Expiry Dating

Expiry Dating Bluestone Series: Book Two Isobel Reed Table of Contents Title Page Expiry Dating (Bluestone Series, #2) DEDICATION 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 CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY EPILOGUE SEE WHERE THE BLUESTONE SERIES BEGAN: | Love Tools DON’T MISS THE THIRD BOOK IN THE BLUESTONE SERIES: | Hero Complex | Chapter One ABOUT THE AUTHOR The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, places, or events is coincidental and not intended by the author. –––––––– If you purchase this book without a cover you should be aware that this book may have been stolen property and reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher. In such case the author has not received any payment for this “stripped book.” Love Tools: Bluestone Series: Book Two Copyright © 2022 Isobel Reed All rights reserved. –––––––– ISBN: (print) 978-1-958136-35-5 (ebook) 978-1-958136-34-8 –––––––– Inkspell Publishing 207 Moonglow Circle #101 Murrells Inlet, SC 29576 –––––––– Cover art by: Fantasia Frog Designs Edited by: Yezanira Venecia –––––––– This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission. The copying, scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions, and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. DEDICATION For the Ali in my life, love you. CHAPTER ONE Alice stared down at her phone in horror. “No, no, no. This cannot be happening. Goddamn lying, cheating, son of a bitch.” Her phone was never going to survive this. A loud thud echoed around the room after it went flying through the air and crashed against the dark wood walls of her cabin. Truthfully, as soon as she clicked on the picture, her cell phone never had a chance. It had been three months since she’d caught her ex-boyfriend in bed with her best friend, two months since she had quit her job, and one month since she’d begged her sister, Lily, to let her come stay with her on her ranch in Bluestone County. Alice had enough self-awareness to admit she was running away from her problems, but being in London right now wasn’t an option. And after just seeing her ex-best friend’s latest social media post, it was a good thing Alice was in another country, otherwise there was a strong possibility she would’ve been locked up for grievous bodily harm by now. “Oh my God, Ali, what the hell did you do to your phone? The screen is all cracked!” Lily gasped. Alice hadn’t even heard Lily come in. She was checking on her again; she’d been doing that a lot. “Um ... yeah, it fell. Don’t worry, I’m sure I can get it fixed in town.” Lily’s jade eyes narrowed. “Oh, really? And where exactly did it fall from, Ali? The sky? ’Cos from where I’m standing, it looks like it either magically fell from the ceiling, or you threw it across the room in a fit of rage?” This is the problem with being so close to your sister. She knows me too damn well. Letting out a sigh, Alice slumped further down into the leather armchair that had been cocooning her for the past hour. “Fucking Becky.” She grumbled. “Apparently, she’s pregnant. I’ll give you three guesses as to who the father is.” And there it was, pity, all over her big sister’s face. “Oh, Ali. I’m so sorry. How did you find out?” “My friend forwarded me a post Becky made.” Lily closed the distance between them and took a hold of Alice’s hand, quickly pulling her up from the chair. “Come on. Let’s go up to the main house. We can drink some wine, eat a fuckload of chocolate, and plot revenge.” Alice reluctantly followed. Wine and chocolate were probably the only things that could possibly salvage today. They were just a two-minute walk from the main house where Lily and her husband, Jake, lived. Jake’s sister, Sam, used to live there too but had recently moved in with her boyfriend, Duke. Lily had initially wanted Alice to stay in the house with them, but she wanted the newlyweds to have some privacy. After all, it had only been two weeks since they’d gotten hitched in Vegas. Not to mention, Alice needed her own space. Luckily, the ranch had guest cabins, so she was able to take up residence in one of them until she figured out her next move. As they walked into the house and made their way into the spotless stainless-steel kitchen, a familiar voice pricked up the hair on the back of her neck. No. Please don’t be here right now. Please, not today of all days. Damnit. There he was—Brady—all six foot two of him. The new bane of her existence. He was wearing a fitted, tan, cop uniform so sexy it should be illegal. If she didn’t already know he was the devil, she could easily be fooled by his dark, brooding good looks. Even his damn caramel-coloured eyes were mesmerizing. Mesmerizing eyes? Get a frigging grip, Alice. He’s the devil, remember? It had been two weeks since they’d met in Vegas at Lily and Jake’s impromptu wedding, and despite trying to avoid Brady like the plague since then, he just kept showing up. Yes, Bluestone was small, and Alice was staying at his best friend’s ranch, but it was actually getting ridiculous. He was everywhere. Whenever she ventured out, whether it was to get coffee or go shopping, he was there, waiting in the shadows, ready to make her life miserable. “Looking good, sweetness.” Brady smirked as he purposely knocked her