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  Just One Scandal

  The Kingston Family

  Book 2

  NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

  Carly Phillips

  Copyright © Karen Drogin, CP Publishing 2021

  Kobo Edition

  Cover Photo: Wander Aguiar

  Cover Design: Maria @steamydesigns

  * * *

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  JUST ONE SCANDAL

  A jilted bride. Her brother’s ex-buddy. An affair would be crazy…right?

  Chloe Kingston’s life is exactly how she needs it: safe and stable. Right up until her reliable, low-risk fiancé jilts her on their fairy-tale wedding day. As she works her way through the reception champagne—and wonders where she’s going to live—she stumbles into her brother Linc’s ex-best friend.

  If only Beckett Daniels were hideous. But he’s not. He’s everything her erstwhile groom was not. Hot. Sexy. Dangerous. And she’s just buzzed enough to want all that Greek-god gorgeousness to show her the kind of fun she’s been missing.

  Beck thrives on calculated risks, but taking advantage of Linc’s little sister isn’t one of them. What he can do is haul her tipsy, tulle-clad, tempting little butt to the bridal suite to sleep it off. Then move her into his spare room—which has the satisfying side effect of driving her brother crazy.

  They can’t remain platonic roommates for long. Not when the sexual attraction sizzles out of control. But when tragedy threatens Beck, pain from his past reminds them both that life doesn’t come without risks…and this time, they’re gambling with their hearts.

  Chapter One

  Jilted on the day of my wedding. Of all the pathetic, clichéd things to happen, Chloe Kingston thought with frustration and disgust. “How did I not see this coming?”

  She fluffed her white ball gown dress, adjusting the tulle beneath the skirt, and sat down on the chair in the bridal suite of the hotel where her wedding was to be held.

  She pulled a bottle of champagne out of the ice bucket and chugged down a healthy gulp of Dom Perignon straight from the bottle. Letting the bubbles settle, she repeated the action a couple of more times because she needed to get drunk. And on that thought, she took another hefty sip.

  She was alone because she’d insisted she needed a few minutes by herself since getting that text. Her bridal party, consisting of her best friends, her sister, Aurora, and her brothers, because Owen had included them as his groomsmen, waited in the outer room. Impatiently if their loud voices were anything to go by. It had been hard to convince her mom to step out, along with her oldest brother, Linc, who Chloe had asked to walk her down the aisle.

  Her father had passed away three months ago, and they hadn’t been close. But she was glad he wasn’t here to see this day. He’d be furious. Not because his daughter had been left at the altar but because he would have been embarrassed in front of friends, family, and business associates, and she couldn’t deal with his reaction on top of everything else today. As it was, Chloe couldn’t look at her mother’s worried expression. Couldn’t handle the pity in her friends’ eyes or the fury in her brothers.

  If there was one good thing about Owen ditching her via text message, it was that her brothers couldn’t pound the man into the ground. And given the chance, they would. The Kingston siblings were nothing if not protective.

  She glanced around the beautiful suite with plush chairs, makeup strewn around, her veil sitting on the counter, and wondered how she’d come to this point. She’d chosen who she thought was the perfect man. A tax attorney who never took risks, enjoyed staying home, and who’d promised to be faithful. He’d ticked off all the most important qualifications in her life, making her feel secure and comfortable and, most importantly, safe from being cheated on like her mother had been.

  The screen on her phone sitting beside the headpiece said otherwise: I’m sorry. I met someone who completes me. What I feel for her is more than two people who are comfortable together, like we are. I know I should have told you sooner. Face-to-face. But I really was going to marry you. Until I woke up this morning and just … couldn’t. Forgive me. I hope you find the love and excitement I have.

  Chloe’s stomach twisted in a combination of hurt and embarrassment. Of all the cowardly actions … that’s what she got for choosing a man with a weak handshake who couldn’t look her brothers in the eye. As they’d told her, over and over again, they hadn’t thought Owen was good enough for her. But had she listened? Oh, no. She’d made her safe choice, and she’d intended to stick with her decision.

  Had she loved Owen? Looking into her heart, she was forced to shake her head. No. She’d cared for him, that much was true. But love, like her brother and his best friend, Jordan, had found with each other? No, Chloe couldn’t say she’d experienced that all-encompassing emotion.

  In truth, love scared her, because her mom had loved her father so much she’d stayed in an extremely miserable marriage with a serial cheater and had lost out on the opportunity to embrace who she was and be happy. Maybe that was why Chloe was angry at Owen for how he’d handled things but not devastated over losing him.

  Dammit. She lifted the bottle and took another long drink. She should have looked inward and called things off first, but who was she kidding? She never would have done it. Chloe was the good girl who always did the right thing, made the risk-free choices, and behaved as expected of her. Canceling the wedding wasn’t something Chloe Kingston would ever have done.

  A knock sounded loudly on the door, startling her. “Chloe? I’m coming in,” her brother Linc called out.

  She’d been alone in this room long enough, and she’d come to a decision, at least for tonight. It was time she told her family what she had planned.

  “Okay!” she called out just as the door opened and Linc stepped inside, looking handsome in his black tuxedo. His gaze immediately zeroed in on the nearly empty champagne bottle in her hand.

  “Not a word,” she threatened him, waving the bottle in front of her. “I deserve this.”

  He nodded, his expression somber. “You do.”

  She lifted the bottle to her lips only to find it empty. Oh, well. There was more where this had come from. At least the bubbly liquid was beginning to do its trick, going to her head and lifting her mood.

  Linc looked relieved and she chose not to enlighten him that, by the time the night was over, champagne would be the lightest drink she consumed.

  “I’m sorry, Chloe. Owen’s a bastard.”

  “Yes, he is. He should have told me sooner, and he should have done it in person. But he didn’t and I have to handle the cards I’ve been dealt.

  Linc nodded. “I’ll go out and tell everyone to go home.”

  “No. Well, you can tell some of the guests to go home.”

  She pushed herself up from her chair and ignored the light spinning in her head. She hadn’t had much to eat today, but there were appetizers galore almost ready to be served. At least that had been the post-ceremony agenda, followed by a three-course meal.

  “What are you talking about?” Clearly concerned, Linc walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. “Mom wants you to come home with her. She and Aurora want to be there for you.”

  She thought about spending her wedding night in her mother’s mansion-like house, her mom wringing her hands and trying not to cry for all Chloe had endured. “No
. I want you to take Mom home. Take everyone in the family home.” She stepped aside and his hand fell to his side.

  Linc narrowed his gaze. “What about you?”

  Her brother wasn’t stupid and he knew her well. No doubt he saw the wheels in her mind spinning.

  “You sublet your apartment and moved out. The boxes are in storage because you were supposed to live with Owen after your honeymoon.” He winced at the mention of more plans that wouldn’t be happening.

  Plans she had no intention of thinking about yet.

  Chloe drew a deep breath. “I have the honeymoon suite booked in the hotel tonight. I’ll stay here. After my friends and I take advantage of the party that’s already paid for. I’ll just call it my non-wedding party.” She let out a champagne-induced laugh and spun around, grabbing for the counter before she fell over.

  “Chloe,” Linc said in his stern, big-brother voice.

  Ignoring him, she sat down, hiked up her gown, and unhooked the straps on her too-high-heeled, glittering sandals. “I can’t dance in these,” she said, kicking them across the room.

  Her brother, who always had an answer and a solution, appeared concerned and at a loss. Before Chloe could reassure him, he strode to the door, pulled it open, and yelled for his fiancée. “Jordan! Get in here!”

  “Reinforcements won’t help,” Chloe warned him, letting out another laugh, this one more of a giggle. Apparently she’d had more to drink than she’d realized, and she’d always been a lightweight.

  Jordan, a gorgeous woman with jet-black hair, wearing an exquisite emerald-green gown, which Chloe knew had had to be let out to accommodate her early-pregnancy belly, rushed inside. “Is everything okay?”

  “Chloe thinks she’s going to party with her friends tonight. She wants her family to leave. Tell her she needs to go home with Mom and let us all take care of her,” Linc ordered.

  His frown would scare off most people, but Chloe had grown up with him. He’d do his best to exert his command, but she’d made up her mind. And he’d never been able to intimidate Jordan, who glanced at Chloe.

  A silent understanding passed between them, woman to woman.

  Jordan had grown up the daughter of the Kingston family’s housekeeper, yet she and Linc had been best friends for years, and she’d been his personal assistant since he’d joined Kingston Enterprises after earning his MBA. Of everyone, Jordan knew how to handle him best. She always had.

  And Jordan also understood the need to make her own choices. Chloe had faith her soon-to-be sister-in-law would support her.

  “Linc,” Jordan said, walking up to him and wrapping an arm around his waist. “I think Chloe knows what she needs. You can’t just order her around and expect her to listen.”

  He blinked in shock. “You think her getting drunk is the answer to what happened here?” he asked.

  “I think,” Jordan said slowly, “it couldn’t hurt. Let her do what she wants, and you can step in and play big brother tomorrow.” She ran her hand over Linc’s back. “I know you want to make it all better, but you can’t. Not right now.”

  Chloe shot Jordan a grateful glance. “I owe you,” she mouthed to her.

  Chloe wished Jordan had taken her up on her offer to be a bridesmaid after she’d gotten engaged to Linc. But Jordan had issues with feeling like an outsider thanks to their very different backgrounds, and she felt she’d be coming in late and hadn’t wanted to rock the boat. Chloe intended to make Jordan feel more like family than the closest family member. She still would do that after she celebrated her un-wedding.

  “I don’t like this,” Linc muttered.

  “You don’t have to.” Jordan tugged on his hand. “Let’s go talk to the family.” She glanced at Chloe. “Who do you want me to send in to be with you?”

  Chloe forced a smile. “Send my bridesmaids in, please. And tell anyone who isn’t family that wants to stay and party to stick around.” She would enjoy tonight if it killed her.

  “Chloe, why don’t you let us stay, too?” Linc asked, attempting to handle things one last time.

  “Because you’d all kill my fun. You’d sit around with concerned looks, waiting for me to fall apart. And I’d be worried about all of you, and that would defeat the purpose of a party.” The explanation made sense to her.

  “Linc, come.” Jordan tugged at his hand, and soon she’d led him out of the room.

  But not before he stopped, walked over to Chloe, and pulled her into a brotherly hug. “You deserve the very best, and I promise you the right person is out there. I love you, Chlo.”

  She tightened her arms around him, accepting the love she’d never gotten from her father. “I love you, too. Just let me have this night. Tomorrow is soon enough to face things.”

  Linc groaned. “Okay, Scarlett O’Hara. But we will talk then.”

  Of that, Chloe had no doubt.

  In the morning, Linc would do his best to take over, and she’d just have to deal with him then. God, she adored her family. Her love life might suck, but she had a support system not many people could claim. The problem was, come tomorrow, she’d be smothered in worry by well-meaning relatives.

  But tonight was for her.

  After watching Linc and Jordan walk out, Chloe rose and dug for the ballet flats she’d planned to wear once her feet began to hurt. She slipped them on so she could dance. After all, they’d paid for a high-priced DJ, and she intended to enjoy every moment until she crashed. There might come a time when she cried, but she refused to think about her pain.

  Just then, her friends piled into the room, and she braced herself to explain her plans for the evening one more time.

  Then they’d have fun.

  * * *

  “Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Dad, happy birthday to you.” Beckett Daniels’s family finished singing to their father and followed the lyrics with a round of applause.

  “Make a wish, Kurt,” Audrey, Beck’s mom, said to her husband.

  He looked around at his wife, Beck, and his other two sons, Drew and Tripp, and smiled, the gratitude in his expression obvious. Then he paused and blew out the candles.

  Beck wondered, as he did every year, if his father wished for everyone sitting at this table’s health and well-being. God knows that was Beck’s annual birthday prayer. They’d all learned years ago how fragile life could be after losing Tripp’s twin, Whitney, when they were teens.

  The server reached over and lifted the cake. “We’ll slice it and be right back. I’ll take your coffee orders then,” he said and walked away.

  “I don’t know about you but that cake looked delicious,” his mother said. “And that frosting? Mmm. I can’t wait.”

  Tripp, a pediatrician, grinned. “I’ll take a big chunk, myself.”

  Andrew glanced at their father. “You look like you could use a slice, Dad. Have you lost weight?”

  Beck shifted his gaze back to his father, noting the more drawn look in his lower face. “Now that Drew’s mentioned it, you do look thinner.”

  His father waved a hand through the air. “I’m fine, boys. Don’t worry about me.”

  Beck always worried. But tonight they were at his father’s favorite steak restaurant. There might have been a time the Daniels family couldn’t afford a restaurant this fancy or expensive, and Beck and his brothers had put themselves through school on loans, but they’d always had love. And now Beck, Tripp, or Drew could more than cover the cost of taking their parents out for an extravagant dinner.

  His father looked up, his eyes widening. “And there’s our dessert.”

  Beck tried to get his mother’s attention to see if she’d give him an inkling about his dad’s health, but she was busy digging into the cake the server had placed in front of her first. He held back a groan, telling himself he shouldn’t jump to conclusions. It wasn’t like he spent all his time thinking about his sister, but she was always there, ready to pop into his mind and remind him how quickly things could
change. How fast life could turn to loss.

  “Beck? I asked if you’d like a piece?” his mom asked.

  He nodded, knowing it would make her happy. “Hit me up,” he said. “And make it a big slice.” Pushing sad thoughts out of his head, he focused on enjoying the here and now. Something he was still learning how to do, many, many years later. Losing a sibling to leukemia had been harsh and difficult, and they all still suffered the aftereffects all this time later.

  “Hey, when we finish eating, who wants to head to the bar downstairs and have a drink?” Drew, the lawyer in the family, asked.

  “I’m in,” Tripp said, shoveling the cake in his mouth as he spoke.

  Laughing, Beck lifted a piece onto his fork. “I’ll join you,” he said, then took the cake into this mouth. The chocolate melted and he damn near moaned out loud. “This is amazing,” he said, going in for another bite.

  “Mom? Dad?” Tripp turned their way. “Want to come?”

  “Oh, no. You boys stay out and have some fun. We’re just going to go home like the old people we are.” She grinned and they all rolled their eyes.

  His mom had married his father after she’d graduated college. Then she’d gotten pregnant with Drew at the age of twenty-three. Now fifty-eight, she looked a lot younger than her years. Nobody would call either of his parents old. But if they wanted to go home, everyone understood.

  A little while later, with the check taken care of and goodbyes said to their parents, Beck, Tripp, and Drew made their way out of the restaurant and headed toward the main lobby bar.

  A nighttime hotspot, the lobby was crowded, people lining up past the entrance and mingling in the main room and around the fountain in the center.

  “I guess we’re not getting near the drinks any time soon,” Drew muttered.

  “Doesn’t seem like it.” Tripp stopped walking so they could talk and regroup.

  “Do you want to go somewhere else? Or we could head back to my apartment and have a few drinks there.” Beck didn’t care as long as he spent time with his siblings.