Authors: Lily Everett

Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #Two Hours or More (65-100 Pages), #Billionaire Brothers#1

The Firefly Cafe (10 page)

BOOK: The Firefly Cafe

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But no loud, angry voice shouted from the kitchen. Trent wasn’t here; he couldn’t
ever hurt her again. And when she started to stammer an apology to Grady Wilkes, whose
jeans leg was now speckled with sticky globs of white, he didn’t look at her coldly
and impassively like the faceless café patrons in her dream. He leaned in and said
kindly, “You’re fine, no harm done. Look, your friend there has it almost all cleaned
up already.”

Penny whirled to see Dylan on one knee beside the mess, carefully collecting the sharp
pieces of broken plate.

He looked up at her, the strength in every line of his body at odds with the humble
pose. And when he said, “Don’t push me away,” there was no plea in his tone—it was
all firm, gentle understanding.

“You have every reason to be cautious,” Dylan said quietly. “But there’s a fine line
between protecting yourself and Matt, and hiding from life.”

Lord, he was right. No second chances—she wasn’t only denying Dylan if she stuck to
her policy. She’d be denying herself, and her son, the possibility of a future with
this handsome, flawed, deeply loving man.

“Maybe I’m not the man you should take that next step with.” Dylan’s shoulders slumped.
“You make me want to work hard to be better, for you and Matt. But I’m not there yet.
At least I know better than to try and woo you with fancy cars or luxury homes, dinners
out at gourmet restaurants and jewels for every finger … and crap, is that terrifying.
Because without that, what’s left? What do I have to offer?”

Penny’s heart cracked down the middle at the honest desperation and confusion in Dylan’s
ragged voice. The fact that he truly didn’t know if she’d be able to love the man
underneath the money battered down the last of the walls around her heart.

“You dummy,” she said, getting a good grip on the collar of his leather jacket and
hauling him to his feet. He dropped the pieces of plate he’d gathered. “Don’t you
get it? What’s left is all that matters.”

She stepped forward, slipping on a smear of spilled grits and swooning into the arms
Dylan opened automatically to catch her. Wrapping her own arms around his shaking
back, she held on for dear life. “If you offer me your heart and nothing else, I’ll
take it. And consider myself the richest woman alive.”

The entire Firefly Café erupted in applause and cheers, with a few cheerful wolf whistles
thrown in for good measure. It was like fireworks going off all around them as Dylan
dropped his forehead to rest against hers.

“Penny,” he whispered brokenly. “You and Matt welcomed me into your family when you
thought I was a penniless handyman. Is there a place there for a reformed Bad Boy
Billionaire?”

Worry speared through her. “Oh, Matt. I told him you lied to us, that you were leaving—we
need to call him…”

“No, we don’t.” Dylan pulled her closer, locking them together. “Matt knows exactly
where I am. He’s the one who convinced me to stay and fight for you.”

“He knows about us?” Penny groaned, hiding her smile against Dylan’s shoulder. “That’s
a little embarrassing.”

“Why? The kid’s smart, he gets people. He sees things other people don’t,” Dylan said,
pride touching his voice with warmth. He nudged a hand under her chin and tipped her
face up to his. “For instance, Matt could see how much I love you. And in spite of
what I’d done, he saw that if I left without telling you, I’d regret it for the rest
of my life.”

“Remind me to thank him.” Penny stood on her tiptoes to brush her lips over Dylan’s.

A second round of applause and catcalls, boots stomping on the floor and silverware
clanging on the tables reminded Penny suddenly that they were still standing in the
middle of the café.

Grinning wide enough to split her cheeks, she pulled away and called in the direction
of the kitchen, “I think I’ll take that break now!”

“Go on, get out of here,” Lonz yelled back, laughing.

Dylan and Penny tumbled out of the café and onto the sun-warmed deck, unwilling to
let go of each other. The ocean breeze and the sound of the waves, the screeching
gulls and the far-off blast of the ferry’s horn were a symphony of all the things
Penny loved about island life.

And when Dylan tugged her to his chest and covered her mouth with his, she added a
new love to the list.

When they came up for air, she gasped and shuddered with the excess of happiness flowing
through her blood. “In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I love you, too, Dylan.
No matter what your name is or what your family is like—I love the essential Dylan,
the man who fixed my kitchen sink and told me about his childhood and taught my son
about self-defense. I love you.”

Sinking down to sit on the stone wall at the edge of the deck, Dylan clenched his
big hands at her hips and drew her close to stand between his denim-clad thighs. Resting
his forehead against her collarbone, he said, “I don’t deserve you.”

“There’s your mistake,” Penny said fondly, running her fingers through the soft bristles
of his buzzed hair. “Thinking you get to decide what we deserve. Silly man. But don’t
worry, Matt and I will help you learn to believe.”

“This love thing is pretty new to me. And I was always a crappy student.” He mouthed
at the tender skin of her neck. “It might take a while for the lesson to sink in.”

Joy lit Penny up from within. “That’s okay. We have a lifetime.”

A Q & A with Lily Everett

1. The Billionaire Brothers novellas take place on Sanctuary Island, a beautiful island
preserve for wild horses. Is it based on a real place? And if not, what was the inspiration?

There are actually several islands off the east coast of the United States that are
home to bands of wild horses. I grew up in Virginia, just a few hours from Assateague
Island, a breathtakingly beautiful nature preserve. And I thought … what if there
were a friendly little town full of interesting people who live side by side with
the wild horses?

2. This trilogy follows three brothers with very different personalities. If you got
to choose, which brother would
you
end up with? The bad boy, the sexy genius, or the high-powered alpha male?

I like to make fun of my husband for his firm belief that every single one of my characters
(male and female!) is based on him. But this question makes me realize that the man
I chose to spend my life with actually has a bit of all three Harrington brothers
in him: he’s a super intelligent guy who runs his own business … and occasionally
enjoys a walk on the wild side. I’m a lucky woman!

3. If you had to choose, which heroine would you say is most like you? And are there
any ways you wish you were more like Penny, Jessica or Greta?

I identify with each of them in a different way, but what I love about all three of
these women is how gutsy they are. Each of them faces a staggering challenge, the
kind of roadblock to happiness that derails a lot of people—and each of my heroines
rises to meet that challenge, with the help of the man she loves. That’s the kind
of woman I want to be, and it’s the kind of woman I love to write about.

4. Are there any favorite moments you can share with us about writing this series?

Sanctuary Island is most closely based on Assateague, but I visited a second island
to round out my research: Cumberland Island, one of the Golden Isles off the coast
of Georgia. My sister and I took an afternoon boat cruise hosted by a chatty local
historian, and her fascinating stories of how the island came into the possession
of the wealthy Carnegie family in the late 1800’s and then transitioned into a protected
national park gave me lots of ideas! But the best part of the day, by far, was standing
at the railing of that boat with my sister and spotting wild horses grazing on marsh
grass in the distance. It still gives me chills to think about it!

5. Family is such a strong theme in all the stories. Did you draw on any of your real
life relationships when crafting the bond between Dylan, Logan, and Miles?

I’m extremely grateful that my family relationships aren’t quite as troubled as the
ones I write about. I live fifteen minutes from my parents, and I’m so close to my
sister that it’s very hard to imagine being as estranged from a sibling as Dylan,
Logan, and Miles are from each other. But in a way, that closeness is what I drew
on for the emotion in the stories—because I know exactly what those boys were missing
out on by not being in each others’ lives. Heartbreaking! I couldn’t let them go on
like that.

6. Are you currently working on anything else right now? Can you give readers an idea
of what to look forward to next after reading The Billionaire Brothers series?

I wrote the Billionaire Brothers stories to welcome readers to Sanctuary Island! I’m
hoping everyone wants to keep on coming back there, because I can’t get enough of
that place. On July 30
th
, the very first full-length novel in the series will be available in both print and
digital. So be on the lookout for
Sanctuary Island
! It’s about two sisters who come to the island for the first time to reconnect with
their estranged mother … and discover the magic of new possibilities and life-changing
love.

7. If I am a fan the series and want to help, what can I do?

If you’re a fan, thank you for reading and enjoying my books. That’s enough to make
me love you already! But if you really want to get the word out about Sanctuary Island,
you can always leave a review on Amazon, B&N, or Goodreads, to help point readers
like you toward books they might enjoy. You can keep up to date on all my news and
sign up for my newsletter on my website. (
http://www.lilyeverett.com
) And of course I’d love to connect with you on my Facebook page (
http://www.facebook.com/LilyEverettReaderPage
) or chat with you on Twitter! (
http://www.twitter.com/Lily_Everett
)

Happy reading!

Lily Everett

Don’t miss the other novellas in Lily Everett’s heart-tugging Billionaire Brothers
trilogy!