Lei'd With Cupcakes ~ Bethany Lopez E-Book

Bethany Lopez

• Herausgeber: Bethany Lopez
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Everybody dreams of a Hawaiian Vacation…

They sell you on the drinks with little umbrella’s, dolphin watching, and long walks on the beach. Which probably happens, if you’re that lucky schmuck living out your dream with your destination wedding, but if you’re a fish out of water PI like me, there’s no time for relaxing because trouble is never far behind.

Instead of cocktails, I ended up dealing with the seedy underbelly of The Big Island.
And, I didn’t see one damn dolphin while undercover on a boat which was spilling over with drug dealers, Kingpins, and Pedophiles. 

Elin and Elena think Cade's family are the coolest people outside of Snapchat, but it’s hard to meet the parents when your boyfriend is in his late thirties and has never had a serious relationship. 

I’d never missed my girls so much in my life, but Amy May, Bea, and Carmen are all dealing with issues of their own, and can’t come to my rescue.

The only thing that may help me with this “vacation” is if I could get Lei’d with Cupcakes. 

WARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS FOUL LANGUAGE, SEX, SOME VIOLENCE, AND SHENANIGANS. IF NONE OF THAT BOTHERS YOU, GRAB A CUPCAKE AND READ ON!

Leseprobe

Lei’d with Cupcakes

Delilah Horton, Book 3

Bethany Lopez

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Epilogue

Hawaiian Words and Phrases:

Keep reading for a look at book 4, Cupcake Explosion!

Prologue ~ Cupcake Explosion

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Also by Bethany Lopez

Lei’d with Cupcakes

Copyright 2017 Bethany Lopez

Published March 2017

Updated Apr 2020

Cover Design by Makeready Designs

Editing by Red Road Editing / Kristina Circelli

Proofreading by KMS Freelance Editing

Ebook Formatting by Bethany Lopez

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please don’t participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Created with Vellum

To everyone I was lucky enough to meet over the years at Utopia (UtopYA) Con. I’m so sad that this is the last year of the con, but so grateful that Janet had the vision and passion to make the con possible. I wouldn’t have been able to meet so many wonderful authors, bloggers, and readers without it.

Keep on lifting as you climb!

Prologue

Everybody dreams of a Hawaiian vacation…

They sell you on the drinks with little umbrellas, dolphin watching, and long walks on the beach. Which probably happens, if you’re that lucky schmuck living out your dream of your destination wedding, but if you’re a fish out of water PI like me, there’s no time for relaxing because trouble is never far behind.

Instead of sipping cocktails, I ended up dealing with the seedy underbelly of The Big Island.

And, I didn’t see one damn dolphin while undercover on a boat that was spilling over with drug dealers, kingpins, and pedophiles.

I did get to take that long walk on the beach, but that resulted in me and Cade getting busted by his parents, while we were all butt-ass naked.

Which leads me to the other issue, meeting Cade’s family. Elin and Elena think they’re the coolest people outside of TikTok, but it’s hard to meet the parents when your boyfriend is in his late thirties and has never had a serious relationship.

You want to talk about grand baby fever … His mom was foaming at the mouth at the thought of Cade reproducing, and, although the thought of little bad-ass babies who look like Cade is appealing, we’re definitely not ready to take that step.

I’d never missed my girls so much in my life, but Amy May, Bea, and Carmen were all dealing with issues of their own and couldn’t come to my rescue.

The only thing that may help me with this “vacation” is if I can get Lei’d with Cupcakes.

Chapter 1

“We have started our descent into Honolulu. We should touch down in twenty minutes and the local time will be three fifty-eight.”

I looked to my left to see Elin and Elena sleeping like angels, even though an hour ago they’d been fighting like rabid raccoons. Then, to my right, where Cade was passed out cold.

You’d think a large man like him would have a hard time getting comfortable in a standard coach seat, but as soon as he’d sat down Cade closed his eyes and was knocked out.

Meanwhile, I couldn’t keep my five-foot seven-inch frame still in the seat long enough to doze. My knees hurt, the seatbelt annoyed me and I swear I could hear every sniffle and sneeze for twenty rows.

So, while the loves of my life were snoozing happily, I was trying to find out how many mini liquor bottles it would take for me to get drowsy. It was just my luck that now when I was finally feeling happily buzzed and ready to nap, we were about to land. So, not only was I going to meet Cade’s family with no sleep, there was a good chance I was going to be drunk.

“Miss, can I take your trash?”

I swiveled my head to find one of the stewardesses holding open her bag for me to dump my empties in.

Are we still allowed to call them stewardesses, or is that no longer PC? What the hell are they supposed to be termed now? Oh, yeah, flight attendants. I don’t know why everything has to change…

“Darlin’,” Cade muttered, his voice rough with sleep. “You’re talking to yourself.”

“Huh?” I asked, turning to take in my gorgeous mountain of a man.

“You’re mumbling something about stewardesses, but, babe, they don’t like to be called that,” Cade replied, then shifted and closed his eyes again.

I blinked slowly, wondering how Cade knew so much about it, then turned my focus on the map in front of me.

I’d been watching the damn thing for hours. Tracking those little dots as we flew over the ocean for what felt like an eternity. I’d never considered myself a bad flyer before this flight. Maybe it was the prospect of meeting Cade’s family … Of introducing them to my kids and what it all might mean.

I mean, it’s a pretty big deal, especially since Cade has never brought anyone home to meet the parents before. It felt huge, like this one trip had the potential to change everything.

And that was pretty scary.

After all, I’ve only been divorced a little over a year. Shouldn’t I be sowing my wild oats or something?

I turned my attention back to Cade and smiled.

His scruff was a day old; his long, dark hair was starting to come out of its rubber band and was wildly framing his face, but even with his eyes closed he was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. And any wild oats I had in me had definitely been sowed by him.

Truthfully, before he’d rode up to me on his motorcycle, I hadn’t been interested in dating anyone. So, although things seemed to be progressing quickly, there was no other man, shit, no other person, in this world I’d rather be with until the end of my days.

I’m not sure how long I sat there pondering that epiphany, but in what felt like a matter of seconds, the wheels touched down with a bounce and we were taxiing down the runway.

“Elin, Elena, get up. We’re here,” I said softly, leaning over to touch them each gently on the arm.

They both shot up, eyes wide, with grins on their faces, making me wonder if they’d been faking sleep, then turned to me and asked excitedly in unison, “We’re in Hawaii?”

Being the mother of eleven, almost twelve, year-old twins, you’d think I’d be used to them doing things in unison like that, but no … That shit is freaky every time.

“Uh … yeah, we just landed,” I replied, then shushed them when they started chattering excitedly and bouncing in their seats. I shrugged, knowing there was no use in trying to contain their excitement. They’d done a pretty good job of keeping a lid on it up until that point, so why not let them have a little fun. After all, who knew if we’d ever get another trip to Hawaii.

“Cade,” I whispered, leaning to my other side and running my hand down Cade’s arm. “We’ve landed.”

He grunted, then said, “Wake me up when we’re at the gate.”

I rolled my eyes, then, five minutes later when we pulled into the gate and they turned off the fasten seat belt sign, I woke him up again. This time, Cade immediately unfastened his seatbelt, stood right up, and stepped into the aisle.

Then, he proceeded to stretch. His black T-shirt came up, revealing his glorious stomach and gave me a bird’s eye view of his happy trail.

Once I’d tucked my tongue back into my mouth and got a good eyeful, I turned to make sure the kids were gathering all of their belongings from the seat pocket in front of them and were ready to get off the plane.

When it was our turn to disembark, Cade pulled our suitcases down from the overhead compartment and we started off the plane. First Cade, with his well-worn leather backpack slung over one shoulder and a ratty Army-green duffel in his hand. Then Elin and Elena, with their Harry Potter and Star Wars rolling bags, and finally me, trailing behind with my new hard-case roller, wondering why I’d been in such a hurry to land when all I wanted to do in that moment was run back to the plane.

With every step closer to the arrival area, my stomach grew tighter and my buzz started to fade. By the time we stepped out of the corridor into the open space filled with happy sounds and tons of people, I was ready to upchuck the six tiny bottles of vodka that had seemed like such a good idea in-flight.

I looked up in time to see a tall woman hugging Cade tightly, while a handsome, older version of Cade was placing leis around the twins’ necks. I plastered a smile on my face and as I joined the group all eyes turned to me.

Cade’s mother’s face lit up as she looked to him and said, “Nice job, Hiapo. She’s got great hips.”

Chapter 2

The trip from the airport to Cade’s family home was luckily pretty short. It was, however, along a long and winding road. Everyone else was talking happily while I stared out the window and cursed myself for drinking.

It’s horrible when you have a buzz and you really don’t want to.

I really wanted to make a good impression on Cade’s parents, but all I could do was pray the car would stop soon and this roller coaster of a ride would be over before I did something really embarrassing. Like throw up in the back seat of Cade’s dad’s car.

I was trying to focus on breathing and enjoying the gorgeous scenery around me, when we took a sharp right, then dipped down a steep hill and pulled to a stop. I turned in my seat, looking back at the hill we’d just come down, and wondered how in the heck you’d drive back up that thing.

I was still pondering this when everyone else exited the 4Runner and started grabbing bags out of the back.

Cade’s family home was a modest bungalow surrounded by lush trees, bushes, and flowers. As I did my best to carry my large suitcase over the rocky ground, I noticed a sitting area surrounding a large open pit. There was a hodge podge of places to sit. A couple chairs, a few logs, and a large leather bench seat that must have come out of an old car from the fifties.

“We spend more time outside than in,” Cade said from beside me. “We’ll cook there, sit around with a drink, or just spend hours talking.”

“Oh,” I replied, then turned my head to smile up at him. “Is that the ocean I hear?”

Cade lifted his chin toward the house.

“Yeah, I’ll take you out back once we put our stuff down.”

I followed Cade through the front door, which led right into an open area where you could see the living room, dining room, and kitchen, which is where Elin and Elena were currently planted. They were sitting on bar stools, eating cookies, while telling Cade’s parents about the flight.

And, as if they’d known them five years, rather than five minutes, Cade’s mother and father were smiling at my children and listening to their every word.

My heart warmed at the sight and although I wanted to go join them, I followed Cade down the hall to put my bag down and give myself a minute to get my shit together.

“We’ll be in here,” Cade said, pausing at the threshold of a room before walking inside.

I followed behind him, taking in the large bed, well-worn dresser with trophies scattered across the top and the row of lockers against the wall.

“This is your room?” I asked, even though it was pretty obvious.

“Yeah.”

“I’m in here with you?” I asked, my eyes darting back out into the hall.

“Yeah.”

I dropped my bag by the bed and walked up to Cade, lowering my voice to say, “I can’t sleep with you in your parents’ house.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Cade asked as he took out his rubber band and pulled his hair back to secure it again.

“We can’t have sex in your parents’ house.”

Cade turned his face toward me, eyebrows raised.

“Lila, I’m thirty-eight years old. I’m pretty sure they know I fuck.”

My eyes widened and my face went red.

“Don’t talk like that, my God … Just because they assume, doesn’t mean it should happen in their house. It’s rude.”

Cade chuckled and replied, “All right, darlin’, I’ll keep my hands to myself, in the house, and we’ll see if you can do the same.”

I placed my hands on my hips, offended that he thought he could control himself, but I couldn’t.

“Well, where am I going to sleep then?”

“Here, Lila,” Cade said, his smile indulgent. “My sister, Alani is sharing her room with Elena and Elin is on the couch. You’re in here with me, unless you want to sleep outside, or on the floor somewhere.”

I scowled at him, but he just grinned and stepped up close. Close enough that I could feel his heat, smell his spicy scent, and had to tilt my head up to look at his fully mouth.

“What’s the matter, don’t think you can keep your hands to yourself?”

“Shut up,” I grumbled, causing him to laugh.

“C’mon, I’m hungry,” Cade said, changing the subject as he grabbed my hand and pulled me from the room.

I took one last look at the bed over my shoulder, wondering how in the hell I would manage to keep my hands off of him at night, before turning back to pay attention to where we were headed.

Elin and Elena were still in the same spot, except now they had milk to go with their cookies.

“Mama,” Cade called once we hit the open area. “Please tell me you have some poi and laulau ready for me.”

Cade’s mother just beamed and turned to pull some covered dishes from behind her and placed them on the counter.

“Aloha au ia ‘oe,” he said, before kissing her on the cheek and letting go of my hand so he could uncover the dishes.

“Lila, can I get you something to eat or drink?” Cade’s mother asked.

“You gotta try these cookies, Mom,” Elin mumbled, holding up the cookie in his hand.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” I said, then turned to reply to Cade’s mother. “I’d love some water, thank you.”

“Here, you have to have some pork laulau,” Cade said, his mouth also full. “This shit is the best.”

“Swear jar!” Elin shouted, his mouth still full.

I turned to Cade’s mom with a smile and said, “I give up.”

Chapter 3

I sat down at the table with my water and some pork, while Elin explained the concept of the swear jar to Cade’s dad.

“Any time they swear, they have to put a dollar in the jar. It started out as a quarter, then fifty cents, and now it’s a dollar” Elin said as he licked chocolate off of his fingers. “Then we use the money for something for the family. Since Cade’s been around, we’ve saved like two hundred bucks! I’m hoping for the new Xbox, but Elena wants some video equipment. She wants to start her own YouTube channel.”

“YouTube Channel?” Cade’s dad asked, obviously confused.

As Elin and Elena illuminated the Wilkes’ about wonders of YouTube, I took my dishes to the sink, cleaned them and put them in the drying rack, before walking toward the back of the house. I could barely make out the view of the ocean from where I’d been sitting, but when I rounded the corner of the kitchen, the full view slapped me in the face.

It was breathtaking.

I paused, happy to just take in the sight for a few moments, then crossed to the sliding glass door and opened it.

Waves crashed onto the beach that made up Cade’s family’s backyard. There were palm trees framing the yard and a small patch of grass which led from the back door to the sand. I took it all in as I shut the door behind me, then took a deep breath of ocean air and smiled.

I looked to the left and saw a dog house, which made me wonder, since I’d yet to see a dog. Then I turned my head right and sighed when I saw a hammock set up between two palm trees.

My feet carried me toward the hammock as if they were fully in tune with my heart in that moment.

I sat on the polyester fabric, then swiveled to bring my feet up and laid my head back. I closed my eyes as the hammock swayed gently and listened to the ocean hitting the shore.

Bliss.

I’m not sure how long I stayed there, or if I dozed off, but I opened my eyes when I heard the sliding glass door open. Then watched serenely as Cade moved toward me.

“I don’t know how you ever left here,” I managed, my voice low and rough.

“It’s pretty perfect, isn’t it,” Cade remarked, his gaze on the vast ocean in front of us.

“It sure it,” I replied with a dreamy smile. “Wait until the kids see this. They’re going to want to spend the rest of their time right there in the water.”

“Pops is already talking about surf lessons in the morning,” Cade replied with a grin. “Elin isn’t sure, but Lena is all for it.”

I kept my fear of the twins learning to surf to myself, trusting that Cade and his father knew this ocean better than anyone. Then I caught sight of the dog house and asked, “Do they have a dog?”

Cade nodded and said, “Yeah, Boone runs this place. He likes to check out the beach and say hi to the neighbors. He comes back when he’s hungry and at night to sleep.”

“Oh,” I muttered, thinking what a cool life Boone had, then asked, “Is your sister home yet? I can’t wait to meet her.”

Cade’s sister, Alani, had actually been born after Cade had graduated and moved to the States to play football. But, even though he only saw her grow up once a year when he came back to visit, they kept in contact all the time and seemed to be really close. I was looking forward to meeting her and curious as to the dynamic of his family.

“My Ma said she had something going on after school and won’t be home until later. She should get here before the kids go to bed though, so they can meet her.”

Cade made a move to get on the hammock, causing me to jump up to sitting and rock the hammock a little too hard.

“We won’t both fit on here, you’ll flip it,” I screeched, gripping the sides of the fabric as I tried to stay on.