by Alina Jacobs
“Definitely grow the beard out!” Susie said immediately.
I raised an eyebrow at her.
“What? It looks distinguished.”
Remy grinned at her. “Anything for the soon-to-be new deputy mayor of Harrogate.”
“Oh, we don’t know if that’s going to happen,” I reminded them. The corn dog was helping my nerves but not by much.
“I think we’re about to find out,” Remy said, jerking his chin to the stage.
Edna was walking up with an envelope.
I finished the rest of my corn dog in one big bite then made my way over to the stage. Hunter wrapped his arms around me.
“Even if I win,” he said quietly, “I’m not taking the job, so you’re going to have to be mayor anyway.”
“You don’t have to,” I whispered back to him.
“I’m not doing it because I love you, though I do love you very much. I’m doing it because the composting committee and the newly formed feral cat committee spent the last thirty minutes complaining to me that the other committee was encroaching on their territory. Apparently, the composing committee wants to put cats out at the compost pile to keep away critters, and the feral cat people want to be in charge of any use of cats.”
“Lordy.”
“Just wanted to give you a heads-up, since I cannot deal with that for six years.” He kissed me, and I sank into him.
“If you two are finished,” Edna said, clearing her throat.
Hunter grinned. I blushed.
Edna put on her spectacles, opened the envelope, and took out a piece of cardstock. “Harrogate’s newest mayor is Meghan Loring! Hunter loses with twenty votes.”
“So it was close, then,” Hunter said, “if I lost by twenty votes.”
“No,” Edna corrected, showing us the paper. “You only received twenty votes.”
Hunter’s mouth dropped. “I only—what? Let me see that! Who didn’t vote for me?”
“The better question is who did,” Edna replied tartly.
I was giddy with relief. “It’s okay, Hunter,” I told him. “You’re going to be the first gentleman. Only if you want to, of course.”
“Please,” he said, tossing the paper to one of his waiting brothers, “I’m the only man for you.”
“That’s a relief!” I joked.
“However, I want to be extra sure that I’m spending the rest of my life with you,” Hunter continued, getting down on one knee in front of me and taking a small blue box out of his coat pocket.
I clapped a hand over my mouth, hardly registering what was happening.
“Meg, I have been in love with you since our tulips first met.” He grinned. I shook my head at the pun, trying and failing to keep from getting teary-eyed.
“From the first time you touched my peonies—flowers, that is—I knew you were the one. Mayor Meghan Loring, will you do me the honor of being my wife? I can’t spend another minute without you, and also, I think that, especially in light of our unorthodox living arrangement, we can’t have the new mayor living in sin.” He grinned. “What do you say?”
I fumbled for a tissue in my pocket as I started to cry.
“Peony for your thoughts?”
“I love you!” was all I could choke out.
Hunter opened the box. Inside was a gorgeous sparkling ring with glittering pink and white diamonds in the shape of a flower.
“If it’s bouquet with you, I’d like for you to be my wife.”
“Yes! I’ll marry you, Hunter!” I said around the sobs. “Of course!”
He jumped up and swung me around then slid the ring on my finger. “My love for you continues to blossom.”
“I’m only marrying you if you stop with the flower puns.”
“But I really, really lilac you!” he said, kissing me again. “Also, if I’m not mistaken, you really enjoy my tongue on your petals,” he whispered in my ear.
“Oh my gosh!”
“The new mayor of Harrogate!” Hunter announced loudly, and the crowd roared. “And my future wife!”
His little brothers tossed flowers at us as we walked down the steps from the stage into the crowd of townspeople crowding around to offer their congratulations.
“I voted for you because I was worried everyone else was going to vote for Hunter,” a woman told me, and several of her friends nodded.
Hunter picked up one of the flowers that had rested on his shoulder and tucked it into my hair.
“I’m taking bets now,” Art hollered, “on when the babies are starting to come!”
“Oof!” I said as people jostled to place their bets. “You sure you want to get married? Seems like the town is going to be in our business, especially now that I’m mayor.”
“Not to rub it in or anything,” Hunter said, grinning at me and pressing another kiss to my lips.
“Yeah, totally not to rub it in. I mean, you got twenty whole votes!”
Hunter laughed. “I don’t care if the townspeople camp outside our bedroom. With you in my life, everything is coming up roses.”
Keep reading for a sneak peek of
I REALLY LILAC YOU!
I Really Lilac You
Read more about Hunter and Meg!
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1
Meghan
“I am very sorry to hear that the goats ate your bumper, Mr. Hefferweisen,” I said, trying to sound like I was very concerned about the situation. “But the composting facility does say to be wary of goats and not loiter.”
“My taxes paid for that compost heap!” he complained. “I should be able to go out there and drink if I want to.”
“You’re lucky you didn’t get a fine,” I told him.
After he left, I pinched the bridge of my nose and stood up to stretch out my legs.
Minnie bounced in. She was interning with me over the summer.
“Your four o’clock is here, Mayor,” she said.
“Send them in please.”
Hunter prowled into the room and shut the door behind him. “Mayor Loring,” he said in that deep voice that still made me want to immediately drop my panties for him. “I have a very difficult problem that I was hoping for you to solve.”
“I am very busy,” I reminded him, leaning against the desk. “You know, running the town and everything.”
Hunter smiled, expression predatory. “And you would be doing me a big favor. You know, my tax dollars at work.” He sauntered over to me, and I licked my lips, scanning him up and down. He looked good in his suit—if we had more time, I would want to strip him out of it.
“If your staff weren’t outside, I would be ripping off your clothes and laying you naked across the desk,” Hunter commented.
I blinked, caught by surprise that we were thinking along the same lines. I smiled. “Promises, promises.”
Pulling me against him, he brought his mouth over mine in a crushing kiss.
I reached for his zipper. Hunter pushed my hands away, grinned, and sank down to his knees.
“I thought you wanted me to help you with something.”
“Spreading your legs for me is doing something,” he said.
My panties were soaked. Gripping the edge of the desk, I leaned back, thankful that I had chosen to wear a skirt today.
His hands slipped up my skirt. “You are wet,” he remarked casually as his fingers brushed against my panties then pushed them aside. The first caress of his fingers against my pussy sent a tingle up my spine. With a sigh, I spread my stance. Hunter kissed my knee as his hand went to work, stroking and circling over my clit.
It was good—with Hunter, it was always good—but it wasn’t enough.
“Your mouth,” I said, already desperate. “I want your mouth on me.”
“Is that an order from my mayor?”
“And the woman who knows where you sleep at night.”
Hunter
chuckled and lifted the hem of my skirt.
There was something intensely erotic about seeing a man’s head disappear under your skirt. I couldn’t see what he was up to, but the puff of warm air over my pussy was warning enough. His fingers spread my lips and a warm tongue lapped over my clit.
“Oh…” I had to cover my mouth to keep my moan in check. I leaned back against the desk, luxuriating in the pleasure, letting each swipe of his tongue take me higher and higher…
Someone rapped sharp knuckles against the door.
“Madam Mayor? May I have a moment?”
“I can’t wait when you’re moved into your new place,” he whispered. “Then we will not be interrupted.”
Right. Moving.
2
Hunter
Meg was finally going to be moving closer to me. She and her sisters had been living in an apartment Meg had rented because she refused to take my money, even though we were going to be married.
But now she was mine.
My little brothers were already home from school when I arrived back at the estate house. Except instead of playing outside or doing their homework, they were all dressed in heavy-duty work clothes, and Isaac was directing them into the waiting school bus.
“Excuse me, where are you going?”
“Minnie and her sisters are moving today,” he told me blankly. “We’re helping them box up all their stuff.”
“I even found a tractor trailer to help with the moving!” Remy told me proudly, showing me his latest Craigslist purchase.
“Garrett is going to be mad about this tractor trailer,” I remarked, looking at the huge six-wheeler parked around the side of the house.
“You have to drive the bus,” Remy informed me, tossing me the keys. “I’m taking the trailer.”
“I’m not driving the bus!” I sputtered. But my little brothers were waiting expectantly. I sighed. “Let me change.”
“I wish I had driven the truck,” I muttered as I navigated the school bus through town. At the very least, it would have been quieter. Several of my little brothers had invented what they called dinosaur language, which included various decibels of screeching.
“We’re here!” I barked as I parked in front of Meg’s former home.
The old Victorian loomed up against the afternoon sky. There was a For Sale by Bank sign out front. The boards had been removed
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Family Tree
Author note: These are some of the Svenssons that show up in this story. They are listed under their respective mothers and are from oldest at the top to youngest at the bottom with their associated companies.
Father - Leif Svensson
Harrogate Svenssons
Wife #1 – Merla Vee
Remington (Remy) – Founder, The Rural Trust
Hunter – lawyer
Gunnar – Founder, Romance Creative
Mace – CEO, Svensson Pharmatech
Archer – CEO, Greyson Hotel Group
Garrett – CFO, Svensson Pharmatech
Weston – CEO, ThinkX
Blade – COO, ThinkX
Parker– CTO, Svensson Pharmatech
Manhattan Svenssons
Wife #2 – Athlyn
Greg – CEO, Svensson Investment
Walker – COO, Quantum Cyber
Mike – COO, Greyson Hotel Group
Beck – CFO, Greyson Hotel Group
Liam – COO, Platinum Provisions
Carl – Managing partner, Svensson Investment
Seattle Svenssons
Wife #3 – Amayra
Salinger
You will meet the rest soon!
Boston Svenssons
Wife #4 – Mary Beth
Crawford
Josh – Svensson & Svensson law office
Eric – Svensson & Svensson law office
Wilder
Ansel – Lab grown meat company
Gryff – Lab grown meat company
You will meet the rest soon!
Rhode Island Svenssons
Wife #5 – Sueanne
Tanner – Train Company
You will meet the rest soon!
Younger Svensson brothers
(there are more but are not yet named in the books, so I didn’t include them because it’s a lot!)
Wife #6 – Brenna
Tristan – college-aged kid
Eli – college-aged kid
Isaac – high school-aged kid
Calvin – high school-aged kid
Ronan – high school-aged kid
Theo – middle-school aged kid
Peyton – middle-school aged kid
Andy – elementary-school aged kid
Wife #9 – Idonna
Bruno – high school-aged kid
Otis – middle-school aged kid
Ellis – middle-school aged kid
Orlando – elementary-school aged kid
Scout – elementary-school aged kid
Oscar – elementary-school aged kid
Arlo – elementary-school aged kid
Wife #10 – Payslee
Adrian – college-aged kid
Nate – middle-school aged kid
Billy – middle-school aged kid
Henry – elementary-school aged kid
Wife #11 – Kimberly
Davy – pre-school aged kid
Acknowledgments
A big thank you to Red Adept Editing for editing and proofreading.
And finally a big thank you to all the readers! I had a great time writing this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy!
About the Author
If you like steamy romantic comedy novels with a creative streak, then I'm your girl!
Architect by day, writer by night, I love matcha green tea, chocolate, and books! So many books…
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