Red Hot Reunion

By Beth Hale

With their entire relationship a lie, how can their love be real?

Hope is determined to show everyone at her ten-year reunion how she's changed from a poor, fat girl to a slim, successful business owner.

There's only one snag: she's single, and to the mean girls at her high school, that's worse than being fat.

Her solution: Attend the hot-fireman auction and buy herself a date.

She never dreamed the sexiest fireman there would be a former classmate.

For a favor in return, Flynn agrees to be her pretend boyfriend, and thus begins a fake romance so red-hot it burns like a wild fire.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tuscumbia Hill Press
• Release date: Jul 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9798224152643

Book preview

Red Hot Reunion

Table of Contents

Title Page

Red Hot Reunion

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Beth Hale

Copyright © Beth Hale 2017 All rights reserved. Red Hot Reunion©

Beth Hale has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

Editing by Emily Lawrence

Cover Art by Starcrossed Covers

Formatted by

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author.

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

Also by Beth Hale

Unexpected Emotion Series

Trusting Jack

Taming James

Magnolia Series

Magnolia Secrets

Magnolia Flames

Stand Alone Titles

Bourbon Street Heat

13 Naughty Tales

Office Mistakes

for Tasha.

Thank you for being a forever friend.

CHAPTER ONE

HOPE MATHISON’S EYES narrowed and her mouth settled into a stubborn line. I’m not going, she said. You can’t make me.

Marion, her best friend, rolled her own eyes and speared another bite of eggplant parmesan. You’re a coward.

Hope pointed her fork at her. I am not. I just don’t want to go.

It’s been ten years.

I don’t like Elwell. High school wasn't fun for either of us. Why would I want to go back for a reunion? Why would you?

Marion shrugged. Partly to see how much everyone has changed. And, to be completely honest, partly to show off to those bitches who were always looking down on us.

That’s petty, Hope pointed out as she reached for the bottle of Chianti to refill their glasses.

Marion smirked. You know you want to shove all of your success down their throats.

Hope paused, her eyes meeting Marion’s. Maybe a little. Maybe a lot, she admitted with a rueful sigh. But that would involve finding a weekend date, since the powers that are the organizing committee decided on a three day extravaganza. Hope rolled her eyes. A barbecue on Friday, a prom-like dance on Saturday, and a goodbye brunch on Sunday. Who comes up with stuff like that for a stupid high school reunion?

Why would you need a date?

There’s absolutely no way I’m going alone, Hope replied firmly. That would be too embarrassing. And that’s even if I decide to go.

You’re going, Marion told her. You’ll find a date. What about that guy you were seeing a couple of months ago? Brad, right?

Hope wrinkled her nose. Yes, Brad. And, no. His company transferred him to Seattle last month.

Damn. Well, we have almost three months. We’ll find someone.

Hope lifted her wineglass and shrugged, not convinced they would.

LATER THAT NIGHT, AFTER changing into pajamas, Hope and Marion sat companionably on the sofa, a tub of butter pecan ice cream between them.

I shouldn’t be doing this, Hope said between bites. You’re a bad influence. I’m going to ban girls night.

Marion snorted out a laugh and licked her spoon. "You’re such a liar. You’re the one who bought the ice cream. And the wine. And the Italian food."

I’m going to pay for it, too. I’ll have to do double duty at the gym tomorrow.

If you’re going to do penance, you might as well have more wine with the ice cream.

Since Hope couldn’t think of a good objection, she opened the second bottle of wine.

I have an idea, Marion announced. You can take a fireman.

Hope blinked. Take a fireman where?

To the reunion.

The only fireman I know is Duncan. I’m pretty sure you’ll be taking your husband to Elwell.

I know lots of firemen. I have pictures of them, too. Wait. Marion stood, wobbled for a moment, then unsteadily made her way to where she’d left her briefcase.

She crossed back to the sofa and plopped down. After fumbling with clasps, she scattered glossy eight-by-ten photos across the coffee table.

Behold, she intoned with a wave of her hand. Meet the gorgeous, hardworking members of Dallas Fire and Rescue, Station number fifty-eight.

Hope raised a quizzical brow. You’re showing me these because . . .?

These are the proofs for the annual hot firemen calendar. I thought you could look through them and get a preview of the men who’ll be on the block for the charity auction next weekend. You can bid on one, win the date with him, and take him to the reunion, Marion finished triumphantly.

Hope’s eyes grew round. Are you serious? That’s crazy.

Why? It’s kind of like looking at online dating profiles, except with better picture quality. Plus, we can ask Duncan what the guy is really like.

I haven’t even agreed to go to the reunion, Hope muttered.

Pour us some more wine and let’s look through these photos, Marion instructed.

Hope sighed and filled their glasses.

DEFINITELY NOT HIM, Marion said, plucking the picture of a man with dark blond hair and sexy brown eyes out of Hope’s hand.

Hope frowned. Why not? she demanded.

Jax just got married. And this one is engaged. Marion removed a third of the photos before spreading the rest of them back out. There. As far as I know, these are the single ones. Find a few you like, and we’ll ask Duncan about them.

Hope drained her glass and sifted through the photos, her lips pursing as her eyes lit on one halfway through the stack.

Bottle green eyes stared back at her, and the cocky grin showed even, white teeth. He had short, russet-colored hair, broad shoulders, and narrow hips. Water droplets clung to smooth, tanned skin, and