“This is going to be awkward, isn’t it?” She shudders. “I so hate awkward. What if I have nothing to say and long spates of silence ensue?”
“Then we’ll listen to the house band. But it will go well, I promise. It had better go well.” I meant to keep that last bit to myself, but, since I didn’t, at least I’m being honest.
I spot my brother already seated with an enormous platter of nachos in front of him.
“Hey, hey.” He stands with a grin spreading across his face as he extends a hand out to Harley, and they do a quick shake. “I’m glad you came. I apologize from the bottom of my heart for making you afraid. That was not my intention.” He frowns over at me. “I hope you don’t mind. I took the liberty to order up a tray of food. I’m starving. Dig in. Please, help yourselves.”
Harley and I take a seat across from him.
She takes her time studying him, then me. “So, how is everything between the two of you?”
Edison nods. “We’re trying. I’m glad everything is, more or less, behind us.” He shrugs my way. Edison and I got together a few days ago for lunch, and afterward we drove to the cemetery and put flowers on the graves of our parents and our sister. We wept together for the first time. We didn’t even do that at the funeral, too much shock, too much anger. It felt healing, cathartic, so very necessary, and so very delinquent.”
“We’re there.” I offer up my fist, and he gives me a quick bump.
“So, I have news.” Edison’s smile resurfaces, and it makes me realize exactly how much I’ve missed having him in my life. I’m never letting my brother go again. He’s everything—all that’s left of our tiny nuclear family—and I’m going to do right by my parents and make up for lost time with him. I had no choice in losing them. I had a choice in losing my brother. I made the wrong choice, and I’ll have to live with that forever, but we’ll be stronger because of it. That I can promise.
“What’s your news, dude?” I dig into the nachos and shovel a giant heap into my mouth.
“I fixed your app.”
“My what?”
“The Hot Honeys thing. The one that allowed me to hound the two of you? I found a way to install a safety feature that basically acts as a ripcord. If anyone ever feels slightly uncomfortable, they hit up the panic button I’m proposing, and the info is directed straight to the technical team. You’re then able to pull all the data of the perp and turn it into the police if need be. The only way people who should have access to the pool of prospective dates is by surrendering valid information. Since this is an app for college students, they’ll need a school ID to use it. Simple as that. Keep the weirdos away.” He tweaks his brows, and they bounce over his glasses. “One of which I am not.”
“It sounds genius.” Harley tilts her head my way. “I say get on this asap.”
“It’s done. I’ll talk to Serena, and we’ll hire you to graph it in.”
“Great. I’d love to do it.” He offers a forlorn smile to Harley. “I’m glad my brother found someone as nice as you. And if he ever gets out of line, just let me know. I’ve got a maneuver that will land his head in a toilet bowl in two seconds flat.”
“Man, I hated that.”
“Only because I was so good at it.”
We share a robust laugh at the memory.
I tick my head his way. “You were damn good at it.”
We eat to our hearts’ content while soaking in my brother’s presence, and it feels natural as if we should have been doing this all along, and we should have.
Edison takes off for the night just as a screaming brunette makes a beeline my way, and before I know what’s happening, I’m on my back, the wind knocked out of me as my face is slapped silly. Knox plucks the wild woman off me, and it’s then I realize it was Harper giving me a piece of her mind.
“Geez.” I hop to my feet and dust myself off. “All right, I deserved it. But we’ve crested that peak. Harley and I are fine.”
“The hell you are!” she riots in my face as Rush comes over and helps Knox restrain her.
Harley explains everything to her as fast as her lips can move—and how I love the things she can do with those luscious lips.
Rush takes a step back and glowers at me. “Dude, you have a brother?”
“Yes, I have a brother. And we’re good now. He just took off, but you’ll meet him soon enough. We’re done cutting each other out of our lives.” I sigh as I look to Harper. “I’m sorry I hurt your sister.”
“Stop.” Harley jumps over and wraps her arms around me. “Harper, Eli and I are together. We’re in love, and we are not going to hide this or deny it just to make you feel better. I know you don’t want me to go through a hellish breakup the way you did, the way I did last summer—but Eli isn’t going to break my heart. It was all a big misunderstanding—sort of. Anyway, you don’t have to worry about me. I promise you, my heart is in very good hands.”
Harper takes in a jagged breath. “I swear on all the football trophies you have ever won, Eli Gates, if you so much as look at my little sister crooked, I will break both of your legs and disable you from enjoying all those sports you excel so well at.”
Knox gives a dark chuckle. “And she’s got helpers. Mind your manners.” He slaps me over the back. “But I’m glad about the two of you. That means I’ll get to see more of your ugly mug.”
“You will.” I slug Rush in the event he feels out of the loop. “You will, too.”
Knox invites us all to play a quick game of pool in the back, but Harley and I decide to pass.
Harper leans in as they’re about to take off. “I still get to boss you around because I’m your big sister.”
Harley chuckles. “That will never change.”
They hug it out, and soon it’s just Harley and me.
“What are we going to do?” She wraps her arms around me. “You want to shake your stuff on the dance floor, or would you rather shake it someplace private?”
A laugh belts from me, but before I can answer, Teagan and Colby are on us.
“You guys!” Teagan offers up a group hug while dressed as a flapper in a short, beaded dress. “I just love that you worked things out. I knew you weren’t a creeper.”
Colby smirks as she adjusts her Bo Peep costume. That giant staff in her hand looks intimidating. “I’m still not that certain.”
Harley laughs it off. “So, what trouble are you witches up to?”
Teagan bites down on her lower lip as she looks to the door. “I’m waiting for a friend of mine to arrive.”
Colby leans in. “The infamous Ames. The friend from birth? This should be rich.”
Teagan clicks her tongue. “Oh, quiet you.” She smacks her on the arm, her gaze never leaving the entrance, then like a bullet she’s off and we watch as she jumps up on some poor dude’s body as he spins her around.
Harley lands her fingertips to her mouth. “I’m guessing that would be Ames?”
Colby chokes on a laugh. “You would be correct. And I seriously doubt they’ll be just friends for very much longer. Look at the way they’ve glommed onto one another. They’re practically procreating before our eyes. Best friends, my foot.”
“Ooh.” Harley wiggles her chest my way. “I think Teagan and Ames are about to take a walk on the wild side just beyond the borders of their friendship. Good thing we have front row seats for all the trauma and drama that’s certain to ensue.”
“Who knows? Trauma and drama aren’t necessarily a requirement. They might have it easy.” I shrug over at them as he continues to hold her like he owns her.
Colby balks at the thought, “Oh honey, easy is never fun. But the dance floor is. Haunt you later!”
She takes off, and Harley and I do the same. We walk out into the haunted Hollow Brook night, and I pick up my favorite kitten.
I land a kiss to her neck and take in her warm vanilla scent. “You do realize you’re keeping the ears on tonight.”
“Oh sweetie, these are a bedroom stapl
e from here on out. I’d say the same for that jersey, but I prefer what’s underneath it. Besides, you’ve got more than enough equipment in your playhouse to keep me busy. You’re lucky I like jocks.”
We share a laugh as we head past the Row, past the parties and the wild life that used to suck me in and leave me empty.
We head to my place where Harley keeps her ears on, and I entertain her with all the equipment in my playhouse.
And together we lose ourselves in the best combination of people possible—us.
*Need more? Try another romantic comedy! Read The Social Experiment (The Social Experiment 1) NOW!
Books by Addison Moore
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Mystery
Little Girl Lost
A Sublime Casualty
The First Wife’s Secret
Cutie Pies and Deadly Lies (Murder in the Mix 1)
Bobbing for Bodies (Murder in the Mix 2)
Pumpkin Spice Sacrifice (Murder in the Mix 3)
Gingerbread & Deadly Dread (Murder in the Mix 4)
Seven-Layer Slayer (Murder in the Mix 5)
Red Velvet Vengeance (Murder in the Mix 6)
Bloodbaths and Banana Cake (Murder in the Mix 7)
New York Cheesecake Chaos (Murder in the Mix 8)
Lethal Lemon Bars (Murder in the Mix 9)
Macaron Massacre (Murder in the Mix 10)
Wedding Cake Carnage (Murder in the Mix 11)
Donut Disaster (Murder in the Mix 12)
Romance
Just Add Mistletoe
3:AM Kisses (3:AM Kisses 1)
Winter Kisses (3:AM Kisses 2)
Sugar Kisses (3:AM Kisses 3)
Whiskey Kisses (3:AM Kisses 4)
Rock Candy Kisses (3:AM Kisses 5)
Velvet Kisses (3:AM Kisses 6)
Wild Kisses (3:AM Kisses 7)
Country Kisses (3:AM Kisses 8)
Forbidden Kisses (3:AM Kisses 9)
Dirty Kisses (3:AM Kisses 10)
Stolen Kisses (3:AM Kisses 11)
Lucky Kisses (3:AM Kisses 12)
Tender Kisses (3:AM Kisses 13)
Revenge Kisses (3:AM Kisses 14)
Red Hot Kisses (3:AM Kisses 15)
Reckless Kisses (3:AM Kisses 16)
Hot Honey Kisses (3:AM Kisses 17)
Shameless Kisses (3:AM Kisses 18)
Value 3:AM Kisses Boxed Sets
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 1-3
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 4-6
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 7-9
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 10-12
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 13-15
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 16-17 (+Bonus)
The Social Experiment (The Social Experiment 1)
Bitter Exes (The Social Experiment 2)
Chemical Attraction (The Social Experiment 3)
Low Down & Dirty (3:AM Kisses, Hollow Brook1)
Dirty Disaster (3:AM Kisses, Hollow Brook 2)
Dirty Deeds (3:AM Kisses, Hollow Brook 3)
Naughty By Nature
Heartless (Breakers Canyon Billionaires 1)
Wicked Heart (Breakers Canyon Billionaires 2)
Stone Cold Heart (Breakers Canyon Billionaires 3)
Beautiful Oblivion (Lake Loveless 1)
Beautiful Illusions (Lake Loveless 2)
Beautiful Elixir (Lake Loveless 3)
Beautiful Deception (Lake Loveless 4)
The Solitude of Passion
Someone to Love (Someone to Love 1)
Someone Like You (Someone to Love 2)
Someone For Me (Someone to Love 3)
BOXED SETS
Spitfire Kisses Boxed Set
Breakers Canyon Boxed Set (Books 1-3)
Lake Loveless Boxed Set (Books 1-3)
A Totally ‘80s Romance (Books 1-3)
3:AM Kisses, Hollow Brook (Books 1-3)
3:AM KISSES (Books 1-3)
Just Add Mistletoe (Christmas in Gingerbread, Colorado)
Young Adult Romance
Melt With You (A Totally ’80s Romance 1)
Tainted Love (A Totally ’80s Romance 2)
Hold Me Now (A Totally ’80s Romance 3)
Paranormal Romance
(Celestra Book World in Order)
Ethereal (Celestra Series Book 1)
Tremble (Celestra Series Book 2)
Burn (Celestra Series Book 3)
Wicked (Celestra Series Book 4)
Vex (Celestra Series Book 5)
Expel (Celestra Series Book 6)
Toxic Part One (Celestra Series Book 7)
Toxic Part Two (Celestra Series Book 8)
Elysian (Celestra Series Book 9)
Perfect Love (A Celestra Novella)
Ephemeral (The Countenance Trilogy 1)
Evanescent (The Countenance Trilogy 2)
Entropy (The Countenance Trilogy 3)
Ethereal Knights (Celestra Knights)
Season of the Witch (A Celestra Companion)
Celestra Forever After (Celestra Forever After 1)
The Dragon and the Rose (Celestra Forever After 2)
The Serpentine Butterfly (Celestra Forever After 3)
Crown of Ashes (Celestra Forever After 4)
Throne of Fire (Celestra Forever After 5)
Acknowledgments
Thank you so much for spending time in Hollow Brook! I hope you had a fabulous time this go-around and will join me again for the next adventure. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking this wild roller coaster ride with me. I really do love you!
A very special thank you to my fabulous betas, Shay Rivera, Lisa Markson, Ashley Marie Daniels, Sara George and Anastasia Lantilou Steele. You are so very much appreciated!
A very BIG thank you to Kaila Eileen Turingan-Ramos and Jodie Tarleton for making this book gleam. You guys rock.
And, a special shouty thank you to the fabulous Paige Maroney Smith. You are my rock.
And last, but never least, thank you to Him who sits on the throne. Worthy is the Lamb! Glory and honor and power are yours. I owe you everything.
About the Author
Addison Moore is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author who writes contemporary and paranormal romance. Her work has been featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine. Previously she worked as a therapist on a locked psychiatric unit for nearly a decade. She resides on the West Coast with her husband, four wonderful children, and two dogs where she eats too much chocolate and stays up way too late. When she's not writing, she's reading. Addison’s Celestra Series has been optioned for film by 20th Century Fox.
Feel free to visit her on Instagram.
*Be sure to subscribe to Addison’s mailing list for sneak peeks and updates on all upcoming releases!
For up to the minute pre-order and new release alerts
✦Follow Addison here for the latest updates!
✦Follow Addison on Bookbub!
✦Like on Facebook
*Want to chat about the books? Hop over to Addison’s Reader Corner on Facebook!
*Be sure to subscribe to Addison’s mailing list for sneak peeks and updates on all upcoming releases!
Or click over to the WEBSITE
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Shameless Kisses: 3:AM Kisses 18 Page 14
