by Kent, Julia
His only niece.
Laura’s stomach dropped through the earth’s crust and into the magma layer. “Thanks,” she gasped.
Cyndi frowned, then her eyes changed to a wary look. “Oh dear. He was so charming on the phone, and I just assumed…” She touched Laura’s hand. “He’s not someone you want in your life, is he? I hope I didn’t make a mistake.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Laura answered, but she reached for Cyndi’s hand and clasped it like it was a lifeline. Kind, wrinkled eyes, intelligent and perceptive, yet so compassionate, met hers.
Jillian’s weight on her shoulder shifted just enough for Laura to realize that the baby had fallen asleep, her breathing suddenly even, her little lips nuzzled against Laura’s ear.
“She wanted her mama,” Cyndi said with a squeeze of the hand.
Laura swallowed hard as Mike and Dylan came into the room, brows furrowed, worried and ready to talk.
“Her mama,” Laura said through a voice full of worry over the unknown, “wanted her.”
“Something more happen?” Mike asked, crossing the room, his sheer size a comfort to Laura. Cyndi looked up to meet his eyes, and it was like she was watching Superman fly overhead.
“Uncle Frank called,” Laura whispered.
“Here?” Dylan asked, incredulous. “The house phone? It’s unlisted.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Cyndi said in an apologetic tone. “I just assumed he was a family member and it was okay to talk to him. To tell him.”
Laura’s extremities went cold. “Tell him what?”
Cyndi dropped her hand and gave Mike and Dylan beseeching looks. “He asked about Jillian. How she was doing, what she was like, and how Laura was. Asked about you two as well. Whether you treated ‘his girls’ right.”
Laura’s eyes bugged out of her head. Mike and Dylan exchanged angry looks.
“I’m so sorry!” Cyndi gushed. “I’ll never make that mistake again.”
Laura shook her head, as if trying to get rid of a bad thought. Which she was. The movement made Jillian rub her face against Laura’s neck. The toddler’s body heat was the only reason Laura wasn’t chilled to the bone with dread.
“Cyndi,” Mike said, “you haven’t done a thing wrong. We’re not certain why Laura’s uncle has suddenly come out of the woodwork, but Laura’s worried, and that’s good enough for us. From now on, screen his calls.”
“And if he shows up here,” Dylan added, lips tight, anger morphing his features, “don’t let him in. Call us right away, and worst case, call the police.”
“The police!” Laura cried out. Jillian smacked her lips in her sleep, and Laura lowered her voice. “Guys, I think I’m making you overreact. Frank’s not harmful. He’s never hurt me or threatened me before. It’s not like that at all.”
“You’re freaked, though. I can smell it on you.” Mike’s words made Cyndi do a double take, but he was dead serious.
“I’m freaked out because it’s just weird. And having him call here…”
“Why would he?” Dylan asked, but it was quickly clear his question was rhetorical, for he answered it himself, Mike and Laura all saying the word at the same time.
“Money.”
Cyndi made a clucking sound. “People come out of the woodwork when it comes to big money,” she said. “Not that I would know.” Her rueful grin made Laura feel sheepish.
“We didn’t live with money either, until a few years ago,” Dylan said. “You know I was a firefighter and Mike was a ski instructor.”
“We weren’t exactly rich,” Mike added.
“But you are now,” Laura pointed out.
“We are,” Dylan said. Everyone went quiet. Cyndi looked a bit embarrassed. Truth be told, the guys and Laura were, too. It was one thing to have money—their daily life made it clear that they did, because they had the freedom to spend their time as they pleased, a luxury more valuable than coin—but it was quite another to talk openly about it.
Which they didn’t. Not generally.
Then again, the news channels had covered Mike and Dylan’s inheritance after Jill died, so it was public knowledge.
Knowledge her Uncle Frank now had.
What on earth had happened to the pioneering lunch Laura had planned with Darla? The exchange of thoughts and feelings and ideas no one else experienced? Wasn’t she supposed to be dealing with the emotional aftermath of that right now—and not of Frank?
Life changed on a dime, didn’t it?
“I’m going to put her to sleep,” Laura said in dulcet tones, as Mike huddled with Cyndi, sounds of reassurance telling Laura he was making sure the amazing nanny understood all was well. Dylan followed her into the bedroom, where she settled Jillian on the enormous California king bed that Mike, Dylan, and Laura shared.
He cocked an eyebrow.
“I know we’re not co-sleeping with her anymore, but for tonight, I just want her there. I don’t know why I’m so worried suddenly. It doesn’t make sense, I know, but I don’t care. I want to have her near me.”
He pulled her into a warm embrace with arms like steel. “I understand, honey,” he murmured against her cheek. “And besides, trying to squeeze into her crib isn’t practical.”
“You’d know,” she said with a chuckle. “Remember that time it was the only way to get her to sleep? You took one for the team climbing in there with her.”
“And Mike has the pictures to prove it,” Dylan said with a pseudo-sour tone.
“You rang?” Mike appeared in the doorway. “My ears are burning. You guys talking about me?” His eyes lit on Jillian, a tiny cherub curled up in the center of the enormous bed, and he smiled.
“I see I’m going to get kicked in the kidneys all night,” he said.
“And not from me this time,” Dylan joked. Kind of. Dylan was the bed hog now that Laura wasn’t pregnant.
Mike joined the embrace, covering the side of Laura that Dylan wasn’t on. He kissed the top of her head and declared, “It’ll all be fine. I’m sure this whole Frank business will turn out to be nothing.”
Oh, how Laura wished he were right.
Oh, how wrong he turned out to be.
The story continues in Complete We, coming in fall 2014. Join my new releases and sales email newsletter list to get an email the day it is published!
Her First Billionaire
Grab Her First Billionaire FREE!
COULD SHE REALLY FIND THE RIGHT GUY ON THE INTERNET?
“Hot, luscious piece of ass who can suck a golf ball through forty feet of garden hose seeks rippling-ab’d firefighter who has a tongue that thrums like a hummingbird and enjoys painting my toenails and eating Ben & Jerry’s out of the carton while watching Mad Men.”
Laura Michaels stared at the online dating site’s registration screen and frowned. That’s what she really wanted to write. Here was the truth:
“Needy, insecure, overweight twenty-six year old Business Analyst with three cats, a corporate job with pension and no debt seeks Mr. Impossible for way more than friendship and lots of ice cream. I’m desperate for some physical affection and oral sex with a guy who doesn’t view it as some sort of favor he’s granting me, and then expects to be praised like he cleaned my toilet. One night stands are better than nothing as long as you brush your teeth. So call me, maybe!”
So when hot firefighter Dylan Stanwyck responds and asks her out, it’s just too good to be true. When she searches him online and learns he offers himself up for date nights in bachelor charity auctions, she wonders if she’s on the right planet.
Because what could a guy like that see in a fat girl like her?
OR WOULD HE NOT BE WHO HE SEEMED?
Trawling through the online dating profiles isn’t Dylan’s idea of fun, but it’s been more than eighteen months since their lover, Jill, died, and Dylan and his unconventional partner, ski instructor Mike Pine, need to find a new love. While their threesome situation is more complicated than a contract from
Fifty Shades of Grey, at least one aspect is simple: Laura Michaels, the cute, soft blond from the online dating site, seems like a good fit for at least a first date. Soft curves, gorgeous hair, eyes that light him up from the computer alone, and a profile that makes her seem smart and interesting—he has no problems asking her out.
The problem is letting her in.
Dylan and his not-quite partner have more secrets than their unconventional romantic relationships, and this latest snafu is a mixed blessing, for both became billionaires overnight after the third in their threesome, Jill, died. With her estate finally settled and Dylan and Mike the recipient of an annual income that gives them enough to buy entire towns in the Midwest, the two were left reeling. Months after the lawyer explained their new-found fortune, Dylan still works his regular shifts at the station while Mike remains on the slopes as a ski instructor, but with a caveat; now he owns the entire resort.
But if they tell Laura everything, they risk losing a chance at a new bond.
Two problems may have one lush, ample solution as Laura meets her first billionaire on her date with Dylan, but with a stunning twist at the end...
Get Her First Billionaire FREE now at most major eBook retailers! Just do a search for Julia Kent.
Other Books by Julia Kent
Suggested Reading Order
Her First Billionaire—FREE
Her Second Billionaire
Her Two Billionaires
Her Two Billionaires and a Baby
Her Billionaires: Boxed Set (Parts 1-4 in one bundle, 458 pages!)
It’s Complicated
Complete Abandon (A Her Billionaires novella)
Complete Harmony (A Her Billionaires novella #2)
Random Acts of Crazy
Random Acts of Trust
Random Acts of Fantasy
Random Acts of Hope
“Share Me” in the anthology Spring Fling
Maliciously Obedient
Suspiciously Obedient
Deliciously Obedient (the trilogy is done!)
Shopping for a Billionaire 1
Shopping for a Billionaire 2
Shopping for a Billionaire 3
Shopping for a Billionaire 4
Christmas Shopping for a Billionaire (in the LOL Romantic Comedy Boxed Set)
About the Author
Text JKentBooks to 77948 and get a text message on release dates!
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Julia Kent turned to writing contemporary romance after deciding that life is too short not to have fun. She writes romantic comedy with an edge, and new adult books that push contemporary boundaries. From billionaires to BBWs to rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every book she writes, but unlike Trevor from Random Acts of Crazy, she has never kissed a chicken.
She loves to hear from her readers by email at [email protected], on Twitter @jkentauthor, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jkentauthor . Visit her blog at http://jkentauthor.blogspot.com
Table of Contents
Author’s Note
Darla
Laura
Josie
Trevor
Alex
Joe
Mike
Dylan
Darla
Laura
Her First Billionaire
Other Books by Julia Kent
About the Author