How the Playboy Got Serious. Shirley Jump
Living the life of Riley?
Riley McKenna has led a charmed life—until now! Cut off from the family trust fund, he’s out on his ear and fending for himself.
When he applies for a job at Stace Kettering’s diner, she’s not impressed by his blue eyes and easy smile. She has a strict zero-tolerance policy toward pampered playboys, having learned her lesson once already!
Riley thinks Stace will fall for him like all the others—but he’s about to discover that his playboy ways just don’t cut it in the real world....
The McKenna Brothers
Three billionaire brothers.
Three guarded hearts. Three fabulous stories.
Meet the gorgeous McKenna Brothers...
In this brand-new trilogy from the wonderfully witty, New York Times bestselling author Shirley Jump.
Rich, handsome and successful, they’re the most eligible bachelors in Boston!
Find out what happens when the oldest brother,
Finn, finds himself propositioned by the intriguing, feisty Ellie Winston in
One Day to Find a Husband
July 2012
Discover whether straight-talking Stace Kettering
can tame notorious playboy Riley in
How the Playboy Got Serious
August 2012
Returning hero Brody is back home and has a secret…but can he confide in Kate Spencer? Find out in
Return of the Last McKenna
September 2012
Dear Reader,
Those McKenna brothers are at it again! I loved writing this series, not just because it’s set in the area where I grew up, but because these three brothers and the heroines who challenge them were so much fun. Each brother was a strong, heroic individual, and that gave me unique challenges with each story.
Sometimes, when I create a fictional place like the Morning Glory Diner, it becomes so real to me, I find myself wishing I could go there! I revisit the diner in the last McKenna book (Brody’s story) and it was like returning to a favorite place. It was nice to see Heidi the dog again, from Finn’s book, and to learn more about the McKenna family matriarch. I hope you enjoy Riley’s story and the challenges he faces working with sassy Stace!
I love to hear from readers, too, so please write to me through my website (www.shirleyjump.com) or visit my blog (www.shirleyjump.blogspot.com) where I post family-favorite recipes and writing advice. Share with me your favorite spot to eat, or just your favorite McKenna brother!
Happy reading,
Shirley
How the Playboy Got Serious
Shirley Jump
New York Times bestselling author Shirley Jump didn’t have the willpower to diet, nor the talent to master under-eye concealer, so she bowed out of a career in television and opted instead for a career where she could be paid to eat at her desk—writing. At first, seeking revenge on her children for their grocery-store tantrums, she sold embarrassing essays about them to anthologies. However, it wasn’t enough to feed her growing addiction to writing funny. So she turned to the world of romance novels, where messes are (usually) cleaned up before The End. In the worlds Shirley gets to create and control, the children listen to their parents, the husbands always remember holidays, and the housework is magically done by elves. Though she’s thrilled to see her books in stores around the world, Shirley mostly writes because it gives her an excuse to avoid cleaning the toilets and helps feed her shoe habit.
To learn more, visit her website, www.shirleyjump.com.
To my readers. You all are the best part of my job, and I am humbled and honored to write books you enjoy.
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
LIFE as Riley McKenna knew it was about to change. And change in a big way. He sensed the change coming, like the shift in the wind when summer yielded to fall.
“I love you, Riley, but I have to say this.” Mary McKenna looked her grandson straight in the eye, with the steady light blue gaze that told him she was about to say something he didn’t want to hear. “It’s high time you grew up.”
Gray-haired, elegant and poised, Mary sat in one of two rose-patterned Windsor chairs in what was called the morning room but that Riley and his brothers had long ago dubbed the “serious room,” because that was where their grandmother held all her serious talks. When they were young, they knew getting called into the morning room meant a long and stern lecture. Even at twenty-six, Riley was occasionally summoned to this space—and that was exactly what Mary did—summoned—and given the familiar sermon about responsibility and maturity.
Mary had a presence about her, built over years of helming first the family, then the family business. Truth be told, she intimidated most people and even sometimes Riley, because she made no bones about her feelings—ever. So when Mary wanted to have a serious talk, Riley knew enough to listen. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try to escape the lecture about to come.
“Gran, it’s my birthday.” He shot her the grin that usually sweet-talked his grandmother into leniency. “That means I’m more grown up today than yesterday.”
More or less.
He’d spent the night before his birthday in a bar, and had plans to hit a whole list of them tonight with his friends. He knew he should be looking forward to the night out, but for some reason, the thought of trading the same conversations with the same people over the same beverages sounded…
Boring.
He was just hungover. Or something. He’d be fine once he had a nice dark ale in his hands.
“That is not what I meant, and you know it.” Gran sipped a cup of tea while the sun streamed in from the picture window behind her and kissed everything in the stately Victorian style room with gold. The house was over a