Queen of First Dates

by Case, Jaimie

  Here’s a brief little teaser from The Kissing Bet.

  I cursed the day that the Canyon Beach Lingerie shop opened. Not just because I spent money I didn’t have there. And not just because I’d bought a pair of red crotchless panties that were unlike anything I’d ever seen before; they were lacy, see-through and the sexiest piece of underwear that I’d ever owned. And not just because I thought it would be a good idea to leave them on Police officer Jefferson Evian’s desk when I went to the police station the day before. No, those weren’t all the reasons why I cursed the day that I’d ever stepped foot inside the lingerie shop. The biggest reason was because not only had I left the “Anonymous package” on the wrong desk in the police station, but deputy sheriff, Max Fernandes had seen me leaving said package and opened it before I’d been able to slip out of the station with my empty cupcake containers.

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  Bonus Excerpt from Along Came Baby

  Bonus Excerpt from Along Came Baby by J. S. Cooper

  It all began with two words. Two words that I never thought anyone would say to me. Especially not someone as hunky as Carter Stevens. But hey, I guess you just never know when fate is going to look you in the face and say, hey girl, tonight is your night.

  “Hey, sexy.” That’s what he said. “Hey, sexy.” And with that I was gone. His tone was warm, his smile was wide, his blue eyes deep, intense, sparkling as they ran up and down my body. His dark blond hair was cut low to his head, and he had a light grazing of facial hair that I wanted to caress with my fingers to see if it was soft or rough.

  “Hey,” I said, not knowing what else to say. I wanted to say, hey, sexy, are you as good in bed as you look, but I hadn’t had that much to drink yet.

  “I like that necklace,” he said, his hands reaching up and lightly grazing my neck as he played with the silver necklace my mom had gotten me a few Christmases before from Tiffany’s. “Oops,” I said as someone hit me from behind and I stumbled forward into him. “Sorry,” I said and gave him a small smile as I realized how close his lips were to mine.

  “Nothing to be sorry about.” He grinned as his hands reached out to my waist to steady me. The bar was packed tonight and there were people surrounding us on all sides, drinking and excited as they listened to the music and chatted. “Thanks for coming tonight, Lila.” He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my eardrum and making my stomach and heart skip a beat.

  “No worries, thanks for inviting me,” I said as coolly as I could. “This is awesome and I can’t wait to see you perform. You play guitar, right?” I asked, wanting to keep the conversation going, but not knowing what else to say. I wanted to tell him to keep his hands on me. I wanted to tell him that we should find a back room somewhere so I could feel his hands all over me and his lips too. If I’d been a bit braver, I would have reached up and kissed him, but I was still feeling a bit shy. He was just so hot and he made me just a little bit nervous.

  “And I sing.” He nodded. “We’re a local band, but we have a lot of support,” he said as he looked around and nodded at some guys that were standing near us and waving.

  “This is a cool spot. I’ve never been to Rockwood Music Hall before,” I said as I looked around. The stage was directly to our left and the bar just behind us to the right. The venue was pretty small, but it was a well laid out space. I looked up and saw a balcony with seats and saw people standing and dancing to the band on the stage. Everyone seemed like they were having a lot of fun and the feeling was contagious. There was magic in the air and it seemed like everyone here knew it.

  “We’re going to go on in about ten minutes,” he whispered into my ear again, his tongue lightly touching my inner ear. My whole body trembled at the intimacy of his action and my hands moved down to his as they were still on my waist. “I have to go to the back and grab my gear and get ready. However, let’s get a drink when I’m done, yeah?” He leaned back and his eyes gazed into mine with a devilish look. The way he stared into my eyes made me think bad thoughts. Really bad thoughts.

  “Just a drink?” I said, with a teasing smile, as my fingers ran down his lightly. I wasn’t quite sure what had come over me. Maybe it was the two glasses of wine I’d had before I’d come out tonight. Maybe they were finally going to my head. Maybe it was the appreciative gazes he was giving me. Maybe it was the way his fingers pressed into my waist as if they wanted to get to know me better. I don’t know what it was, but I was ready to have some fun tonight. No matter what that meant. And I was almost inebriated enough to let him know the thoughts in my head and exactly what I wanted.

  “It’s never just a drink,” he said and winked and then because he knew that he was the sexiest man alive and could get away with anything, he leaned forward and gave me a quick kiss, and his hands then ran down my back to my ass and he pulled me toward him. My body was crushed against his now and he was providing me with warmth and tingles unlike any I’d felt before. “Tonight we’re going to make some sweet music, baby,” he said against my lips and I gasped as he slid his tongue into my mouth. He tasted like whiskey and though I’ve never been a huge fan of the taste before, tonight it was like manna on my lips.

  “Okay,” I whispered back to him as he pulled away, and I watched as he walked away toward the back of the room and through a door. I ran my hands through my hair quickly and searched in my handbag for some mints. I popped one into my mouth and sucked on it, trying to stop the flow of excitement from running through my veins. I licked my lips nervously as I stood there and walked over to the bar to get myself a drink.

  There were two guys standing by the bar giving me an appreciative look and I just smiled at them coyly. In any other circumstances, I might have been interested in a little flirtation, but not tonight. Tonight, my eyes were on Carter Stevens and only Carter Stevens. He was sex on legs and I was determined to know if the promises his eyes were making would be fulfilled by the end of the night. I wasn’t to know that within a month from tonight I would find out I was pregnant and the last thing I would be thinking about would be him calling me sexy.

  17

  I’m what some people would call a true believer. I believe in true love. The kind you read about in fairy tales. I think that somewhere out there my Prince Charming is just waiting to meet me and sweep me off of my feet. He’s somewhere out there. Maybe over the rainbow. Maybe in another galaxy. Maybe he’s stuck under a rock somewhere. I don’t know where he is to be honest, but he sure as hell hasn’t come knocking on my door in my lifetime.

  Don’t get me wrong I’ve dated some nice guys; or rather guys that seemed nice at first until I realized they weren’t. I’m like a jerk magnet. The bigger the jerk, the faster they come running to me. My friends call me Lila Delilah Asshole Caller. I know it doesn’t even rhyme, but I couldn’t disagree with them. I think my name and phone number got put in the asshole black book or something because they love me. But I haven’t given up on finding my true love. Hope springs eternal and all that good stuff. Right now, I’m just taking a little break from dating to concentrate on my career. A career I’m not really sure I’m cut out for, if I’m honest.

  I work as a litigation attorney and I hate it. The only thing I like about my job is the paycheck. Who am I to laugh at a six-figures salary? I never thought I’d make this much money in my life, and while the paychecks are great, I’d give the job up in a heartbeat if I didn’t have debt up to my eyeballs. It turned out that law school was a costly endeavor and now I have to work a job I hate to pay off a debt that I got just to get the job I hate. Does that even make sense? But I digress, no one cares about my sucky job. We all have sucky jobs. I care more about finding the right man. Well, eventually. Right now, I’m just working my sucky job and swiping on dating apps hoping to get some nice dates with some nice guys. So far, I’m zero for ten. I’ve been on ten dates in the last six months and all the guys h
ave been awful. I’m about ready to just say forget it and have some fun. I just don’t really know who or how to have said fun. I want to get married one day. I want to have kids. I want that picture-perfect family, but I also want it with the right guy. I can picture him in my head. I’ve just not met him yet.

  * * *

  “Thank you so much Lila.” My next-door neighbor Danielle grinned at me as she handed me her spare set of keys and what looked like an expensive bottle of Pinot Noir. “You only have to look after Frosty for two nights and then my brother, Carter, will be by.”

  “So he’ll call me to let me know when he’s going to pick up the keys?” I asked as I placed her keys on my small and narrow hallway table. My apartment was very small, but had been updated, and frankly I was lucky that I could even fit in any size hallway table. I kept the bottle of wine in my hand because I was going to open that bad boy as soon as she left, right before I took her golden retriever, Frosty out for a long walk in Prospect Park.

  “Yup.” She nodded, her blond hair swaying back and forth as she looked at me thoughtfully. “I gave him your number and he’ll call you tomorrow, I think.” Her blue eyes seemed distant for a few seconds and then she smiled. “Don’t worry, he will pick them up at a time available to you. He thinks he’s so busy, but I told him that you’re doing me a favor so he needs to pick them up at a time convenient for you.”

  “That’s okay.” I smiled at her. “He can pick them up here or at my office. So, he’s going to come by in the mornings and evenings to walk Frosty?” I asked again, curiously. “I’m sorry I can’t commit to taking care of him while you’re away, but work is crazy right now and I’m not sure I can get away at the required hours for him to go out.” I’d just started my job as an associate at a corporate law firm and the hours were awful. The pay was good, but the hours were long and tedious.

  “No worries,” Danielle said. “And no, I think he’s going to move into my place for the next month.” She made a face. “He lives on the Upper West Side, he went to Columbia and so he stayed in the area. And well it’s just too much of a commute for him to go back and forth from the UWS to here.” She sighed and then shuddered. “I can’t imagine what my place is going to look like when I get back. He’s such a slob.”

  “Aw, I’m sorry,” I said and laughed. I knew that I had also been a slob in college as well. I was still pretty untidy now, so I was not one to judge anyone else. “That’s nice that he’s willing to do that for you, though.”

  “He’s not nice at all. He’s only doing it because I’m paying him.” She shook her head. “Brothers!”

  “Aw,” I said again and then looked down at the bottle of wine in my hands. “Want some?”

  “I shouldn’t,” she said slowly and then looked at her watch. “Okay, well maybe I have time for one glass.” She stepped into my apartment properly and closed the door behind her. “Thanks, Lila.”

  “No worries, you brought me the wine. Come on in. I have some cheese and crackers as well. And some brownies.”

  “I can’t have brownies.” She patted her slender waist. “I just got back from yoga.”

  “Aw, okay.” I smiled at her and sighed inwardly. I didn’t want Danielle to think I was a fat ass, so I’d have to have a brownie after she left. Not that I thought she would judge me terribly, but Danielle was a new friend and I was still trying to make a good impression on her. I’d only moved into this apartment three months ago and she was my first and only friend in the building.

  “But hey, who’s going to tell my trainer?” She grinned as she settled down on the couch. “Plus I’m going to be in England and it’s going to be freezing there. I’ll need a couple of extra pounds to keep me warm at night, seeing as I won’t have Frosty.”

  “I guess you’ll miss him a lot.”

  “He’s like my baby.” She nodded. “But he’ll have a lot of fun with Carter. Carter loves to jog so I’m sure Carter will be out all the time.”

  “That will be good for Frosty,” I said with a smile as I opened the bottle of wine. Young college guys were so lucky to have so much time to go jogging. I rarely had any time to do anything now that I was working full time as an associate at a law firm. I’d always wanted to be a lawyer, and I enjoyed my job, for the most part, but I just had to work so damn much. If it wasn’t for the very nice pay, I think I definitely would have pursued a different career.

  “Yeah, Frosty loves Carter, but then everyone loves Carter.” She rolls her eyes. “To say he’s a ladies’ man is an understatement.”

  “Oh?” I asked curiously, wondering what her brother looked like.

  “Yeah.” She took the glass of wine that I handed her. “You know there are some men that can say and do anything and get away with it because they’re so good looking and charming?”

  “Not personally, but I know the type you mean.” I laughed, and we clinked glasses. “Cheers.”

  “Cheers,” she said, and she took a small sip. “My parents even fall under his spell, he can do no wrong.”

  “Aw,” I said again, not really knowing what to say. She wasn’t exactly painting her brother in the best light.

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong.” She shook her head and laughed as she sipped some more wine. “I love him. He’s an amazing brother. Lots of fun and he’s always been here for me.” She nodded. “I think I’m just a little bitter because guys seem to just get away with so much.”

  “I understand, girl, don’t worry.” I pat her on the shoulder. Danielle and her boyfriend had recently broken up and while they hadn’t dated for a tremendously long time, she was still upset. I was pretty sure he had cheated on her or something like that, but she hadn’t told me too much.

  “And I can’t believe the office is sending me to England for this project.” She rolled her eyes. “Like I was the only one they could think of.” She shook her head again. Danielle worked in HR for some hotel chain, and supposedly they needed her to go and help with the staffing for some new hotel chain they’d acquired because half of the staff had quit in the last week.

  “I think because we’re single women, we’re the first ones that are chosen for the not so nice jobs,” I said thinking about my own experience at the law firm I worked at. I was on the most boring cases with the most discovery and the longest hours, but I accepted it as paying my dues. “When you get back, we will go and have a fun night out.”

  “That would be amazing.” Danielle’s blue eyes lit. “Have I told you how happy I am that you moved in here?”

  “Only like a hundred times, so please keep it up.” I grinned at her. “And you’re not half as happy as I am,” I said honestly. Moving into this apartment three months ago had been like a dream come true. I’d finally been able to afford my own place and even though I was decorating it slowly, it was really starting to feel like a home. “I got really lucky moving into this gorgeous place and getting an awesome new neighbor and a friend to boot.”

  “Aw, you’re so sweet, Lila,” Danielle said. “Here’s to us,” she said and raised her glass again.

  “Also.” She paused, her face looking slightly awkward and nervous for some reason as she looked at me.

  “Yeah?” I prodded for her to continue, curious as what she was going to say next.

  “So I shouldn’t say this and I normally wouldn’t but . . .” Her voice trailed off again, and she just shook her head. “My brother, Carter, he’s a very charismatic, very good-looking guy and, well, he’s a lot of fun, but he’s a total playboy.”

  “Okay?” I laughed. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “You’re a pretty girl, Lila,” she said with a smile. “My brother loves pretty girls. And he loves the chase, so he’s going to want you badly. I’m sure of it. Don’t give him the time of day. He’s a heartbreaker, pure and simple.”

  “I’ll remember that.” I grinned at her. “I’m not looking for a relationship or anything right now, so I think we’re good.”

  “I know you’ve said that bef
ore but I figured I’d give you my advanced warning, just in case.”

  “Thanks, but no need to worry about me. Between work and sleep I have no time for anything else. I’m a regular boring Betty.”

  “I don’t think you’re a boring Betty, but just remember what I said. He can be a real charmer when he wants to be and well, I’ve seen too many friends fall under his spell and then . . .” Her voice trailed off and she made a face. “But let’s have one more glass of wine before I have to go. It’s going to be a long flight tonight.”

  “You’ll have a great time,” I said as I poured her some more wine. “And don’t worry about Frosty. I’ll make sure to remind Carter to walk him if I see him around the building.”

  “Thanks, Lila. You’re amazing,” she said as we clinked glasses one more time and we both took another long sip of the expensive wine she’d brought me.

  “Also, you don’t have to worry about me, I’m not into college guys.” I laughed. “I’m way too old to hang.”

  “College?” She looked at me with a confused expression. “Oh, he’s not in college.” She laughed. “Though you’d think he only recently graduated. He’s actually slightly older than me. He’s thirty-five.”

  “Oh,” I said. “I thought he was a lot younger than that from the way you were talking about him. I’m surprised I’ve never met him before. He’s not come over before?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “He’s a busy guy. He works on Wall Street during the day and he’s in some stupid band that plays a lot of local gigs.” She rolled her eyes. “He thinks he’s some sort of rock god.”