Tipsy: A Rivers End Romance Novella (Shannon+Lucas)

By CJ Hunt

LUCAS HEYES is a man with a plan. Move back to Rivers End. Fix his broken relationship with his ex-brother-in-law Isaac Macallister, and be a good uncle to his niece Sara. Oh, and open Higher Ground – the coffee shop he’s been dreaming about for years. There’s only one hitch. Shannon MacAllister – Isaac’s younger sister – is back in town too, and living across the hall from him. Apparently he wasn’t gone long enough for his feelings for her to fade. After what happened five years ago, he’s sworn he’ll never keep secrets from the MacAllisters again. But is he willing to break that oath for Shannon?

SHANNON MACALLISTER has one wish, to get kissed at New Year’s by a man as unlike her fiancee – make that EX-fiancee – as possible before she settles into substitute teaching in her hometown and figures out what she wants to do with herself. She gets her wish. But along with it comes a whole whack of complicated. Her body wants Lucas, but her mind can’t help pointing out that while he’s sexy as hell, he lied to her before, and she’s not about to go back to that place. Bad enough that apparently they’re neighbours, but they share a family too. They’d all been through hell once before because of the Heyes family. Will Shannon trust enough to open up her heart and risk trying again?

Come home to Rivers End and fall in love with this second chance, sweet-with-a-dash-of-heat small town romance with a HEA and no cheating.

While the stories can be enjoyed in any order, they are all interconnected. The suggested reading order for this series is below if you want to avoid spoilers!

The MacAllisters of Rivers End

Silver Bells (Jenna+Isaac, Beginnings)

Tipsy (Shannon+Lucas)

Reindeer Games (Ginger+Eli)

Wedding Bells (Jenna+Isaac, HEA)

Elfed (Lindsay+Noah)

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thigh High Ink
• Release date: Dec 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781926691312

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

"I ’m not leaving, Isaac. Shannon faced off against her brother. I’m fine."

She took offence at the skeptical look on her brother’s face.

Granted, the fourth tequila shot might have been a bad idea in combination with the champagne currently in her hand. But hey, it was New Year’s Eve, and she was celebrating her freedom.

You and Jenna go home. I’ll be fine on my own.

Isaac snorted. Not likely. You’re totally wasted, and it’s not even ten o’clock.

Still the bossy, overprotective older brother. She was twenty-six years old, for crying out loud. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m all grown up now. I don’t need your permission to stay out late. Being ten years older didn’t automatically make him wiser. Besides, Jenna looks ready to drop.

Jenna nodded. Ugh! I hate these crutches. All I did was watch you and Isaac move your stuff into the apartment, but I swear that was enough to make me tired.

Isaac put a protective arm around Jenna. The doctor said only one more week to go. You’ll be up and down those stairs soon enough. Shannon felt a stab of envy at the kiss they exchanged.

She was really glad Isaac and Jenna had found each other. He seemed happier than he had been in the five years since he and Lauren split up. Heck, he seemed happier than when he and Lauren were still together.

But there was no way Shannon was leaving this bar before she proved to herself and the world that she was ready to move on to bigger and better things this year.

Jackson Tidwell the Third was a jerk, and she was so over him. Oh, he might have seemed like a real prince at first—good job, nice car, treated her well—but he’d shown his true froggy colours this holiday season.

If she were being honest with herself, there were glimpses of what he was really like before that. She just chose not to see them.

Don’t be such a worrywart, Isaac. The apartment is only three blocks from here. She gestured vaguely. It’s right over there.

Isaac moved her arm in the opposite direction. I think you mean that way. And yes, clearly you’re fine. It was obvious he didn’t want to leave her, but he didn’t have much choice in the matter. Their niece Lindsay had only agreed to babysit Sara until eleven.

Isaac wrapped her up in a hug. All right, we’ll go. But please get home safely, Shan.

Shannon nodded and waved, distracted by the scratch of the ring against her chest. She didn’t know exactly how much it was worth, but she didn’t want to lose it before she could return it to Jackson. Moving out of the apartment they shared had been a no-brainer. She didn’t want to marry someone with no interest in being part of her family. And once she found out he was cheating? She didn’t even want to see him again. Moving back to Rivers End, where she could spend more time with her family, made perfect sense.

She’d already found a job—well, the sub list counted—and was renting one of the second-floor apartments in The Landing from Jenna. Isaac had given her one of the lodge beds he’d had in storage, and one of these days she’d make the two-hour drive to Victoria to pick up the rest of her stuff from Jackson’s place and return the damn ring.

Now all she needed to start the new year off right was someone to kiss at midnight. Preferably someone who was nothing like her fiancé—ex-fiancé.

A quick look at the clock behind the bar confirmed she had at least two more hours to find the right candidate.

Shannon scanned the crowded bar, taking in the options. For once her hair had cooperated, and some of these guys were actually good looking. Out-of-towners to boot.

This was going to be a piece of cake.

It was too bad she hated him.

Lucas sat in a booth near the front door of Just One More with a couple of guys he’d gone to high school with and their wives. He’d noticed Shannon the second she had walked into the bar. Probably every man in the place had—single or otherwise.

It was the jeans. Designed to show off her assets, they highlighted every curve. Just the thought of her body was enough to have him shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

Her top looked perfectly respectable at first glance. Red, satiny, it made his fingers itch to touch. Then she turned around, and he almost swallowed his tongue. The back was made of crisscross straps and showed just enough skin to torment him with the possibility that she wasn’t wearing a bra.

He kept catching glimpses from across the bar as the crowd shifted. He loved it when she wore her hair down. It was darker than he remembered, more golden toffee than wheat. He wanted to bury his hands in it and see if it still smelled the way he remembered, like vanilla and honey.

Lucas deliberately focused on the beer in front of him, raising the glass for a nice deep swig. She’s not for you, man. Change the channel. When did Tracy start carrying microbrews?

About six months ago. We’ve got some great new ones on the island, and the tourists love it. The locals are learning to like them. Carson glanced at the empty bottles on the table in front of Erik and stuck his elbow in his friend’s gut. Some of us, anyway.

Erik didn’t even flinch. Says you.

Now you’ve done it, Erik’s wife Cassie said, pushing her chair away from the table. She turned to Lucas and rolled her eyes. They’ll be at this for ages. Come on Jennifer, let’s get out there on the dance floor. Those two can argue about beer forever. And have. Repeatedly.

Lucas watched the women fight their way through the crowd to the dance floor and felt a twinge of envy. They’d all graduated the same year. Despite being goofballs in high school, both Erik and Carson had managed to get married, and both had families. What did he have to show for his twenty-eight years? A serious caffeine addiction and not much else. Hopefully this coming year would change all that. At the very least, he’d add business owner to his list of accomplishments.

Spending the holidays with the MacAllisters had reminded him of everything he’d lost by running away when things went sideways with his sister. He’d missed out on the last five years of his niece’s life. He’d missed Isaac and all the time they used to spend together. He hadn’t been fishing in years. And he’d missed seeing Shannon around town and at family functions. The best—and worst—thing about a town as small as Rivers End was that you ran into people on a regular basis. Whether you wanted to or not.