I hope love always wins in this house.
Our house.
As loud and unafraid as the Beauregards can be, they do know how to read a room, and they herd out onto the screened porch, leaving Hank, Samuel, and me alone in the kitchen.
Samuel holds out a hand to his brother. Hank takes it without hesitation.
“Glad you came, brother,” Samuel says.
Hank nods. “Thanks for having me.” He glances in my direction. “Thanks for giving my brother another shot, Emma. Thanks for giving me another shot. I want to apologize again for kissing you. It was a stupid, hurtful move, and I’m sorry.” He looks back up at Samuel. “I’m leaving Blue Mountain.”
My stomach does a backflip. “Hank—”
“It was my decision. And it’s only temporary. I needed a break before you got here, Emma. Doing what I did”—he shakes his head and looks at his feet—“just proves my head isn’t screwed on straight. I gotta fix that, and I think some time away will help me get there.”
I look at Samuel. Samuel looks at me.
“If that’s what you think is best, then I wholeheartedly support you,” I say, turning back to Hank. “You’ll let us know if you need anything?”
“I will,” he replies, and the emphatic way he says it makes me believe him.
The alarm on Samuel’s phone goes off, and less than a minute later, the rest of the Beauregards reappear in the kitchen. Samuel pulls a gigantic beef tenderloin out of the oven—“Look at that beautiful herb crust. Damn I’m good”—while I decant a couple of bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon. Hank grabs a pair of potholders and lifts a pot of mashed potatoes off the range, setting it on the dining room table. Maisie pulls Rhett’s hair, and June, Milly, and Lindsey gawk over the antique silverware Milly brought before setting it on the table too. Annabel slides a spoon into a dish of squash gratin, biting her lip when Beau presses a quick kiss to the back of her neck.
“You.” Samuel points at me. “Fill your wineglass and sit your ass down at the table. You’re our honored guest, so no more working, you hear?”
I smile. “You gonna make me?”
“Y’all really are adorable, but you’re also kinda dirty,” Milly says. “It’s gross, but awesome.”
Samuel meets my eyes. “Milly, you got no idea. In the bedroom, in the shower, on the internet…”
“Eww, can you not please?” Beau asks. “Maisie’s taking a mental note of every damn word you’re saying. How much you wanna bet her first sentence is gonna be, ‘Uncle Samuel and Aunt Emma get dirty on the internet’? I’ll disown all y’all, I will.”
I catch Lindsey’s gaze across the dining room. She’s got this big, happy smile on her face, like she knows how cool it is that Beau just called me Aunt Emma.
I just became an aunt.
We haven’t started eating yet, but I’m already full.
Full of love.
Full of gratitude.
Full of this bone-deep contentment I’ve never experienced before.
Milly has clearly worked her magic: the table is set with gorgeous floral arrangements, and the china, glassware, and cloth napkins all sport a matching lavender-and-peacock blue theme.
Sitting next to Samuel at the table, surrounded by our family and friends, I feel safe. I feel seen.
I feel loved for who I am. And that might just be the best kind of love of all.
Samuel reaches under the table and grabs my hand. “So do I call you Emma now, or V, or Lady…”
“Why choose?” I flash him my shoes. “I’m all three.”
“You’re you.” He gives my hand a squeeze. “And you’ve shown me how to be me.”
I arch a brow. “How much are you gonna show me tonight?”
His eyes flash with a familiar heat. “How much you wanna see?”
“All of it. Whatever’s real.”
“It’s yours,” he says. “I’m yours.”
A few hours later, he makes good on that promise right there on the dining room table. And again in the kitchen. And twice in his bed, and three times (yes, three) in the shower.
If that’s not a happy ending to Blue and V’s story, I don’t know what is.
THE END
Epilogue
Hank
I have to get the fuck out of here.
Yanking my sweater over my head, it’s the first thought I have when I walk into my house after Sunday supper. I’m a little drunk and a lot worn out from playing nice.
From pretending that seeing Samuel and Emma so damn happy together doesn’t make me feel like dying.
I grab a fifth of Appalachian Red whiskey from my liquor cabinet and take a pull straight from the bottle. It burns a trail of fire down my throat.
It does nothing to lessen the intense ache inside my chest.
Doesn’t stop me from taking another swig before I set down the bottle and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.
I glance around my pristine, silent kitchen. Not so much as a glass or napkin out of place. Probably because I don’t really live here.
Sure, I sleep in the bed every night and get ready in the gleaming master bathroom every morning, but otherwise, I’m hustling around the resort.
Work has become my life. And it took falling in love with my brother’s girlfriend to see how much I’m missing out on.
So fuck it. What do I have left to lose? I’m gonna stop putting my family first and give myself the top spot instead. I’ll do what I want when I want to do it.
I want to travel.
I want to fuck around.
I want to meet people who’ve never heard of Blue Mountain.
Tomorrow, I’ll get with my team and work out the details of my leave from guest relations. Then I’ll get on the phone with my travel agent and book a private jet to—
Where?
As far away as I can get, I guess. Thailand? South Africa? Madrid?
All I know is my broken heart ain’t gonna heal if I’m anywhere near this place.
I can’t stop thinking about how Emma looked at Samuel over the dinner table tonight. She was lit up. Eyes glowing and full, like she was so happy she might cry. I heard them flirting, talking about all the ways they’ll fuck tonight.
A slice of searing, urgent pain rips through my torso. I grab the bottle and drink, and drink some more.
“Hey.” I startle at the voice behind me. I turn to see Rhett looking at me, his brow furrowed with concern. He gently takes the bottle from my hand and sets it down. Crossing his arms, he leans his back against the counter. “I’m sorry that happened, and I’m sorry you’re hurting.”
I nod, swallowing hard. “Me too.”
He dips his head toward the whiskey. “Please tell me you aren’t going to cope by drinking yourself into a shame spiral.”
“I’m giving the shame spiral twenty-four hours, max. Then I’m hitting the road.”
“Oh? Where ya going?”
I lift a shoulder, eyeing the bottle. “Not sure yet. Someplace where there’s a bar on the beach and beautiful women.”
“The best distractions in the world.” Rhett nods. “Let’s start in the Bahamas. Paradise Island.”
“We?” I arch a brow. “Who said you’re invited?”
Rhett grabs the bottle and takes a swig, smacking his lips. “I did. I have three months until training camp starts. Besides, someone needs to babysit you at that beach bar. You won’t be able to pick up all those beautiful women if you’re wasted.”
I laugh, the tightness inside my breastbone loosening ever so slightly. “Stop. You just wanna be my wingman.”
“Well, yeah.” My younger brother grins. “If I happen to meet a lady or two while I’m making sure you don’t give yourself rum poisoning…well, I won’t hate it.”
“Okay.” I take the bottle from him. Take a sip. “The Bahamas. Then where?”
“We’ll go around the world, obviously. Hop from the Bahamas to Ibiza. Then Mykonos, and the Seychelles…Bangkok. Australia. Hawaii. Final stop
—”
“Vegas,” I say.
Rhett’s grin deepens into a smile. “My adopted hometown. Perfect.”
He plays for the pro football team that recently moved from California to Las Vegas. Rhett’s got a definite wild streak, so the new location suited him just fine.
Me? I’m an old soul. While I had my fun in Sin City, I never really got why my teammates and college friends were so obsessed with it.
Maybe this trip will change that.
I hold up the whiskey. “Let’s do it. Think you can leave tomorrow?”
“Hell yeah, I can.”
I take one last pull of whiskey before handing the bottle back to Rhett. He drinks too, and for several beats we stand there in silence.
I don’t know what he’s thinking about, but as usual, I’m thinking about Emma. How I don’t want to go on this trip, and I don’t want to leave Blue Mountain, because she’s here. She’s been the bright spot in my days. The reason I jump out of bed in the mornings more excited and invigorated than I’ve felt in years.
It happened really fucking fast, me falling for her.
I don’t fall easily. Not like that. Not for someone who doesn’t want me back.
But it happened, and now my head won’t stop spinning, and I can’t stop hurting. The embarrassment is real. So is the pain. This is horrible.
I never, ever want to feel this way again.
I want to forget.
“Make me a promise,” I say.
“Shoot.”
“Don’t let me do anything really stupid.”
“Like?”
I look him in the eye. “Like fall in love again. That shit—Rhett, it hurts something fierce.”
Rhett frowns. “Hank,” he says softly. “You can’t punish yourself like that. Yeah, you obviously need to give your heart time to heal, but don’t cut yourself off that way. You’re a good guy, and you deserve to be happy.”
The words he doesn’t say hang in the air between us. You deserve to be happy the way Samuel and Emma are happy together.
I swallow again. Look down at my feet and shake my head. “Just—promise me, okay? That’s all I ask.”
I feel his eyes on me. A heartbeat passes. Then another.
“Okay,” he says at last. “But that promise expires at the end of this trip, you hear? Then all bets are off.”
I wave him away. “By then we’ll be in Vegas, and who falls in love there? I’ll send over the flight details when I have them.”
It’s a gamble, running away like this. What will happen to my job? And what about my relationship with Samuel? Will me being gone really help all of us heal?
I have no idea. But leaving is a bet I’m willing to make.
* * *
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* * *
What happens in Vegas definitely doesn’t stay in Vegas in SOUTHERN SINNER, Hank’s story. Coming 2021!
Thank you so much for reading SOUTHERN HOTSHOT! I hope you enjoyed Samuel + Emma’s smoking hot story.
Looking for something to read next? Try SOUTHERN SEDUCER, Beau + Annabel’s story. Keep reading for a steamy excerpt! If you’ve already burned through the NC Highlands series (thank you!) check out SOUTHERN CHARMER, the first book in my steamy Charleston Heat series. Yes, it has southern studs galore, food porn, and shamelessly raunchy sex scenes. And yes, you can read it for free with Kindle Unlimited (PS: it’s also available as an audiobook, with the fabulous Joe Arden and Emma Wilder narrating!)
I love nothing more than hanging out with readers. I spend the most time in my reader group on Facebook, The City Girls, where we talk about anything and everything—PPD, butt stuff, what we’re having for dinner. It’s a fun place.
You can also follow my not-so-glamorous life as a romance author and new mom on Instagram @JessicaPAuthor.
Southern Seducer Excerpt
Annabel
Beau clears his throat, flipping his hat off his head to run a hand through his hair—one of his nervous tells.
What the hell is he nervous about? Not me. This. Us.
Is he?
The idea is too risky to contemplate.
“Course. I’ll give you a ride. My cart’s parked right over here.”
Following him, I sigh. “Sorry. I’m tired, and I have to pump soon or my boobs will explode. But does it make me an asshole to say I really don’t want to go home?”
Maybe not an asshole, a voice inside my head says. But definitely an idiot.
What am I trying to accomplish by saying that? Am I baiting him, waiting for him to ask me back to his place or something?
“Nah,” he says. “Just makes you honest. C’mon, I’ll take the long way back to your cottage.”
“It’s not a cottage.”
“I know.”
Beau makes good on his promise. The path we take dips down a hill and curves around the perimeter of the lake. Its surface is perfectly still. The full moon, the same milky white as Maisie’s skin, is reflected on the lake’s surface. A perfect mirror image. The air is cool, and my blood is warm. It burns warmer when I slide into Beau as we round a bend, our legs pressed together, knee to hip.
I glance down at his thigh. It’s twice the size of mine, a ridge of solid muscle.
The image pops into my head: Beau between my legs, his naked thighs working as he thrusts into me. Hard and ardent.
And then, in my head, he kisses me, tongue matching the roll of his hips.
My eyes slide to his lips. I bet he’s a good kisser.
Slowwwww down.
But the fantasy won’t quit. He’s kissing my neck now, guiding my knee to my chest to deepen the angle. Then he kneels, pulling out of me, and circles the head of his cock—non-existent piercing is there, interestingly—around my clit. I feel it all.
It’s shocking in the most pleasant way possible. I feel like myself again. Young. Free. At home in my skin.
I already want more of it.
“You okay?”
I blink. Beau is looking at me funny.
“What?”
“You just moaned.” Oh, Christ. “Your boobs hurtin’ or something?”
“Stop the cart.”
“You’re really not okay? I can—”
“Please, just—stop the cart, Beau.”
He hits the brake, and I leap out onto the grass. I run my hands down my own thighs, squeezing them together in an effort to relieve the throb between my legs.
“Bel—”
“I think I’ll just walk home.” I don’t trust myself to stay.
“Like hell you will. It’s pitch black out there.”
“I’ll be fine,” I say, and start walking. There’s a fancy dock house just ahead on my left. “I just need to, um, clear my head. Fresh air and…stuff.”
“Jesus fuckin’ Christ,” I hear him mutter behind me. “Bel, stop.”
He grabs my arm, the feel of his fingers lighting me up, and I stop, spinning around to look at him.
His eyes are on my face, and he’s furrowing his brow. That barely restrained hunger is back, and it’s turning me inside out. It’s filling me with joy and hope and desire so sharp it hurts.
I’m hit by the sudden urge to cry.
“Did I miss somethin’?” I notice his accent has thickened. “I thought we had fun tonight.”
“Tonight was great.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
I look at him, begging with my eyes for him to understand. To let me be, to give me time so I don’t ruin the good thing we have going.
My heart is pounding. I look away toward the lake and run my tongue along the inside of my top lip as I search for the right words.
When I look back, Beau’s eyes are on my mouth. A muscle in his jaw jumps, and any doubt he’s not feeling this too goes up in smoke.
The pull his body has on mine becomes acute, and I’m dying.
I’m going to die if I don’t touch him.
* * *
Aw, yeah, you definitely want to know what happens next! Grab SOUTHERN SEDUCER, Beau + Annabel’s story, for free in KU.
Also by Jessica Peterson
THE NORTH CAROLINA HIGHLANDS SERIES
Beards. Bonfires. Boning.
Available for FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
Southern Seducer (NC Highlands #1)
Southern Hotshot (NC Highlands #2)
Southern Sinner (NC Highlands #3)
THE CHARLESTON HEAT SERIES
The Weather’s Not the Only Thing Steamy Down South…
Available for FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
Southern Charmer (Charleston Heat #1)
Southern Player (Charleston Heat #2)
Southern Gentleman (Charleston Heat #3)
Southern Heartbreaker (Charleston Heat #4)
THE FLINGS WITH KINGS SERIES
Royal. Ridiculously Hot. Totally Off-Limits…
Available for FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
Royal Ruin (Flings With Kings #1)
Royal Rebel (Flings With Kings #2)
Royal Rogue (Flings With Kings #3)
THE STUDY ABROAD SERIES
Studying Abroad Just Got a Whole Lot Sexier…
A Series of Sexy Interconnected Standalone Romances
Read Them All for FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
Lessons in Love (Study Abroad #1)
Lessons in Gravity (Study Abroad #2)
Lessons in Letting Go (Study Abroad #3)
Lessons in Losing It (Study Abroad #4)
Acknowledgments
Huge thanks to everyone who made this book happen. I’m so proud of the work we’ve done together.
Thanks to my PA and right-hand woman, Jodi. You’re a bright spot in my days, and I’m so grateful to have you on my team.
Southern Hotshot: A North Carolina Highlands Novel Page 30
