Irresistible Bachelors: Books 1-5 by Landish, Lauren (bts books to read TXT) 📕

my food, I wanted two things—your property, and to fuck her so hard she never, ever forgot the name of Tony Steele.

Maybe it’s your crazy lessons, maybe it’s the fact I still want to choke your damn bird, or maybe it’s the magic of the land, but somewhere along the way, I realized something. It doesn’t matter which company wins, which side wins. As long as this property, the people involved with it like your wife and her family, and all those people in the village who opened their lives up to us at the festival . . . as long as they win, it’s all good.

And I realized, as I’ve thought about it, that this land has to go to someone who needs it. Who will cherish it and protect it and treat it with the honor it deserves. Who will preserve the magic that is here.

That person isn’t me. Because as much as I love your property, as much as I love this land and the people I’ve met, I’ve come to realize that I love Hannah more. Wesley, if Hannah told me it would make her happy, I’d burn this property to the ground. And you deserve better than that. You deserve better than me.

So I want Hannah to win the contract. She’s an amazing woman, beautiful inside and out, someone who will make sure your legacy and the land will be protected with honor. I don't want to be an obstacle to her happiness, and if by stepping back, I can give her her dream, I want to do so.”

Tears roll down my face as I read the message again and again, seeing the word that I wanted to hear. Love.

“Hannah?” Cassie presses, “What are we going to do?”

I look up, fires hotter than Oahu’s volcanos burning in my belly. “We can’t let the deal happen.”

* * *

“You look . . . big,” I say, hugging Roxy carefully as Cassie and I come into her penthouse. Cassie’s eyes are huge, about ready to pop out of her head as she takes it all in. “Where’s Sophie?”

“On a campus visit to Harvard,” Roxy says with a smile. “I doubt she’s gonna go, but now’s the time to explore options. You said it was important.”

“Hold on,” Cassie says, still looking around. She scrunches up her face, making Roxy look at me with concern.

“Ten seconds,” I reply, watching as Cassie squeals softly, hopping up and down before opening her eyes and letting it all out.

“Oh my gawd, I’m such a fan! I love watching you perform, and this is so amazing being in your house!” Cassie blurts out in a single long stream before taking a deep breath. “Okay, fangirl moment over. I barely held it in last time we went shopping together.”

Roxy laughs, giving me a look. “I can see why you like her.”

We sit down and exchange small talk for a little bit. Roxy shows us some ultrasounds. Her baby is going to be big like the father. Roxy shows me some of the baby clothes that have come in from fans and people at Club Jasmine, and they’re adorable. “But . . . tell me what’s going on? You said it had something to do with the trip. I mean, I’m not even sure what all went on.”

“Oh, it was crazy!” Cassie blurts, grinning. “We met a guy who thinks he’s a pirate, there was a tug of war, and obstacle courses . . . oh, and I got to totally be Katniss. I put an arrow in like, a dozen fish—”

“Liar,” I say with a snort. “You barely hit the ocean with your arrows half the time!”

“Ooh!” Roxy says, and I can actually see her stomach squirming as the baby moves around. “Oh my, feels like I’ve got a twerk off going in my belly!”

“Must be a girl then,” I tease, but Roxy’s eyes darken as she sees me and sees the serious expression on Cassie’s face.

“Okay, you two, what’s up? I can see something is wrong, and your message more or less said it, too. I see hurt in your eyes, Hannah, and Cassie, you look scared as fuck.”

“I think . . . I think I may have made the biggest mistake of my life,” I reply, tears stinging at my eyes. “We won the contract, but . . . what Aurora’s going to do to the land, to the people . . .”

I can’t go on, the pain’s too much, and Cassie takes over, showing Roxy the file folder Myra gave us. Roxy’s eyes go wide with the horror as she understands. “Is this not what the plan was from the start?”

I shake my head. I should’ve known better. “Roxy . . . Tony basically told Wesley to choose to go with me and Aurora. I don’t know why, but Wesley showed me the letter Tony wrote. At the end, he said that he’d give up anything to make me happy, and that he thought I’d be the one to make sure something like this didn’t happen. But also . . . he said he loves me. I never told him. I never told him how I feel, and now I feel like I’m going to lose the most precious gift I’ve ever gotten. My heart’s a dead lump in my chest and I don’t know what to do except fight to protect it all.”

“Well, you know me. I spent all that time not chasing my dreams. It took finding Jake to wake me up again, to get me to start doing what I’m meant to do,” she says. “So we need to get you back on that track. What do you want most?”

Her question shocks me. It’s not what I came here for, but the answer comes to me immediately. “I want Tony by my side.”

“See?” Roxy asks with a smirk. “Why work for that coven of soulless vampires? They lied to you, they lied to everyone to get you