Here’s To Series
The Complete Collection
Teagan Hunter
Contents
Here’s To Tomorrow
1. Rae
2. Rae
3. Rae
4. Rae
5. Rae
6. Rae
7. Rae
8. Hudson
9. Rae
10. Rae
11. Hudson
12. Rae
13. Hudson
14. Rae
15. Hudson
16. Rae
17. Hudson
18. Rae
19. Hudson
20. Rae
21. Hudson
22. Rae
23. Hudson
24. Rae
25. Hudson
26. Rae
27. Hudson
28. Rae
29. Hudson
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Here’s To Yesterday
Prologue
I. Her
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
II. Him
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
III. Them
20. Tucker
21. Maura
22. Tucker
23. Maura
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Here’s To Forever
1. Hudson
2. Hudson
3. Rae
4. Hudson
5. Rae
6. Hudson
7. Rae
8. Hudson
9. Rae
10. Hudson
11. The Game of Five
12. Rae
13. Hudson
14. Rae
15. Hudson
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Here’s To Now
Prologue
I. The Beginning
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
II. The Evolution
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
III. The Grand Finale
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Other titles by Teagan Hunter:
About the Author
Here’s To Tomorrow
Book One of the Here’s To Series
For my B.
You were the first person to ever read my words, so guess who gets the first dedication.
Trusting you with Rae and Hudson was easy from the start. This one is for you.
1
Rae
“Shouldn’t you at least buy me dinner before you screw me?”
“Um…what?”
Yep. I, Rae Kamden, just said that. Out loud. Not on purpose, of course—it was just my luck and lack of filter. Foot, I’m sure you’re well acquainted with mouth by now, but just in case, say hello.
“Nothing,” I spit out as I avert my gaze down to my light pink Converse shoes to avoid the most amazing pair of amused green eyes staring down at me.
Mr. Hot Bod Mechanic standing in front of me is not an unpleasant sight—at least from what I can tell through the curtain of hair I’m currently hiding behind.
I peek up and see that his lips are smashed together tightly like he’s trying to keep something—probably his laughter—in. I can’t say I blame him. I’ve spent the last five minutes pacing and rambling.
Unfortunately, he’s currently letting me know how much this latest round of repairs is going to cost since my car decided to break down just a mile up the road—again. This is killing his hotness factor.
I used the last of my cell phone battery to look up the nearest mechanic and then hiked here to beg someone to tow my car for as cheap as possible. I ended up in a little locally owned shop that has an awesome setup, which I only know because I scoped the place out while I was waiting in the office earlier—just to make sure I wasn’t in some sort of car-stripping shop, because you never know these days.
Now I’m kind of just standing here, pretending to stare at my feet while I steal glances to check him out. I can justify this, though, because he’s staring right back, taking me in from my feet to my slightly tilted head.
He gives a crooked grin when he takes in my Transit shirt. The band is local, so he must be a fan—I’m hoping so because that means he has good taste in music, which kind of drives my life. Add another item to the Reasons This Guy is a Total Stud list.
He cocks his head to the side, that crooked grin still in place, and waits.
Get your shit together, Rae, and stop making fake lists.
“So, it’s the transmission?” I manage to ask once the red in my face subsides. I look back up, trying to keep my eyes darting around the shop because I’m still embarrassed about my little outburst, and he’s still hot.
He clears his throat. “Yeah. It looks like whoever fixed your car last just threw that shit together. You’re looking at a new tranny and a tune-up all the way around. Like I said, my best guess is eighteen hundred after all the repairs. That’s if you want to keep it on the road.”
Despite his gravelly voice being the most beautiful thing I have ever heard, I’m pissed. This is the third time in three months that I’ve brought my car in for repairs. On top of that, eighteen hundred dollars is lot of damn money for a fresh college graduate. Hell, in this economy, it’s a lot of money period, and I’m not about to ask my dad for more. Sure, he can afford it, but I’ve just spent the last two weeks convincing him I can make it on my own and to let me do my own thing for once. If I were to ask for more money now, that entire conversation would be rendered pointless, and I would fail in my quest for independence. So not happening.
“Dammit! I knew I shouldn’t have trusted that guy. I just spent two grand three months ago on a new one. Ugh! I don’t have the time or money to deal with this. I could just use the rest of my savings, but then I won’t have any padding. I’d have to pick up extra shifts at work to replenish it and then I’m just going to be overworked and stressed out even more than I already am and that just leads to—” I stop, realizing I’m pacing and rambling like a lunatic in front of this poor guy…again. He probably thinks I’m a complete freak now. Just wonderful.
To my surprise, he starts laughing.
“Whoa. Take a deep breath, relax. It’s all good. We’ll get something worked out with payments if you need to pay that way. No big deal. We’re a small business wanting to help people and all that.”
“Bullshit.”
“Excuse me?”
“I call bullshit. No one is that awesome and lets clients do payments on car repairs.”
The grin returns and he bends at the waist until his mouth is close to my ear. “I’ll make an exception for you.”
He pulls back, his eyes lit with humor.
Wait, I know that look—he’s flirting with me! Me! Is that even ethical?
You know what? I don’t even care. He’s offering me a sweet deal, no
t asking me to suck his dick for a discount. I’m in.
“I don’t think I’ll need to do that, but just knowing the option is there would help me sleep a lot better tonight. Thank you.”
“Don’t sweat it. We’ll get you fixed up.”
He spins on his heel, but not before dropping another sexy-as-sin grin. He heads toward the front of the shop and I follow like a lost puppy. Stopping at the door, he turns my way. “So, Miss…” He trails off, wanting me to provide my name, which is odd because it should be on the clipboard he’s holding.
“You can just call me Rae.” I hate when people call me Miss.
“All right, Rae. You got lucky because we just had to push another job back by a week, so we can get the work done and give you a call in about four days. Is that okay? Do you have anyone you can call to give you a ride or do you need me to take you somewhere?”
“Four days is perfect. Thank you so much. If I could use your phone—since mine conveniently died just like my car—I can call someone to come get me.”
“Sounds good, Rae. I’m Hudson, by the way. Just ask Tucker at the front desk. He’ll grab you a phone to use and push more paperwork your way.” Hudson points toward a door and looks down at his clipboard, starting to fill info in.
“Thanks, Hudson,” I say, unable to stop myself from using his name out loud. His head jerks up and our eyes collide for more than half a second for the first time, and holy hell was this worth the wait.
They’re beautiful swirls of dark and light green with a smidge of blue. The colors blend together perfectly, like the ocean on a stormy day—which sucks, because I’m terrified of the ocean. Though, if I’m being completely honest, there’s something about his eyes that doesn’t scare me but calls out to me with familiarity and protection—which is beyond strange because we just met.
Just like that, his eyes become my favorite part of him. They speak, and I’m liking what they’re saying.
He’s interested.
I am too.
We stand there staring at one another, locked in one of those moments you read about in romance novels where only seconds have passed but it feels like a lifetime.
He’s the first to shake it off, giving me a somewhat strained smile. I attempt to smile back, but it comes out as more of a grimace and I likely look like a psycho as I move around him toward the office.
I walk through the door and spot the man I assume is Tucker. Sitting at the front desk playing on his phone, I can’t argue that he’s almost as attractive as Hudson—almost. He has beautiful, dark blond hair that’s been carefully arranged to look messy. I can’t tell what they are, but he has two full sleeves of all-black tattoos. You can tell, just from the sheer beauty of them, they clearly mean something important to him.
“Hey, um, Hudson told me I could use the phone. Apparently you can help me out with that.” I wait as he looks up and stares at me for a second. I raise my eyebrows at him.
“Sorry.” He shakes his head slightly. “I didn’t catch that. I’m on this super hard level of Mad Maxwell and I wasn’t paying any attention. What can I help you with?” He looks a little embarrassed that he’s making me repeat myself. I want to roll my eyes, but it’s kind of cute that he is so distracted by his game.
“I need to use the phone so I can get someone to come pick me up. Mine died. Do you have one I can use?”
“Oh, sure.” He hands me a cordless phone from below the counter. “Just press 9 to dial out, wait for the tone, and enter the number.”
“Thanks,” I mumble as he focuses back in on his game. I dial my sister-slash-roommate—hers is the only number I can remember—and pray she picks up.
“Hello?” Haley asks, her voice trembling with caution.
“Hales, it’s Rae. My car broke down. Again. Think you can come give me a lift?”
“Dude, again? You have crap luck, Rae. Of course I can come get you. Where are you? The caller ID just said ‘Jacked Up’. Is that the name of the shop? Because, girl, that doesn’t sound too promising to me.”
I laugh. “Yes, that’s the name of the shop. Before you get your panties in a wad, they are pretty cool so far. Some guy just told me he would even work with me on payments if I needed it. I’ve never heard of a place doing that before, so I guess I was lucky to break down where I did.”
A throat clears, grabbing my attention. Tucker quickly ducks his head, but I know he was just looking at me. Strange.
“Hmm…seems kind of odd,” Haley says in my ear. “I’ve never heard of it before and I’ve been around a lot longer than you.”
“Two years, dude. Two freakin’ years. Hurry up. I have to be at work by six.” I hang up.
Being the younger sister in our relationship, I’m used to her weird thinking. Haley is an outspoken, protective, and demanding person. She drives me crazy with her incessant questioning and assumptions, but she’s the best sister ever. She lets me live with her for next to nothing and never complains about being my personal taxi or my lack of ever doing the dishes. Just with that last one alone, I got lucky in the sister department.
I return the phone to Tucker, thanking him again, and plop down in a chair in the waiting room to start filling out the paperwork for the repairs.
I can feel eyes on me.
Lifting my head, I see Tucker staring at me like he’s unsure what to make of me. Odd. I look away then glance back, watching as he gets up and walks out of the room.
Suddenly, I see Hudson in the window of the door leading to the shop, talking with Tucker. They look a little uncomfortable, and with that look that Tucker just gave me, I can’t help but think it has something to do with me. I hope they aren’t arguing over my repairs or the cost, because that’s the last thing I need right now. I don’t think I would be able to cover much more than I already am. I’m still trying to catch up from missing work two weeks ago when I had the flu, and I don’t want to risk having this mess up everything else I have planned.
Besides, my father would probably strangle me if I came to him for money right now. We’ve been having this ongoing “conversation” about me moving to Boston with Maura, my best friend. I want to live in the city, not thirty minutes out where I currently am, all part of my growing up and doing things on my own plan.
I’m not saying where I live is bad, because it’s truthfully a great town to live in. It’s not too big and not too small, but I’m in need of a change of scenery, something more fast-paced…I think. I feel like I’m supposed to move on, but I don’t know if I need to.
Either way, he agreed last week on one condition: I have to get a “real” job.
Sure, I’m an adult and don’t need his permission, but I want to have it. He’s the only parent I have ever had, and I don’t want to mess up the fantastic relationship we’ve built by moving away—even if it’s only thirty minutes—without his blessing. Doesn’t feel right to me.
So, at his insistence, I’ve been putting in applications at a few different marketing firms over the last two days, since I graduated with a degree in marketing. I’m not sure if I’m completely cut out for an office setting, but I’ll have to make myself be to get a start in the industry.
Glancing up from my paperwork, I see Tucker opening the door with a slight smile on his face. Guess it didn’t end up so bad.
“Rae, was it?” I nod. “Right, so we’re good to go on starting your repairs. Should only take about four days since we have an opening. We’ll give you a call when it’s done or if anything comes up. Were you able to find a ride today?”
It’s kind of sweet that he acts like he wasn’t eavesdropping on my conversation with Haley.
“Yep, all set. They should be here shortly to get me. Here’s this.” I hand him the clipboard with my completed paperwork. “I’ll just go wait outside. Thank you again for doing this so quickly. If you guys ever have a free night, come up to the bar where I work and I’ll get you some beers on the house.”
“Yeah? What bar is that?” he asks.
“Clyde’s over on 25th Street. You ever been?”
He shakes his head. “Can’t say that I have. Might have to stop in some time.”
“You should. We have some kickass wings. Plus, free beer on me.”
Tucker chuckles. “You drive a hard bargain. I’m in.”
“Sounds good. Guess I’ll see you in a couple days to pick up my POS in there.”
“Hey, cars have feelings too,” he jokes.
“All that one has is anger. So pissy all the time, breaking down on me constantly.”
“You got me there. I’ll give you a call when she’s done.”
Here's To Box Set (Complete Series) Page 1
