Mr. Flirt

Mr Flirt Karice Bolton Copyright © 2023 Karice Bolton All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any printed or electronic form, or stored in an unauthorized retrieval system, or transmitted in any form without permission from the author. Please respect the author’s hard work and only read through legitimate retail and library sources. Thank you so much for your cooperation. It allows the art of storytelling to flourish. This is a work of fiction. Names, places, incidents, and events either are the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Cover Design by Didi Wahyudi using Adobe Stock © oneinchpunch © SeanPavonePhoto Interior: Adobe Stock © galyna_p Interior Formatting: BB Formatting Contact the Author Visit Karice's website to learn more and to sign up for her newsletter! Karice's Newsletter Karice's Facebook Group Visit Karice on social media at Instagram/ Twitter/Facebook/Pinterest @KariceBolton. BOOKS BY KARICE BOLTON THE SUNSHINE BREAKFAST CLUB SERIES DASH OF LOVE PINCH OF LOVE SPRINKLE OF LOVE CHRISTMAS OF LOVE CLOUDBERRY INN SERIES IMAGINING YOU REMEMBERING YOU LEAVING YOU LOVING YOU MR. MISTAKE SERIES MR. MISTAKE MR. ACCIDENT MR. WRONG MR. RIGHT MR. FLIRT Bonus Story ISLAND COUNTY SERIES FINDING LOVE IN FORGOTTEN COVE LOVE REDONE IN HIDDEN HARBOR TANGLED LOVE ON PELICAN POINT FOREVER LOVE ON FIREWEED ISLAND TEMPTING LOVE ON HOLLY LANE CHANCE AT LOVE ON MYSTIC BAY IRRESISTIBLE LOVE AT SILVER FALLS LUCKY IN LOVE ON HOUND ISLAND MISTLETOE MISCHIEF ACCIDENTAL LOVE ON MEADOW COVE LANE DISCOVERING LOVE ON CRANBERRY LANE CHRISTMAS ON FIREWEED IMAGINING LOVE ON WILLOW ROAD CHRISTMAS CRUSH ON FIREWEED ISLAND WAITING LOVE AT HAWTHORNE AVENUE FOREVER CHRISTMAS ON SUGARPLUM LANE BEYOND LOVE SERIES BEYOND CONTROL BEYOND DOUBT BEYOND REASON BEYOND INTENT BEYOND CHANCE BEYOND PROMISE BEYOND the MISTLETOE SILVER RIDGE SERIES A HAPPY TRUTH ABOUT LOVE A LITTLE SECRET ABOUT LOVE A FUNNY THING ABOUT LOVE A SURPRISING FACT ABOUT LOVE A SIMPLE WISH ABOUT LOVE CHRISTMAS AT SILVER RIDGE LUKE FLETCHER SERIES HIDDEN SINS BURIED SINS REDEMPTION MIA V MAFIA SERIES BLAKE DEVIN JAXSON THE WITCH AVENUE SERIES LONELY SOULS ALTERED SOULS RELEASED SOULS SHATTERED SOULS THE WATCHERS TRILOGY AWAKENING LEGIONS CATACLYSM TAKEN NOVELLA (A Watchers Prequel) AFTERWORLD SERIES RecruitZ AlibiZ UprisingZ BLOOD TORN DUET BLOOD TORN BLOOD CURSED WRITING COZY MYSTERIES AS POPPY BOLTON KATIE CHANCE MYSTERY SERIES Rub-A-Dub-Dub There's a Corpse in the Tub Something Old, Something New, Something Buried & Blue Chapter One Daring Disaster Shep The man never misses a dare or a bet. He will never grow up. It must feel great to be a manwhore, Sheppy. You’ll never settle down. These are all the things I’d heard over the years, usually from females, but my friends sometimes teased me too. For some reason, that last one was the dig that stung the most. Some might think it would be the manwhore comment that would make me pause, but it wasn’t. I knew I’d earned that title, even if it had happened accidentally. Well, many accidents. But I didn’t want it to look like I’d been stringing anyone along. Ever. I always thought my intentions were clear, and I liked the women I’d wound up dating over the years. But truthfully, more times than not, they were the ones who broke it off with me. And if you glance over the character traits briefly once more, you might see why. And now my mug was plastered on the front cover of our local magazine’s Most Eligible Bachelor issue. However, that was no accident. I had a knack for staying solidly in my bachelor lane. At an early age, I’d learned that I was good at getting the girl. I was just horrible at keeping her. I never wanted to be perceived as playing with someone’s heart. I had a sister. I knew what lousy love could do to a girl’s world, and I’d never want to do that to a single soul. My younger brother Colton felt the same way. However, I could proudly say that I’d never cheated. I’d been cheated on, but I would never do that to someone I loved. Shoot! I wouldn’t do that to someone I hated, either. I’d seen the devastation to our family when my father did it to my mom. And how I could never look at him the same. So, why did I feel like reflecting on my life’s worth tonight, of all nights? It went back to character flaw number two. I’d accepted a dare to attend this colossal matchmaking event in Seattle, but not as Shep. Tonight, I was Perry. Perry Bartholomew. I pretended to be a college dropout, who enjoyed couch surfing with the best of them, without a goal in sight. I was more of a wanderer, if you would. My mission tonight was simple. I needed to prove to my best friends, Mike and Brendan, that with this kind of bum résumé, my looks couldn’t help me get a girl. My best friends felt that I would indeed have a win tonight with the female persuasion, but I knew better. These types of functions were for serious lookers. They’d be able to see through me immediately. A grand was at stake. Honestly, I hadn’t given the dare a second thought until I wandered into the hotel ballroom tonight with tables as far as the eye could see, with men and women nervously fidgeting and looking around the room like their future selves depended on tonight. Now, I felt like a jerk. A royal jerk. But they’d slapped a nametag on my sweatshirt so quickly and pushed me toward the first empty table that I couldn’t actually get out of the jam that I could thank my best buds for getting me into. Okay, it wasn’t their fault. I could have declined the dare. See character flaw number two. Anyway, I knew I’d made a gigantic mistake when I stumbled to the first table. Actually,