Grumpy All the Way

By Brynn Paulin

I, Kayden Perry, don't do holidays, but this year, my record label insists I throw the bash of the season.

 

Great. Fa-la-la-la-no-no-no!

 

With no choice other than to comply, I go to the best in the biz: my sister's best friend, Clover Fields. The woman shines so bright with her perpetual sunshine I need sunglasses just to look at her. Or…maybe to look at her curvy perfection without anyone knowing what's on my mind. Spoiler alert: I'm not thinking of gingerbread men or tinsel.

 

Unfortunately, my party isn't the only gig in town. I need a date to accompany me and fast. And like Cinderella, Clover is the only one who fits, not just as my date for the season, but as my wife for forever. But I'm no prince, and Clover has no interest in my celebrity lifestyle. Unless I can convince her to be mine, it looks like I'll be grumpy all the way…for life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Supernova Indie Publishing Services LLC
• Release date: Jan 26, 2024
• ISBN: 9781623444570

Book preview

Grumpy All the Way

By Brynn Paulin

Supernova Indie Publishing Services, LLC

Powered by Your Imagination

Grumpy All the Way

by

Brynn Paulin

I, Kayden Perry, don’t do holidays, but this year, my record label insists I throw the bash of the season.

Great. Fa-la-la-la-no-no-no!

With no choice other than to comply, I go to the best in the biz: my sister’s best friend, Clover Fields. The woman shines so bright with her perpetual sunshine I need sunglasses just to look at her. Or…maybe to look at her curvy perfection without anyone knowing what’s on my mind. Spoiler alert: I’m not thinking of gingerbread men or tinsel.

Unfortunately, my party isn’t the only gig in town. I need a date to accompany me and fast. And like Cinderella, Clover is the only one who fits, not just as my date for the season, but as my wife for forever. But I’m no prince, and Clover has no interest in my celebrity lifestyle. Unless I can convince her to be mine, it looks like I’ll be grumpy all the way…for life.

Copyright

© 2023, Brynn Paulin

Grumpy All the Way

Cover Art by Supernova Indie Publishing Services, LLC

Electronic Format ISBN: 978-1-62344-457-0

Published by: Supernova Indie Publishing Services, LLC

Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

Thank You!

Thank you for your purchase of Grumpy All the Way.

I hope you enjoy the story and will consider leaving a review or telling a friend about the book.

I love hearing from readers! To keep in touch and follow my news, please visit me on my website at www.brynnpaulin.com.

One

Kayden

I could just quit. How would they like that? After I just won a Grammy, too. Ha!

My sister, Isla, sighed at me. K’man, you’re being dramatic. It’s just a party, for frick’s sake.

Of course, she’d see it that way. Literally, she was the only person to keep me tethered while I navigated my celebrity. Almost everyone else seemed fake. Even people who ‘claimed’ to hate me suddenly lost their minds when they met me. But my sibling…? She couldn’t care less about my fame. She’d changed my diapers, as she liked to remind me. Since she was only two years older than me, I doubted that, but I let her have her delusions.

It’s not just a party! At my raised voice, heads swiveled my way. A few phones lifted. Shit. I ducked my head and lowered my voice. It’s not just a party, I hissed. They want me to have it at my house. With people—

Usually, parties do have people at them.

"Lots of people. In. My. House! Dancing. Eating food. Invading my space! In my house, I repeated because I was good and angry. My decorated house! I don’t decorate! You know I don’t do holidays—especially Christmas."

That’s not true. You always buy Imogen and August lots of Christmas presents—

"Because I’m not Scrooge. I just hate Christmas and all the commercial crap, but I’m not gonna deny my niece and nephew their gifts."

All that commercial crap, huh? she asked, and I already knew what was coming. Is that why you made a Christmas album?

Growling, I slipped into my car, stabbed at the start button then pulled out onto the road to take off toward the PCH. Was it horrible to hope for an earthquake to knock the whole highway, particularly me, into the Pacific?

That album was the worst mistake of my life. It haunts me.

"Christmas Dreams is beautiful."

It’s schmaltzy and overplayed. Dear God, it was giving Mariah a run for most popular. "And now, slightly unrelated, I’ve got to throw a party to show how much I love Christmas—with a photographer taking snaps of the whole thing to leak to the paps."

If it’s that bad, tell your label no. You’re a big boy. Use your words.

"I can’t. The invites have already gone out."

They send invitations to those things? I thought it was word of mouth and people just showed up.

"Yes, they do. And the label’s dictate was accompanied with the not-so-veiled threat to show up and look like I’m enjoying myself. And to do the same when I go to the three other parties they dropped on me when I got called onto the carpet just now."

Wait. Wait! Isla was laughing so hard it sounded as if she couldn’t breathe. They took you to task? Who had the balls—

"The VP of the label. The actual one—the guy related to the president—not any of the other VPs."

K’man… She was the only one allowed to call me that, a hold over from when she was two and couldn’t say my name. It had stuck. You’re such a snot. The other men probably work harder than the boss’s kid.

Yeah, well, if I don’t pull this off, he’s the one who’s going to blackball me faster than you can say Sharpie. Which I think he wants. I have two weeks. Do you know how many party planners are available to put together something scheduled for two weeks from now? Zero! Not to mention decorators or caterers or—

Take a breath, baby brother. Call Clover.

Who?

Clover, she said slowly. You know…? My best friend?

I knew who Clover Fields was. I’d known her since I was eighteen and she’d been my sister’s college roommate. Isla had brought her home for Christmas. The same Christmas