Forbidden King: A Small Town, Brother’s Best Friend Romance (Magnolia Falls Series Book 3)
Chapter 1

PRESENT DAY

“Okay, I’m going to take these teas over and meet Nash and King,” I said, unable to hide my excitement.

“I can’t believe you’re finally starting renovations on the bookstore.” Demi beamed.

I’d been working at Magnolia Beans coffee shop, which Demi owned, for months now. I’d had to jump through all sorts of hoops to get a business license and a bank loan to open my bookstore, as well as save up as much money as I could for living expenses. And today was finally the day.

“You look like a total lady boss,” Peyton said. She worked at Magnolia Beans, as well, while she was taking courses online to get her master’s in education. She’d be graduating soon, and Demi would need to hire all new people, as I’d be working next door, and Peyton would go back to the classroom.

I glanced down to see my white tank top and the denim overalls that I was wearing. “This is lady boss attire?” I asked over my laughter.

“Tell her, Rubes. It’s not about the clothing; it’s about the woman beneath,” Peyton said.

Ruby chuckled. The four of us had become the best of friends over the last few months, and I’d been happy about my decision to return home to Magnolia Falls. I had friends here, real friends. My brother was here. I was opening a business.

My mother was also here, which had been a big part of the reason that I’d wanted to come back to start pursuing my dreams. Unfortunately, I didn’t see much of her as she’d gotten back together with Barry, my stepfather, which shouldn’t surprise me, yet it always did.

And as long as Barry was in her life, I had to put up boundaries.

“Correct. You are channeling your inner lady boss. You rock those overalls like a badass bitch.” Ruby smirked, grabbing her tea from Demi, who was laughing hysterically now.

“I’ll do my best. Are you sleeping at River’s tonight?” I asked. She and I were roommates, but she spent a lot of time over at her boyfriend’s house. We were all close, and I loved seeing that she and River were so happy.

I loved it for both of them.

“Probably. But I’ll come by the bookstore after work because I want to see how much they get done on the first day of renovations,” she said.

“This is so exciting, Say. You had a goal, a dream.” Demi shook her head as if she were trying to hold back the emotions. “And you made it happen.”

“Oh, my gawwwwdd. You are such a sap lately.” Peyton laughed hysterically. “I swear it’s all the wedding planning. It makes you such a weepy mess.”

Demi and her fiancé, Romeo, had gotten engaged a few months ago, and I was thrilled for them.

Demi shrugged and had a big smile on her face as if she couldn’t help herself.

“Hey, I’m the one opening a romance bookstore. I’m all about being in your feels, you know?” I said.

“Speaking of being in your feels… how did your date go with Coach Hotty? Damn, that man is one fine specimen,” Peyton asked as she loaded the pastries she’d brought out from the kitchen into the display case.

“Why do we call him coach if he’s a trainer?” Ruby raised a brow.

“I asked him that, and he said that he considers himself more of a coach than a trainer. He works on the mental and the physical aspects with his clients,” I said, trying to hide my smile because he really was hot as hell. He’d just moved to town and was working over at Romeo’s gym, which was now somewhat famous after Romeo had put his name on the map when he won his big fight last year.

“What about his dick? Does he work on that? Because that’s what our girl needs,” Peyton said, and Ruby’s and Demi’s heads fell back in a fit of laughter.

“You are so crude,” Demi said, shaking her head at Peyton before turning to me. “Ignore her. She’s just a horny one these days.”

“It’s all these damn romance books you have me reading. Everyone is six foot four with big, magical dicks. So, I’ve raised my expectations,” Peyton said over her laughter.

“Pun intended.” Ruby winked. “How did it go? Do you like him?”

“Coach Hotty or his dick?” Peyton asked.

“Shhh… we’re talking about Coach Hotty. The morning rush is about to start, and I want to know what happened.” Demi shot Peyton a warning look.

“He’s funny and really nice. I don’t know. It was fine. Good, maybe? We’ll see if he calls me today.”

“You sell yourself short, girl. Of course, he’ll call you. You’re such a catch. I mean, who looks this good in freaking farmer pants?” Ruby kissed my cheek. “I’ve got to run. Good luck today. I’ll see you tonight.”

“You’re not working today at all?” Peyton looked at me, pushing out her bottom lip. “It’s going to be so boring without you.”

“Hey. I can hear you.” Demi laughed as she bumped her bestie in the shoulder. “She’ll be back tomorrow. This is a big day. Let her enjoy it.”

“I’ll pop in during the day and see if you guys need help. I’m just next door. But I want to make sure everything goes smoothly today.” I gave them each a hug. “Love you. I’ll see you later.”

I grabbed the drink carrier and made my way to the kitchen, pulling open the door that led to Love Ever After. That was the name I’d chosen for the bookstore. It connected to Demi’s shop from the inside, but each space had its own exterior entrance for customers, as well.

It couldn’t be in a better location, next door to Demi. I set the tray down on the table beside the drawings for the design and layout we were using. Kingston and Nash didn’t think this would take more than a few weeks.

I couldn’t wait.

I was grateful to have friends who owned a construction company and were willing to do this job for a very fair price.

It was nice to have something to look forward to. I’d been dreaming about this for a long time, and it was all finally happening.

I flipped on the lights and pushed open the front door, waving as I saw Kingston and Nash getting out of their truck. My phone vibrated in my hand, and I looked down to see a text from my brother.

HAYES

Big day today. Congrats. Proud of you for pushing hard to make this happen. I’ll stop by after my shift to see how it’s going.

Thanks. Be safe. Love you.

Hayes was a firefighter, and I always worried about him, but I tried not to let him know that every time he went to work—unlike my brother, who was a barbarian when it came to being protective of me.

“Say it isn’t so,” Kingston sang out, because he loved making Saylor jokes every chance he got. He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Big day today, wouldn’t you say?”

I laughed because he was always on, always making me laugh. The guy had more charm in his pinky finger than most people had in their entire bodies.

No wonder the women in Magnolia Falls are feral for the man.

“Are you seriously going to be doing this the whole time?” Nash rolled his eyes as they both stepped inside.

“What? She’s got a good name for it, wouldn’t you say?”

“Speaking of good names… I was ordered to give you this.” Nash reached into his back pocket and handed me a folded piece of paper. “Cutler made this for you.”

I opened it and found he’d drawn all the places downtown that were important to him. The firehouse where Hayes worked. River’s law office was on there. Whiskey Falls bar, which was owned by Ruby’s dad, Lionel. RoD Construction, also known as Ride or Die Construction, owned by both Kingston and Nash, Magnolia Beans, and then Love Ever After was right in the center of the picture.

Kingston leaned over my shoulder, and the smell of sage and mint flooded my senses.

“Congrats to my girl, Saylor.” Kingston read the handwriting on the top of the page. “Damn, Beefcake has more game than most of the dudes in Magnolia Falls.”

Beefcake was the name Cutler had asked us all to call him, as he no longer liked his real name.

“Yeah. I told you, his teacher said we need to start calling him Cutler. She said it’s wrong to let him change his name.” Then nodded to the drawing. “He spent a lot of time on that. Really tested my patience by making me spell everything over and over because he needed it to be perfect.”

“Hold up, now. Are you seriously telling me you’re going to listen to that lady? She’s got the worst case of resting asshole face I’ve ever seen. Kind of fits with her name being Ms. Heathen.”

My head fell back in laughter. “I thought his teacher was Ms. McKeathen?”

Kingston was right. She was one of the scariest teachers I’d ever had. She’d been my first-grade teacher when I was a kid, and I was terrified of her back then.

“It is.” Nash rolled his eyes. “He just insists on calling her Ms. Heathen. And it’s resting bitch face. Not asshole face. Get your insults straight.”

“Listen, she gave him the tuna casserole for lunch last week when you’d ordered him the pizza. She’s an asshole. And so is her face.” Kingston folded his arms over his chest.

Nash pinched the bridge of his nose, and Kingston winked at me.

He’s always the brightest light in every room.

“Okay. Can we focus, please?” Nash turned his attention to me. “We’ve got a crew coming over to start building the bookshelves, and King is going to build the checkout counter for you. He’ll be the one working at this site most of the time. I’ve got to be out at Brighton Ranch because that renovation has been a real shit show.”

“You’ve got this. Just be careful. Mrs. Brighton is such a horndog. Nash will tell you, Saylor, the woman purposely grazed my junk with her hand when she was talking to us last week. She just helped herself to the goods, like she was entitled to them.” Kingston shivered dramatically, and I laughed harder.

Nash shook his head and tried to hide his smile. “Yeah. She wasn’t even smooth about it. So now this one doesn’t want to be over there at all.”

“Listen, I don’t need Mrs. Brighton, aka Mrs. Robinson, grabbing my dick and getting her crazy-ass husband jealous. The man has a room just for his guns. I’ll work much better over here. It’s all about love at the bookstore. Plus, I’m the better woodworker, and we have a lot of bookshelves to build, as well as getting this register station put together.”

“Fine, you big baby.” Nash glanced around the space and paused to look at the drawings from the architect on the table as I handed them each their iced tea.

“Thanks,” they said at the same time.

“Magnolia Beans’s finest.” I stared down at the design with them.

“You’ve already ordered the couches that you’re bringing in, right?” Kingston asked, and I swear his gaze zeroed in on my mouth when I pulled my drink away before it snapped back up.

“Yes. They’re already here. I’ve got them in my garage. I figured you’d want to wait until the floors are in and the shelves are built.”

“Yep, that’s the plan,” Nash said, as he glanced down at his phone when it vibrated. “For fuck’s sake. Mrs. Brighton wants to know where we are. I’m going to head out with a few of the guys. I’ll stop by later today.”

“Good luck. We’ve got this.” Kingston took a long pull from his iced tea, just as his team showed up, and they parked in the large alley behind the building.

He stepped out to help them unload the palettes of wood and supplies, and everyone got to work.

I’d purposely taken today off because I wanted to watch and learn, because who knows? Maybe I’d expand my business someday. Learning how to take an empty space and turn it into something magical was a skill. And Kingston Pierce was a very talented woodworker. He had his saw set up on a table in the back lot as he directed everyone to specific tasks. His team was working on the bookshelves inside while he was framing out the checkout station that I’d sketched for him. I wanted it to look like a piece of vintage furniture and match the aesthetic of the place.

“You sure you don’t want to have the guys paint this when they paint the bookshelves? It’s going to be a big piece, and it’ll be a beast to paint yourself.” He ran his large hand over the piece of wood that he’d just cut for the base.

“Nope. I’ve watched a ton of YouTube videos now, and I am determined to put my stamp on this particular piece. It’ll be a real focal point for the bookstore.”

He nodded. “All right. I can help if you need me to.”

“I’ll be fine. I like getting my hands dirty.” I shrugged, and the look in his eyes after I’d said that had me squeezing my thighs together. Kingston was a flirt by nature, so I knew not to take it seriously. He and I had always shared a bond, one not everyone even knew about. I trusted him immensely, and he’d been a really good friend to me. But he was also sexy as sin, and sometimes I had to remind myself to stop staring. “I just mean I want to help where I can.”

“Yeah? All right, how about I teach you how to use this table saw? You’ve already got the eyewear on, so we’ll just be careful.”

“Really?” I moved beside him, where he was cutting the next piece. “I’d love that.”

“Come here,” he said, stepping back and making room for me to stand in front of him. “It’s all about taking your time and guiding the piece carefully where you want it.”

His arms came around me, and his hands moved on top of mine. They were calloused and covered in sawdust, and they engulfed my much smaller hands. He turned on the saw and moved our fingers along the wood, with his chest pressed against my back. He spoke in my ear. “Follow the line and keep it steady.”

I focused on the wood and leaned forward before I realized my butt was pressed against his groin.

“You need to stop wiggling your ass, Saylor. I can’t concentrate when you do that.” His voice was gruff, and I startled when I realized that something was poking me in the ass. I was fairly certain it was Kingston’s erection, unless he had a large flashlight tucked in his groin. I stayed perfectly still until the wood was cut, and he leaned forward and turned off the saw.

“Sorry about that,” I said, trying to hide my smile when he pulled back. “I didn’t realize that was, er, you know.”

“My dick?”

“I thought it was a flashlight at first,” I said over a fit of laughter before turning around to look at him.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He ran his hand over his jaw. “I’m assuming you’re referencing a very large flashlight?”

I smacked his shoulder. “Stop. You’re ridiculous. You better not tell Nash that I grazed your junk like Mrs. Brighton did.”

His gaze moved to my mouth. “Trust me. Those are two very different things. And there isn’t a man on the planet that wouldn’t react to your ass rubbing against him.”

My cheeks burned, and I tried to play it off. “Okay. So what do we do with the wood?” He raised a brow, and I realized how that had sounded and threw my hands in the air. “You know what I meant.”

He laughed. “Come on, let’s take this inside and get the base built.”

When we walked back into the bookstore, my eyes widened at the sight of Coach Hotty holding a bouquet of flowers and smiling at me.

This day just kept getting better.