A Bet Worth Making (Grayson County #2)
Page 22
“Signatures?” Casey echoed.
Frank came over and set the papers on the hood of the truck. “Leasing contract,” Frank explained, gesturing to the top form. “One year to start and then we’ll see.” Frank looked at me and added, “It’s all under the name of your firm, like you asked, Jordan, so when your paperwork’s all done, you can use this place as an office as well.”
Casey made a small noise of disbelief. Frank grinned and I smiled back at him. “Thanks, Frank.”
“Sure. Casey, I took the liberty of drawing all the papers up but this is your place, kid. You decide.” Frank held a pen out to Casey. He ignored it and stared at me.
“You want to live here?” he repeated.
I suppressed a smile at how cute he looked standing here in shock. “I can’t live with my boyfriend. I don’t move that fast,” I said, my voice stalling halfway between teasing and terrified.
Casey’s eyes went wide and he looked from me to Frank. Butterflies batted my stomach until I felt nauseous. Was he going to reject me?
“Unless you want to live here instead …” I trailed off and then realized what he really meant. “If this isn’t what you want, I can go—” I began and was almost knocked over as Casey rushed me.
He caught me up in arms in a low growl that sounded like, “Hell no,” as he dragged me against him and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around Casey, kissing right back with everything in me. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“That’s a yes?” I asked when we came up for air.
Casey laughed, his belly shaking mine. “It’s a hell yes.”
“It’s your house,” I said, still unsure. “If you want to live here—”
“Oh, I plan to live here one day,” he said, a glint in his eye. “But you’re right. You can’t live with your boyfriend right away. Let’s give it a few days at least.”
I laughed but he swallowed it, kissing me again until Frank cleared his throat and I pulled back. Casey grinned, but I wasn’t done making things right. “I’m sorry,” I whispered for Casey’s ears only. “For the bet. For hurting you.”
Casey laid his forehead against mine. “Don’t be sorry. It was on both of us. Not just you, and you’re staying, so don’t be sorry. But when it comes to love and you and me, slick, all bets are off. Deal?”
I grinned. “Deal,” I told him, even while I wondered how the cards would fall at my decision to stay. But I realized with a surprising certainty I wasn’t worried at all. We’d already beat the odds.
Casey Luck was all mine.
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About the Author
Heather Hildenbrand was born and raised in a small town in northern Virginia where she was homeschooled through high school. (She’s only slightly socially awkward as a result.) She writes Young Adult & New Adult romance including the bestselling Dirty Blood & Imitation series’. She splits her time between coastal Virginia and sunny Florida and loves having a mobile career and laptop lifestyle of living in two places. Her most frequent hobbies are riding motorcycles and avoiding killer slugs.
Heather is also a publishing and success coach dedicated to mentoring fellow writers on the business of authorship. For info visit www.findtimetowrite.com.
Find out more about Heather and her books at www.heatherhildenbrand.com.
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Other titles by Heather Hildenbrand:
Whisper: A New Adult Fantasy Romance full of loss and true love and justice served. There’s also a hot Cherokee warrior involved. To read a sample of Whisper, click here.
A Risk Worth Taking: A New Adult Contemporary Romance with southern charm and a hippie farmer capable of swoon and heartbreak in the same breath. To read a sample, click here.
Dirty Blood: A Young Adult Paranormal Romance about a girl who falls in love with a werewolf, only to find out she’s a Hunter, born and bred to kill the very thing she means to save. To read a sample, click here.
Imitation: A Young Adult SciFi Romance with life or death choices and a conspiracy so deep, even a motorcycle-riding bodyguard can’t pull you out. To read a sample, click here.
Across the Galaxy: A Young Adult Epic Fantasy with beautiful aliens and guys so hot they glow. To read a sample, click here.
Bitterroot: Two long lost sisters are reunited and forced to compete for the alpha role in their pack. The winner has been promised to the vampire prince. One sister wants to kiss him; the other wants to kill him. Can siblings survive rivalry and forbidden love? To read a sample, click here.
17 year-old Tara Godfrey thought she was had life figured out. That her impending breakup with her football-player boyfriend was the worst of her problems. But when she shortcuts on her way home through a dark alley, all of her very high school, very human problems take a backseat when she’s attacked by a wolf—and manages to put it down. And if that’s not enough to send her over the edge, the wolf shifts post-mortem into the body of a naked girl. Panicked and terrified, Tara whirls—and comes face to face with the hottest, most mysterious, most dangerous guy she’s ever seen. And he’s not here to be friends…
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What to read next…
Number ten is plastered on his team jersey and on his ego. In his own mind, Crown Sterling is the shit. He dates the prettiest women, he dominates on the soccer field, he pours money out of his pockets like it’s water. Until a debilitating knee injury puts him out of commission on and off the field. He’s sent to an isolated town in Louisiana to recoup, undergo physical therapy and heal. But it’s when you’re down that you find out who your real friends are, and what they value in you, if anything at all.
All Lyra wants out of life is peace and quiet. She grew up with a regular, everyday family. When she turned sixteen, rummaging through her grandmother’s hope chest in the attic, she discovered a secret that would turn her simple, normal life into a ball of chaos that revolved around her. But while she seems to face her fears head on in her career, she lives a life that’s secure and well hidden.
A new neighbor moved in next door and he’s decided that everyone needs to listen to his rap music, shattering Lyra’s quiet existence. Enraged, she stomps to the next townhouse over and who should open the door but a man whose good looks and charming smile knock her breathless.
How good looking? Just ask him.
How charming? He’ll tell you that too.
The king must be dethroned.
And a small town girl who’s been through hell is just the one to do it.
Acknowledgements
My thanks and love first to Dylan. Following your dream is admirable. Pushing me to always chase mine makes you irreplaceable. Thank you for always believing in me. And for being a constant reminder that a great life is about pursuing your passions, sharing your gifts, and finding the right people to love. I’m so grateful to have gotten all of those things when I married you. Also, for doing the dishes shirtless—don’t stop doing that. What an adventure this is.
Thank you to my three girls—you know who you are. Strength. Courage. Sisters. We are the 4 corners. I am so grateful for our bond and look forward to our mastermind calls even when the only thing we mastermind is where to order peel and stick bras. You chicks are the best friends a girl could ask for!
Big thanks to my street team, Heather’s Hotshots, for being on top of reviews and bugging me when I’m too long inside my writing cave.
And to my readers, who … well, read. You guys are the cat’s pajamas. Without you, I couldn’t do what I love every single day. Besides that, without readers, I might have to wear real pants into the real world every day. Shudder! Thank you all for being awesome!
ldenbrand, A Bet Worth Making (Grayson County #2)