Lily giggled.
PJ did too.
“Are you going to tell anyone?” Lily asked when they’d quieted.
“It’s not my secret to tell.”
“Thank you.”
“Yeah, no worries. My lips are sealed—”
“Cool—”
“Unless, of course, Beau asks me directly if his cousin’s daughter is a bestselling author of kick-ass erotic romances. Then, all bets are off. I won’t lie to my man. We’ve got this circle of trust thing going.”
“Fair enough.” Lily shifted a little closer on the couch. “So you think my books kick ass?”
“Eh, they’re alright.”
“What’s alright?”
They both looked up as Beau walked into the room. His cheeks were flushed pink from the cold, his hair was mussed from the wind, and his argyle T-shirt was sporting fresh grass stains. PJ had managed to find the shirt online and had ordered Beau a half dozen of them in different colors for his birthday in September.
Beau no longer looked like a twenty-six year old masquerading as a grandpa. He looked twenty-seven years young and all kinds of sexy in his rumpled novelty top and relaxed-fit jeans.
“Uhm, she was talking about the classics I gave her,” Lily said when it was clear that PJ was too tongue-tied to answer. “She’s a huge fan of Jane Eyre.”
“Yeah,” PJ managed, her gaze still glued to her man. “It’s an absolute masterpiece.”
“Maybe you can read it to me some time.”
PJ licked her lip, a wicked grin forming. “I think you’d prefer some Britni Howling, actually.”
Lily choked on a mouthful of cider. “Uhm… y-yeah no.”
Beau wasn’t paying his cousin any attention. He was much too busy devouring PJ’s mouth.
“Ugh,” Lily whined. “Really, y’all? Get a room. We’ve got like twenty of ‘em.”
“You taste like cinnamon,” Beau murmured, the words teasing against PJ’s lips. “I fucking love cinnamon.”
“I know you do,” PJ whispered back.
“Okay. I’m outta here.” Lily grabbed her book of lies and hopped from the couch. “Later, gators.”
PJ didn’t watch her go. She was still grinning like a loon at her fiancé.
“Interesting reading?” he asked her.
“You have no idea, Beau Bear.” PJ’s eyes flashed to the girl high-tailing it to the kitchen where the baby brigade and a horde of hungry hot guys was rapidly converging. “You have a really interesting family.”
“They’re your family now too, Mrs. Browning.”
“I’m not a Browning yet, Mr. Browning.”
Beau stole in for another kiss. “You will be soon enough.”
“Shhh, don’t let Little Gray hear you. He’ll give me shit about it.”
Beau snorted. “He’s too busy fooling around with his girlfriend right now.”
PJ tsked. “Those crazy kids. Think they’ll survive their long-distance romance?”
“I’d bet on it.” Beau pulled her up from the couch, his hands settling about the waist of the neon green elf sweater she’d paired with her candy-cane leggings. “Know what else I’d bet on, Pretty Jane?”
“Hmmm?”
“Us. Any day of the week.”
PJ smiled as he nuzzled her nose. “So we’re definitely getting hitched then.”
“Yes. Definitely getting hitched.”
“Sweet. I’ve been waiting to get rid of the Punky Bruister thing for eighteen years.”
Beau smirked. “And here I thought you only wanted me for my body.”
“Oh, no. I’m also after your money. Do y’all have a private jet?”
“You planning another trip to San Diego already?”
“Yep. And then we’re getting a room… in Paris.”
“Sounds good.”
They kissed on it, their hands roaming, their lips worshiping, their eyes making promises they had every intention of keeping. And they didn’t stop until the sound of a car pulling into the driveway had them slowly pulling apart.
PJ glanced at the window. “Y’all have a limousine too?”
Beau followed her gaze and sighed. “No. That would belong to Lily’s mama.”
George Browning’s youngest son, Will, chose that moment to run into the den. “Dudes! The Chasers are here! Dani Fayette is literally walking up to your porch right now.” Will ran a hand through his longish tawny locks, then turned and raced for the front door.
PJ giggled at the teen’s mind-blown expression. Will was a huge music lover, and right now, he was probably more excited than a kid about to meet Santa Claus.
Turning back to her soon-to-be husband, PJ grinned. “Shit’s about to get real, huh?”
Beau sighed. “My cousin’s cheating country star ex is about to join us for brunch. What could possibly go wrong?”
ABOUT THE ENDING
Oh, I can think of a few things that can possibly go wrong with that Christmas Eve brunch…
And I’m gonna have a whole lot of fun bringing them to life in Lily Darling, the fourth Browning book..
To receive updates on the next one, please check out my WIP blog at www.dbarrettbooks.com and sign up for my mailing list. (I won’t spam-attack you, I won’t sell your info, and you can unsubscribe at any time.)
Now about those stars…
ABOUT THE STARS
Stars on name badges. Stars on business cards. Stars on flippin’ bed spindles. Not exactly being subtle am I? I heart the stars. Please take the time to rate and review Pretty Jane.
Your feedback is invaluable to a new author like myself. Maybe you hate writing as much as my girl PJ, but don’t worry, I’ll be happy with just one or two sentences. If one of those sentences just happens to be a massively-long, grammatically-incorrect, run-on, I will absolutely adore you and consider you a true fan.
Are you also a fan of the music? The playlist for Pretty Jane is coming up next…
ABOUT THE MUSIC
I have to give credit to a diverse mix of jams for helping me get through this book. I listened to everything from classic Bob Seger to the poppiest of pop from Katy Perry to that annoyingly awesome Lego song. And yes, I did throw in some Dolly, because I may not be a huge country music lover, but there is seriously no way any red-blooded American woman can hate on “9 to 5.”
Here’s the playlist for Pretty Jane:
Spotify
Halsey — “Nightmare”
Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean — “Hips Don’t Lie”
Rihanna — “Umbrella”
Dolly Parton — “9 to 5”
Phillip Phillips — “Home”
The Righteous Brothers — “Unchained Melody”
Maroon 5 — “Payphone”
Tegan and Sara — “Everything Is Awesome”
Panic! At The Disco — “Say Amen”
Coldplay ft. Beyonce — “Hymn For The Weekend”
Flo Rida ft. Sia — “Wild Ones”
Florence + The Machine — “Dog Days Are Over”
Bob Seger — “Old Time Rock And Roll”
Katy Perry — “Firework”
Pink — “Trouble”
5 Seconds of Summer — “She Looks So Perfect”
Bon Jovi — “Livin’ On A Prayer”
Heart — “Alone”
Toploader — “Dancing In The Moonlight”
No Doubt — “Don’t Speak”
David Guetta ft. Sia — “Titanium”
And more credit for this novel goes to…
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Big thanks to my beta-reading, book-formatting, web-updating, cat-enthusiast husband. Once again, you have been my rock through this journey.
And speaking of journeys, the inspiration for the Journeys autism clinic in this book came from the ABA therapy center my younger son used to attend in Northern California. Thank you to all the wonderful therapists who made his two years at CARD so successful and who continue to provide invaluable support to the A
SD community.
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t give a shout-out to my merry band of writer friends. S, K, R, L, M, and more. You know who you are. Thanks for shutting up and writing with me every Sunday morning at La Bou.
To my editor at The Blue Garret, the wonderful Kristen Tate, you are too school for cool and my kinda peeps. Thanks for all the time and energy you spent working on this story, and thanks for all the support and encouragement you’ve shown me as a writer. I couldn’t have picked a better teacher.
To my amazing cover artist, Susan Krupp, you had a tall order with Miss PJ. And you delivered. Big props!
And last but not least, to all you romance-loving fiction fans out there, thanks for wandering around in my fantasy world for a little while. Hope you join me on the next journey. Stay tuned to www.dbarrettbooks.com for updates on the writing, and, as always, happy reading.
♥ DB
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
D. Barrett is a longtime lover of romance novels. When she is not spinning tales of her own, she can usually be found curled up on a couch with her husband, binge-reading the kind of books that inspire her. She enjoys smart, sexy fiction. She admires fearless, honest storytelling. And she is passionately committed to delivering on both in her work.
Dorothy, or Dottie as she is known by her fans, earned her BA in English from Sacramento State University in 2006, but didn’t begin writing her first book until ten years later when her younger son started kindergarten. Since then, she has been full-steam ahead with the writing.
Dorothy is the author of Browning’s Crossing, Browning’s Promise, and Pretty Jane.
Follow D. Barrett at www.dbarrettbooks.com
Pretty Jane (The Browning Series Book 3) Page 39