The Lusty, Texas Collection 38
Love Under Two Financiers
[Siren Menage Everlasting: Contemporary, Menage, Romantic Suspense, Western/Cowboy, MFM, HEA]
Leesa Jordan’s attracted to Jason Benedict and his cousin, Phillip. Jason’s not her ex-husband, but dare she take a chance on the two compelling men?
Jason and Phillip arrived in Lusty on the night of Jason’s sister’s engagement party. They both need time off, and it’s Phillip’s hope they’ll have that here. Then Grandma Kate makes them an offer: stay and get to know this side of their family.
Both Jason and Phillip are drawn to Leesa. Phillip has known what he wants since he learned of Lusty and their unique take on family. Now if only he can bring his best friend Jason and the woman he already loves, Leesa to the same page.
And then trouble comes in the form of Leesa’s ex-husband and news from a former comrade in arms.
Length: 63,000 words
LOVE UNDER TWO FINANCIERS
The Lusty, Texas Collection 38
Cara Covington

Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
Love Under Two Financiers
Copyright © 2020 by Cara Covington
ISBN: 978-1-64637-086-3
First Publication: January 2020
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2020 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
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PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you, readers, for continuing to support me by reading and promoting my books. I’m grateful to you for your loyalty, and your friendship.
I’m especially grateful to the Lusty Ladies, my readers’ group. Time is a precious commodity, and many of you continue to give me yours. My thanks also go to Angie Buchannan Jones and Lisa Buchanan Phillips, two wonderful women who volunteered to be moderators of the group.
I’m also grateful to Angie for being a beta reader, and for her remarkable talent of graphic design that she shares with me. Angie, I love the banners and the memes you make for me for each new release. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
I’m grateful for the keen story sense of my beta reader, Sandy Ebel. Sandy, thank you for taking the time to read my manuscripts. Your attention to detail gives me confidence that I haven’t made a mess of things.
Huge thanks to the professional men and women at Siren-Bookstrand. This is my 62nd title for Siren, and I am honored to be an exclusive author. Huge thanks to Devin, my amazing editor, for holding my feet to the fire. I was especially grateful for your dedication this time, my friend, as this book was written under less than ideal conditions.
And of course, as always, thank you Amanda Hilton. You changed my life when you said yes in 2006; that is a blessing I will never take for granted, and never forget.
DEDICATION
To my husband of soon to be 48 years, David. You were the first one to believe in me and put actions to words to prove it. We miss you, Mr. Tuffy. We’re going to adopt one of your sons—and we’ll see you at the rainbow bridge.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Morgan Ashbury, also writing as Cara Covington, has been a writer since she was first able to pick up a pen. In the beginning, it was a hobby, a way to create a world of her own, and who could resist the allure of that? Then, as she grew and matured, life got in the way, as life often does. She got married and had three children, and worked in the field of accounting, for that was the practical thing to do, and the children did need to be fed. And all the time she was being practical, she would squirrel herself away on quiet Sunday afternoons and write.
Most children are raised knowing the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule. Morgan’s children also learned the Paper Rule: Thou shalt not throw out any paper that has thy mother’s words upon it.
Believing in tradition, Morgan ensured that her children’s children learned this rule, too.
Life threw Morgan a curve when, in 2002, she underwent emergency triple bypass surgery. Second chances are to be cherished, and with the encouragement and support of her husband, Morgan decided to use hers to do what she’d always dreamed of doing—writing full-time.
Morgan has always loved writing romance. It is the one genre that can incorporate every other genre within its pulsating heart. Romance showcases all that humankind can aspire to be. And, she admits, she’s a sucker for a happy ending.
Morgan’s favorite hobbies are reading, cooking, and traveling—though she would rather you didn’t mention that last one to her husband. She has too much fun teasing him about having become a “Traveling Fool” of late.
Morgan is blessed to have two surviving children, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. She lives in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, with her husband of forty-seven years, fellow retiree and aspiring author, David.
For all titles by Cara Covington, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/Cara-Covington
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LOVE UNDER TWO FINANCIERS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
LOVE UNDER TWO FINANCIERS
The Lusty, Texas Collection 38
CARA COVINGTON
Copyright © 2020
Chapter One
“Conceited jerk.” Leesa Jordan muttered and mumbled other words as she scoured the shelves of supplies in the storage room just off the kitchen at Lusty Appetites. Those first two words hadn’t helped to expel her ire one little bit.
“Narcissistic prick.”
Nope, that hadn’t done it, either. Both descriptions accurately reflected her feelings about the scene she’d just witnessed as Jason Benedict had burst into Lusty Appetites, opened his mouth, and dictated orders to his adult sister, as if he had a right to do so.
“Who the fuck does he think he is, coming here and ordering her around like that, like she was some kind of bubble-headed twit?” Of course, Alice Benedict had handled her brother beautifully. Leesa was proud of the young woman but still felt very unsettled about the entire tableau that had just played out before her in full living, breathing color.
She tried to temper the force with which she shoved canned goods aside as she searched for a tin of prunes. Under the heading of “just desserts,” prunes
would be perfect. Her father had once quipped that if a person acted as if they were full of shit, they might just actually be so.
“Just because he’s handsome as hell, looks like sex on a stick, and makes my mouth water doesn’t mean….”
Fuck.
Leesa closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the cold metal of the shelf. She’d felt hot and had chalked that heat up to having been furious that any man—family or not—would think he had the right to demand a grown woman do his bidding. That he would storm into the middle of her engagement party and try to put a wet blanket on the whole thing was particularly odious.
Leesa shook her head and gave up her search.
There was no way she was going to find a can of prunes on Kelsey’s shelf, because that particular fruit wasn’t used in a single recipe served at Lusty Appetites. Kelsey only stocked what she needed.
But it had been a good thought. Or it would have been if I’d left it as a thought. I can’t believe I suggested out loud that Jason Benedict’s problem was constipation, and that he needed a good serving of prunes as a remedy. Leesa giggled then turned her attention back to the storage shelves.
She took a moment to ensure her vigorous search hadn’t disorganized things too badly. She’d spent too many years in the army, ensuring all was done to exacting standards, to leave her workstation in a mess now. Orderliness was ingrained in her psyche. Satisfied the shelves were as they should be, she turned off the light and closed the door behind her.
Leesa took a moment, leaned against the closed door, and tried to get a grip. The kitchen was quiet, as the only other two staff members on duty for the night were Tracy Alvarez-Kendall and Michelle Grant, both of whom were in the dining room, ensuring that everyone had all they needed as they visited with family and friends.
The sounds of the restaurant-wide party being held in honor of the engagement of Alice Benedict to Ian and Ken Kendall came through the kitchen door. Everyone else in the place was in the dining room, enjoying themselves.
Good. No one will hear me lecture myself about the folly of being attracted to another asshole. Leesa shook her head. “If you’re going to lecture yourself, at least be honest about it. You really have no idea if Jason Benedict is an asshole, or not.”
And she didn’t. She knew what she’d heard about the man, including Alice’s father’s comment, only a minute or so before Jason had made his entrance. Her father had said that her brother Jason had always been funny about her. Perhaps Jason was guilty of no more than being overly protective of his baby sister.
Leesa knew that wasn’t uncommon in the least. She’d noticed that so many of the men she’d served with over the years, men stationed in dangerous parts of the world or just at home on one of the many army bases around the country where she’d been stationed, were very protective of their sisters. She’d figured the reason for that was that they knew firsthand how obsessed—and downright sneaky—men could be when it came to sex. Some of the raunchiest men she’d ever met held tight to the double standard that they could get laid as often as they liked but their sisters had better remain pure and virginal.
Leesa had never understood that kind of thinking, but she knew it was very common. You’re supposed to be focused on being honest with yourself, remember?
She poured herself a glass of sweet tea and sat down on her stool by the work counter. Leesa calculated she had a few more minutes before one or both of her coworkers came in to get her. She’d already been told that she was welcomed to circulate, to chat and mix with the guests. The need for more food on the buffet counters had tapered off. There really was no reason to sequester herself. She’d mingled some earlier, even as she’d helped see to it that the buffet was well stocked, the guests’ beverages were kept filled, and the empty plates cleared away.
Leesa had made several friends in her few short months here in Lusty, and those friends would wonder why she wasn’t out there, taking the opportunity to socialize.
Leesa inhaled deeply, held her breath for a moment, then let it all go.
“The man who just came into this restaurant is named Jason Benedict, not Bryce Jordan.” There, she’d even said it out loud. Until a few minutes ago, Bryce had been the only man she’d ever met who’d been able to engender that sort of attraction in her. He’d been the only man who’d ever made her heart race, her palms sweat, and her lady parts tingle. Never mind that what she’d just felt surpassed anything Bryce had caused.
That’s the damn problem. You do have to mind it. Remember what those tingly feelings led to the last time. A ton of fast disappointment, beginning with the wedding night and lasting until the divorce had been filed and he’d been in jail.
Sometimes, she still couldn’t believe it. The first time she’d ever felt sexually attracted, and what the hell had she done? She’d married the man, never realizing what a complete and total asshole he’d been beneath his polished appearance.
“Well, there’s a difference, right there. Bryce hid his being an asshole, whereas Jason just laid his all out in the open for everyone to see.” So maybe he was just looking out for his sister. The way he’d barged in and spouted off suggested a kind of social awkwardness—and a decided lack of self-awareness—as if the rules of polite society were a complete mystery to him.
In which case, and all things considered, Leesa owed the man an apology.
She didn’t know what she would say or how she would say it—she could claim a fair bit of social awkwardness herself—but there was one thing she could do. She’d announced that she would fetch him some prunes. So instead, she’d serve him something a whole hell of a lot better than prunes.
Leesa sighed and shoved to her feet. She set her empty glass in the dishwasher and looked over at the fridge. Tracy had set a couple of cream puffs on a plate for her earlier. She loved those cream puffs more than was good for her. She knew the buffet had been cleared of them, and her two were the last two left in the restaurant. At least for this day.
Crow didn’t taste so bad if you scarfed it down fast enough. “Move it, Sarge. Get it over with.”
* * * *
At least no one’s staring at me anymore.
Jason raised the glass of sweet tea that one of the servers—Tracy, he thought her name was—had brought him. From what he had been able to determine in the last few minutes, this engagement party was being hosted by the Town Council. No, not council. They had another name for it. The Town Trust. Jason wasn’t sure if that was the same thing as a town council, and that, he realized, was all on him.
He’d been curious about Lusty and all these cousins he’d never known, growing up, that he’d had. His parents had known about Lusty, apparently, as had his uncles… That thought was pushed out of the way by a bigger, louder, and, in a way, far more damning thought.
He’d known, too, because Kate Benedict had visited several times when he’d been a young boy, a teen, and then as young man beginning his career. She’d come to his grandparents’ funerals—his grandmother had passed first, and his grandfather’s death hadn’t been more than a year later.
I could have asked. I could have looked.
Jason shook his head. He would have if he wasn’t a well-disciplined, focused man. He and his cousin Phillip had worked together and worked hard to build Benedict Investments into the successful mid-sized firm it was today. Their assets were solid, their clients represented a broad spectrum of investors, and the portfolios they offered to those wishing to invest moderate sums of money had been hailed as some of the best performing on the market.
None of that came by way of a fluke or fairy dust or daydreaming. Setting firm goals and striving each day toward those goals was the way a man moved forward. Focus had to be absolute, because success was never an accident. Both he and Phillip firmly believed that.
Phillip.
Fuck. I left my best friend back at the B&B! It took everything Jason had not to rub his forehead at the mild ache above his left eye. He reached, instead, into
his pocket and palmed an antacid tablet, because that damn burning in his chest almost never stopped.
He popped the tab into his mouth and let it dissolve as his gaze wandered to the front door of the restaurant. That door opened, and there came the nice woman and the three men who’d greeted them at the B&B, and thank God, Phillip was with them.
He stood as Phillip approached. Another blessing was the big smile on his cousin’s face. Of all the things I’m grateful for in this life, Phil is at the top of the list. As partners and best friends, they balanced each other out perfectly.
Phillip Benedict was Mister Smooth and Laidback, compared to his own extreme A-type, in-control-of-every-damn-thing personality.
One of these days, when I have the business where I want it, I’m going to have to do something about that.
Phillip nodded to him then immediately went to Jason’s mother. “Aunt Sonja, what a wonderful surprise!” He kissed her cheek and hugged her then went over to Jason’s father, hand outstretched. He nodded to Chance and Logan, gave a quick hug to Bailey…and then his gaze landed on the woman sitting next to Jason, Kate Benedict.
“My God, Grandma Kate! I haven’t seen you in such a long time!”
Phillip bent over and gave the woman they’d always called Grandma Kate a gentle hug. She wasn’t actually their grandmother—Jason wasn’t one hundred percent certain what the exact familial relationship was. But even when he’d been a teen, she’d been old enough to have been his grandmother, and so the moniker had stuck.
“Phillip! It has been too many years. You’re looking well—and I understand the business you and Jason have built is thriving.”
“We’re pleased with it, thanks,” Phillip said. “You’re looking… good.”
Love Under Two Financiers Page 1
