Deceive Me
by Stacey Mosteller
Series: Two Sisters, #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 29, 2015
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Sexy playboy Jack Taylor is a hot commodity. Everyone wants him. Women fall at his feet, begging for his attention. But Jack can never tell if women want his heart...or his wallet. He's ready to rid himself of the superficial and shallow females banging down his door. Jack's looking for something real--with maybe even a little spice.
Fresh out of college with a culinary degree, Julianna Reynolds is ready to build the business she's always dreamed of. Eager to succeed, Jules is focused on her career and ready for a simple life of making people happy with her culinary creations.
Landing an event at Taylor Orchards, Jules runs into Jack...literally. Realizing that Julianna has no idea who he is, Jack can't resist the temptation to pretend to be someone he's not. Can something fake ever turn into something real?
Julianna
The knock on my bedroom door rouses me from sleep before I hear my sister's voice come through. "Wake up lazy ass, breakfast is ready." My stomach growls at just the thought of breakfast, so with a groan I drag myself out of bed.
Andi's flitting around the kitchen like a hummingbird, moving so fast she's almost a blur. From the fridge to the stove and then over to the table, setting things up like we're expecting company. I hope that's not the case since I'm only wearing sleep shorts and a tank top. I haven't looked in the mirror, but I'm fairly certain my hair looks like a couple rats made a nest in it while I was sleeping. I'm not one of those girls who wakes up looking like she's ready for the day.
"Jesus Andi, are you planning to feed an army?" She's made bacon, eggs, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, and my eyes are definitely bigger than my stomach.
She looks around at the spread of food on the table, and her cheeks turn red. Andi looks slightly embarrassed, a look I'm not used to seeing on my never a hair out of place sister. "Oops," she says with a shrug.
We sit down to eat, and I wait with baited breath for the inquisition to start. I escaped into my bedroom as soon as she put the van in park last night. I didn't even wait for her to turn it off, so she didn't get to ask any questions when we came inside because I locked my door and pretended I couldn't hear her. Now, it's time to face the music, pay the piper, whatever cliche you'd like to add in here.
"So, who was the hottie last night? There was some serious sexual tension going on between you two." Andi's tone is teasing, but now it's my turn to blush.
I look down at my plate, my appetite suddenly disappearing as I try to think of something...anything, that will keep my sister from playing matchmaker. She hasn't tried to set me up since she came back home nine months ago, but I'm not naive enough to think that means she's over it. I've asked so many times what happened to make her come home, she seemed so happy in Nashville, but she came home last September subdued and serious. Not at all like the bubbly sister I used to have. It still comes out sometimes, like last night when she needed my guys to help her, but for the most part she's now the stern, unfriendly part of our duo. Considering I'm about as socially awkward as they come that's saying something. I prefer to spend my time in the kitchen, surrounded by pots, pans and amazing smells.
"He's nobody," I tell her, playing it off as much as possible. It's not that hard, I know nothing about him other than his name being Jack. Andi gives me a funny look, and I know she's about to say something, so I cut her off. "I mean it Andi. He's no one; he can't be. I didn't give you shit about that guy who blew you off, so just drop it."
Even though it looks like she still wants to say something, she doesn't. We both know how messed up she was over the one-night stand guy a little over two years ago. Andi hasn't said anything, but I've been wondering if he had something to do with why she came home last summer; why she hasn't even gone out with one guy in the nine months she's been back. "Fine," she pouts, pushing her food around her plate, upset with me for even mentioning the douchebag from Nashville.
We don't talk anymore, the awkward tension in the room ratcheting up the longer we sit here avoiding each other. It's the first time since we moved into this duplex that I've wanted to get away from my sister and honestly, the feeling kind of sucks. Last night's event was the first for the catering portion that we just started, and if every morning after is going to be as uncomfortable as this one, she can count me out.
"Okay," I say, unable to sit here any longer. "I'm going to grab a shower and then go see mom and dad." Andi doesn't acknowledge me or my words and once again I want to ask what the hell happened to her. My older sister has always been outgoing and fun, but the person she's become over the past nine months is a stranger. She's sullen and unsmiling, unless she needs to pull out the charm for business. That's the only time I really see her smile, and even then it doesn't reach her eyes.
I wait for a few moments to see if she's going to reply, and when she doesn't, I shake my head and leave the room. Maybe mom will have some ideas on how to get her to open up. They've always been close, closer than she and I have. I've always been more of a daddy's girl.
She is also a wife, mother, writer and self-professed bookwhore – not necessarily in that order! As the mother of three growing boys, her Kindle has become her temporary escape from the insanity of boys, dogs and her husband. Stacey can usually be found curled up with her iPad when she’s supposed to be writing or creating endless playlists on Spotify!
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