Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
He always assumed she’d be nothing more than a fantasy, but he’s not the only one with forbidden feelings…
I’ve loved her for as long as I can remember. She’s my mom’s best friend and a cop. Two reasons why I should stay far, far away from Sloane Thurman. It’s nearly impossible to keep my distance, though. The ache for her rare smiles and her sweet scent is more than I can bear. I’m more than her friend’s son. I want to show her I’m a man now and that I could be her man. My wish becomes a reality when Sloane takes in her nephew. She needs help and I’m just the man to step up. Hikes, coffee dates, and game nights are just the beginning for us. Entertaining the kid in an effort to get closer to her is no hardship. Being near her is the only reward I need. As we spend more time together, I manage to break down her rigid walls. When she’s not worried about her morals and being a good cop, she’s realizing the two of us can have a lot of fun. A good time isn’t all I’m after. If it were up to me, I’d haul her down to the courthouse and make her mine forever. Unfortunately, neither life nor love is that easy. There’s no way my family would understand our relationship. A secret romance will have to do…for now. We may be able to deceive everyone we care about, but one day our shameful secrets will come to light. For Sloane’s sake, I just hope I’m worth the fight…
*** This is a complete M/F standalone novel with a happily ever after. Tropes for this book older woman/younger man age-gap romance, opposites attract, he falls first, coffee lovers, mom’s best friend, romantic suspense, secret romance, and found family.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Dempsey
Graduation Night
All hail Queen Gemma.
While I barely made it to this night considering my shitty grades, my twin sister gracefully arrived with perfect attendance and straight As, earning the adoration and praise of every single person in this auditorium.
They all cheer proudly as she takes her turn across the stage I just dragged myself across.
I just want to go home, dammit.
“Can you believe we finally did it?” she whispers once she’s seated again beside me in our chairs, diploma in her dainty hand. “PMU, here we come.”
Nudging her with my shoulder, I smirk at her. “You’re going alone, sis. I told you. I can’t do college.”
Her bottom lip juts out despite us having this same conversation over and over again. No matter what I do, I’ll never be as smart as my sister…or good.
Gemma is just good.
The angel to my devil.
A twin who stole all the decent genes and left me with all the genetic garbage.
“You can’t live with Mom and Dad forever,” she says with a frown. “And why would you want to? They suffocate us.”
Her.
They suffocate her.
If she thinks they’ll allow her to live on campus like she wants, she’s out of her mind. Dad is overly protective of her.
“I’ll figure something out,” I say with a shrug.
The last person walks across the stage and then the principal is back at the microphone, speaking about following our dreams and living life to the fullest. Gemma and every other fool around me grin at him, eating up all his empowering words.
Not me.
I just want to get the hell out of here.
“Cool tattoo,” Brandy, a girl sitting on my left, whispers. She points a finger at my newest tattoo on the back of my hand.
“Graduation gift to myself,” I tell her. “Designed it myself.”
Gemma elbows me. “Mom is going to freak when she sees you got another tattoo.”
We’re eighteen now. It’s not like she or Dad can actually do anything about it.
“I’m so scared,” I deadpan.
The principal congratulating our class and the auditorium subsequently exploding with cheers and applause drown the rest of our conversation. All the girls around me with their fancy hair and caps pinned neatly on clap happily. The guys, however, all try to see who can toss their caps highest into the air. I decide to use mine as a frisbee to try and nail my annoying-ass English teacher in his bald head.
My cap disappears and unfortunately misses. Not that I give a shit. I’m ready to get out of here and go home, hide away in my room until I’m forced to socialize with family for the graduation party Mom has planned.
The next hour is a blur as we shuffle through the crowd, looking for our parents to hitch a ride back home with because we still don’t have cars of our own. Finally, we load up in Dad’s SUV and make the trek back to our property.
As Mom and Gemma chatter with way too much enthusiasm, I stare out the window, wondering what happens from here. I can’t go to college. No way. I’d die from boredom. But I’m also not cut out for working with Dad or my brothers. The military can fuck off because I’m not about to be some meat shield.
It won’t matter that I don’t exactly have it all figured out, though. Dad will expect a plan bright and early tomorrow morning. I’ll have nothing but smart-ass remarks and general disrespect. It’ll end in frustration and slammed doors. I know the drill.
There’s a car waiting in our driveway when we arrive. I practically fling myself out of the SUV, eager to make my escape until the party starts. In the darkness, I can’t make out whose car it is, but when the person steps out, I know.
Golden blond hair flutters in the late May evening breeze, sending a hint of lavender my way. I inhale the scent, knowing it without ever having to see who it belongs to because I’ve memorized it—obsessed over it.
She’s a gorgeous, long-legged beauty with lips that beg to be kissed.
Local cop and pillar of the community.
Twice as old as me and my mom’s best friend in the whole world.
Sloane Thurman.
I’m obsessed with her, but she’s completely off-limits. She was in the room when we were born, babysat us twins on occasion when my parents needed a break, and has been a part of our lives for eighteen years.
Because she’s Mom’s best friend.
I can look all I want, but I can never touch no matter how much I want to.
And, goddammit, I really, really want to…
“Sloane,” Mom greets happily as she rushes over to her best friend. “Oh my goodness. I forget how long your hair is. You really should wear it down more.”
Sloane, lovely face shimmering in the moonlight, smiles at Mom. To my mother, it’s an indulgent, patient smile, but to me, I see the slight tension in her shoulders and the twitch of a muscle in her cheek.