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Authors: Lily Harper Hart

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BOOK: Deadly Prospects
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“No,” James said. “Absolutely not. Why don’t you go upstairs and make your calls and change your clothes. We’ll all be ready to go in an hour or so.”

Mandy nodded, disappearing up the stairs without a backwards glance, but the worry on her face was evident. Once she was gone, Grady fixed James with a hard look. “Do you believe her?”

“I believe she means what she says,” James said. “I also believe she’s gossipy and has a big mouth.”

“So, what do you want to do?” Finn asked.

James shrugged helplessly. “I’m going to trust her.”

“This has disaster written all over it,” Grady said.

James could only hope he was wrong.

Seventeen

“So, why are we here and not out at a bar?” Ally asked.

“James thought it would be more fun if we hung out here,” Mandy said. “I didn’t see the harm in it.”

“There’s no furniture,” Ally complained, looking Mandy up and down. She knew she was lying. She just didn’t know why she was doing it.

“There’s furniture out in the guesthouse,” Emma said, pushing her long hair out of her face. “We can go out there with the guys.”

“Then we can’t talk about them,” Ally said.

“And Ally wants to talk about Jake,” Mandy teased.

“Ooh, are you and Jake thinking about becoming an item?” Sophie asked, her brown eyes sparkling.

“They’re already an item,” Mandy answered for Ally, earning a scorching look from her best friend. “Sorry.”

“Wait, you’re already an item?” Emma sat down on the floor next to Ally. “Have you slept together?”

Ally sent Mandy a challenging look. “Do you want to tell them, or shall I?”

“Oh, I want to hear you tell it,” Mandy said. “I especially like the part where James walked in mid-session.”

Ally scowled.

“James walked in?” Sophie squealed. “How horrifying.”

“I think he was more horrified than I was,” Ally said.

“Yes, it’s not every day you get to see your sister riding your employee,” Mandy said, her smile wide.

Ally reached over and pinched Mandy’s arm. “This is
my
story.”

“Sorry.”

“Okay, start from the beginning,” Emma said. “And don’t leave out anything.”

 

“WHAT
do you think they’re doing over there?” Grady asked, peering out the glass doors of the guesthouse and aiming his gaze at the main house.

“They’re talking about us,” Finn said. “That’s what girls do. They gossip.”

“What do you think they’re saying?”

“I’m sure they’re comparing us,” Finn said. “You know, he’s really built, he’s the best looking, he has the best stamina.”

James made a face. “Thanks for that visual.”

“You don’t think that’s what they’re doing, do you?” Grady asked, turning to his older brother.

“I think that’s exactly what they’re doing,” James said. “They tell each other everything.”

Grady shook his head. “Sophie isn’t gossipy that way.”

“She’s probably the gossipiest one,” Finn said. “She is a reporter, after all.”

“She’s a woman,” James said. “They can’t help but gossip. It’s part of their DNA.”

“Well, whatever they’re talking about, they’re having a good time,” Grady said.

James joined him at the door, amusement flickering across his face. “They’re definitely having a good time.”

“It seems Ally is holding court,” Grady said. “What do you think she’s talking about?”

James glanced over his shoulder, his eyes locking with Jake’s as he moved back to the table. “I think she’s talking about Jake.”

Finn sipped from his beer, leaning back in his chair and stretching his legs out in front of him. The house didn’t have a lot of furniture, but the former owners had left a comfortable table and chairs out in the guesthouse. “Really?”

“Really,” James said. “They’re an item now.”

Grady turned, his gaze traveling from James to Jake, and then back again. “They’re an item now?”

James nodded. “They are.”

“Wait, when did this happen?” Finn asked.

“A few days ago,” James said.

“And you’re okay with it?” Grady asked.

“I’m fine with it.”

“You don’t seem fine with it,” Grady said.

“I’m getting there,” James said.

“It seems like you two have had a busier few days than you’ve let on,” Finn said.

Grady’s smile was sly as he moved around James and sat down at the table. For his part, Jake’s face was red, but he’d remained silent. “So, Jake, how exactly did you and my sister hook up?”

Jake sipped from his beer. “Well, I’m the one who picked her up when her car broke down.”

“She called you?”

“She called Mandy,” James supplied. “Mandy played matchmaker.”

Grady barked out a laugh. “Yeah, I saw that coming. That still doesn’t explain how you two are suddenly dating.”

“Well, it started with me telling her to shut up because she wouldn’t stop talking,” Jake said. “Then it started to rain.”

“So, the rain made you do it?” Grady asked.

Jake sighed. “I really don’t think we should be having this discussion.”

“Ally seems to be having it over there,” Grady said. “I’m just going to get the details from Sophie later.”

“That’s up to Sophie,” Jake said. “I don’t feel comfortable … talking about it.”

“But you’re dating her, right?” Finn asked. “Really dating her?”

“I’m really dating her,” Jake said.

“You know she’s never going to shut up, right?” Grady said, laughing.

“She finds a way to be quiet when she wants to be,” Jake said, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.

James shook his head, turning back to the house. “Someone kill me now.”

 

“LET’S
go out and join the boys,” Sophie suggested. “I want to see what they’re doing.”

“They’re talking about us,” Mandy said. “I’m sure it’s not very enlightening.”

“What do you think they’re saying?” Emma asked.

“Well, in the case of me, you, and Sophie, they’re talking dirty,” Mandy replied. “Ally is conveniently being left out of that conversation.”

“Not if they know she’s sleeping with Jake,” Sophie said.

Ally frowned, sitting up straighter. “You don’t think they’re giving him a hard time, do you?”

“Probably not,” Mandy said. “James will steer them away from that conversation because of the whole witnessing-the-sex thing.”

Sophie dissolved into giggles. “I’m sorry,” she said, holding her hand up to placate Ally. “I will never be able to get the thought of James walking in on the two of you out of my head. I would have paid anything to see it.”

“That’s gross,” Ally said, furrowing her brow.

“I don’t want to see you naked or the actual deed,” Sophie corrected. “I just want to see the look on James’ face.”

“He’s been scarred for life,” Mandy said, sipping from her drink. “He’s still horrified.”

“He deserves it,” Ally said. “Who walks into someone’s bedroom without knocking? Even I don’t do that.”

“She has a point,” Mandy said, stretching her legs out in front of her.

“You know, as much as I like your new house, a bar would have been more comfortable,” Sophie said. “Once this place has furniture, it’s going to be great. It’s uncomfortable now.”

“Yeah, why aren’t we at a bar again?” Ally asked.

“Oh, you know your brother, whenever he gets an idea in his head there’s no way you can dislodge it,” Mandy said. “He’s insistent that he keep Ally in his sights.”

Ally frowned, tilting her head to the side. “What?”

Mandy smacked her forehead. “Crap.”

“Why did you say that?” Ally asked.

“I … I … .”

“What’s going on?” Sophie asked.

“I had too much to drink,” Mandy groaned. “I should have stopped an hour ago.”

“You tell me what’s going on right now,” Ally ordered.

“I really do have a big mouth,” Mandy said. “He’s going to be so pissed at me.”

 

“I CANNOT
believe you!”

Ally stormed into the guesthouse, her face furious. She zeroed in on James and headed in his direction.

“I’m going to take a wild guess and say that she knows,” Finn said.

“Well, Mandy held out longer than I thought she would,” James said, sighing. “Ally … .”

“There was a bomb on my car and you didn’t tell me?”

She was pissed. James didn’t blame her. Everything was out in the open now, though, and there was no turning back. “I didn’t want to upset you.”

“What makes you think I would be upset?” Ally asked, taking a step back.

“I think your entrance is proof of that,” Grady said.

“Ally,” Jake said, his voice low. “It’s not James’ fault. We all agreed.”

Ally swiveled. “You agreed to lie to me?”

Jake swallowed hard. “I agreed to protect you.”

“Oh, and it sounds so much like your idea of protecting me is also a lie,” Ally said.

James jerked his head up when he heard the sound of feet at the front door of the guesthouse. Three heads, two dark and one blonde, were hovering in the doorway. “Ladies.”

Mandy was behind Sophie and Emma, her head lowered. She felt guilty. James recognized that. He wasn’t sure how to handle that situation yet, so he decided to ignore it.

“I can’t believe you guys would keep this from me,” Ally said. “I really can’t.”

“Ally, we didn’t do it out of malice,” Finn said. “We just needed some time to figure things out. We were going to tell you.”

“When?”

Finn gulped. “When what?”

“When were you going to tell me?”

“When the time was right.”

“Oh, and when was that?” Ally was in rare form, rage and a few too many drinks fueling her righteous indignation.

Finn looked to James for help. Seeing none there, he decided to throw him under the bus. “It was James’ idea. He made us promise.”

“Thanks, man,” James said, rubbing his forehead.

“Sorry, it’s every man for himself.”

“Don’t you blame your brother,” Emma said, wagging her finger at Finn as she stepped into the room. “You agreed. No one forced you.”

“He forced me,” Finn protested. “Grady and I thought we should tell her.”

Grady smirked. “That’s right. We’re the good ones.”

“You should probably stay out of this,” Sophie warned. “Ally is mad at James and Jake right now. James was already in trouble for that whole walking-in-on-the-sex thing, but I’m sure she has some anger to spare for you.”

Grady knit his eyebrows together, considering. After a second, the meaning of Sophie’s words dawned on him. “You walked in on them having sex?”

Finn was scandalized. “Gross!”

“Thanks,” Ally said, placing her hands on her hips. “I love hearing that I’m gross.”

“It was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me,” James said.

Ally smacked him on the back of the head. “I’m really mad at you.”

“Well, you’ve been mad at me for days,” James said. “Why should today be any different?”

Jake cleared his throat. “Ally, I know you’re upset,” he said. “You have to believe we thought we were doing what was best for you.”

“By lying to me,” Ally charged.

“We didn’t think of it as lying,” Jake said. “I know you’re worked up, and I don’t think the alcohol is helping, but I’m not going to apologize.”

Grady sucked in a breath. “Apologize.”

“Seriously, dude,” Finn agreed. “Apologize. If you don’t, we’ll never hear the end of it.”

“I’m not going to apologize,” Jake said, getting to his feet. “Everyone here wants to keep you safe. We might have gone about it the wrong way. We probably did. I won’t apologize for fighting to keep you safe. I don’t regret it.”

Ally’s mouth dropped open.

“I don’t know a lot about what’s going on right now,” Jake said. “I do know, above all else, that I couldn’t take it if something happened to you. So, were we wrong to keep you in the dark? Yes. Would I do it again? If I thought it would keep you safe, I would do it a hundred times over.”

Emma raised her hand to her heart, smiling. “Oh, he’s so romantic.”

Finn frowned, fixing his girlfriend with an odd look. “How much did you guys have to drink?”

“How come you don’t say romantic things like that to me?” Sophie asked Grady.

Grady shot Jake a hard look. “Great. You haven’t said that many words strung together since I met you, and you choose to do it now?”

Jake shrugged.

Ally moved across the room, throwing her arms around Jake’s neck. “Okay, I’m not mad anymore.”

Jake accepted the hug, raising his eyebrows as he regarded Ally’s brothers and tightened his arms around her waist. “I’m glad you’re not mad.”

Emma and Sophie moved to the table, settling themselves on Finn and Grady’s laps. James remained seated, eyeing Mandy in the doorway. She was rubbing her head, scanning the room uncertainly. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. He climbed out of his seat and walked over to her.

“So, you kept that secret for three whole hours,” he said.

Tears filled Mandy’s eyes. “You’re right. I do have a big mouth. It was out before I even realized what I was saying.”

James sighed, grabbing the front of her shirt and pulling her flush against his chest. “I guess it’s a good thing I love you,” he said, dropping a kiss on the tip of her nose. “Otherwise I might be really pissed off.”

BOOK: Deadly Prospects
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