never thought I'd see in person, let alone know anyone who owned them.

  Never had I been more embarrassed by my hunk of junk. I grabbed my jacket off the passenger seat and hopped out of the car, buttoning it as I climbed the steps to the front door. Before I could even lift my hand, the door swung open.

  "Hey, Grim, you ready to go?" Frankie said, grabbing for the door handle behind her. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I'd never seen her like this before. Even in her overalls and anime t-shirts she was beautiful. In her normal clothes, she was warm summer days and lying out in a field full of flowers. Peaceful, tranquil and fun. But this was something else.

  The lavender, strapless dress hugged curves I thought were hiding under everything she wore, but hadn't ever let myself imagine. The top of the dress showed off cleavage that would be the envy of any girl tonight. There was a sparkly bit around her waist that made me want to wrap my hands around it. Her hair was down, wavy and flowing over her shoulders.

  I'd never seen her with her hair down. It was always tied up in a ponytail, braid or a messy bun with pencils sticking out of it. Earrings sparkled and shined in her ears, catching the light from the veranda. The short, flowing skirt did nothing to hide her amazing legs. And heels. Heels that made her almost the same height as me. I couldn't wait to take her out on the dance floor.

  Her smile would have lit up any room. I couldn't take my eyes off her. Before she could close the door, what seemed like a whole house-load of people came pouring out of the door with phones and cameras. And there was an actual photographer. I blanched, expecting a grilling session as her three brothers and dad stepped outside.

  "You must be Grim, we've heard so much about you," her dad said like a much taller, buffer version of Mr. Rogers. "Thanks so much for taking Frankie out. We didn't think she'd ever peel herself away from the computer for a dance." He smiled and pumped my hand up and down like I was doing them a favor by taking her out.

  "Dad," Frankie ground out through her teeth. I bit back a laugh. I liked them already.

  "Pictures. Pictures, who knows the next time you'll be in a dress, young lady," her mom said. At least I thought it was her mom. She could have been her sister from the look of her. They had the same light brown hair and dark brown, almond-shaped eyes.

  "Fine, Mom. You get exactly six minutes for pictures." Frankie pulled her phone out, set a timer and slid it into the pocket inside my suit jacket. Her fingers grazed my chest through my shirt and she winked at me. Fuck! I locked my hands in front of my crotch and started thinking of everything in the world to keep things under control. Getting a boner in front of her whole family was not how I wanted to start this evening off.

  Six minutes to the second, I escorted Frankie down the steps to my car. As if parking it in the school parking lot day in and day out didn't make me feel shitty enough about this clunker, escorting her to it, made embarrassment crawl in my stomach. She deserved so much better than this.

  "Cool car," she said, beaming at me. We hadn't hung out much outside of school, and I always stayed late for football practice, so she'd never seen it before.

  "Thanks," I grumbled, closing the door once she sat down. She waved to her family, all standing at the top of the steps. Her brothers were wrestling beside her parents, but they all waved back.

  My engine rocked and rumbled as I drove back down the elevated driveway. If she cared, she didn't show it. While I drove, all she could talk about was some new sci-fi show she was watching. Like Doctor Who, but not. That was about the only thing I understood. I tried to keep up with her, but she was speaking a mile a minute. Whatever the show was, I wanted to hear more. Her passion for it came shining through. I don't think I'd ever been as excited about anything, other than football, in my life.

  "And you've got to understand that it's all about the exploration and improvement of interspecies relationships. It is such an interesting look into what society could achieve in only a couple centuries." She peered over at me. "Grim?"

  "Yeah?"

  "The light's green," she said, pointing out the windshield. I glanced up and threw the car into drive, cars behind us honking. She kept right on talking, and there were a couple more lights where she had to tap my arm to get my attention to the green light in front of us. Her touch sent the simmer of desire for her even higher.

  Tonight was going to change everything.

  Frankie and Grim’s history boils over in All His Regrets! Their enemies-to-lovers story is ready for you to dive in.

  Read All His Regrets TODAY!! Free in KU!

  Thank you so much for spending a little bit of time with Killian and Rachel. Their story was always a bit complicated for me and I loved how much her love changed him. There are so many ways it can soften those sharp edges and show people what’s really important.

  For a little bit more time with Rachel and Killian, be sure to check out their extended epilogue HERE! :-)

  And make sure you don’t miss Dahlia and Ivan’s story in Under His Ink, which is available now!

  Also by Maya Hughes

  Kings of Rittenhouse

  Kings of Rittenhouse - FREE

  Shameless King - Enemies to Lovers

  Reckless King - Off Limits Lover

  Ruthless King - Second Chance Romance

  Misters

  All His Secrets - Single Dad Romance

  All His Lies - Revenge Romance

  All His Regrets - Second Chance Romance

  Under His Series

  Under His Ink - Second Chance Romance

  Breaking Free Series

  Blinded - Second Chance Secret Baby Romance

  Mixed - Enemies to Lovers Romance

  Served - Enemies to Lovers Romance

  Rocked - Rockstar Romance

  Standalone

  Passion on the Pitch - Sports Romance

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