The Hookup
Page 1
Table of Contents
Title Page
Author’s Note
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
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Epilog
Booklist
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Copyright
The Hookup
(Indecent Intentions, Book 2)
Lily Zante
Text copyright © 2018
Lily Zante
All Rights Reserved
Author’s Note
The Hookup, (#2, Indecent Intentions), is a spin-off from the from The Billionaire’s Love Story (a contemporary romance serial with 9 instalments)
This book is a STANDALONE romance, and while you don’t need to have read any of The Billionaire’s Love Story, or The Bet, (#1, Indecent Intentions), it might enhance your reading experience if you do, since most of the characters in this book appeared in that series first.
The Billionaire’s Love Story:
The Gift, Book 1
The Gift, Book 2
The Gift, Book 3
The Gift, Boxed Set (Books 1, 2 & 3)
The Offer, Book 1
The Offer, Book 2
The Offer, Book 3
The Offer, Boxed Set (Books 1, 2 & 3)
The Vow, Book 1
The Vow, Book 2
The Vow, Book 3
The Vow, Boxed Set (Books 1, 2 & 3)
Indecent Intentions:
The Bet
The Hookup
Look out for my other contemporary romance series books:
Honeymoon Series:
Honeymoon For One
Honeymoon For Three
Honeymoon Blues
Honeymoon Bliss
Baby Steps
Honeymoon Series Boxed Set (Books 2, 3 & 4)
Italian Summer Series: (A spin-off from the Honeymoon Series)
It Takes Two
All That Glitters
Fool’s Gold
Roman Encounter
November Sun
New Beginnings
Italian Summer Series Boxed Set (Books 2, 3 & 4)
Perfect Match Series:
Lost In Solo (prequel)
The Proposal
Heart Sync
A Leap of Faith
Perfect Match Boxed Set (Prequel, plus Books 2 & 3)
Tainted Love Series: (A spin-off from the Perfect Match Series)
Misplaced Love
Reclaiming Love
Embracing Love
Tainted Love Boxed Set (Books 1, 2 & 3)
An Ordinary Hero
Standalone books:
Love, Inc
An Unexpected Gift
Chapter 1
“Are you crazy? Ten thousand dollars?” Luke’s voice echoed disbelief.
“That’s right. Ten thousand dollars that I can get that girl into my bed,” his friend declared.
“I don’t want you to do anything stupid,” Luke warned. He didn’t like the sound of this. Flirting with a woman was one thing, but placing a $10K bet in order to get her into bed? That was insane. Even he didn’t play that dirty. He looked at Xavier as if he’d lost all commonsense.
“All above board, dude,” his friend replied with a cocky grin. “I don’t ever use force. She’ll want it by the time I’m finished with her.”
“Ten thousand?” Luke blinked again.
“You called it.”
“No, you called it.”
Xavier Stone was unbelievable. He threw money around like confetti, and he could be a real dick sometimes. Luke—even if he didn’t respect women the way most men should—even he wouldn’t stoop so low as to place a bet to get someone into his bed.
Women, dating, sex, relationships; these things were of no importance to him, and often the order in which they came into his life wasn’t worthy of much thought. He would never waste time on shit like that. But building his business and his real estate empire? That took all of his time and energy.
Xavier’s problem was that he needed to be wanted.
Whereas Luke didn’t give a shit about these things.
“You provoked me,” Xavier asserted.
“Didn’t realize your esteem was so fragile,” Luke threw back at him. But he also felt sorry for the guy. It couldn’t be easy being a younger brother to Tobias Stone—the Wall Street genius who could do no wrong.
“It’s not,” Xavier shot back.
What was the point of even discussing this? Xavier had clearly made up his mind, and he would no doubt spend the next few months chasing this poor girl until she gave in. Still, Luke didn’t like the sound of this. He liked Izzy—she was the au pair to Jacob, Tobias’s new step-son as of this morning. The billionaire hedge-fund owner had married the boy’s mother, here on his idyllic, private island in Fiji. Luke’s job, as the owner of one of the most popular and upscale bars in New York, had been to take care of the drinks for the four-day wedding extravaganza.
“Is there a time limit to this crazy bet?”
“A month,” Xavier replied.
“What if she’s already got a boyfriend?” he asked, hoping to throw Xavier off the crazy idea. Izzy seemed nice enough, and he didn’t like the idea of Xavier hitting on someone as naïve as her. She was pleasant, and nothing like the usual airheads Xavier ended up with.
“She hasn’t. I overheard her talking to Savannah. Anyway, are you chickening out now?”
“No.” Luke eyed him for the longest time, knowing that his chances for dissuading Xavier were slim. “A month doesn’t seem like enough time, and I’d hate for you to do something stupid.”
“I’m not going to do anything stupid. I don’t know what you take me for.”
An idiot, thought Luke, but he didn’t say anything. Xavier didn’t think with his brain, he thought with his dick, and Luke hoped some other tall, thin and vacuous distraction would come along and make Xavier ditch his bet.
“Three months, then, if it makes you feel better,” said Xavier, exhaling loudly as if he was irritated. “But I doubt I’ll need that long. Watch and learn, dude. Watch and learn.”
“You’re an idiot,” Luke declared, wishing that Xavier would go to bed before he came up with any more hair-brain ideas. “Listen, buddy. How about you go straight to bed alone? Try it. You might like it. And when you wake up in the morning you’ll see what a stupid idea this was.”
“It’s not a stupid idea.”
This was debatable, but arguing about it wouldn’t change a thing. Instead, he seized Xavier’s empty glass. “Bed,” he said, forceful
ly, but with a smile.
“Dude,” said Xavier, sliding off the bar stool. “I’m going to wake up in the morning and show you how easily it’s done.”
“I look forward to watching a grand master at work.”
“Jeez,” said Xavier, rising to his feet unsteadily. “How many fucking tequilas did you give me?”
“I told you enough was enough, but you wouldn’t listen. You’ve had too much, so do me a favor, pal, and go to bed.”
Xavier placed his hand around his stomach.
“And don’t go throwing up here,” Luke complained, walking towards his friend in case he toppled over.
“I’m fine,” Xavier replied. “Jeez. I’m going straight to bed.”
“Alone,” Luke reiterated.
Xavier walked away, raising his hand up, whether to signify that he was fine, or that he was going or what, Luke didn’t know. But he stood there watching, checking to see that Xavier walked towards the main villa, and didn’t detour towards any women nearby.
The idiot. Luke loved the guy like a brother, but there was a world of difference between him and Xavier, even though they both had older brothers. But that was where the similarity ended.
The Stone brothers were different, and even though Xavier seemed eclipsed by Tobias’s success, the two brothers seemed to have a decent enough relationship.
The Hunters were different. There was no love lost between him and that idiot brother of his. Luke had stopped giving a shit about Travis Hunter years ago. His brother could go and burn in the same raging hell he hoped his father would end up in one day.
A vibration in the back pocket of his jeans alerted him, and he fished out his cell phone.
Marie.
He smiled, then glanced at his watch. She was in early today, taking care of things at The Oasis, one of his clubs in New York. She had no fixed start and finish times, but she always did her hours and often worked overtime, too. A single mom with two teenage children, she was probably his closest confidante, as far as the business went.
“Early shift today?” he asked, raising his hand to let the other bartenders know he was taking a call.
“Yes. Is this a good time? I don’t want to interrupt the party or anything.”
He walked away from the bar towards a quieter part of the beach. Over the other side, it was still busy. Tobias and Savannah’s wedding had finished hours ago, and it was almost midnight, but the party was still in full swing and showed no signs of ending soon.
“It’s as good a time as any. The party isn’t going to wind down yet.”
“It’ll be a long night, then?”
He looked around at the guests who were everywhere. “Nobody’s going to bed yet.” Although he hoped Xavier had heeded his advice.
“How was the wedding?” Marie asked.
“Great.”
“Care to share any details? Photos even?”
“Not really. You know weddings aren’t my thing.” Fuck weddings.
“It was wasted on you.”
“I’m here to work, not watch the wedding. Tobias is happy with our service and that’s all that matters.”
“You should have sent me,” said Marie.
“Then Tobias might not have been as thrilled with our service.”
She tut-tutted loudly. “I would have done a stellar job, and you know it.”
He couldn’t argue with that.
“And, I could have told you what everyone was wearing, and how they were behaving, and ensured our service was stellar,” Marie added, a boastful tone to her voice
“I have no doubt.”
“So, uh … did Savannah have any single girlfriends? Did you meet anyone nice?”
And there it was. Marie fishing for information. While she might have been interested in the particulars of the wedding, he knew where her real interest lay. “I wasn’t looking,” he replied, gruffly. “I was there to work.”
“It must have been beautiful?” Marie persisted.
“It was.” But he was here to ensure that the drink flowed freely, and he’d done that.
As far as weddings went, this one had been spectacular. Nothing ostentatious, or over-the-top crass, but beautiful, but he wasn’t about to tell Marie that. “You didn’t call to ask about the wedding, did you?”
“I wouldn’t waste my time. Besides, you can tell me everything when you get back. Rumor has it that a new site on Canal Street is going to come on the market in a couple of weeks.”
Canal Street? “I want it.” He had been on the lookout for a building to come up for sale in Tribeca. A bar or club there would never fail.
“I haven’t told you anything about it, yet,” Marie protested.
“You don’t have to. I still want it.”
“Even if it’s got mold and subsidence?”
“Problems can be fixed.” A bar on Canal Street would be a major achievement. Not bad for a guy who had yet to turn thirty in three years’ time. He’d already shown his father that he could cope on his own; he’d been doing so ever since he’d been thrown out of the family home at seventeen and had moved in with Travis.
Three years later, after he and Travis fell out over a girl, he left his brother’s apartment, too.
“I knew you’d be interested. I’ll look out for it and arrange a viewing as soon as it’s available.”
“Thanks.”
Marie was a godsend. Who else would he have left in charge in his absence? It was only because of her that he had been able to go to a private island for a few days, effectively becoming one of the highest paid mixologists in New York, albeit temporarily.
“Everything running smoothly?” he asked, swatting what was probably a mosquito at the back of his shoulder.
“Of course.”
“Anything else I need to know about?”
“You’ve only been gone a few days. Relax,” Marie told him. “The Oasis isn’t about to collapse. It’s in my capable hands.”
“I know. That’s why I left you in charge.”
“Be good,” she said.
“I’m always good.”
“That’s debatable.” She chuckled and hung up, leaving him with a grin on his face.
No matter what, he intended to get this new place, even if it meant he’d have to pay through the nose for it. Canal Street was prime real estate. Anything he set down there—a bar and club similar to The Oasis and The Vault—would make money, hand over fist. If he managed to get it, the Canal Street site would be another jewel in his empire and after that, maybe he would have a similar operation in Miami in the summer, and LA at the end of next year.
He looked up, startled by the sound of a kid laughing. Really, really laughing.
Jacob, Tobias’s new step-son, was walking along the beach with his nanny, Izzy, following behind him with a cocktail in her hand.
She smiled as she walked up to him. “They let you escape from your bar?” she asked, moving the brightly colored cocktail umbrella out of the way, before lifting the glass to her lips.
“I had to take a call.” He liked Izzy. She was cool. Easy-going and friendly, but not in an obvious want-to-get-to-know-you better way. She didn’t strike him as the kind of girl who had ulterior motives, and in his line of work he’d seen plenty of that around; sexy young women on the arms of Wall Street banker boys flashing their plastic cards.
“What’s that?” he asked, curious.
“A Mockmosa, at least that’s what the other bartender told me.”
“Ah.” Mimosa but without the alcohol.
“It’s not as tasty as the one you whipped up yesterday.”
“Come over to the bar,” he offered, “and I’ll make you another one.” But Izzy was watching Jacob who had wandered over to the tables where Tobias and Savannah were sitting.
“No thank you, this one will keep me going. Jacob’s insisting that he wants to stay up all night, but I don’t think so.”
“He might surprise you.” The kid looked happy enough, though he was
rubbing his eyes now and sitting on Tobias’s lap.
“He’s like one of those battery charged bunnies,” she said. “I’ve never seen him this high before.”
“Looks to me as if he’s fighting his sleep.”
“You could be right,” Izzy agreed. “I’d better go get him. I’ll have one of your cocktails tomorrow, maybe.”
“You know where to find me.”
“I sure do,” she answered, “Goodnight.” For a brief moment he was thrown into a quandary. Should he tell her about Xavier’s bet? But his loyalty to his friend reared its head and prevented him. He just hoped that Xavier would forget about the ridiculous idea by the time he woke up tomorrow.
“’Night,” he said, his eyes fixed on Tobias and his step-son. It was obvious that Tobias was going to make a great dad. Luke couldn’t remember the last time he’d spoken to his father, and was certain he’d never had such close contact as that.
Sitting on his father’s lap? Never. The only reason he knew the bastard was still alive was because his sister would have called immediately to tell him that he’d passed away.
Luke wasn’t so sure he’d be too upset by the news. He could never forgive. Some things were etched on his mind like markings in stone. Hard to shift, hard to erase, impossible to forget.
He preferred to forget, and sometimes, he managed to. Raking his hand through his hair, he looked over at the dance floor and to see Tobias leading Savannah towards the middle of the floor.
He had to hand it to them, they made a nice couple, and maybe they would end up being happy forever. He wondered if his mother had had the same dreams on her wedding day.
Romance was an illusory illness. Some recovered from it, some didn’t.
His sister hadn’t learned a damn thing. Her head was filled with ideas for her second wedding, and she was all loved up and living on cloud nine, again. Amanda constantly told him he needed to enjoy life, to not work, work, work all the time. But, what did she know?
Something knotted in the pit of his stomach, and he steeled himself for the inevitable family gathering.
Chapter 2
“What a beautiful couple,” Kay’s mother remarked, her face lighting up with pride and admiration. For a moment Kay thought she was going to cry.