So he’d had to speed things up. Last week they’d formally met each other’s families. Of course his family loved her. And he thought the meeting with Lu’s parents went well even though Lu’s father had begun the evening inviting him to chat while he cleaned his gun. Once Tynan explained he didn’t plan on ever letting Lu go whether her father accepted that or not, her father had nodded and said, “Just what I wanted to hear; Lu deserves to be happy.”
She sure did.
His phone rang again, and he grinned as he answered it.
“Come get your dog.”
He turned his head to check because with Lu, he just never knew. Houdini was snoring away belly up in his corner bed. “Lu, I absolutely love you, but stop trying to tempt me. We’ve got a few more firsts to get to before we—”
“Tynan, I’m stretched out on my bed. Naked. And lonely.”
Damn, his body reacted to the visual in an instant. “Lu, you’re killing me. You know I’m trying to hold out at least another week. We’re about to have our first month anniversary. And then we’ll have our first—”
“I have cake.”
Lu was two doors down, stretched out naked. And she had cake. Well, damn.
“Chocolate cake,” she purred into the phone.
“Open the window.”
That night was the first time Tynan Cates made love to Lulubelle Swan while licking chocolate cake off her delectable body. It certainly wasn’t the last…
Epilogue 2
9 Months Later
Kaz
Kaz stopped by the diner when he saw the collection of his brothers’ trucks in the parking lot. Seeing as he was too irritated to focus on work after the meeting he’d just had, he’d catch up with his family while he settled down.
Paxton was standing out front talking to Jolene Joyner. Well, actually Jolene looked to be doing all the talking while Paxton looked like he was trying not to blow a gasket. The two of them had been mixing it up like oil and water since forever. Kaz didn’t get it. He liked Jolene just fine, but then he hadn’t competed with her for class president every year in high school either.
Kaz shook his head when Paxton crossed his eyes at him as he passed by. He could hear Jolene laying into him as he pushed through the side door and joined his brothers Tynan and Quinn along with his sister-in-law Delaney at their regular corner booth.
“What’s up with Paxton and Jolene this time?” He nodded over to Renee so she’d know to bring over his usual half-sweet tea.
“As the president and vice-president of your senior high school class, it’s their job to plan the reunion together.” Tynan hadn’t taken his gaze off the kitchen window. Which meant Lu was working today. Or he was hungry. Or, more likely, probably both.
“Next one isn’t for two years,” Kaz said.
“You know their history.” Quinn grinned. “It’ll take them two years to agree on everything.”
When Paxton joined them a few minutes later he looked like he felt about the same as Kaz still did from the meeting he’d just left in Charlotte—more than a little pissed. Funny how their twin lives often ran parallel. Or in this case, as they were both in crappy moods, not funny.
Paxton glanced across at him. “Heads up, Kaz. Our reunion’s in two years.”
“And I need to know that now…why?”
“Because it’ll take you that long to get a date.”
“No it won’t.”
Renee brought over his tea and felt obligated to add her two cents. “Kaz, sugar, you haven’t asked a woman on a date in months, no matter how much they throw themselves at you.”
Had it been months since his last date? “I haven’t noticed any throwing. Who did I miss?”
“Sad.” Tynan shook his head. “You’re a sad excuse for a single Cates male.”
Delaney poked Ty in his arm. “Hey now, women find hot, distracted nerds irresistible.”
“Except you, right?” Quinn tugged on a strand of Delaney’s blond hair. “You go for the good-looking, smart cops.”
“You got that right.” She leaned forward and kissed him.
“All I’m saying is you could use a little help, Kaz.” Paxton grabbed a donut from the plate on the table before looking back up at his twin. “‘Should you find a wise critic to point out your faults, follow him as you would a guide to hidden treasure.’”
“Ha! You want me to take advice from you?” Kaz shook his head. He’d only been stupid enough to take relationship advice from Paxton once. That had ended up being his shortest relationship ever. “‘Should a seeker not find a companion who is better or equal, let him resolutely pursue a solitary course; there is no fellowship with the fool.’”
“Y’all suck as twins. You know, most twins make up their own language—not spout Latin phrases or Buddha back and forth.” Tynan held his hand out down the table. “Please pass the donuts.”
“That’s because they’re nerd twins. If they’d been super-jock twins like Quinn or you, Ty, they’d be slapping each other’s asses and yelling “Whaaattttsss up” at each other.” Delaney grabbed the last chocolate icing donut with sprinkles before passing the donuts down. “I’m calling pregnant woman dibs.”
“You did that with first two chocolate sprinkles already.” Tynan frowned down at the plate. “Quinn, have you no control over her?”
“Nope.” Quinn winked over at his wife. “And we would not slap each other’s asses if we were twins. We’d keep it to high fives and shoulder punches.”
“Excuse me. I don’t need relationship advice no matter which brother it’s from. I’ve got a lot of work on my plate—speaking of which, I’ve got to get going.”
“Me too.” Paxton took a last gulp of coffee before standing. “I’ve got to be in court. Hey, Kaz, that reminds me, could you—”
“Yeah, I’ll swing by your office in a few hours. Then we can—”
“Perfect.”
“There goes that twin psychic thing though.”
Kaz didn’t think there was anything psychic to it at all. They simply were close enough and knew each other enough to intuitively know where the other one’s brain was heading. Hell, his parents did the same thing after almost thirty-five years of marriage. He left his brothers and sister-in-law at the diner, already mentally arranging his work tasks for the morning.
“Hey, Kaz, hold up.”
Turning at Quinn’s voice, he waited for him. “Yeah?”
“I got a friendly call from one of my friends with the Bureau. He said to tell you to cool it with the side-job, whatever that means.”
He gritted his teeth together and gave Quinn a curt nod. “I received the same friendly warning myself but thanks.”
“Guess you’re not going to fill me in on whatever you’re doing?”
“Nope.”
Quinn nodded. “Figured. If you ever do need a sounding board, you know you can come to me, right?”
“Absolutely.” Absolutely not. Kaz totally trusted his brother—trusted all his brothers—but this wasn’t something he could share with Quinn without putting him in a compromising position—not with him being in law enforcement. He wasn’t willing to do that to Quinn. Especially not now that Quinn finally had everything he’d ever wanted.
No. Kaz didn’t need to drag his brothers into this. He’d handle it. It wasn’t the first time he’d pissed off the Feds. Probably wouldn’t be the last.
A Note from Lee
I hope you loved Lying to Her Grumpy New Boss! If you have a moment, it would be such a help if you could leave a review on Amazon. Just a word or two is all it takes. Reviews help other readers find my books. Thank you! ♥ Lee
Look for more Cates Brothers this fall!
Kaz’s Story (Releasing Sept 2020!)
Paxton’s Story (Releasing Nov 2020!)
Wanted: Mom for Christmas (Releasing Oct 2020!)
Also by Lee Kilraine
The Movie Star’s Fake #1 Fan (Cates Brothers #1)
All she needed was her picture
in the paper. So how did she end up fake-engaged to the Sexiest Man Alive?
Sijan Cates, Hollywood’s biggest star and favorite bad boy, is ordered by his movie studio to stay out of the tabloids. No problem. He heads back to his small, sleepy hometown of Climax, NC, to spend time with his brothers and lie low.
It’s a great plan.
Avery Danford, desperate to track down her estranged family to help her sister, squeezes into a dress two sizes too small and photobombs the biggest movie star in the world. All to catch her tabloid-loving mother’s attention.
It’s a crazy-pants plan.
One of their plans might work if…
*Sijan’s #1 fan doesn’t plant a hot kiss on him in front of the paparazzi.
*The movie star doesn’t announce that Avery is his fiancé to the rabid pack of paparazzi.
*If one of them doesn’t have a secret past they need to keep secret.
*If someone isn’t lying their ass off. Okay, a couple someone’s.
*If Sijan doesn’t feel a burning need to give Avery a starring role in his personal life. For real.
*If Avery doesn’t fall hard and fast and into bed with last year’s World’s Sexiest Man.
But you know what they say… The best-laid plans of Hollywood stars and fake fans oft go astray.
Which is to say explode in their faces.
The Movie Star’s Fake #1 Fan is a full-length fun small-town enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy featuring a hot celebrity, a desperate woman, a fake fiancé, a town grapevine working overtime, secrets, the sorriest-looking pair of bald dogs, and sweet sexy times. A romance with heat, humor, heart and a sigh-worthy HEA.
Still Crushing on His Best Friend’s Older Sister (Cates Brothers #2)
Quinn Cates:
Crush on his best friend’s sister…check.
Five years later: totally over it… check.
Only his best friend says her sister’s in trouble & needs Quinn to bring her home.
Yeah, so now Delaney’s back and that lie he told himself…the one about being over her?
Not. Even. Close.
Delaney Lyons:
Tour in Afghanistan as an Army nurse…check.
Five years later: a Purple Heart, survivor’s guilt, and a drunk pity party for one on the kitchen floor…check, check aaaand check.
Only her little sister’s best friend comes barging into Delaney’s life & drags her home.
Yeah, so now she’s back and the lie she tells herself…the one about not being attracted to Quinn?
Not. Even. Close.
Second chances don’t come around often…
Delaney gets a second chance at life and love…but is she strong enough to take it?
Quinn gets a second chance at the girl who got away…but is he strong enough to handle the woman she’s become?
Still Crushing on His Best Friend’s Older Sister is a full-length small-town romance featuring a hot cop, a wounded nurse, an old high school rival that makes bachelorettes on The Bachelor look tame, an in-your-face teenager who sort of helps rescue a cranky princess, and a grapevine that never heard a rumor they couldn’t make better. A love story with a little heat, a lot of heart, humor and a sigh-worthy HEA.
Cates Brothers
The Movie Star’s Fake #1 Fan
Still Crushing on His Best Friend’s Older Sister
Lying to Her Grumpy New Boss
Kaz’s Story (Releasing Sept 2020!)
Paxton’s Story (Releasing Nov 2020!)
Wanted: Mom for Christmas (Releasing Oct 2020!)
About the Author
Lee Kilraine is a RITA® and Golden Heart® Finalist. She lives in the pine woods of North Carolina. When she isn’t typing away at her computer with her golden retriever, Harley, destroying something at her feet, you might find her on her front porch swing plotting her next book while guarding her garden from a local gang of deer. She loves writing and reading small town contemporary romance stories with a Happily Ever After. And if they make her laugh...well, that's perfect.
Find out more about Lee and her books at leekilraine.com
Sign up for Lee’s newsletter and grab the novella HOW THE DEVLIN STOLE CHRISTMAS.
Lying to Her Grumpy New Boss: Cates Brothers #3 Page 25