by J. S. Cooper
The Hookup Plan
J. S. Cooper
Copyright © 2020 by J. S. Cooper
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Blurb
He’s my brother’s best friend and I have a plan to seduce him that will blow his mind...
Jefferson Evian has been my brother’s best friend since we were kids. He’s hot, funny, and totally out of my reach. Some might even say he’s forbidden to me. All because of my overprotective and bossy older brother.
I’ve tried flirting with Jeff on and off throughout the years, but he’s always remained elusive. Until now. Now I’m ready to make him mine. I don’t care if my brother won’t let me date him or if my best friend can’t stand him.
I have a plan that should help me win Jeff’s heart once and for all and it all starts with a sexy hookup.
Chapter 1
Betsy
I cursed the day that the Canyon Beach Lingerie shop opened.
Not just because I spent money I didn’t have there. And not just because I’d bought a pair of red crotchless panties that were unlike anything I’d ever seen before; lacy, see-through, with a huge hole you-know-where, they had to be the sexiest piece of underwear that I’d ever owned. And not even because I thought it would be a good idea to leave said sexy panties on Police Officer Jefferson Evian’s desk when I went to the police station this morning to deliver cupcakes.
No, those weren’t all the reasons why I cursed the day that I’d ever stepped foot inside the lingerie shop. The biggest reason was that not only had I left the “anonymous package” on the wrong desk in the police station, but Deputy Sheriff, Max Fernandes had seen me leaving it and opened it before I’d been able to slip out of the station with my empty cupcake containers.
“Hey, Betsy!” he yelled across the busy room, drawing the attention of not one, not two, not three, but seven different police officers. “You left something here by mistake.” He then let out a loud whistle and held the panties up for everybody to see. “Betsy Montgomery, what have you left for me?” He walked toward me with a swagger I’d only seen in cowboy movies and then stopped with a twinkling light in his hazel eyes.
“It was a joke,” I mumbled as I looked down, my face aflame. “And it wasn’t even for you,” I said under my breath.
“What did you say?” He leaned forward. “I couldn’t hear that last part.”
“Nothing.” I shook my head quickly. “It was a joke. Julia Gilbert put me up to it.” I felt only slightly guilty about mentioning my best friend. She’d made me do so many incredibly immature things when we were teenagers that adding this to the pile didn’t seem so bad. It didn’t even faze me that we were long past the age of teenage dares.
“Oh, Jules …” I could see him thinking over the information, and then he nodded. “She always was immature.” He sighed. “Well, you should take these back. You really shouldn’t be leaving these sorts of things hanging around. You might give someone the wrong idea.”
“Someone like who?” I said, but I didn’t wait for an answer. I grabbed the panties and ran out of the station before Jeff showed up. That would make this embarrassing situation even worse. I already knew that he would find out because this was Canyon Beach and everyone knew everyone’s business. I would bet twenty dollars that Max was already texting his friends about my little dare, and I knew that my brother Nolan and his best friend, Jeff, would soon be in the know. I’d have to call Jules right away so that she could cover for me when I explained to them that the only reason I had left a pair of naughty panties at the police station was because of a dare and not because I had a little crush on my brother’s best friend.
“Julia Gilbert, you need to call me right now,” I whispered into my phone as I left a message on her voicemail. I wasn’t sure why I was being so quiet. It wasn’t as if there was anyone else in the parking lot in the back of the police station. And it wasn’t as if the most embarrassing situation in the world hadn’t already happened to me. “And do not tell Nolan I called you,” I hissed before I hung up.
I knew I needed Julia’s help; she was my best friend, after all, but there were several downsides to confiding in her. One, I was pretty sure she didn’t really like Jeff and thus might not really want to help me figure out a way to get him into my bed. Two, she was now dating my older brother, Nolan, and I knew his overprotective ass wouldn’t want me dating his best friend. I was in a bit of a bind, but I was willing to pull the best friend card on Jules if she gave me any grief. I stared at the crotchless panties in my hand and was about to throw them on the ground in frustration when I changed my mind and stuffed them into my purse. I mean, it was unlikely that I’d be wearing them anytime soon, but they had cost me sixty dollars, and that was money that I couldn’t afford to just throw around.
I made my way down Main Street and headed toward the bakery that I co-owned with my grandma Elsie. Though I wasn’t really sure I could call it a bakery as all I really whipped up were cupcakes, brownies, and the occasional cookie. Well, along with coffees, teas, and the most amazing hot chocolate known to man.
As I walked through the open doors of my bright cheery store, I had to pinch myself. I couldn’t quite believe how lucky I was to be the owner of Betsy & Elsie’s Yummy Cupcake Store. It was like a dream come true. My nanna had put up most of the capital for the store and helped out occasionally, but essentially she left everything up to me. It was overwhelming, but it was my dream. Everything in my life was going according to plan—well, asides from Jefferson Evian having not yet fallen in love with me.
With his dark brown hair and eyes I could only call cerulean blue, he was absolutely the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen in my life. I knew his eyes were cerulean because when I’d been a teenager I’d had several staring contests with him. One night, after one particularly long contest, I’d looked up the various shades of blue in an art book my mother had. His eyes weren’t aquamarine, or navy, or teal, but cerulean. I’d never even heard of that shade of blue before, but as soon as I’d seen it, I knew it was the same color as Jeff’s eyes. Not that I would tell him that. I could just imagine how a conversation between Jeff and I would go:
“Hey, Jeff, you have the most beautiful pair of cerulean blue eyes I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Go away, please, stalker,” he would reply, and then I would run away and cry because he was right. I was a bit of a stalker.
“Good morning, Betsy.” A deep voice welcomed me as I entered the store and I screamed out loud when I saw that it was Jeff. Oh God, I hadn’t been talking out loud, had I?
“You all right?” He had a puzzled and slightly concerned look on his face. Which, of course, made my heart race slightly. He was concerned about me?
I should tell you that I can be a bit of a nutcase at times, though I hide it well.
“Morning, ceru—I mea
n, Jeff,” I said weakly. I held my handbag close to my chest. He didn’t already know about the crotchless panties, did he?
“You all right?” he asked again. He took a step toward me, his expression curious as he took me in.
He, of course, looked completely normal and handsome as he stood in front of me in his police officer’s uniform. The black material seemed to cling to his every muscle, and my heart skipped a beat as I noticed the gun in his holster, big, black, and dangerous. In other circumstances, it would have scared me knowing that his job involved him carrying around a gun, but we lived in Canyon Beach where the crime rate was zero, so it didn’t make me too nervous. The biggest issue we had in town was teenagers drinking and getting high on the beach on a Friday night, and even then, they moved on quickly when the police arrived.
“I’m fine, I’m fine, would you like some—”
“Wine?” He cut me off with a grin. “Get it?”
“Yes, I get it, Jeff. It rhymes.” I made a face and laughed at him. “But you know I don’t have a liquor license, so would you like some coffee?”
“With Irish whiskey?”
“No, Jeff. I could add a shot of chocolate and make it a mocha, though.”
“Fine, fine. If you add a—”
It was my turn to cut him off now. “A red velvet cupcake.”
“You know me so well.” He grinned and leaned toward me and my heart skipped a beat. Not well enough, I thought. Not well enough.
“So, I was wondering,” he began. He paused, and I nodded for him to continue, but we were interrupted by a noise near the front of the store and turned to see what the commotion was all about. I groaned inside when I saw who it was.
“Did somebody call nine-one-one because I’m here?” Julia sailed through the entrance of the shop and walked up to the counter. “Hey, Betsy.” She smiled at me and then turned toward Jeff with a frown. “Hey, It.”
“Good morning to you as well, Jules,” he replied. “Didn’t somebody tell you to take off your face mask before you left the house? You’ll scare little kids looking like that.”
“What face mask?” Jules touched her cheek and then glared at him as he laughed. “You’re so immature, you know that, right?”
“Pot, meet kettle.” He rolled his eyes and turned back toward me. “How do you have such an immature friend?”
I walked toward the coffee machine to make his hot mocha coffee to avoid answering his question. If he thought Jules was immature, what was he going to think about my crotchless panties idea? My face reddened at the thought. I was twenty-six, for heaven’s sake, not sixteen—what had I been thinking? I could hear Jules and Jeff still sparring with each other as I grabbed his cupcake from the case, and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. Those two had been arguing with each other ever since we were in high school. It had made me nervous at first because I’d wondered if Jules had a thing for him and vice versa, but she’d very quickly let it be known that she’d had a crush on Nolan, who also happened to be Jeff’s best friend, and I hadn’t worried about it anymore. Anyway, Jeff never seemed to be interested in long-term relationships. I’d never known of him to date anyone for more than a couple of months, and he’d never introduced any of his women as his girlfriend. That had made me happy, but also nervous. Did he just never want to have a girlfriend?
“What would you like to drink, Jules? A cappuccino?” Jules went back and forth between cappuccinos and lattes, depending on her mood.
“A caramel latte, please.”
“Sure, coming from Nolan’s?” I could tell that she’d just woken up and hadn’t bothered to brush her long dark hair as it was quite messy around her face.
“Yes.” She gave me an impish grin. “I spent the night there, but I’m going to go home and shower first before going to work.”
“Why didn’t you just shower at his place?”
“I didn’t have any clean clothes to put on.” She shrugged and yawned. “Plus, I need a little catnap.”
“But it’s morning.”
“We didn’t get much sleep last night, if you know what I mean.” She winked, and I burst out laughing at the expression on Jeff’s face.
“How Nolan could be dating you, I have no idea.” He mock-shuddered. “He must have lost his mind.”
“Don’t be jealous.” Jules smiled sweetly at him and then turned back to me. “Oh, Betsy, I forgot to tell you that I have an amazing guy that I want you to go on a date with.”
“What amazing guy?” I said lightly, avoiding Jeff’s gaze. “And why do you want me to go on a date with him?”
“Actually, he wants to go on a date with you. He was asking me about you.”
“He was? Who?” I tried not to sound too excited in front of Jeff. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted Jeff, but one, he had never asked me out; two, I wasn’t sure if he was interested in me at all; three, I wasn’t sure if he was interested in ever getting married, and four, I couldn’t afford to spend my whole life hoping for him to make a move. If someone else was interested, maybe it was time to see what was out there.
“Johnson Campbell,” she said with a small smile and I froze.
My jaw dropped, and I could hear Jeff chuckling. “Are you joking?”
“No, I’m not. He was asking about your situation.”
“Well, there you go, Betsy.” Jeff was grinning as he interrupted the conversation. “You and good old Johnson Campbell will make a cute couple, though I’d have thought he’d have been more into your grandma.”
“Ha ha,” I said, looking incredulously over at Jules. “You are joking, right? Do you really think I’d go on a date with Johnson Campbell? He has no hair, and he wears dentures. I know this because he takes them out sometimes when he’s in here so that they can rest in a glass of water. He has to be at least seventy.”
“He’s a young seventy.” Jules grinned. “He still covers the high school football games.”
“Julia Gilbert, I am not going on a date with a seventy-year-old man. Like, really?”
“Give me some credit, Betsy.” She gave Jeff a wide smile as she continued talking. “I’m not talking about you dating Johnson Campbell.”
“You just said he was asking about my situation.”
“He was, but not for himself. He was asking for his grandson, Nick. Remember Nick Campbell, Jeff?” she continued. “He went to our high school, then went to college, and came back and visited a couple of times back in the day. Well, turns out he might be moving to Canyon Beach.”
“No way. He was the surfer right?”
“Yup, he’s a hot pro surfer.” Jules grinned. “I think Kelly Slater was his mentor or spirit guide or whatever.”
“Spirit guide or whatever?” Jeff raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you a writer, Jules?”
“Aren’t you a cop, Jeff? Shouldn’t you be out there protecting the citizens of Canyon Beach not trying to score free cupcakes because the doughnut shop told you to stop coming around?”
“Jules!” I chided her and then glared at Jeff, who looked like he was about to make a retort. “You guys really are like kids. Anyone would think you were siblings or mortal enemies or something.”
“Mortal enemies sounds about right.” Jules huffed, then gave me an apologetic look. “But I guess we all have our crosses to bear.” I gave her a disapproving look and she sighed. “Any who, guess what I’ve been assigned to work on next?”
“What?” Her last assignment had been an article about online dating, and that had been quite an amusing experience.
“The Canyon Beach Bachelor Auction.” She grinned at me. “I’m to feature three bachelors each week before the auction so that everyone in town can get to know them first before they bid. It’s to get them to bid higher.”
“Who in town doesn’t already know everyone else?” I laughed. That was the beauty and the downside of living in a small town. Everyone knew everyone’s business. Even if you had just moved to town, it didn’t take long for other people to figure out your en
tire life story.
“It’s Malcolm’s idea.” She shrugged. Malcolm was her boss and the editor-in-chief of the newspaper. “The mayor wants to use the money from the auction this year so that the city of Canyon Beach can open a homeless shelter for all the people that come here during the winter so that they don’t all sleep at the beach.”
“All what people?” I asked curiously. “I’ve never seen any homeless people on the beach.”
“Actually, last year, we ticketed twelve transient people,” Jeff cut into the conversation.
“You gave homeless people tickets?” Jules sounded appalled.
“Well, we didn’t fine them, if that’s what you’re thinking. But we did have to issue them warnings. It goes against city ordinances to sleep at the beach.”
“So, where did they go?” I asked.
“Pastor Desmond at the Episcopalian church took them in,” he explained. “And most of them stayed in his house, so that’s not a real solution to the problem. He spoke to the chief, who spoke to the mayor, and they decided the best thing to do would be to open a shelter that provided housing to any and all homeless people.”
“Oh, wow,” I said.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Jules added. “Anyone can fall on hard times, and a town as rich as ours should really be willing to help.”
“Spoken like a true socialist.” Jeff winked at me, and I shook my head at him. I knew he was trying to rile her up.
“Better a socialist than a tightfisted Republican.”
“All Republicans are not tightfisted.”
“All loving, kind people aren’t socialists.”
“Guys, please.” I held up my hands and rolled my eyes. “You’re going to do my head in.”
