Kristan Higgins - Waiting On You

Is your first love worth a second chance…?

Colleen O’Rourke is in love with love…just not when it comes to herself. Most nights, she can be found behind the bar at the Manningsport, New York, tavern she owns with her twin brother, doling out romantic advice to the lovelorn, mixing martinis and staying more or less happily single. See, ten years ago, Lucas Campbell broke her heart…an experience Colleen doesn’t want to have again, thanks. Since then, she’s been happy with a fling here and there, some elite-level flirting and playing matchmaker to her friends.

But a family emergency has brought Lucas back to town, handsome as ever and still the only man who’s ever been able to crack her defenses. Seems like maybe they’ve got some unfinished business waiting for them—but to find out, Colleen has to let her guard down, or risk losing a second chance with the only man she’s ever loved.

Select praise for the novels of New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins

“A deliriously funny story.… The Best Man is Kristan Higgins’s best book—and that’s saying a lot.”

—Eloisa James

“You’ll adore every bit of this story.… Higgins’s latest is sexy, screwy, funny and fulfilling—a simply radiant read.”

—USA TODAY on The Best Man

“Strong storytelling and a refreshing, sarcastic edge…thoroughly entertaining.”

—People magazine on Somebody to Love

“A funny, poignant romance.”

—Publishers Weekly, starred review, on My One and Only

“A heartwarming, multi-generational tale of lost love, broken hearts and second chances.”

—BookPage on The Next Best Thing

“The path to love is bumpy in this surprisingly deep charmer from rom-com queen Higgins. Emotional resonance balances zany antics in a powerful story that feels completely real.”

—Publishers Weekly, starred review, on The Best Man

“Kristan Higgins specializes in the kind of prose that makes you laugh out loud…hilarious on the surface, but with a bittersweet subtext.”

—National Public Radio on Somebody to Love

“Another sweet, touching must-read for Higgins fans and anyone who enjoys a perfect combination of humor and romance.”

—Kirkus, starred review, on The Best Man

Waiting on You

Kristan Higgins

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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This book is dedicated to my beamish boy, Declan,

who makes me laugh every single day. This is the part where I’m tempted to get mushy and sentimental

and use a lot of nicknames, but I’ll try to keep it dignified. Let’s just say that you’re everything a mother could ever hope for in a son, and I love you. Tremendously.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Praise

Title Page

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

EPILOGUE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

“DRINKS ARE ON the house!”

A cheer went up from the gang, not just because Colleen O’Rourke—the bartender and half owner of the best (and only) bar in town—had just offered free booze, but because Brandy Morrison and Ted Standish had just gotten engaged.

Colleen hugged the happy couple once more, then went behind the bar and accepted high fives from her regulars as she pulled beers and mixed martinis, poured wine and slid glasses down the bar. After all, Brandy and Ted were her doing. That made...hmm...fourteen couples she’d set on the road to matrimony? No, fifteen! Not bad. Not bad at all.

“Good job, Coll,” said Gerard Chartier, accepting his free Cooper’s Cave IPA. He sat at the end of the bar, where the fire department was having a “meeting,” the agenda of which seemed to be O’Rourke’s list of microbrews. She wasn’t complaining. They were good for business.

“Your sorry single state hasn’t gone unnoticed,” she said, rubbing his bald head. “Not to worry. You’re next.”

“I’d rather stay single.”

“No, you wouldn’t. Trust Auntie Colleen, ever wise and all-knowing.”

“Colleen!” her brother, Connor, yelled from the kitchen. “Stop harassing the customers!”

“I’m part of our charm!” she yelled back. “Gang, are you feeling harassed?”

A satisfying chorus of no answered her. She breezed into the kitchen. “Hi, Rafe,” she greeted the backup chef, who was making one of his famous cheesecakes. “Save some of that for me, okay?”

“Of course, my truest love,” he said, not looking at her. He was gay. All the good ones were.

“Brother mine,” Colleen said to her twin, “what bug is up your ass?”

“You just gave away three hundred dollars’ worth of booze, that’s what,” he said.

“Brandy and Ted got engaged. Beautiful ring, too.”

“Your work, Collie?” Rafe asked.

“As a matter of fact, yes. They’d been eyeing each other for weeks. I gave a gentle shove, and voilà. I expect I’ll be a bridesmaid. Again.”

Rafe smiled. “And when will you work your superpowers on your own self, lovey?”

“Oh, never. I’m too smart for all that. I like to use men for purely physical—”

“Stop! No one wants to hear about your sex life,” Connor said.

“I do,” said Rafe.

She grinned. Tormenting her brother, though they were both thirty-one, was still one of the great joys in life.

“It seems like such a waste. All that, unclaimed.” Rafe gestured to her torso and face.

“She got burned when she was young,” Connor told Rafe.

“Oh, please. That’s not why I’m single. Besides, you’re single, too. It’s all part of our dysfunctional childhood, Rafe.”

“Don’t even try,” he said, adding the sour cream layer to the cake. “I was a gay boy born to Jehovah’s Witnesses and grew up in East Texas with five older brothers who all played football. It was Friday Night Lights meets The Birdcage meets Swamp People. No one can compete with me in the land of dysfunctional families.”

“You totally win,” Colleen said. “Con and I only had a cheating father and—

“Isn’t tonight your night off?” Connor interrupted.

“Yep. But I came in because I sensed, using our magical twinsy bond, that you missed me.”

“You sensed wrong,” he muttered. “Get out of my kitchen. Your posse just came through the door.”

“He has batlike hearing,” Rafe said.

“I know. It’s creepy. Bye, boys! Don’t forget my piece of heaven, Rafe. Connor, come say hi. Everyone loves you, for some reason.”