by Piper Rayne
“If I wasn’t in the penthouse suite on a terrace overlooking Central Park and wasn’t patted down by a bodyguard who’d give Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson a challenge, I’d think I’ve been duped.”
“Why?” Bianca asks.
“He wasn’t even ready when I got here. He was playing Xbox with his brother. His shirt was dirty, and his hand was covered in fake cheese.”
“Okay…” Blanca says.
“Nothing wrong with some Xbox,” Dylan chimes in.
“I didn’t know the guys are there.” I’m sure they can all hear the annoyance in my tone.
“Yeah, sorry. Do you want me to take you off speaker?” Blanca asks.
I lean against the railing and stare out into the darkness of Central Park, thankful the prince wasn’t polite enough to take my coat when he greeted me. “No. I’m just annoyed.”
“Ditch the prince, we’re about to play a game of Exploding Kittens,” Rian says.
“While eating chocolate cake,” Dylan’s voice sounds muffled with half the cake already.
I think about my options. Heading home to Cliffton Heights means a night spent with Blanca and Ethan. That uncomfortable feeling settles in my gut. It’s slowly getting easier to be around them, and I couldn’t be happier that my best friend has fallen in love. Okay, I could be happier about it if it weren’t with my ex, but I’m not bitter about it either. It’s just weird to be around them still. Hopefully that will change when Blanca moves out tomorrow. She’s only moving to an apartment at the end of the hall with Ethan, but hey, a little distance will be a good thing for all of us I suspect.
Yeah, forget about going back home. Whether the prince is deserving of a date with me or not, something has to come of this night that doesn’t include watching Blanca and Ethan kiss and flirt with each other.
“Nah, I’m going to stay.”
Just then the door behind me creaks open and I glance over my shoulder. My phone almost slips out of my hand.
The man cleans up well.
His longer than average dark hair is slicked back, and his clean shaven face makes it easy to see how beautiful this man really is.
“Sorry,” he says with complete sincerity.
“I gotta go.” I hang up on my friends, sliding my phone into my purse.
“Sierra, right?” He walks across the patio with his now clean hand held out for me.
“Are you a twin?” I ask, shaking his warm, strong, callus free hand.
He chuckles and his gaze dips over my body, igniting a wave of heat straight between my thighs. “No.”
So I was right in the first place. The prince really is a heartthrob.
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Nine siblings navigate through life in their Alaskan town, Lake Starlight. First up, Austin, the oldest Bailey!
The gorgeous guy on stage with his jaw hanging wide open, shock and awe in his eyes?
That’d be me. Austin Bailey. Eldest Brother of the Bailey clan, guardian to my younger siblings, history teacher extraordinaire, baseball coach, good neighbor, and all-round pretty great guy.
Before we dive into the fact that karma just raised its middle finger at me, you have to know how my morning began.
Today was like every other morning.
I woke up, got ready, prepared breakfast for my ungrateful twin sisters, Phoenix and Sedona, and then we all hopped into my Jeep to head to school.
Of course, Phoenix didn’t eat the pancakes.
Her exact words, if I remember correctly were, “They taste like cardboard. Can’t you just follow the recipe?”
Sedona ate the pancakes but as soon as we pulled into the parking lot of Lake Starlight High School, where they’re seniors, her appreciation for me ended. “Park in the back, I don’t want to be seen stepping out of this monstrosity.”
I’ve learned that there’s no pleasing a teenager—especially a female one—no offence ladies, but her comment still irked me. How is my Jeep embarrassing? It has a snorkel so when I off-road, I don’t have to spend my money on a new engine and can instead afford to buy her whatever new outfit she wants. She should be grateful, thanking me. But she’s seventeen. Pleasing her is impossible.
I purposely park in the first row and honk my horn to announce our arrival to everyone at the school, because pissing off Sedona is one of my top five favorite things to do.
I’ll probably miss that come next year.
Phoenix’s stomach rumples as she exits the car while Sedona has already raced off to the nearest entrance like that creepy IT clown is following her.
I stroll toward the door, reloading my emails on my phone, hoping I receive the response I’m waiting for this morning and that it contains good news.
Elijah, my star pitcher cuts me off. “Coach. I need some advice.” He runs his fingers through his long hair.
“How to cut your hair? Come see me. I’ve got clippers in my office.”
It’s like a contest these days with the kids to see who can grow their hair and look the most unkempt. I just don’t get the appeal and Elijah is the worst of them all.
“No Coach, Becca broke up with me.”
There’s a hitch in his voice. His eyes scour the courtyard where most of the kids hang out until the first bell rings.
I stuff my phone into the pocket of my jacket. “Why?”
“Well…” He runs his fingers through his hair again.
For the love of God. Once the season starts I’m making a new rule, if your hair covers your eyes, I’m your barber.
Of course, then JP’s mom will call to complain. She always calls. I think if we changed the flavor of the performance drink we give them from strawberry to lime she’d call. You know the type. He’s her only kid, her pride and joy. She probably still wipes his ass to make sure he did it right.
I push JP’s mom out of my head because just the thought of dealing with her will give me a headache. “What did you do?”
I open the door into the hallway. With it being Monday morning, my fellow teachers nod, gripping their coffee mugs like life vests.
A group of three girls lingering around one locker follow Elijah as we head down the hall. I’m not blind. He’s kind of a big deal around here and I can guess what path his teenage hormones led him down. They’re tricky fuckers to manage.
“You know Sara Pylar?” Elijah asks in a tentative voice.
See? Too bad I can’t bet on my player’s screw ups. I wouldn’t be working here, that’s for sure. I’d be a rich man.
I open up the door to my classroom and Elijah heads in first.
Do I know Sara Pylar? Of course, I do. She’s usually the one in the short skirt with her finger twirling a strand of hair. The worse her grades are, the more bubble gum she chews and asks to move to the front row, so she can see the smart board better. Sara would eat up and spit out a kid like Elijah if he ever tried to tangle with her.
“Yeah, I know Sara.”
He sits down in the chair next to my desk. “There was this dare…”
“Nothing good comes from those.” I cross my arms over my chest.
“JP was razzing me about how I’ve only ever kissed Becca and that when I went to college, we’d break up and that the girls at college are on another level.” His eyes widen, silently asking me.
I went to college, I played in college and at one time I thought maybe I’d hit the majors. Not that I even knew if I had a shot, but family responsibilities brought me back to Lake Starlight. Now I teach and try to advise kids like Elijah not to make the mistakes I did. Then again, youth is your free pass to do stupid shit. It’s a rite of passage.
“Girls in college are just girls that you went to high school with but a little older.” I sit in my chair, grabbing a pen. I always have to hold something in my hand. Sitting still is kind of a hard thing for m
e.
“He said that I’d regret not having experience.”
My gaze lands on the clock. Elijah has about five minutes before first class bell.
“Listen.” I hold my hand up to stop him from his rambling on.
Elijah is good enough to be drafted first round and this town can’t wait to see him succeed. He’ll have plenty of temptation come his way over the years and he needs to decide now how he’s going to handle it.
“Did you kiss Sara?” I ask.
“No, but…”
“I’m gonna guess here and tell me if I’m wrong.” He closes his mouth, so I continue. “You let your friends get to you. JP, whose mom probably follows him on dates you realize, tells you that you don’t have enough experience and should kiss another girl.” He’s nodding now and smirking because everyone knows JP’s mom will probably put up spy cameras in his dorm room next year.
“You thought hey, what if Becca does break my heart and fall for someone next fall. Where does that leave me? So, you went into a bedroom or somewhere private with a very willing Sara. Then Becca somehow walked in on you right before you finished debating in your head if you were going to kiss her?”
You see me trying to make it seem like he would never cheat on Becca? Probably bullshit. He’s seventeen. He would’ve kissed Sara and blown his own relationship with Becca into smithereens and only realized what a mistake that was down the road.
“Exactly Coach.”
“Now you have to grovel.”
I check the clock one more time. Three minutes until first bell.
“I did. I went to her house. I texted her.”
I stand to let Elijah know he’s leaving before my class arrives.
“Sorry,” I smack him on the back. “You need to pull out the big guns.”
His shoulders slump.
“Just think of what makes Becca happy. Why she fell in love with you and you’ll figure it out.”
“How do you know, Coach?”
I open the door and wait for him to walk through.
“Because I was you at one time. And another piece of advice?” He waits for me on the other side of the door. “Don’t go listening to your friends. They usually give shit advice and, honestly, you usually get a lot more experience with a girlfriend then by flipping around with multiple girls. Teenage boys have shit for brains. Don’t listen to them.”
I really don’t want to know how far he’s gotten with Becca. Especially with Phoenix and Sedona being the same age as Elijah.
“Well, we have…” He looks up at me sheepishly.
“That’s a conversation I don’t want to hear and no one else should either. Don’t be a dick and kiss and tell.”
The bell rings. “Go to class.”
He turns around. “You mean assembly.”
“Assembly?”
We walk out into the hallway where everyone is filing toward the auditorium.
“Yeah, remember Principal Miller had the baby?”
Shit. Now I’m running my fingers through my hair. All the teenage angst this morning had me forgetting that we all have to meet the new Principal of Lake Starlight High School this morning. The last principal I’ll ever be under because next year I’m heading to the college level—I hope.
“Yeah. Go. You don’t want to be late.”
“Thanks Coach…for everything.” He jogs down the hall, catching up to his friends.
I turn to go through the back entrance since I’ll have to sit in a chair in front of all the students so that we appear as a united front for the new principal. A symbol that says we have their back.
I run smack dab into Fay Murphy, the office assistant.
“Hey, Fay.”
“I’m so happy I found you.”
She seems a tad flustered, and her face has that beet red overlay she gets when Principal Miller used to reprimand her for not refilling her stapler. It’ll be a nice change around here without that dictator. Let me tell you—pregnant women do not like it when they have to give up coffee—something we all paid the price for.
“What’s up?” I start walking because we’re going to be late if we don’t hurry.
“We need you to introduce Principal Radcliffe.” She peers behind me and then pushes up on her tiptoes to whisper in my ear. “Dick, I mean Vice Principal Ealey, called in this morning. I think he was still…”
Fay doesn’t have to finish the sentence. Dick Ealey went through a very public divorce last year and has been spending a lot of his time at the Lucky Tavern drowning in a helluva lot more than his sorrows.
“Why me?”
She hands me a piece of paper. “The kids look up to you and everyone thinks that the kids will welcome Principal Radcliffe if you introduce her.”
Her. Another woman.
Hopefully, this one is well caffeinated and not pregnant. We’ll all stand a better chance that way.
I accept the piece of paper, looking over what I need to say.
“Fine.”
I’m not scared of public speaking. I’ve got two teenage girls at home. You don’t know a hostile environment until you’re trying to break up a fight between those two.
“You’re the best, Austin.” Fay squeezes my forearm and walks down the hall.
My footsteps slow as I read over the new principal’s bio. What the hell is a Yale graduate doing in Alaska at Lake Starlight High School? I fold up the piece of paper, after skimming over her education. I can wing it from there, besides the kids could care less about what’s printed on that sheet.
Heading into the auditorium, I search out the new face of our principal, but I know everyone here.
“She’s running a tad late, so if you could stall, I’ll tap you on the shoulder when it's safe to announce her,” Fay informs me.
“I’m not a zoo keeper.”
Fay laughs.
I will not miss this part of my job next year. I sure hope when I decide to stroll in during second period, Principal Radcliffe doesn’t raise a paddle to my ass.
Before I realize it, I’m in front of the podium, clearing my throat. My gaze searches out Sedona who rolls her eyes and looks away. I have no fucking clue why she’s so embarrassed of me. I mean, look at me. Six foot two, two ten, short and neat haircut. I work out four times a week, hike, bike, ski. My muscles aren’t from just the gym…
Okay before I keep sounding like a male seeking female want ad, let’s get on with how my day went into the shitter in a matter of twenty minutes.
I tell a few jokes, and the kids loosen up a bit. Maybe I should rethink the whole college baseball coach thing and go for standup comedy, I’m pretty good at this.
Fay taps my shoulder and thank God because I’m running out of material. I pull the paper out of my back pocket and clear my throat one more time.
“Alright everyone. We all know that Principal Miller has left us to enjoy her new baby and so we’re welcoming a new principal into our school. Our new principal for the remainder of the year is Dr. Radcliffe. She graduated from Yale with her doctorate in education. She comes here from the lower forty-eight, so make sure you give a big Alaskan welcome!” About half the kids in the auditorium clap while the rest of them stare at the stage with an expression that only a bunch of unimpressed and uninterested teenagers can manage. Time to grab their interest and get them to buy in. “Principal Radcliffe’s hobbies include streaking during football games, ferret racing, and taking surveys for money.”
The kids roar with laughter finally looking like they’re interested and want to be here. Fay steps up and nudges me.
“Sorry,” I mumble an apology. “We’ll bring Dr. Radcliffe out to explain her hobbies more in depth.” I turn from the podium at the sound of heels clicking across the stage.
This is the part where my mouth drops open in surprise and my testicles jerk up seeking out protection.
See the auburn-haired woman walking right toward me?
The one who looks as pissed off as Sedona did when I honked my h
orn in the parking lot this morning?
Yeah, that’s my new boss.
The new Principal of Lake Starlight High School.
I don’t believe in kissing and telling, but I’ll tell you—this is the first and only principal I’ve ever given an orgasm to in the backseat of my Jeep.
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Cockamamie Unicorn Ramblings
Let us start his ramble by asking you to please trust that we’ll deliver a story that will explain and rectify Sierra’s sometimes cold persona. When we wrote the scene where she finds out about Blanca and Ethan, we knew she might be unlikable to some readers. We thought about softening her but that wouldn’t be her true character, as you’ll see in A Royal Mistake. If you’re a faithful Piper Rayne reader you might remember how a lot of readers were unsure about Dane, Jagger, Dax and all the other heroes who came off as crass playboys who would never change their ways. But you trusted us and look how that turned out! LOL All of those heroes had wounds that cut deep and Sierra has hers. Okay, we’re jumping off that soapbox now.
We were on the fence about spinning Blanca’s story out of White Collar Brothers. Not because we didn’t want to tell her story, but we had thoughts about ending that world we started back with Modern Love. For a while she was going to go to Climax Cove and live among our Single Dads Club fellas. We wanted her to be close to her brothers so we could cameos out of them, but far enough away that the series had a different feel and she wouldn’t be living in their shadows. Enter the fictional town of Cliffton Heights and a group of young people finding their way in their careers and love.
You might have gotten a bit of a Friends feel for the set-up in this book. It’s true. We’re both huge Friends fans and liked the idea of having a group of friends all living on the same floor of a building, so we lovingly borrowed the friends-with-nearby-apartments set-up from one of our favorite shows. Maybe we were trying to live vicariously through our characters. LOL
We know you didn’t get a whole feel for every character in this book, mostly due to the fact that in order for Ethan and Blanca to be on the page together they couldn’t be with The Rooftop Crew. We promise in book two you’ll get more funny group scenes and get to know more of the characters. We have to leave some surprises to come, right?
