Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
And she was with hers. She wrinkled her nose his way. “I was not the problem.”
“Not how I remember it. And who will believe you?” Kyle asked. “Who will believe that a dude like me would ever run from such a gorgeous woman? Also, I love your hair, baby. It’s beautiful on you.”
She’d gone full on purple, and it felt great. She wanted to look like herself for her wedding pictures.
“It is gorgeous,” Taylor agreed. “I’m thinking of some fun hair for myself. So, we were wondering if you two needed some witnesses? I would say let’s all get married, but I think Drake’s mom needs a distraction, and a big society wedding for her son will do the trick.”
Drake brought her hand to his lips. “And I appreciate that.” He glanced over at Kyle. “The least we can do is take you two out to dinner after the ceremony. After all, it’s not like you have a ton of cash.”
They’d had the cash, but the first decision they’d made as a formal couple had been to give away the million Julia had stashed in his account. He’d located the family of the man he’d killed on Julia’s orders and ensured they would not need to sell another piece of land again.
It was the start of his healing, and now he was out of the business. The world needed spies, but he’d done his time, and now he would find some peace. She intended to make sure of it.
“I will take you up on that offer, my friend.” Kyle winked at her. “Pick someplace expensive, baby. It’s on moneybags.”
“Yes, enjoy it because you’ll be eating corndogs the rest of your honeymoon,” Drake teased.
That didn’t sound so bad to MaeBe.
Epilogue
Dallas, TX
Ten years later
Kyle Hawthorne was known as the happy guy around the office. He was the dude who would always help out—even if he sounded way too much like his uncle most of the time—the guy who gave sound advice.
But he could be ruthless at the gaming table.
He looked at the Ticket to Ride board, watching carefully as each of his opponents claimed their spaces.
“How is the new girl working out?” Michael Malone was gobbling up the train routes in the west. His wife, Vanessa, seemed to be interested in the routes further north. “Isn’t she related to you?”
He’d asked the question of MaeBe, who was definitely trying to connect New York to New Orleans. “She’s my stepsister.” MaeBe grinned, an expression that still made his heart pound. She tucked a strand of her electric blue hair behind one ear. “It makes my stepmom insane, but once my stepsisters got out in the world, they pretty much came straight for me. They said they’d always been curious about me, and we turned out to be pretty good friends. Audrey has always been fascinated with computers but her mom wouldn’t let her study them so I helped her out. She changed her major and worked her way through college. So now I have a brand-new help desk manager who wants to learn more.”
And she had two young women who looked at her like she was the sun in the sky. Her stepsisters had gotten close to MaeBe. It was a little ironic since their mom had cut them all off. Now that their mom was pretty much out of their lives, MaeBe’s stepsisters brought way less drama than his own siblings and cousins.
One day he would figure out what had gone wrong between his sister, Carys, and Tristan Dean-Miles. There was big drama as they approached her wedding to Aidan O’Donnell. He’d always expected Tristan would be there, too.
Hutch took a green and a red card. “I think the more interesting thing happening at the office is how the twins disappear all the time.” Hutch looked over at Kyle. “I’m surprised Big Tag didn’t kill Drake for that.”
“For what?” Kyle asked, hoping he sounded truly innocent since what Kenzie and Kala were doing was super classified. Though he’d been happy when his uncle hadn’t killed Drake, too. He’d been worried when the twins went to Drake with the proposal to form their own CIA team that Drake would end up stuffed in his uncle’s mythical freezer. Instead, Drake had explained that while he would be the twins’ liaison with the higher-ups at the Agency, their dad would be handling them on a daily basis.
He kind of wished he’d been in that meeting.
Drake and Taylor would be getting the tight team they’d dreamed of, and Kyle trusted those two to treat the new recruits right.
“We all know why Kenz and Kala disappear,” Hutch said with a shrug. “Lou and Tasha, too.”
Boomer leaned in. “My daughter does not work for the CIA.”
His wife hid a grin. “Nope. Definitely not.”
Their daughter, Louisa, was totally on that team. As far as he could tell it was Tasha, the twins, Louisa, Tristan, and Alex and Eve’s oldest, Cooper.