Park stiffened. “You want to send Ty out there to check on him? He’s closest.”
She took her messenger bag from him and tucked it over her shoulder. “Give it a little more time. I’m sure he’s fine. Probably just living it up.”
“Or nursing his broken heart because she left him again.”
Her jaw dropped. She hadn’t thought of that.
“Just saying.”
“Yeah, call Ty.”
“I will, but first…” He went down on one knee.
“Aah!” she shrieked in the second girly scream of her life. A cheer went up nearby and she turned to see her friends on the other side of the large picture window, watching, bright eyed and eager. She turned back to Park. “Yes.”
He smiled, his hazel eyes warm and tender. “Let me ask you the question first.”
“I worship you.”
He chuckled. “I worship you too. Will you be my wife so I can do that for the rest of my life?”
“Yes!”
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a round diamond ring and slid it on her finger.
She stared at it. “Where did you get this?”
“LA.” He rose in one fluid motion and held her ring hand between his two large hands. He smiled into her eyes. “Do you like it?”
“Yes!” the women hollered through the window.
She looked at her friends, grinned, and turned back to Park. “It’s unanimous. Yes.”
And then her friends rushed out the front door to hug and congratulate them both. It was a little nuts with all their jumping-up-and-down enthusiasm. Hailey was so thrilled they got to witness the proposal she promptly made Park an honorary book club member. There was really no polite way to say no.
Epilogue
“Boxers, briefs, or boxer briefs?” Hailey asked. Once again she was digging for the nitty-gritty at the Happy Endings Book Club meeting.
The women leaned in. Except Mad, who rolled her eyes and crossed her black work boots over each other.
“Boxer briefs,” Park answered honestly.
Hailey scribbled that down in a notebook.
Park was the token male, honorary book club member, and her devoted fiancé. It was Mad’s spring break and she’d finally, after much prodding on Hailey’s part, dragged Park along to book club. He’d been pretty cool about the whole thing. Probably because he was in good spirits because, after four months of intense training under his new boss, Nico Marino, Park had his first solo project, a 1988 Ferrari F40. Or maybe he was just used to a mouthy woman in his face, though Park always made Mad sound better than that. He called her sassy. A bunch of other cute girly names too. Was it any wonder she loved him?
Hailey looked up from her notebook, her brows drawn together in concentration. “Now what do guys think about after a first date?”
Park shot Mad a sly look. “They think where’s this hot babe been all my life? Is this the same twerpy kid that told all the guys to grow a pair?”
“Be serious, please,” Hailey said. “We’ve all had a number of underwhelming post-date experiences. Men who don’t call—”
“Who vague-text you three days later,” Charlotte added.
“Who don’t show up on your second date and you just keep waiting and waiting, hoping he was in a car accident,” Lauren said sweetly.
Park cleared his throat. “I’m really not sure how my answer will help with the general male population. Don’t you want a larger sample size?”
“Can you get us one?” Hailey asked. “They have to be single.”
“You bet.” He turned to Mad. “Whadda ya think? Bring your brothers in on this?” He meant her single brothers and blood brothers, the honorary brothers they’d grown up with.
Mad nodded. “Ty will be back for a job in the city in a couple weeks. You definitely want to hear from him. He’ll tell it like it is.”
Park inclined his head. “Four single Campbells, four blood brothers, plus me should give you a good start. Is this for some kind of research paper?”
The women laughed uproariously.
Park shot Mad a questioning look. She lifted one shoulder. How to explain that romantic Hailey, book club leader and wedding planner, thought she could make happy endings happen? Of course, that required luring more single men in close enough to snag. Mad wouldn’t be the one to stand in her way. The woman had stood by her side, a constant cheerleader, while Mad painfully took her heart out of cold storage and put it on the line for Park. Now here they were engaged. They’d be married in a little over a year, the month after she graduated with her college degree. Park said he wanted her to come into the marriage with a degree. In the meantime, they shacked up in a cheap one-bedroom apartment in Eastman, happily fornicating like beasts.
Hailey clapped. “Yay!” She frowned. “Wait, how will you get them here?”
“Easy,” Park said. “We move this over to Garner’s. Offer them free food and a brewski.”
Hailey’s pale blue eyes widened. “Now why didn’t I think of that?”
“You’re not a guy,” Park said.
Hailey smiled, a bemused expression on her face. “And Josh will be trapped behind the bar.”
“Muah-ha-ha,” Mad said, “you evil genius.”
“Maybe we should invite your dad too,” Hailey said to Mad. “Now that he’s single. It seems like he might want to meet someone new.”
Her dad had returned from Vegas without Tina. Not because Tina bailed. Because her dad realized, despite the love he still had for Tina, he couldn’t forgive her for her late return in their children’s lives. Her dad had hoped the family meeting would help heal the scars he believed his kids carried from not having their mom around, but, as they later explained to him, none of them had ever felt lacking in love thanks to his big heart. For Mad, seeing Tina again was too little, too late and she didn’t want a relationship with her mom at this point in her life. Her brothers felt the same way. Some good had come out of it, though, her dad said his brief nostalgic time with Tina had made him realize he was ready for a new relationship.
“Bring him,” Park said. “He’s cool. And he’s seen it all, believe me.”
“But no matchmaking for him,” Mad warned Hailey. “He’s my dad.” She shuddered. She was happy for him to meet someone—he’d been alone for so many years—she just didn’t want to witness it happening.
“We shall see,” Hailey replied and then with a mischievous smile she turned to Park. “Vibrating purple butterfly thong or boy shorts?”
Park licked his lips and looked to Mad, who shot out of her seat. She’d recently bought exactly that and Hailey knew it.
Park stood. “You have something you want to tell me?”
She grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the door. They’d interrogated her man long enough. He followed eagerly behind her.
“Ooh, baby!” Charlotte called.
“Me-ow!” Ally said.
There was a bunch of hooting and catcalling, but it all faded in the distance as Park’s arms wrapped around her from behind. “Sugar, you’re going down,” he whispered.
She turned to look at him over her shoulder. “That’s my line.”
“Minx.”
She grinned. He shifted, scooping her up into his arms and carrying her out the door. She heard a collective sigh as the door shut behind them.
“You’re setting the bar high for my friends,” Mad told him. “What with all your romantic gestures and all.”
“Good, they should be treated well,” he replied. “And if they’re not, I’ll kick the guy’s ass.”
“Me too.”
“Deal.”
~ ~ ~
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Dear Readers,
The frenemies continue! What do you think Josh will do once he finds out Hailey’s been squashing his dating prospects with his unfortunate condition? At least they gave each
other one moment of peace on New Year’s Eve. Charlotte and Ty got off to a rocky start, but now that Ty’s coming back to town for a job he wants a second chance at making a good impression. Would you like an exclusive sneak peek at my next release? Just click to sign up for my newsletter and you’ll receive sneak peeks, excerpts, and subscriber-only giveaways. Next up is Ty and Charlotte’s story, So Revealing, book 3 in the Happy Endings Book Club series. Join the club and get your happy ending!
So Revealing (Happy Endings Book Club #3)
The last thing Charlotte Vega needs is a cocky HOT stuntman like Ty Campbell in her life. But when he pulls the ultimate stunt—a sexy romantic gesture that ends with a charming invitation to a sunset dinner cruise—she finds him impossible to resist. Cue disaster.
Their rocky first date goes from bad to worse when his yacht (okay, it’s actually borrowed and he’s only had one boating lesson) gets stranded in deep mud. Turns out there’s nothing Ty can do but wait hours and hours for high tide with no power, no way to cook dinner, and a hangry sexy-as-hell woman.
But Ty is determined to salvage the date so he starts a game to pass the time. Only what Ty learns makes him realize he may have just botched a date with the perfect woman. How will he ever win her now?
Preorder So Revealing now!
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You’ve just read book #2 in the Happy Endings Book Club series. The books in the series are Hidden Hollywood (Jake & Claire), Inviting Trouble (Parker & Mad), So Revealing (Ty & Charlotte), Formal Arrangement, Bad Boy Done Wrong, and Mess With Me. I hope you enjoy them all!
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Other Books by Kylie Gilmore
The Clover Park Series
The Opposite of Wild (Book 1)
Daisy Does It All (Book 2)
Bad Taste in Men (Book 3)
Kissing Santa (Book 4)
Restless Harmony (Book 5)
Not My Romeo (Book 6)
Rev Me Up (Book 7)
An Ambitious Engagement (Book 8)
Clutch Player (Book 9)
A Tempting Friendship (Book 10)
The Clover Park STUDS Series
Almost in Love (Book 1)
Almost Married (Book 2)
Almost Over It (Book 3)
Almost Romance (Book 4)
Almost Hitched (Book 5)
Happy Endings Book Club Series
Hidden Hollywood (Book 1)
Inviting Trouble (Book 2)
So Revealing (Book 3)
All Kylie Gilmore Books
Acknowledgments
Big jumping hugs to my readers! I couldn’t do any of this without you! Special thanks to my brother-in-law, who inspired my honorable Air Force hero. Thank you for your service to our country. Mucho thanks also to my family, Tessa, Pauline, Paul, Mimi, Kim, and Jenn for all you do.
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks are not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Inviting Trouble: © 2017 by Kylie Gilmore
Digital Edition 1.0
Cover design by Kim Killion
Published by: Extra Fancy Books
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the writer, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
ISBN-10: 1-942238-25-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-942238-25-6
About the Author
Kylie Gilmore is the USA Today bestselling author of the Happy Endings Book Club series, the Clover Park series, and the Clover Park STUDS series. She writes quirky, tender romance with a solid dose of humor.
Kylie lives in New York with her family, two cats, and a nutso dog. When she’s not writing, wrangling kids, or dutifully taking notes at writing conferences, you can find her flexing her muscles all the way to the high cabinet for her secret chocolate stash.
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