Tequila Kisses

Blurb Ledger The mess that is my life started with one too many tequila shots. Well, I guess you could say the disaster really started two years ago when I met Sterling Jacobson, my best friend’s older brother, for the first time. He’s off limits, someone I can never have. So why do I have to want him the most? I really need to get him, and the night we shared out of my head. There’s no better way to do that than on a summer trip to Sicily with my best friend. That was the plan until everything went sideways, leaving me stuck in one of the most romantic destinations in the world with the man I’m trying to get over. I can’t act on my desires again, no matter how badly I want to. Sterling Even though Ledger is everything I’ve always wanted wrapped up in one tempting package, I kept myself at a distance and never acted on my emotions. It was going well until one tequila-fueled night led to a drunken hook-up. It’s been weeks now, but I can’t seem to move past our night together. Not when it was only a small taste of what I’ve been craving for so long. When I find out he’s going away to Italy for the summer, I’m relieved. As much as I don’t want him to go, I know it’s best for both of us to get some space. But then my sister called, needing my help, and I had no choice but to board the next plane to Italy. Now here I am, alone in Sicily with Ledger… what could possibly go wrong? Tequila Kisses T. Ashleigh Copyright © 2023 by T. Ashleigh All rights reserved. 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 written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Cover Designer: Teased by Antonette Editor: Proofs by Polly Formatter: Cora Rose 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 Epilogue Afterword Acknowledgments Stalk Me! Also by T. Ashleigh Prologue Ledger My bad decisions started with one too many tequila shots and ended in disaster. In my defense, I warned them I shouldn’t be drinking the hard stuff. It’s like that cheesy country song says. Tequila makes your clothes fall off. And here we are. I take a few staggering steps away from the bed as last night comes back to me in flashes like a bad B-rated movie. Passing our end-of-term exams. The bar. The celebratory ‘school’s out’ drinks fed to me by none other than my very ex-best friend. Ex because she’s literally going to kill me when she finds out what I’ve done. I look at the bed, taking in the lump of male specimen sleeping soundly under the covers, and practically groan at my own stupidity. I have to get out of here. Picking up my scattered clothes, I tug them on while trying to be as quiet as possible so I don’t wake him up. This is bad enough without having the weird morning-after added to it. God, what if he doesn’t remember? No! What if he does remember? Yeah, remembering would definitely be worse. I fist my hair and peek at him again, noting he hasn’t moved, and let out a relieved sigh. Okay, focus, get the fuck out of this room first, then you can have a freak-out over the fact that you slept with your best friend’s brother. I’ll get a coffee, a chocolate chip muffin, cry hysterically, and then try to figure out what the hell to do about this mess I’ve gotten myself into. I can’t find my socks, but at this point, I don’t care. I’m almost willing to walk out of here barefoot. Almost. Sue me; I know how nasty frat houses are and I don’t want to get athlete’s foot or some kind of gangrene. I spot my shoes at the end of the bed, kicked around haphazardly, and try not to think about how eager I was to get them off last night. I step into them and then pat my pockets, thankful when I feel my phone and wallet inside. At least I didn’t lose those along with my sanity last night. I take a look around, eyes roaming over the messy desk and shelf of books before eyeing the basket filled to the brim with dirty clothes. Why am I so tempted to grab the turquoise shirt I see resting on top? I bet it smells like him… Mmm, he does smell delicious, doesn’t he? Woodsy with a bit of— No. Fuck! Stop. I think I’ve grabbed everything. At least all the important shit. If Sterling finds my socks or anything else, he can have them. Let him keep the souvenir. Well, if he even remembers last night, that is. I close my eyes and flashes of hot kisses and naked skin dance behind my eyelids. Fuck me. We really did that? No, stop it. Focus. Get out of here before he wakes up. I shake my head, clearing away the fog before heading toward the door, only to pause and glance back again. Yeah, it’s official. I’m the worst ‘sneaking out the morning after’ person ever! Because part of me doesn’t want to sneak out at all. No, part of me wants to sneak back into bed with him, but I don't. Instead, I fight the urge and, with one last lingering look at his naked, broad upper back, I kick my ass in gear and get the hell out of there. My eyes are hyper-focused on the worn, gray carpet as I