Lucky Kiss

by Melanie Shawn

  From his reaction, she assumed he’d never been kicked out of someone’s bed before. And why would he? He was like every woman’s fantasy come to life.

  Sexy as hell. Attentive. Just rough and dirty enough to make things four-alarm hot, but with the added bonus of having a sense of humor and a playful side.

  Umm, yeah, she was pretty sure she was the only woman on the earth who’d told him to hit the road, Jack.

  Oh, and let’s not forget he’d told her that he loved her.

  Which, last night, she’d chalked up to a heat-of-the-moment slipup. But, hindsight being twenty-twenty, she realized they weren’t really in the “heat of the moment.” In fact, he’d been fully clothed at the time.

  All day, she’d been replaying it in her mind like a song skipping on a record player. The only explanation she’d been able to come up with was that he said that to every woman he was hooking up with. Maybe that was his thing. Maybe he liked to spread love, not war. Maybe she was making too much of it.

  It could be any one of those possibilities. But the one thing it unequivocally could not be was that he actually loved her. So, why was that the only explanation that felt right to her?

  She was making herself crazy, which brought her to why she was standing in Tessa’s sister-in-law’s house, holding a bottle of wine. This was her attempt at distraction. Anything to get her out of the house, where they’d christened the front room, the kitchen, the shower, and the bedroom. Everywhere she’d looked, her own personal porno had played in her head.

  She might have to move.

  “Deanna!” Tessa called out when she spotted her standing in the alcove. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

  “Me too.” Deanna tried to hide her surprise as Tessa waddled towards her. It’d only been a week since she’d seen her last and her stomach must’ve doubled in size. “Hi. Look at you. How are you feeling?”

  Mentally, Deanna gave herself a facepalm. Why had she said that? This was why she didn’t have female friends. She was too used to hanging out with guys. Guys who pointed out if she had a zit on her forehead or if she’d put on five pounds at her time of the month. Girls didn’t do stuff like that.

  “I know, right? I’m huge.” Tessa rubbed her belly, not seeming the least bit offended.

  Thank God. Upsetting the chief’s very sweet, very pregnant wife wasn’t exactly the best thing a probie should do.

  Tessa smiled up at her. “I’m actually good, just tired. And ready to meet this little lady. I know I’m going to have my hands full, but I would like my body back now, please and thank you.”

  “Well, you look beautiful.” Deanna wasn’t lying or even kissing up. Tessa really was glowing. To steal an adjective from her favorite childhood book Charlotte’s Web, Tessa looked radiant.

  “Thanks for saying that.” Tessa grinned as if she weren’t so convinced. “Oh, you brought wine. You are going to be very popular in this crowd.”

  Now, it was Deanna’s turn to be not so convinced.

  “I know you know some of the ladies here, but let me make introductions just in case.” Linking her arm through Deanna’s like they were old friends, Tessa pulled her into the fold. “Okay, ladies. Can I have your attention please?”

  The room quieted down, and a few of the women Deanna knew waved at her. So she waved a quick hello back.

  “For those of you who don’t know, this beautiful lady is Deanna Bishop. She is Eli’s cousin and also happens to be the first female firefighter in Hope Falls’ history.”

  That got a raucous round of applause, including some Arsenio Hall Dog Pound–style woots and some fairly impressive whistles. Feeling awkward, Deanna took a small bow.

  “Okay, so, starting from right to left. We have the Fabulous Four. Amanda, Lauren, Sam, and Karina. That quartet has been friends since they were kids, and they are the founding members of the Book Club.”

  “Or, as I like to call it, the Wine and Gossip Club.” Karina lifted her glass, grinning from ear to ear.

  Eli had given her the Cliffs Notes on the “players” in Hope Falls. So Deanna knew that Amanda and her husband, Justin, ran Mountain Ridge Outdoor Adventures. Sam and her husband, Luke, were both Olympic gold medalists who worked at Mountain Ridge as the ski pros. Lauren was the town’s premier realtor who also happened to host one of Deanna’s favorite shows, Home Sweet Vacation Home, with her husband, Ben. And everyone knew Karina Black and her husband, Ryan.

  It was still odd to be in the same place as Karina and not think, Oh my God. That’s Karina Black! Which was saying something because, thanks to her parents, Deanna had spent her fair share of time around celebrities. Not that Karina acted like a superstar. Quite the opposite, actually. She seemed to be one of the most down-to-earth people Deanna had ever met.

  “Next to them, we have three of the best sisters-in-law anyone could ever have. Of course you know your dancing partners, Nikki and Amy.”

  Nikki lifted her glass. “The Three Dancing Amigos.”

  “Amigas,” Amy corrected.

  Everyone chuckled.

  “And the Latin beauty at the end of the couch is Lily.”

  Tessa wasn’t exaggerating, Lily looked like a stunning cross between Sofia Vergara and Jennifer Lopez.

  “Hi,” Deanna greeted her.

  From Eli’s intel, she knew that Lily was a choreographer who worked with Karina. She was also married to the chief of police, who happened to be her chief’s older brother, Eric Maguire.

  Ah, small towns.

  “And last, but certainly not least, Shelby, Jane, and Emma, a.k.a. Chelsea Paige.”

  She’d met Shelby at JT’s Roadhouse when she’d gone to play pool with the guys, and she knew Jane from Brewed Awakenings. She worked with Nikki down the street from the coffee shop at a foundation set up by Nikki and her husband, former Senator Mike Gowan. Jane was also engaged to Lucky’s cousin, Adam.

  “Hi.” Deanna lifted her hand to wave and then froze as the third name sank in. “Wait.” Her eyes shot to the pretty blonde sitting beside Jane. At the Hometown Heroes Ball, she’d been introduced to her as Lucky’s twin brother Logan’s fiancée Emma. But…not Chelsea Paige!? “When It’s Real, Chelsea Paige?”

  “That’s the one.” Shelby nodded as she put her arm around Chelsea…or um…Emma.

  “Oh my… Seriously…I’ve read When It’s Real at least a dozen times! I love Tina and can’t wait for her story. Stephanie and Brock are probably my favorite, but I have a feeling that Tina’s book might knock them off that pedestal,” Deanna gushed.

  Normally she wasn’t a big fan girl, and probably, if it hadn’t been such a shock meeting her, she wouldn’t have been one now. But it wasn’t every day she got invited to a book club meeting and met her favorite author.

  “Thanks. I’m glad you enjoyed them.” Emma blushed and ducked her head a little, not seeming that comfortable with the attention.

  Deanna knew the feeling.

  “When It’s Magic is coming out in three months and she won’t tell us who Tina picks—Kade or Sean.” Shelby filled Emma’s glass almost to the brim. “I’m hoping, if I get her drunk enough, she’ll spill the beans.”

  The girls all laughed, and Deanna was starting to think that this wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

  Until…

  “Speaking of spilling the beans.” Nikki cleared her throat. “You have some explaining to do, young lady.”

  “Me?” Deanna put her hand on her chest.

  “Yes, Miss Highest Bid Winner. Who is the mystery man? Or woman? I’ve been trying to get it out of Sue Ann, but she is strangely tight-lipped.”

  Karina shot one of her hands high in the air while the other held her iPhone. “I have a guess!”

  “No fair. She’s your mother-in-law. Of course she told you,” Nikki protested.

  Karina shook her head. “No, she didn’t. Google did.”

  With that, she turned her phone and Deanna saw a picture of herself tucked under Lucky’s arm as they rushe
d out of the hospital. Karina began flipping through news story after news story, all with different titles, on her phone. Most referred to her as Doug Bishop and Victoria Lane’s daughter.

  Deanna’s dinner rose to her throat, and the room started spinning.

  “Way to go!” Nikki applauded. “That man is fine as hell and hotter than Hades!”

  “Are you okay?” Tessa placed her hand on Deanna’s shoulder. “Did you not know about those?”

  “No,” Deanna managed to answer without throwing up.

  Thank God for small blessings.

  “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry!” Karina stood and rushed over to her. “I never would’ve done that if I thought you hadn’t seen it. That was stupid and insensitive. I’m so sorry.”

  All the women were on their feet, consoling her, asking if she needed anything, telling her that everything was going to be fine. Deanna wasn’t sure if her life would ever get more surreal than having Karina Black apologizing for showing paparazzi pictures to a room full of women who seemed to genuinely care about the fact that she was upset.

  Before she could process it, her phone rang. And when she pulled it out of her pocket, she knew she had to take it.

  Apparently, Victoria Lane had Google as well.

  *

  “So, I wanted to ask you guys something.” Adam dribbled the basketball as he, Logan, Levi, and Lucky all waited for the rest of the guys to show up for tonight’s game.

  Their cousin had asked the three of them to get to the gym early. Which had been fine with Lucky. He’d spent the day actively stopping himself from going back to Deanna’s. This morning had been one of the strangest “morning after” experiences he’d ever had, and he had quite the inventory of stored memories to compare it to.

  First, he’d never woken up and wanted someone more than he had the night before, especially after they’d had a marathon of sex that spanned three rooms. Starting with the front room on the couch, moving to the bed in the bedroom, and finishing off the night when they’d both gotten hungry, gone to the kitchen for food, and ended up having hot monkey sex on the kitchen table.

  This morning, when he’d seen Deanna sleeping in his arms, felt her soft curves snuggled tight against his… Damn, just damn. His need for her had been so intense that he’d started touching her and kissing her before she’d even woken up. Thankfully, when her eyes opened and he dipped his hand between her legs, he’d found her wet and ready. Then, when he’d whispered how hard she made him, how badly he wanted her, how fucking sexy she was, how good it was going to feel when he slid into her tight body, she’d exploded, her entire being shaking as she’d come on his hand.

  After that they’d made sweet lovin’ on the bed, and then when she’d said that she’d needed a shower after their quadruple header, he’d joined her, not waiting for an invitation. The shower sex had been sultry and sizzling. He was sure they had been the ones responsible for fogging up the mirrors, and not the hot water.

  Everything had been amazing. Better than amazing. He’d had plans to keep Deanna in bed, or in the kitchen, or on the couch, or in the shower all day. He had been hoping to break his personal record of seven sexual encounters in one twenty-four-hour period.

  Deanna, however, had other plans.

  Once they’d dried off, she’d started handing him his clothes, explaining that she had a “crazy-busy” day. When he’d asked if there was anything she needed help with (because, yes, this girl had turned him into that guy!), she’d politely told him that it would be better if he left.

  He’d just stared at her, not sure what he was supposed to do. Sure, the sound waves of her voice had carried through the air and entered his ocular cavity. But somehow, his brain had rejected processing the signals his ears were sending to it. He was getting the “you don’t have to go home, but you have to get the hell out of here” speech.

  Him. Lucky Dorsey was getting the boot after a night of such extreme pleasure that he was thinking they should see if there was some kind of Guinness World Record they could submit for, because whatever couple held it had just been dethroned.

  All of that and he’d managed not to again say the three little words he’d never said to any female on this earth who wasn’t his mother.

  Not knowing what else to do, he’d left. Got in his car. Driven to the gym. And trained. Which had done nothing to stop him from obsessing about his green-eyed, brown-haired girl. So, when Adam had called, Lucky had jumped at the chance.

  “What’s up?” Levi asked Adam as he sat on the bleachers to tie his shoes.

  Adam stopped dribbling the ball and rested it on his hip. “I was wondering if you guys had any plans a week from Saturday.”

  “Just work, but I can get someone to cover.” Levi stood and joined the rest of them on the court.

  “I don’t think we have anything going on, but I can check with Emma and make sure,” Logan answered.

  It was so weird to hear his twin say things like that. Logan had been the epitome of a lone wolf since they’d been born. He’d been close to only a handful of people in his life, and most of those people already shared his last name. His brother had never been in a serious relationship and certainly had never had to “check” with anyone before.

  Lucky’s first thought was that he wished he had to check with a certain firefighter to see if he was free. But he didn’t. He was fairly certain she didn’t care what he was going to do this Saturday, next Saturday, or any other Saturday.

  “I’m good. What’s going on?” Lucky asked, trying to sound casual and not give away how he was feeling.

  “I’m getting married.” The smile on Adam’s face said it all. He looked like a man who had everything he could ever possibly want in the world. And Lucky guessed that he did.

  “Congrats, man.” Levi slapped Adam on his shoulder and pulled him into a one-armed man-hug. “I thought she was going to make you wait for a big wedding.”

  “Turns out I can be pretty convincing when I want to.” Adam smacked Levi on the back.

  “I’ll be there. I’ll shut down the bar if I have to.” Levi stepped back.

  Lucky and Logan both hugged Adam as they offered their congratulations and told their cousin that they wouldn’t miss it for the world.

  “Good. Because, Levi, I was hoping that you would be my best man, and, Lucky, Logan, I was hoping that you would be my groomsmen,” Adam announced.

  Lucky and his brothers all told their cousin that they would be honored, and they had just started discussing the specifics when some of the other guys showed up: the Maguire brothers, Jake and Eric, along with Ryan and Justin Barnes, who owned Mountain Ridge Outdoor Adventures with his wife, Amanda. It offered white-water rafting, zip-lining, hiking, and all kinds of cool-sounding shit. Lucky was seriously considering that being his and Deanna’s second “bid on” activity. He would love to see her let loose and have some fun.

  Not that she hadn’t had fun last night, and she’d for damn sure let loose, but for once in his life, he actually wanted to have fun with a woman in a way that had nothing to do with taking their clothes off. Not that he didn’t want to partake in the naked variety of fun again—he did. As soon and as much as possible. But he wanted to sprinkle other activities in as well.

  “Hey, man. You seen this?” Jake, who’d been nothing but friendly and welcoming to Lucky, looked anything but as he strode straight towards him, holding his phone out. That man looked like one very unhappy camper.

  When he saw the screen, he saw the source of the fire chief’s discontent: a shot of Lucky and Deanna leaving the hospital.

  Shit.

  Yesterday, when he’d seen Deanna stuck in the middle of the swarming bottom-feeders, his only thought had been to get her out of there. Once they’d gotten home, those assholes with cameras had been the last thing on his mind. And even when he’d left today, he’d been so distracted by fighting every instinct in his body to drive over to her house, pick a daisy and peel the petals while saying, “She loves m
e, she loves me not,” like a schoolgirl, that the fallout from the situation hadn’t registered on his radar at all.

  Jake stared him straight in the eye. “She’s my probie. Eli is her cousin. It’s none of my business what you do in your personal life, but when it affects my station, I make it my business.” Jake stared him straight in the eye and for the second time since he’d been in town, he was impressed at the fact that the men he’d met stood up to him when they’d thought he was crossing a line. Not in a douchebag, meathead, I’m-gonna-kick-your-ass way. No, it was in a real, solid, I-protect-what’s-mine way. If the shit hit the fan, Lucky was pretty sure he could take any of them, but he did respect the hell out of them.

  But it wouldn’t come to that. Lucky had no plans to disrespect Deanna. In fact, it was the exact opposite.

  “I’m sorry if that causes any problems for your station. I was the one who bid on her, and we went to Children’s Hospital to visit some really sick kids. I had no idea that the press was going to be there. Someone must’ve tipped them off. I swear, man, I didn’t even put my name down on the bid because I never advertise that kind of shit. The situation escalated quickly and I got her out of there as fast as I possibly could,” Lucky explained.

  Jake studied him, his expression hard and not giving anything away. Then, finally, he grinned and shook his head. “Well, shit. How am I supposed to stay pissed when you not only contributed the highest bid at the auction, but also chose to use the time you bid on to visit sick kids?”

  The guys all started laughing, which broke the tension.

  “Yeah, my brother’s a real saint,” Levi joked. “Bidding on a hot girl and taking her to do charity work.”

  The jokes continued as Lucky felt his phone buzz. His heart jumped, because he thought it was Deanna. But when he pulled it out of his pocket and saw that it was Jessie, his jumping heart sank. He’d need to deal with her, but right then, he just wanted to play some ball and not think about how badly he’d wanted it to be Deanna calling.