by Lee Kilraine
“You’ve got a deal.” He kissed her before moving to the door. One quick look through the peephole told him this wasn’t going to be that easy. “This kid doesn’t want to sell you cookie dough.”
“Then why’s he dressed in a scout uniform and carrying a big honking tub of it?”
“It’s his Trojan horse. He’s not here to sell you cookie dough.” Kaz rested his forehead against the door while he decided on the least painful way to handle this for Henry Lee. The poor kid had grown up without a mother. Not that Hawk wasn’t doing an amazing job with HL and his older sister. But HL had his heart set on a mama and had started searching for one a few years ago. What was HL now . . . eight? Nine? Should Kaz try a heart-to-heart talk with him or call Hawk and let him do that? He sighed. He’d put a call in to Hawk this afternoon, but now he had to decide how to let Hawk’s son down easy.
The Band-Aid approach seemed best: painful but quick. He grasped the brass knob and opened the door. “HL, I’m sorry to tell you, but you’re too late. Mira and I are getting married.”
“Rats.” HL’s shoulders slumped forward. “Jordy told me his mommy said she saw you two kissin’, and he said once the kissin’ starts—it’s over.”
Jordy is wise beyond his years. “I’m sorry, HL.”
“It’s okay.” HL shrugged and pushed the tub of cookie dough into Kaz’s hands. “I’m not giving up. Jordy and I are working on a plan. See ya.”
Kaz watched Henry Lee walk away, more than a little interested to see what HL and his friend Jordy came up with.
“So . . . we’re getting married?” Mira moved next to him and stared up at him wide-eyed and a bit dazed.
“I’m sorry . . . I mean . . . I want to. I just thought you’d—” Well, you messed that one up, Kazimir. He closed his eyes and regrouped. He hadn’t wanted to rush Mira, had been happy to let their relationship grow at a natural pace. But since he’d started it—he might as well do it right. Kaz didn’t believe in doing anything halfway.
Opening his eyes, he stared into her beautiful face and saw a future so promising it took his breath away. He rubbed a hand on his chest where his heart hammered wildly and then sunk down to one knee. “Mirabel Díaz, I’d consider myself the luckiest man on the planet if you’d do me the honor of becoming my wife.”
“I can’t think of a single thing I want more. Yes, most definitely yes.” Her face brightened and her eyes welled with tears again as she pulled him up to stand in front of her. “What do you say you lose the tub of cookie dough and we seal the deal in the bedroom?”
Warmth flooded Kaz’s chest. “I say hurry up.”
Author’s Note
In Love 2.0, Kaz Cates conducts experiments in Virtual Reality. Sadly, I am about as tech savvy as the heroine, Mira—which meant lots of research. I was surprised to find out how much VR is being used as a therapeutic tool. For example, Virtual Reality is being used to treat sexual disorders, PTSD, addictions, and phobias. It’s also being used to aid people with chronic conditions, degenerative diseases, and even spinal cord injuries. As technology advances and costs fall, VR therapies may become a viable tool in the near future.
I did take some liberties when writing the virtual reality love scene and projected the VR technology to a level that is, at present, purely theoretical, but as my hero is a computer genius it seemed feasible. And to tell the truth, there was no holding him back.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A former Air Force spouse, Lee Kilraine moved seven times over eighteen years before finally settling with her husband in the pine woods of North Carolina. She has worked as a physical therapy aide, a cashier, a waitress, an English tutor, a ballet teacher, and a stay-at-home mom. Holding tight to her mother’s motto, “There’s nothing you can’t do if you try hard enough,” Lee returned to college as an adult and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Writing thirty-one papers in two years (she counted) rekindled her love of writing, and she set her sights on her other dream: writing romance. When she isn’t swinging on her front porch swing or watching another of their four young adult children leave the nest (she swears she isn’t pushing them out!) you can find her typing away on her computer with her golden retriever, Harley, destroying something at her feet. Lee is a 2014 Golden Heart® Finalist.
BRINGING DELANEY HOME
In the sleepy town of Climax, North Carolina, all five Cates brothers are known for being tall, dark, and delicious. But each has his own incomparable love story . . .
Quinn Cates has known Delaney Lyons forever. But after years away from home, Delaney’s a changed woman. A mysterious accident she refuses to talk about has left her hurting—in body and soul—and acting out in dangerous, and occasionally entertaining, ways.
Quinn’s on the local police force, so he’s used to dealing with troublemakers. This one’s pretty incorrigible—but he suspects her flippant exterior is hiding something softer and deeper inside. Every time he has to rescue Delaney from herself, his heart and his hormones both go into overdrive. But he owes it to Delaney’s sister to keep an eye on her. He’s got some experience with that after spending so much time at it back in high school . . .
Delaney just wants to fend off the gossips, fight off the pain of her past, and make her escape once again. But Officer Cates is ordering her not to leave town, and his interrogation techniques can be very persuasive . . .
COULD THIS BE LOVE?
Everyone in Climax, North Carolina, knows the Cates brothers. But Sijan Cates is famous far beyond his quaint hometown—and when he comes back, he brings trouble with him . . .
Avery Danford urgently needs to get back in touch with her estranged family. If only she could get her picture in the papers, maybe they’d track her down . . . and what better way to accomplish that than to squeeze into the world’s tightest dress and cozy up to the world’s hottest actor, Sijan Cates? It’s a crazy idea, but it just might work. And though the former actress has sworn off Hollywood hunks, she’s got to admit this desperate measure might be a pleasure . . .
Scandal-plagued Sijan has come home for some peace and quiet—and to stay out of the tabloids. Then a woman claiming to be his number-one fan plants a hot kiss on him—in front of a pack of paparazzi. There’s only one way to protect his reputation: tell the world they’re engaged. It’s all just a show, as they use each other to get what they need. But in this sleepy Southern town, love stories have a way of coming true . . .
CRAZY LOVE
Tynan Cates’s military days are over. He’s home among family, friends, and his three-legged rescue dog in Climax, North Carolina—but his new employee is stirring up feelings he thought he’d left behind . . .
Pint-size Lulubelle Swan is not Ty’s—or anyone’s—idea of a construction worker. But she’s so eager to join his crew for the Climax library renovation that he gives her a shot . . . and she totally lives down to his expectations. Aside from her fear of ladders, she’s a hazard every time she picks up a hammer. He’d toss her out on her tight little tush, but he gets the feeling she needs the job—or at least, needs something . . .
Lu’s trying her hardest, but she’s no handywoman. She’s sought out Ty because he served in Afghanistan with the man she loved—and nearly three years after losing Joe, she still can’t move on. Hiding her true intentions, she spends hours with Ty, trying to get him to talk about the past—and in the process, learn how to face the future on her own. But when her quest for closure gets complicated, she may have to open her heart in unexpected ways . . .
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