Kendall Hale’s debut novel is out now—featuring a former Navy SEAL turned bodyguard for hire who joins the heroine on a road trip of a lifetime to help her track down her exes and find out what when wrong in those relationships—and I have an excerpt for you.
Excerpt
We’re in the conference room. I’m listening to Lily who’s talking about the articles Cleo sent her as she threatened her . . . with me.
“What I don’t understand is why you’re saying that I’ll be grabbing your ass during the ceremony.” And maybe there are a thousand other questions I could ask but this point really bothers me.
“Your brother said you spanked a bridesmaid once at a family wedding,” she tells me.
I can’t help but laugh. “Seriously, that’s what he’s saying? It was one time and pretty harmless.”
Lily crosses her arms. “I don’t see why that’s so funny. Stop laughing.”
“It was actually the bride,” I say once I calm down.
She gasps, horrified at my confession. “How could you?”
I shrug. “I was four. Mother says I was playing with my cousins in the mud, came running to show them a key I had found and tripped. My hands landed exactly on the bride’s ass. She spent the entire party with my handprints.”
Lily burst into laughter. “No way that actually happened. I mean poor woman, but that’s hilarious.”
I nod and shrug. “But that’s what Dominique uses to make me look bad.”
“So, if I don’t find a date, you won’t grab my ass.”
I wink at her. “Unless you ask really nice, sweetheart.”
She scoffs. “In your dreams, Montgomery.”
“Probably, but now that you know about that story, tell me more about these life changing articles.”
“It was like they were describing my own life,” Lily says, still chuckling from my horrible wedding debacle. “All of these failed relationships and wondering what went wrong. It sent me down memory lane, thinking of all my exes and realizing I never found closure with any of them.”
I nod in understanding. “Closure can be a tricky thing to come by,” I say. “I admire you for going after it so head-on.”
“Thanks,” she says with a soft smile, her cheeks flushing slightly at the compliment. “My sister thinks I’ve lost it.” She rolls her eyes, letting out a small chuckle.
“What about the rest of your family?” I ask, tilting my head curiously.
“They won’t know. At least, not until I’m back.” She leans closer, lowering her voice surreptitiously. “They’re pretty judgmental and swear that as the youngest, I do stupid things.”
“Asking questions and searching for answers is not stupid.”
“Exactly,” she says enthusiastically, her face lighting up with excitement.
“So, in my opinion, we should start with whoever lives here before we head to our next town,” I suggest, my mind already mapping out our plan of action.
“So we start with Jeff, the barista poet?” Lily’s voice pitches high with enthusiasm, and I can’t help but smile at her eagerness, my own heart rate picking up at the prospect of our adventure. “Jeff with haikus for every coffee order.”
“Sounds like a character,” I say, my eyebrows raising in amusement as I imagine the quirky barista. “This should be interesting.”
“Character is one way to put it,” Lily laughs, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “Let’s say you order a cappuccino, he’ll say: Cappuccino steam. Whispers of warmth in the air. Morning joy in a cup.”
“I mean, that’s an entertaining way to get your daily coffee,” I try to defend the dude, but really, who does that? “We could start with him. Do you have his address?”
“I’m not sure where he ended up, though. Last time I heard, he was out in California.” She shrugs, a hint of uncertainty flickering across her face.
Okay, so she really has no idea where to go.
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Happily Ever Mishaps - Recommended Reading Order
(standalone stories with interconnected characters)
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