Come Again

  Lauren Blakely

  Contents

  Also by Lauren Blakely

  About

  Come Again

  Come and Get It

  Prologue

  1. The Boys, the Bet, and the Babe

  2. Daisy’s a Jerk

  3. Affairs of the Dick

  4. Bellamy Hart’s Planning Notes for A Million Frogs . . .

  5. The Keeper of My Secrets

  6. Bellamy Hart’s A Million Frogs Podcast . . .

  7. The Party Crasher

  I. Come Again

  8. Maybe I Like Playing with My Food Too

  9. The Long Con

  10. Catch Me If You Can

  11. Bellamy Hart’s Planning Notes for A Million Frogs . . .

  12. Panties in a Twist

  13. A Dating God

  14. The Last Word

  15. Sex-Positive Grandma

  16. Monk Vows

  17. Oops, I Did It Again

  18. Inappropriate

  19. Bellamy Hart’s A Million Frogs . . .

  20. Ruthless

  21. A Gentlemanly Fucker

  22. I Told You So

  23. Grandma Crush

  24. The Potential of Gift Bangs

  25. Cake, Olive Branches, and Confessions

  26. Most Worthy Adversaries

  27. All the Upper Hands

  28. This Orgasm Thing

  29. Order of Arousal

  30. Bellamy Hart’s Planning Notes for A Million Frogs . . .

  31. All of the Above

  32. Quacks Like a Date

  33. How They Met

  34. Two Kinds of People in The World

  35. Octopi Style

  36. My Happy Place

  37. Good Things Come

  38. Four-Letter Words

  39. Bellamy Hart’s A Million Frogs . . .

  40. Trash or Treasure

  41. Grandma Knows Best

  42. Just the Start

  43. The King of Epic Bonehead Moves

  44. The Great Convincing

  45. Go Big or Go Home

  46. Special Edition

  47. All Paid Up

  Epilogue

  Epilogue - Bellamy Hart’s A Million Frogs Podcast . . .

  Also by Lauren Blakely

  Contact

  Copyright © 2021 by Lauren Blakely

  Cover Design by Helen Williams.

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This contemporary romance is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. This book is licensed for your personal use only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with, especially if you enjoy sexy romance novels with alpha males. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Also by Lauren Blakely

  Big Rock Series

  Big Rock

  Mister O

  Well Hung

  Full Package

  Joy Ride

  Hard Wood

  * * *

  Rules of Love Series

  The Rules of Friends with Benefits (A Prequel Novella)

  The Virgin Rule Book

  The Virgin Game Plan

  The Virgin Replay

  The Virgin Scorecard

  * * *

  Men of Summer Series

  Scoring With Him

  Winning With Him

  All In With Him

  * * *

  The Guys Who Got Away Series

  Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend

  The What If Guy

  Thanks for Last Night

  The Dream Guy Next Door

  * * *

  The Gift Series

  The Engagement Gift

  The Virgin Gift

  The Decadent Gift

  * * *

  The Extravagant Series

  One Night Only

  One Exquisite Touch

  My One-Week Husband

  * * *

  MM Standalone Novels

  A Guy Walks Into My Bar

  One Time Only

  The Bromance Zone

  * * *

  The Heartbreakers Series

  Once Upon a Real Good Time

  Once Upon a Sure Thing

  Once Upon a Wild Fling

  * * *

  Boyfriend Material

  Asking For a Friend

  Sex and Other Shiny Objects

  One Night Stand-In

  * * *

  Lucky In Love Series

  Best Laid Plans

  The Feel Good Factor

  Nobody Does It Better

  Unzipped

  * * *

  Always Satisfied Series

  Satisfaction Guaranteed

  Instant Gratification

  Overnight Service

  Never Have I Ever

  PS It’s Always Been You

  Special Delivery

  * * *

  The Sexy Suit Series

  Lucky Suit

  Birthday Suit

  * * *

  From Paris With Love

  Wanderlust

  Part-Time Lover

  * * *

  One Love Series

  The Sexy One

  The Only One

  The Hot One

  The Knocked Up Plan

  Come As You Are

  * * *

  Sports Romance

  Most Valuable Playboy

  Most Likely to Score

  * * *

  Standalones

  Stud Finder

  The V Card

  The Real Deal

  Unbreak My Heart

  The Break-Up Album

  * * *

  The Caught Up in Love Series

  The Pretending Plot (previously called Pretending He’s Mine)

  The Dating Proposal

  The Second Chance Plan (previously called Caught Up In Us)

  The Private Rehearsal (previously called Playing With Her Heart)

  * * *

  Seductive Nights Series

  Night After Night

  After This Night

  One More Night

  A Wildly Seductive Night

  About

  There are three words most men can’t resist—I dare you.

  * * *

  So as you can see, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I had no choice when my buddies said “I bet you can’t get that brunette beauty to kiss you before the night ends.”

  * * *

  I proved them wrong, and oh how good it felt to be right when I swept the quick-tongued woman into my arms and kissed the breath out of her at the party.

  * * *

  But, I made a slight miscalculation. Turns out she’s my brand new enemy.

  * * *

  And soon I’m locked in a fierce battle of wits with my sexy-as-sin nemesis. I’m determined to show the whole city that my company is offering the best new path to romance, and she’s dead-set on knocking me down. Publicly.

  * * *

  It’s the hottest game of one-upmanship I’ve ever played, punctuated by fiery kisses, dirty letters, and, after a heated argument, hate s-e-x.

  * * *

  You know what they say. Keep your enemies closer. I keep her so damn close to my favorite body part.

  * * *

  Everything is fun and games…until I gamble something I can’t afford to lose. My heart.

  Come Again

  By Lauren Blakely

  * * *

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  Come and Get It

  A prequel

  Dear Reader,

  Come Again begins with a prequel — Come and Get It. If you already read the prequel when it was released on its own, go ahead and start at Chapter 8! AKA the beginning of Come Again. If not, then start right here and turn the page.

  Xoxo

  Lauren

  Prologue

  Everybody wants to come again, but not everyone can.

  So, if I invite you to a life-changing night, you better save that date. An invitation from me offers a woman something hard to get and hard to pass up—charm, class, and a relentless focus on her heart’s desire that drives her to RSVP: Accepts with pleasure.

  So much fucking pleasure. I’m a purveyor of it—the goddamn mayor of good times, the lord of lust, the emperor of ecstasy. A coveted summons to one of my underground events means an end to swiping, ghosting, and fishing.

  Like a modern-day Gatsby, I woo the most fascinating, clever, and sexy women to my soirees—women willing to pay a pretty penny for the chance to meet the man of their dreams.


  These secret parties aren’t for me. Please. Love isn’t in my cards.

  I’m not even dealing myself in. I’m quite content to be the leading matchmaker in a brand-new age of romance in New York City.

  At least, I was happy enough till she walked in on the celebration and table-flipped all my perfect plans.

  And she didn’t even RSVP.

  1

  The Boys, the Bet, and the Babe

  I’m not a party boy, but I love a good party.

  I’m more of a connoisseur of human complexity, and bars are like a three-course meal for romance, dating, and mating.

  Most of all, they are arenas for the game.

  The costumed scene at The Lucky Spot tonight is a perfect example, and from my seat at the bar, I make mental notes for my own fêtes and scope out potential guests.

  “Admit it. You wish you owned Manhattan’s most successful bar.”

  I turn to my cousin, meeting his gaze across the counter as he pours a patron a beer. “Yes, Spencer, I dream of being you,” I deadpan, then return to studying the sea of people. This is just one of the watering holes Spencer owns in Manhattan. It’s Get Lucky for a Cause night, a modern masquerade for charity.

  “Understandable.” Behind the bar, Spencer holds up a bottle of Patrón in one hand and a Macallan in the other, offering each to me in turn.

  “Is that a trick question?” I shoot him a searing stare and nod to the scotch.

  “Yes, Easton. That was a test to make sure the pod people hadn’t taken you over, given your costume,” he says, pouring the shot. “Who the hell are you tonight?”

  I smooth a hand down my swank tux jacket, lifting the glass that’s part of the costume, just like the slicked-back hair and the grin required to pull this off. “This shouldn’t be too hard to guess.”

  Spencer shrugs, the lemons attached to his T-shirt rising with his shoulders. “You got me.”

  “And what, exactly, are you?” I counter, scanning his simple yellow eye mask and his citrus-covered shirt.

  Spencer drags a finger across the words emblazoned under the lemons. When life gives you . . . “I’m wordplay, Easton.”

  Behind me, someone clears their throat. “Weird. I would have bet a grand you were irony,” Nolan says, sliding up to join us, wearing Clark Kent glasses and a white button-down undone to show the Superman logo on the T-shirt under it. My bespectacled buddy eyes me up and down in my duds—tuxedo, vest, white handkerchief in the breast pocket, bow tie and a black mask. “Are you a bandit?”

  I roll my eyes. “Maybe take in the whole costume before guessing, Nolan. And I’m wearing a mask because I know how to read an invitation,” I say drily. “Glasses only work as a disguise for Clark Kent.”

  “Yes, and yours screams Zorro. Which is super helpful for an ugly mofo like yourself.” He flashes his trademark I’m-so-cute-and-charming grin. “Masquerade parties were made for dudes like you.”

  Spencer sets two shot glasses on the bar. “Now, don’t be so harsh, Nolan. Not everyone can make the list of Most Eligible YouTube Food Show Stars.”

  I get in on the ribbing too. “Such a coveted honor. With that kind of specificity, it’s a wonder you aren’t wearing a mask to remain incognito twenty-four seven.”

  “I didn’t see you on a list for Secret Matchmakers, Easton,” he says.

  Tsking, I shake my head. “I don’t need to be on a list; I’m the one who makes the list—the guest list filled with everyone who’s anyone.”

  “Excuses, excuses.” Nolan weighs scales with his hands. “As for my mask, it was either wear one or, you know, be able to see.”

  I call bullshit. “Or you just want the ladies to see your pretty-boy face.”

  Nolan props his chin in his hands. “When you have an asset this valuable, you use it fully.” He shifts his focus to me. “But seriously, who are you, E? A gangster?”

  Do I really need to spell it out? “Just keep on guessing. A hundred bucks goes to the first to figure it out.”

  Spencer chuckles as he grabs the tequila bottle, his wedding band glinting under the light. “I’m voting for Bugsy Malone.”

  I crack a sliver of a grin. “You’re getting warmer time-period wise.” Spencer pours a tequila for Nolan, and I return to my mission.

  Observation.

  A sexy pop mix of Leon Bridges and Sam Smith seeps through the joint and I eat up the view, starting with my favorite dish.

  Lots of women.

  Curves and breasts, red lips and high cheekbones.

  Angels and cowgirls, Black Widows and Wonder Women—even two sexy zombies with gnawed off faces and short skirts. I never thought the undead could be hot but that pair of busty identical twins make eaten alive look good.

  But there’s more here than simply a good number of the fairer sex.

  There’s . . . the possibility of flirtation.

  A pair of Pokémon-costumed men face off in a fierce game of Ping-Pong against a couple of Harajuku girls. A plague doctor plays blackjack with a cowboy quite cozily. In the back room, a merman and a mermaid take each other on in pool.

  All around me is proof that people would rather gather in the real world than on their phones.

  I’m just so goddamn right. I sweep my arm toward the sea of libidinous humanity. “Could it be any more obvious that this generation is sick of dating apps?”

  Nolan lifts his tequila with a dismissive wave. “I never needed one of those.”

  “Because your ego wouldn’t fit on one,” Spencer puts in.

  “Or maybe I need space to exercise my natural charm,” Nolan says.

  “Or perhaps,” I say, resting my elbows on the bar behind me as I survey the scene, “it’s that people are aching to meet in person.”

  Eye contact matters. Chemistry is a thing. Hell, this milieu is a whole Venus flytrap, and it’s why my business is booming.

  This city is my oyster, full of pearls. And sometimes those pearls need a little help getting together.

  Inspired by the atmosphere and all the ideas I can crib from here for my next big soiree, including the music, I grab my phone from the inside jacket pocket. I dictate a voice note, tucking away the details for future me.

  “Consider a library and billiards. Perhaps a theme around old school,” I say into the device.

  Nolan barks a laugh, dropping a hand onto my shoulder. “Dude. Did you seriously just dictate a work note on a Saturday night? At Spencer’s masquerade event? For charity?”

  Busted. I groan, scrubbing a hand across my jaw as I tuck away the phone. I should have known better, and yet the addiction rules me. I am hooked on my self-made job, but it’s hardly work when you love what you do.