A Splash of Vanilla (Three Sisters Catering Book 3)

by Bethany Lopez

  “Burgers are done!” Jericho called out from behind the grill he was manning. “Brats and dogs are up next.”

  “Is there anything I can do for you?” I asked, feeling bad for her.

  Tasha sighed.

  “Can you get him out?”

  I laughed and shook my head.

  “I’m afraid that’s one thing I can’t do,” I replied, then patted her shoulder before going to where Mick was sitting with his ma, Millie, Jackson, Rob, Jan, Ty, Rebecca, Hector, and Tanisha.

  “Hey, babe, want me to make you a burger?” I asked, coming up behind him and placing my hands on his shoulders.

  “That’s okay, I’ll get it. I was just trying to convince Ma she should move in with us. The apartment is sitting there empty, waiting for her to fill it with magazines, hot Funyons, and Judge Judy.”

  This was a discussion I’d heard a million times over the last few months.

  “I bet I can get her to say yes,” I told him with a sly grin.

  “Be my guest,” Mick replied skeptically.

  I moved over to his ma’s seat and crouched down, then leaned in and whispered in her ear. Then, I stood up, stepped back, and waited.

  “How soon can you pack up my stuff?” she asked Mick, totally straight-faced.

  He gaped at her.

  “What?”

  “You’d better not damage anything, and I want everything set up exactly like I have it in my place now.”

  “Are you serious? You’ll move in?”

  “Just try and stop me.”

  Mick swung his wide eyes gaze to me, and I smiled down into the beautiful face of the man who’d given me everything I’d ever wanted.

  “What did you say to her?” he asked.

  “Oh, only that she’d get more time with the baby if she lived under the same roof.”

  “What?” He stood up so quickly his chair toppled over, then he reached for me, before snatching his hands back and looking down at my abdomen. “You’re pregnant?”

  “Yes, we are,” I replied, trying not to cry, even though everything seemed to hit me right in the feels. “And, I’m not fragile, you can touch me.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked, looking down at his large hands.

  “Positive,” I said, stepping in to hug him tightly.

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For loving me. For giving me a family. For allowing me to have my whole family under one roof,” he murmured as he held me gently.

  “I’ll give you everything, everything that’s in my power to give,” I promised him.

  “And I, you.”

  Dru

  “I’VE GOT THE TEQUILA,” TASHA called as she walked into the now-closed storefront of Three Sisters.

  “Perfect,” Millie said, leaning back in her chair with a sigh. “I figured that’s what you’d pick over champagne, so I went with chips and fresh salsa, rather than macaroons.”

  “You know me so well,” Tasha replied with a wink, setting the bottle and three shot glasses on the table.

  Our husbands were taking care of the kids so that we could celebrate the five-year anniversary of Three Sisters Catering together, much as we’d toasted the opening five years ago . . . just the three of us.

  “Ah, it feels so good to be off my feet,” Millie said, closing her eyes briefly.

  She’d been in the kitchen all day prepping for a family reunion the next day.

  She and Jackson had waited a few years before having children, content with letting Kayla and Millie get used to their new roles. Last year they’d had Dexter, and the three of them doted on the sweet baby boy.

  “I hear that,” I said, having worked a promotion event earlier in the afternoon.

  Tasha poured the three shots of tequila and divvied them up between us.

  Her son, Isaac, was a little hellion, and she and Jericho had been on the fence as to whether or not they wanted more kids. I was pretty sure they’d end up with at least one more, if not two. After all, at least one of us should have a little girl, so Kayla wasn’t the lone girl anymore.

  My and Mick’s son, Michael III, was his father’s heart and my soul. The sweetest, yet toughest kid I’d ever seen. We’d decided to start trying again in the next few months, so little Mickie would have a brother or sister to grow up with. For now, he was content to hang out with his cousins.

  We’d gotten to know our brothers well over the years, and I loved to see them interacting with the children. They were really good with them. Of course, they all have their own lives, and their own stories, but that’s for them to tell.

  “To Three Sisters,” Millie said, raising her glass. “It’s more than I ever dreamed it could be, and I’m so grateful that I’ve had the two of you along with me on this crazy ride. I love you guys.”

  “Yes, and to finding the perfect staff to help us make our dreams a reality, and our ever-so-patient husbands for putting up with our crazy schedules,” Tasha added.

  “Finally,” I said. “To Mom, whose absence is always felt. We miss you, Momma, and hope we’ve made you proud.”

  “Salude,” we chimed, raising our glasses a little higher before throwing the shot back.

  The chimes in the window made a beautiful melody, even though the windows were closed, and I knew it was our mother joining in the celebration.

  She always did love tequila.

  The End.

  Did you enjoy the Three Sisters Catering trilogy? Check out the first chapter of Too Tempting, book 1 in The Lewis Cousins series.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Gabe

  I TOOK A DEEP BREATH as I walked out of my cabin and onto the wooden deck overlooking the lake and forty wooded acres of my camp.

  I’d built Camp Gabriel Lewis over three years ago, after I’d retired from the NFL and decided to make my dream of working with teens a reality. My camp was not just a football camp, and not just your traditional sleepaway camp; it was a combination of both. It was the culmination of a vision I had when I was a young kid, and the only things I gave a damn about in life were football and my annual camping trip with my cousins.

  “Son of a bitch, it’s good to be back here!” I grinned over my ceramic coffee mug at my cousin, Reardon, who’d just pulled in.

  Crazy tall, blond, and charismatic, he was the person I’d been closest to growing up. My best friend. Now he was a lawyer in the small town he grew up in.

  “Happy to get away from the hustle and bustle of Cherry Springs?” I asked with a chuckle.

  “No, man, things there are quiet as usual,” Reardon responded as he pulled his duffle bag from the trunk of his Mercedes. “I’m just looking forward to kicking your ass at family sports day this year.”

  “You wish, cupcake,” I responded wryly, feeling ridiculously happy to see him again.

  “Hey, I’ve been working out,” he countered with a grin.

  When he reached the top we came together in a quick hug, each giving the other a sharp clap on the back before pulling apart.

  “C’mon, I’ll walk you down to your cabin so you can get settled in. Jasmine and Dillon are en route. They’ll probably get in tonight. Serena had to work today, but said she should be in first thing in the morning.”

  “Sounds good.”

  I followed him back down the steps and onto the trail, which led to the row of cabins. The counselors stay in the cabins when camp is in session, but my family always lived in them when we came down for our annual trip the week before opening.

  “This is you, as usual,” I said, jogging up the steps to open the door, since his hands were full. “So, what have you been doing since Easter?” I asked as he tossed the bag effortlessly onto the bed.

  “Had a couple cases, nothing really exciting,” he replied, opening the drawers to the dresser so he could unpack.

  “Things still good with Brenda . . . or was it Bonnie?” I asked, honestly unable to remember the name of the girl he’d brought for Easter dinner.

&
nbsp; “It’s Becca, and no, we broke up.”

  When I looked at him pointedly, asking him what happened without saying the words, he shrugged.

  “She liked the idea of being with a lawyer, but not living in a small town. She kept trying to convince me to move to the city . . . kept leaving brochures around and shit. I finally told her that leaving was not an option for me, and she bailed.”

  “That sucks, Rear, I’m sorry things didn’t work out,” I said sincerely. Neither of us had ever been married. In our twenties, we’d enjoyed playing the field, but we’d recently agreed that we were ready to stop all the bullshit and settle down.

  Unfortunately, the kind of women we seemed to attract weren’t the kind that we wanted to marry. Now we were older, and set in our ways, we were finding that women our age were set in theirs too, so it was difficult to find someone who wanted the same things we did.

  “It’s for the best,” he replied, rolling his bag up and shoving it in the closet. “It’s better to find out now, than when I proposed, right?”

  “Was it that serious?”

  “I don’t know . . . It could have been.”

  I looked my cousin over, determined he didn’t look heartbroken or anything, and figured he was better off. He’d find the right woman soon enough, but for now, it was time to enjoy a week with our favorite people.

  “I was just about to take a look around, see if anything needs to be fixed,” I said, tilting my head toward the door. “You wanna head out?”

  “Yeah, sounds good. Let me just hit the head real quick and we can take off on foot.”

  I went back out onto the porch to let him take a piss in peace. These cabins had their own bathrooms, and were usually shared by two counselors of the same sex. Once you got to the part of camp where the campers stayed, there were communal bathrooms and showers. Each of those cabins had five bunk beds, and a twin bed for the junior counselors.

  “All right, let’s do this,” Reardon said as he rushed outside, the screen door slapping as it closed.

  We took off at a brisk pace as we walked. I was probably three inches shorter than Reardon, but even though I was retired, I still kept myself in pretty good shape. My cousin was no slouch by any means, but he did spend a lot of time behind a desk. Even though he knew I was faster than him, and almost always came out on top in any competition, Reardon was still the most competitive person I knew. That was why, after less than a half mile of him trying to walk faster than me, he took off at a sprint, his laughter floating behind him.

  “Really?” I shouted. “You’re starting this shit already?”

  Then I was off, running at full speed and gaining on him within moments. Right before we reached the break in the trees to the center of main camp, I gave it an extra push and passed him with a whoop.

  I stopped at the flagpole, hands on my knees as I looked up at him, laughing at his red-faced scowl.

  “When you gonna give it up?” I asked good-naturedly. A big part of our relationship included giving each other a hard time.

  “Never,” he vowed, like he always did, then held his side. “I think I caught a cramp.”

  “Serves you right, cupcake.”

  Reardon shook his head as he looked around.

  “The place looks great.”

  “I had a team come in about a month ago. Did general landscaping and maintenance. Made sure everything was on point for opening day. I’ve used them before, so I knew they’d do the job I hired ‘em to do, but a lot can go wrong in a month. I want to make sure that at some point this week we put eyes on every facility. Make sure nothing broke, fell, or got eaten by a wild animal since they left.”

  “Sounds easy enough,” he replied, then asked, “I know it’s kind of early, but I’m starving. What are your plans for dinner tonight?”

  “I was thinking we could either do brats or steaks. I picked up a tri tip too, but figured we could save that for the last night.”

  “That sounds good, and for tonight, steaks sound perfect.”

  “We can head back and get the grill fired up. I can always hop on the four wheeler and take a quick turn around the camp before dinner.”

  “Perfect.”

  We were headed back toward our cabins when the sound of leaves crunching had me bracing and looking to my left.

  The last thing I expected to see was a leggy brunette in cut-offs and a tank top come walking out of the woods. Being an hour away from the closest town meant we didn’t often get unexpected visitors, but I was more curious than worried when she spotted us and relief flooded her face.

  “Hey,” she said, her low, throaty voice open and friendly. “I’m so happy to see you guys. I parked back in the welcome lot, which is empty by the way, and have been growing more and more worried. This is Camp Gabriel Lewis, right? I’m supposed to be filling in for my sister as chaperone for the week while my nephew’s here at camp.”

  I took in her big brown eyes and long dark hair, which was currently going wild and trying to escape its ponytail, then shot Reardon a look before turning back to her and replying, “I hate to say it, darlin’, but camp doesn’t start until next week.”

  Thanks to Allie at Makeready Designs for the beautiful cover for this book, and for the whole series. The brand is amazing.

  Thanks to Lori, Christine, Ann, Raine, and Becky for your wonderful feedback.

  Thanks to Kristina at Red Road Editing and Kay and KMS Editing, for editing and proofing A Splash of Vanilla and getting it ready for the readers.

  Thanks to Christine of Type A Formatting for making the inside and pretty as the outside.

  Thanks to my ARC Readers and Bombshells for reading my books and loving my characters.

  Finally, thanks to my family, for your constant support. I couldn’t do anything without you by my side.

  AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR BETHANY LOPEZ BEGAN self-publishing in June 2011. She’s a lover of all things romance: books, movies, music, and life, and she incorporates that into the books she writes. When she isn’t reading or writing, she loves spending time with her husband and children, traveling whenever possible. Some of her favorite things are: Kristen Ashley Books, coffee in the morning, and In N Out burgers.

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