by Ellis, Eliza
Hers to Kiss
Eliza Ellis
Contents
Website
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
Epilogue
24. Hers to Marry Chapter 1
HERS TO KISS
Eliza Ellis
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*Previously published at My Best Friend’s Brother
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. The reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, without the express written consent of the author constitutes a copyright violation.
HERS TO KISS
SISTERS OF SPRINGFIELD 1
Copyright © 2019 Eliza Ellis
Cover Art Designed by Mayhem Creations
Created with Vellum
Chapter 1
“Peter, we are really excited about this app. It’s fantastic work. If you’re interested, we’d like to set up a meeting in the next couple of weeks to discuss your ideas.”
Peter Headley’s cheeks strained from the spread of his grin. He wanted to throw his fists in the air, but he was driving and didn’t need to crash the second beater car he had saved up money for all spring. Instead, he kept his hands firmly on the wheel and his car dead in the center of the highway lane. This car was his ticket out of this town; to go wherever he wanted without anyone telling him no.
If Dad were here right now, he’d forget all about Cornell. Their computer science program was one of the best in the nation. And if Pete hadn’t gotten this call, then he’d have to give in to his father’s order to accept a partial scholarship for fall admission. He’d put off going to college for a year to focus on making the perfect gaming app—and a few more apps because his imagination had taken off.
He had no other option than to succeed or go to Cornell. Just thinking about living his life here in Missouri and working for his father sucked whatever life out of him he had left. He would hate it, but if this deal didn’t go through, he’d go to Cornell. It wouldn’t be the escape he wanted, but an escape nonetheless.
Pete passed the sign for Headley Campground and suppressed a groan. He was on a call with an executive from Warp Entertainment and could barely contain himself. It’d be a dream to work for Warp. He could finally stop making this drive and working here. One last summer.
He looked at his cell phone in the mount attached to his car’s air vent. He’d have to save this guy’s number. His father wouldn’t believe it. He could finally reject the Ivy League school. After all, how was he supposed to pay for it? His parents barely made ends meet running a campground that they couldn’t fill even during peak seasons.
And he kind of didn’t apply for scholarships because of his focus on getting his apps accepted by gaming companies. His father almost hit him when he discovered that fact.
“Thank you, sir,” Pete said in a voice too high-pitched. “I have a ton of ideas on how to expand the universe that I think players would really like.”
He quickly slammed his lips together. Dad always said he had a tendency to ramble. Business executives didn’t have time to listen to a nineteen-year-old kid with untested designs trying to schmooze for something extra. He still had to prove himself.
“Absolutely. Our developer team might have a couple of positions opening up. Senior ones. We’ll be in touch.”
Pete’s heart nearly stopped. A senior developer position? “Yes, sir!”
The line disconnected, and Pete let out a whoop and crushed the accelerator into the floor of his fifteen-year-old Honda Accord. He took the next right turn off the highway onto a dirt road that led deep into the forest to Headley Campground.
The lane narrowed into a single one, and his old car shook and bounced over the uneven road. He let out jerky sounds and then laughed. This was literally the best day of his life. The first day of the last time he would ever be forced to work at his family’s campground. Then he would be off to California. He’d never been out of state before except to visit Cornell—and that wasn’t by choice. If given the chance to travel anywhere, it would be California. See the coast. Wasn’t much of a beach in Springfield, Missouri. In the heart of Boringville, USA.
If the meeting with Warp Entertainment went well—and they liked the performance of his new apps—he wouldn’t have to go to Cornell and fulfill his father’s dream. Maybe he could snag that senior developer position without using his résumé, which only listed campground attendant experience and a part-time job as a pizza delivery driver.
He came around a sharp bend, the camp’s main office directly in front of him. His sister’s car sat parked to the left, and a car he didn’t recognize was on his right side. He applied the brakes and practically slid into the spot between them.
A woman to the right was half out of her car, coughing and hacking as a cloud of dirt enveloped her. Oops. He was so distracted by the good news, he didn’t even see her start to exit her car, or he would’ve slowed down. He quickly got out.
“Hey! I’m sorry about…”
The dust cloud began to settle, and Keighly Kaye came into view.
Keke. His crush since middle school.
Now his heart really did stop.
Keke was frantically waving both arms in front of her face. “You jerk!” She coughed again. “You’re lucky kids aren’t around yet. You were driving too fast. Lunatic!”
Pete stood mute and stared. He always did whenever Keke came around. She and his older sister had been best friends since middle school. Keke really never saw him; Roberta’s goofy, nerdy little brother who was nothing but a nuisance to them.
Pete’s eyes dropped to Keke’s long, bare legs that traveled up to the dingy brown shorts his parents made them wear as part of the counselor outfit. The worn outfit still fit her. Keke made the shorts look amazing, like they were made for her legs.
In truth, she looked amazing in everything she wore.
Those long legs that had her tower over him, leaving him feeling like a hobbit in a world full of giant beautiful women—with only one beautiful woman in it. His sister didn’t count. But in the years since Keke had been away for college, he’d hit his puberty stride and now stood an impressive six feet two. Well over Keke’s five feet and eleven inches.
The same poop-colored buttoned shirt tucked neatly into her waistband around her slim hips. She looked incredible—and speech still eluded him when he could write code for phone apps in his sleep. He hoped none of Warp Entertainment’s executives were women as model-like as Keke, or he’d look like a fool in meetings. Why couldn’t he evoke swagger on command? It was an elusive superhero power that only the most popular guys in school had. Where did they learn it? Or were they born with it?
Keke slammed her hands into her hips and hit him with a fierce glare. Then she blinked, her eyes trailing down over his shirt before snapping
back up. Her lips parted into a grin. “Did I say lunatic? I”—cough—“don’t think we’ve met.” She took a few steps forward, her hand extended. “I’m Keke.”
“I’m…” Pete’s gaze went to her hand. She didn’t…
He smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. “You don’t remember me, do you?”
“Huh?” She peered at him through slits and let out another cough. “Um…”
Pete rolled his eyes. “Unbelievable,” he muttered. Still the same Keke. Only interested in herself; never noticing anyone else. He’d always be invisible to a woman like her.
She grinned again, unfazed. “How about you give me a hint?” she purred. “I like games.”
Funny. He did too. Just not this one.
“Keke!”
Roberta stood at the top of the steps leading into the office. She rushed down. Pete put a finger in his ears to block the pitch of their squeals. While they embraced in a fierce hug, Pete jogged up the steps. No time to stick around for the peals of laughter and the high C sounds of chatter when they had to prep for kids that would be arriving within the hour.
“Hey!” Keke called out. “You never told me your name.”
Pete turned around. “And I think I never will.”
Bertie gave them both a funny look. “Keke, what are you talking about? That’s my brother, Peter.”
Pete sighed. His sister ruined everything for him. He was going to have fun counting the days it took Keke to figure out that he was her unwitting—yet very willing—victim of her oppression from childhood.
Keke’s jaw dropped. Her tawny skin showed the slightest tint of pink. “Pete?”
“Yeah, that’s it.” He slammed through the door.
* * *
Keke gripped her best friend’s arms. “Bertie, are you serious?” she whispered fiercely, watching Pete’s form retreat into the office. The door slammed behind him. “That’s little Petey? No. I don’t believe it.”
Bertie’s lips twisted into a wry smirk. “Yes, that’s Petey. Don’t even start.”
“Your brother…is gorgeous.” Keke crossed her arms. “How did that happen? When did that happen?”
Bertie shrugged. “Our mother was a late bloomer, so we all think he inherited that gene.”
“He’s taller than me now!”
Bertie chuckled. “Yeah, he is. Remember how we used to tease him? I thought he would never outgrow me. Now I’m the short one!” Her mouth tipped downward.
Keke waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, whatever. You’re petite. All guys like a petite girl. Half the time, the guys I want to date are too short.”
Bertie looked around the wooded area. “Who are these guys you speak of?”
Keke looked at her sideways. “I wouldn’t be looking for any men in the woods. All of them would be serial killers. But your brother…” Keke stared at the office door. Little Petey. Not so little anymore. The guy was a man now. “Huh.”
“No ‘huh.’” Bertie’s voice held a warning.
Keke threw up her hands in dramatically feigned innocence. “What?”
Bertie put her hands on her hips. “Do I have to remind you of our honor code?”
Keke rolled her eyes.
They had drafted the honor code on a long piece of paper to make it more official—or medieval. One of them. Rules Keke and Bertie lived by that would govern their relationship until death. “Do you remember how old we were when we wrote them?”
“Rule number one is you can’t like my brother.”
Keke scrunched up her face, recalling her initial reaction to the rule when Bertie first voiced it. “I swore to you that I’d never like him—and I don’t think you meant romantically.”
“Ew. No, you’re right. I didn’t mean romantically at the time—’cause I couldn’t fathom anyone liking my brother—but it’s about loyalty. And like is still like even if it’s like like.”
Keke snorted. “Do you hear yourself?”
Bertie blasted a breath and stared at Keke. Her familiar searching stare always made Keke feel exposed. Bertie read her so well.
“Keke, I know you.”
Too well.
“Yes, you do.” Keke slammed her car door, annoyed she’d been momentarily so beguiled by the “new guy” that she had left it open. Now a fine layer of dust covered the seat and a few bags she hauled from her school dorm. Oh, well. She’d clean it out some other time. Kids would be here soon, and she still hadn’t put her stuff in her bunk. She opened the trunk.
“And I know how you like to charm guys.”
“You make it sound like I’m some kind of huntress looking for my next prey.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
“Well, you’re wrong,” Keke said defiantly. “I’m a changed woman.”
Bertie laughed. “Since when?”
Keke hauled her giant duffel bag out of the trunk and slammed the door. “Since I graduated from college. I’m off to Hollywood soon. I’m going to be an actress. I need to be serious or people won’t take me seriously.”
Bertie cocked her head to one side. “That’s the first wise thing I’ve ever heard you say. Who are you and what have you done to my Keighly?”
Keke playfully shoved Bertie’s shoulder and marched past her. “I had fun in school, but now the real work begins. I already have an audition the day after camp ends. I’ll be on the first plane to L.A.”
“Keke that’s amazing! What’s the part for?” Bertie followed her up the steps to the large wood cabin main office.
“A dancer. For a remake of Staying Alive, but don’t tell anyone. It’s not supposed to get out.”
“I’m sure you’ll get it. You’re a wonderful dancer.”
“Well, it’s second to my love for acting.”
“Didn’t you double major?”
“Yes. In theater and dance—just in case. I can always find a dance job or open a studio somewhere.”
“Somewhere like here?” Bertie’s voice was hopeful.
Keke paused before opening the office door. “Why would I want to stay here? The second I had my diploma in hand, I left for college.”
“Yeah, I watched you sprint off that stage so fast…”
“I don’t want to spend a second longer in this town than I have to.” Springfield didn’t hold many good memories for her. Home wasn’t supposed to be like that, but it was for her.
Bertie’s eyes moistened, and she frowned. “Then what are you doing here?”
Keke placed a hand on Bertie’s shoulder. “You needed a favor, and I’m your best friend. Besides, this is probably the last time we’ll see each other for a while. I have stuff I can leave at my sister Katrina’s before I go to California.”
“Have you been home since you got back?”
Keke shook her head. It was too soon for that. She’d have to work her way up to seeing her mother. “I’ll stay with my sister, Kat, while I’m here.”
Thankfully, Bertie said nothing more. They entered the office. Keke’s eyes found Pete, who snatched a set of keys hanging from the wall behind his desk and made his way to the back door.
Keke dragged her eyes off Pete. Boy, had he hit puberty good. But she was a different girl. She’d prove it. Besides, Petey was too young, anyway at nineteen. She was a college grad.
And she had never broken a single rule in the honor code, and she wasn’t about to start now.
Chapter 2
Pete shoved the office’s back door open. Hard. He bounded down the steps and stalked to the supply building.
This was going to be a long week.
He would have to put up with Keke strutting around like she always did. He smiled, thinking back to the moment out in front of the office. She was ticked. But once her eyes had landed on him, her entire demeanor had changed. Not that he really knew women, but he’d bet his new app that she found him attractive.
Pete glanced at his biceps. All the hard work at the gym during the last semester of school until now had pa
id off. He didn’t want to just have brains; he wanted to be attractive. So he grew a beard—probably a bit long since it itched—and started weight lifting. He found the whole exercise thing tedious. It required no brain cells at all. He would rather have been playing video games; at least he would need to formulate some strategy to win.
But if it got him girls, then he’d put on some headphones and listen to gaming podcasts while deadlifting.
In the supply building, he found his parents going over inventory for the summer camp session. His mother smiled at him and squeezed his shoulder.
“Hi, honey! We’re glad you’re here. The girls’ bunks still need a few things, and Lea isn’t going to be able to get it all finished before the first kids arrive. She’s going to need help.”
“Lea?”
“You remember Lea. She’s the new girl we hired after that other one turned us down at the last minute.” A flash of irritation crossed his mother’s unusually cheerful face. Being around Dad hadn’t made her upbeat in a long time. Had they stopped fighting long enough to work?
Pete shook his head. “I haven’t met her.”
“Well, you will. Your father managed to get most of the boys’ bunks stocked. Just need a few more fresh sheets and pillows. Could you help out here? Make sure you turn down the covers, too. Thanks.”
She stood on the tips of her toes, her lips pursed. Pete leaned over, and she kissed his cheek. She rubbed away the pink gloss lefty by her lips. Although her eyes shone bright, her face had lost some color, and her figure was noticeably thinner. Was she eating? She didn’t need to lose any more weight. He had packed on muscle in the last few months while his mother looked like she could shop in the kids clothing section.