Page 1 of Wildly Inappropriate

Chapter one

JT

Seven Months Ago

“Only losers read booksin bars,” someone says, pulling out the stool next to mine. I glance over my shoulder at the interloper and…Lila Walker. Of course it is. She haunts my dreams, why not my daytime hours as well?

“I didn’t realize Lucifer gives his demons a day off,” I reply, taking a gulp of my scotch. With her dark black hair, sinful body, and wicked tongue, I’m not that far off with my comparison. She’s temptation in a pint-sized container.

“Mother Lilith insists her favorites are allowed to come to Sin City at least once a week to collect new souls to torture.”

I almost spit my drink out but catch myself before it’s too late. “Um, when did you start learning things about the mother of demons?”

She rolls her eyes. “I’ve told you I read. Is it really so hard to imagine I might’ve learned a thing or two?”

When I don’t reply, she continues, “Fantasy—well, romantasy—is one of my favorite genres. There’s a lot of Hades/Lucifer/demons lore that gets brought in.”

“I thought you preferred romance novels?” I ask, realizing too late that I’m dragging out a conversation I don’t want to be in.

“I do. Romantasy is essentially the result of fantasy and romance having a baby. I like fantasy, but I’m much more down to jump into the world of fae, kings, and battles if there is a decently significant romance component.”

“Oh. Huh. I haven’t read much fantasy or fantasy-adjacent books, I suppose.”

Lila and I have been at each other’s throats since the fall after she turned 18, and after six years of arguing every time we’re near each other, it feels weird to be having a normal conversation—even one that started with some light “you’re a demon” insults.

We’ve been on a temporary truce the last few months since we were forced to work together to help her brother—my best friend—get his life back together. I met Jameson Walker when we were both playing in junior golf tournaments across the country. We were some of the top-ranked golfers heading into our final year on the tour, and in a strange turn of fate, we ended up at Cal State, where we became teammates, roommates, and friends. Now we both play golf professionally.

This summer, Lila was so worried about her brother hitting rock bottom that she all but forced me to visit Jameson in the little Colorado town he’d been holed up in: Wild Bluffs. I will never admit this to her, but Lila was right—Jameson did need someone there to support him. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I’m, without a doubt, one hundred percent responsible for giving him the push he needed to get together with his current girlfriend, Bryn.

Lila looks down at the gray, coverless book I’m holding. “What are you reading? Is it one of the books I recommended?”

“Yeah.A Devilish and Dastardly Duke,”I say, picking up the book and flipping through the pages.

“Wow. Turns out you can listen to reason. Who knew?” She smirks. “It’s such a good story!”

Lila signals for a drink—I guess we are hanging out now. I’m not particularly pleased to be spending time with one of my least favorite people in the world, but I’m not going to be the one to show weakness by leaving.

“Wait. That one is like the third book in that series. Did you start with book three, or have you already read the other two?” she asks.

“I’m not a monster, Lila. Of course I’ve read the other two. Who reads books out of order?” I leave out the fact that I’ve also read two other series since she first dared me to read a romance novel. She also annoyingly suggested that if I was embarrassed to be seen reading them, I could remove the dust jacket or buy an e-reader. Coincidentally, my e-reader arrives at my house in California this week—I need the convenience of e-books with as much time as I spend on the road, traveling to tournaments. To be clear, it’s not that I’m embarrassed per se, butromance readerdoesn’t exactly align with the image I’ve carefully cultivated for myself.

“Well, technically, they are stand-alones in the same universe, so you could read them in any order you want,” Lila says.

“Do you do that?” I ask.

“God, no. That falls into the chaotic evil bucket for sure.”

“It feels more like chaotic neutral to me.”

Her nose twitches in disgust. “Blasphemy. Seeing the end of someone’s story before reading their book is the worst. But then again, so are you. So maybe you do read them out of order.”

I ignore her dig. “But you know they end up together anyway. It’s a given for the genre.”

“Trust me on this. You want the backstory so you’re invested when the author gives you little snapshots into their HEAs in the later books.”

“HEAs?” I ask.

“Happily ever afters! Come on, JT. Learn the lingo if you’re going to read romance like the big hitters.”

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