My Cover Model (A Love Like That #1) - R.L. Kenderson Page 0,91

not swear at me, young man. And this is not nepotism.”

I held out my arms. “Young man? Ted, I’m thirty-one years old. I have been here since I was sixteen. I’ve been a manager for nine years. You explain to me why this isn’t nepotism, and I won’t fight you.”

Ted rubbed his hand over his eyes and sat down. “I started this store back in the late eighties. I’m the only one who’s ever owned it. It’s my baby. And I can’t just leave it to someone …”

I sat down again. “Someone what?”

“Someone who might sell it in a few years.”

I frowned. “Why the hell do you think I would do that?”

“You have nothing tying you down, Caleb. You rent your apartment, you’re not married, and you don’t have any kids. Plus, you don’t have the best track record.”

“Excuse me?”

“You quit college. You almost signed up for the military but decided at the last minute to go backpacking through Europe for a year.”

“That was over ten years ago,” I protested.

“I realize that, but I still don’t know that you’re not going to decide to do something like that again. Maybe ten years is your tipping point. And, like I said, you have nothing tying you down.”

“I have my family,” I pointed out.

“They didn’t stop you from leaving them the last time. Meanwhile, Rick has a mortgage, child support, and children keeping him around. He’s not going anywhere.” Ted folded his arms on his desk. “Look, you are both excellent workers. You know you’ve done a lot for this store. I know you’ve done a lot. But I have to look at this objectively.”

I wasn’t ready to give up yet, and a plan was forming in my brain. “Have you told Rick this yet?”

“No.”

Yes! I exclaimed inside my head.

“Why?” Ted asked as if he almost wanted me to have another reason.

There was still hope.

“Because what if I told you that I’d been looking for houses and that there was actually a special woman in my life?”

Ted sat back in his chair and narrowed his eyes. “I’d ask why you never said anything. You always tell us about your girlfriends.” He crossed his arms. “And why wouldn’t you have mentioned house-hunting?”

Think fast, Caleb.

“I didn’t mention the house-hunting because I didn’t want it to influence your decision on selling the store. I see now that it was a mistake.”

Damn. I was so impressed with that lie that I was mentally patting myself on the back.

Ted’s arms fell. He believed me. “And the girl?”

“Woman, I corrected.” I looked down at my feet like I was embarrassed. “I really like her.” I looked up at Ted. “Don’t laugh, but I think this one might be special.”

“Hmm …” That was an I’m not sure I believe you quite yet hmm.

“You know I’ve never said that about anyone before.” I might talk about the women I’d dated, but I’d never said any of them were special.

“This is true.” He studied me, and I could tell he still didn’t quite trust me. “What’s her name?”

My phone started playing my special ringtone for my mother.

Saved by the fucking bell.

I held up my finger to Ted and answered my cell, “Hello?”

“Caleb, I need you to pick something up on your way here.”

“Okay. Hold on one second, Mom.” I pulled the receiver away from my mouth and stood. “Sorry, Ted, I have to go. Please, can we continue this conversation later?” I begged him with my eyes to reconsider.

“Fine.”

I grinned. “Thank you.” I turned and walked out the door. “Mom, I’m back. What did you need?”

“But, Caleb?” Ted said.

“Hold on again, Mom.” I spun back around outside the door. “Yes?”

“Bring her to dinner tomorrow night.”

“Who?”

Ted’s eyebrows jumped to his hairline. “Your girlfriend.”

Oh shit. I laughed nervously. “Yeah, okay.” I pointed to my phone. “For a second there, I thought you were talking about my mom.” Awesome save, Caleb.

Ted shook his head. “Get out of here. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Okay.” I spun again and bolted away before he could say anything else. “Mom, you still there?”

“I’m here. Did I interrupt anything important?” she asked.

Just my future. “Nothing that can’t wait.”

“Oh, good. Can you pick up an extra package of hamburger buns on your way here?”

I hurried out of the store before Ted. “Sure. Not a problem.”

“Thank you. See you soon then?”

“Yep. I’ll be there soon.”

I hung up my phone and unlocked my car.

My to-do list was now buying hamburger buns, finding a realtor, and convincing someone to play my girlfriend. All by tomorrow night. I suddenly had an extremely busy weekend.

Get your copy of My Five Dates now!

Also by R.L. Kenderson

BOOKS IN THE DIRTY LOVE SERIES

Contemporary Romance/Romantic Comedy

Rumor Has It

Friends with Benefits

Meant to Be

It’s Complicated

BOOKS IN THE A LOVE LIKE THIS SERIES

Contemporary Romance/Romantic Comedy

My Cover Model

My Five Dates

My Wrong Number

My Favorite Mistake

BOOKS IN THE TAKE ME SERIES

Contemporary Erotic Romance

Take Me in the Night

Take Me in the Dark

STANDALONE NOVELS

Teacher/Student Forbidden Romance

Wicked Chemistry

NOVELS IN THE FORBIDDEN SERIES

Paranormal Romance

Forbidden Blood

Forbidden Heat

Forbidden Temptation

Forbidden Addiction

Forbidden Claim

Forbidden Seduction

Forbidden Mate

STANDALONE NOVELETTES & SHORT STORIES

Summer Heat

The Hottest Player

French Kiss

Moon Craving

Acknowledgments

First, we have to give a big thank-you to all the male models who let us interview them for our book. It was one of the most fun things we’d ever done in the name of research. Golden Czermak, Christian James, Mitch Mathes, Zack Salaun, Michael Scanlon, and Taras Timofeyenko, thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to answer our questions! If you ever read our book, you might see little tidbits that came from our interviews, and hopefully, it makes you smile.

Also, thank you to Pathways Talent Services for going out of your way to respond to our questions on what your role is in the modeling industry.

Thank you to our beta readers and our ARC readers! You ladies do such a wonderful job. We are so lucky to have you as part of our team.

Thank you to all the bloggers and readers who help us promote our book. And an extra-special thank-you to those of you who read our work and post a review. We couldn’t do it without you!

Thank you again to Golden Czermak—who is also the amazingly talented photographer at FuriousFotog—for the awesome photo of Chase Ketron that we were able to purchase to grace the cover of our book.

Thank you to Jovana Shirley of Unforeseen Editing. As always, you mold our work into something presentable and beautiful.

Last but definitely not least, thank you to our families for your support and for understanding that writing is more than a hobby. We love you!

About the Author

R.L. Kenderson is two best friends writing under one name.

Renae has always loved reading, and in third grade, she wrote her first poem where she learned she might have a knack for this writing thing. Lara remembers sneaking her grandmother’s Harlequin novels when she was probably too young to be reading them, and since then, she knew she wanted to write her own.

When they met in college, they bonded over their love of reading and the TV show Charmed. What really spiced up their friendship was when Lara introduced Renae to romance novels. When they discovered their first vampire romance, they knew there would always be a special place in their hearts for paranormal romance. After being unable to find certain storylines and characteristics they wanted to read about in the hundreds of books they consumed, they decided to write their own.

One lives in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and the other in the Kansas City area where they’re a sonographer/stay-at-home mom/wife and pharmacist/mother by day, and together they’re a sexy author by night. They communicate through phone, email, and whole lot of messaging.

You can find them at http://www.rlkenderson.com, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, and Goodreads. Join their reader group! Or you can email them at [email protected], or sign up for their newsletter. They always love hearing from their readers.