Between Two Crocs: BBW Shapshifter Romance (Safari Shifters Book 2) Read online

  Between Two Crocs

  (Safari Shifters Book 2)

  Lola Kidd

  Copyright 2015 by Lola Kidd

  Cover Design: Melody Simmons

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. No part of this work may be copied or reproduced without the express consent of the author.

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  About This Book

  Lily Aris is heading back to Safari Island for her best friend’s wedding. While she’s happy to be back on the amazing island, it’s been no vacation. Between having to juggle her demanding boss back home and maid-of-honor duties, she’s exhausted.

  Croc shifters Max and Finn Nunez have been at each other’s throats since the summer. The tension between the two is obvious to everyone. Finn has been withdrawn and testy for a long time and it’s getting on Max’s nerves. Just when he gives up on Finn, the lovely Lily comes back to the island. Max jumps at the chance to spend more time with the beautiful woman and away from his moody brother.

  With the twins at odds, it’s up to Lily to try to bring them closer together. After all, fighting crocs aren’t good for any wedding. She’s more than happy to add this to her long list of maid of honor duties. And she’s going try her hardest to get the hunky shifter twins to kiss and makeup.

  Table of Contents

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  A Note From Lola

  Other Books by Lola Kidd

  One

  “If those papers aren’t waiting for me Monday morning, you’re fired,” Mr. Angelsen said.

  “Fine,” Lily Aris mumbled as she looked for her bag.

  “Good. I look forward to hearing from you on Monday. Have a nice weekend.”

  Lily pushed the call end button and made a face at the blank phone screen. “You have a great weekend too. Jerk.”

  She spotted her bright purple luggage on the carousel and rushed to pull it all down. It took a little effort but soon there was a pile of bags at her feet.

  “It looks like you need a little help.”

  Lily looked up to see a familiar pair of green eyes. She nodded. “That would be great.”

  Max Nunez lifted her bags into the back of his waiting tram. “I thought I might run into you today. Addison hasn’t stopped talking about you all week. I swear she’s more excited about your visit than her own wedding.”

  Lily laughed. “You’re being very sweet, Max. Thanks for the help.”

  She was honestly surprised and happy to see the crocodile shifter. The first time she’d visited Safari Island, she’d gone on a date with Max and his twin brother. It had been a disaster. While the men were incredibly handsome, she didn’t have much in common with them. Finn Nunez had spent most of the dinner and the drive home fuming and Max had been quiet. While the men weren’t overtly mean or rude, they just weren’t right for her.

  Lily’s best friend had had much better luck. Her date that evening had turned out to be the love of her life. Lily and Addison had gone on vacation together, but only Lily had returned to the United States. Addison had moved in with Chet in Safari Town and the rest was history. Now, Lily was returning to the island for the big wedding. Unfortunately, her boss wasn’t very thrilled about her needing to take time off again so soon. She had more than enough vacation time banked to cover this trip and then some. But he was being a major jerk and threatening to fire her if she didn’t finish his project.

  He had handed her all the files for a major account right before she left and told her she needed to fix his mistake ASAP. He had no idea what he’d done wrong, but if she didn’t fix it, she wouldn’t have a job to come home to. She’d had a stomachache the entire flight to Safari Island. She needed her job. It was a tough economy, and she didn’t have much experience. Not to mention the fact that Angelsen was paying her three times the market rate for her position and experience.

  She would be able to pay off all her student loans if she worked with Angelsen for only two years. She’d already managed to pay off three of the five loans. All she had left now were the two largest private loans. Getting fired at this point would ruin all her careful planning and sacrificing. She hadn’t had a Frappuccino in over a year, and she’d slashed her clothing budget in half. She had been lucky enough to win a vacation to Safari Island last summer and this trip was free of charge since she was in the wedding.

  Living so frugally wasn’t fun, but when it had a purpose she didn’t feel so bad. Now, everything was slipping away from her. Lily didn’t want to bring down Addison’s big day by dragging her work with her, but Mr. Angelsen had left her no choice. She was going to try to finish it all up in one night.

  “Something wrong?” Max asked, nudging her. “You’re very quiet. That’s not the Lily I remember.”

  She sighed. “I have to work while I’m here and my boss is being a real jerk to me.”

  “That’s terrible,” Max said. “Could you refresh my memory on what you do? Sorry, it’s been a while.”

  “I work for an accountant. I have an accounting and finance degree, but I do secretary work for my boss mostly.”

  Max frowned. “Why don’t you do any accounting yourself? That’s like hiring a world class chef and asking him to do the dishes all day.”

  “I know. This is the first time he’s asking me to do a big project. I’m hoping after this he’ll start letting me do more.”

  “I bet you get paid a lot.”

  Lily laughed. “I do. How’d you guess?”

  “I make a lot of money too. Not that you would guess by my uniform.” Max tipped his hat at her and winked. “I may look like an airport butler, but they pay me like I’m a VP of public relations. When it’s hard to find good help, people will pay. I bet your boss needs you more than you know.”

  “Thanks. I didn’t think of it that way before.” They pulled to a stop near her bus to the resort. She stuck out her hand and slipped a tip into Max’s hand. “Seriously, thank you. You made me feel better, and it was a nice way to start my vacation.”

  Max put the money back in her hand and shook his head. “No need to tip me. You’re doing us all a big favor. If this wedding goes off without a hitch, it’s going to be huge for us. Can’t wait to see what you ladies have up your sleeves.”

  With another tip of his hat, Max was off to help more travelers. Lily watched him wistfully. That was more like the Max she’d met when she first came to Safari Island. She reminisced about her last trip on the bus to the hotel. Max and Finn had both seemed so cool when she first met them, but she’d been incredibly disappointed after their date. Finn was going to be a groomsman in the wedding. Maybe they were both being more chill now that they would be forced to deal with her. Better to stay on her good side since she was so important to the wedding. As long as they kept it civil, she would have an easy trip.

  At least that was what she hoped until she saw Addison’s face at Safari Resort. Her face was puffy and her eyes were red, like she’d been crying. So not like Addison.

  Lily left her bags at the door and ran to hug her best friend. “Addison, what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” The curvy blonde gave her a big smi
le. “I’m just being silly. I’m so happy you’re here! Sorry you have to stay at the hotel. There’s just no room in Chet’s bachelor pad for us all.”

  “No problem. I’m not going to mind having room service for the next ten days.” Lily held Addison at arm’s length. Leave it Addison to worry about someone else’s comfort when she was hurting. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine, really. Just another fight with the wedding planner.”

  “Montgomery Venzil? I thought he was a total sweetheart.”

  Addison bit her lip. “He is. Mostly. We don’t agree on everything, and I’m being very sensitive. This is an important day for me and I didn’t think I’d be dealing with so much outside influence.”

  “I get it. Don’t worry, I’m here now. If he tries any of that BS, I’ll slap him back in place for you.”

  “Thank you.” Addison hugged her again. “I don’t know how I’ve gotten through this so far without you. And I’m sorry I couldn’t schedule this cake testing any other day.”

  Lily rolled her eyes. “You know I don’t get jetlag like you do. I’m ready to go taste some delicious designer cake.”

  She told the bellhop where to leave her bags and they left for the restaurant. Most of the wedding planning had taken place already, but Chet and Addison hadn’t been able to decide on a few things. Chet was leaving the cake choice up to Addison and Lily. He wasn’t a big cake eater and had picked his top four favorites already. He would be happy either way they picked, but Addison wanted to get it just right. They were flying in a lot of family for the wedding and she wanted to be sure they got the best wedding cake ever.

  When they arrived at the small restaurant in Safari Town, Venzil was waiting for them. He looked exactly like he did in the magazines: purple hair piled high on top of his head, bright makeup, and an even brighter outfit. Today he was wearing a lime green pinstripe suit and was carrying a glittery cupcake purse. His love of outrageous designs, eye for detail, and work ethic made him the most sought-after event planner in the world. Lily had been excited when she’d heard she would get to meet him. Now, she wasn’t sure. Anyone who made Addison cry wasn’t cool in her book.

  Venzil hugged Lily as soon as she was in reach. “You must be the maid of honor. I’m Montgomery Venzil, but you can call me Gummy. Lily, right?”

  She extricated herself from his grasp. “Yes. Nice to meet you. I didn’t know you were meeting us.”

  “I wasn’t, but Addison sounded a little upset so I wanted to run over these fabric samples.” He pulled three swatches from his bag. “I know you weren’t wild about the leopard print. What if we did the dresses in one of these?”

  Addison fingered the peacock blue, sea green, and orange satin. “Is there time to change it?”

  “No, but we can buy a whole new one. It’s on the company, darling. Don’t worry about a thing.”

  “Is this for my dress?” Lily asked.

  Gummy nodded. “It sure is, but these are also the accent colors for the wedding.”

  “I want to wear orange,” Lily said.

  Addison handed the fabric back to Gummy. “Orange it is.”

  He hugged her. “Okay, I’ll find some options. I’m sorry about earlier. I’m a little attached to the leopard one. I thought it would look divine in the pictures. Forgive me?”

  She nodded. “All is forgiven.”

  “Great! I’ll see you in two days with the dresses.” And with that, Gummy snapped on a pair of white heart-framed sunglasses and was off.

  “That guy is so awesome,” Lily said, in awe once again. “I have to have that bag. He’s nice. I’m glad I’m not going to have to tear him a new one.”

  Addison shook her head as they sat down. “It’s an endless merry-go-round. You’ll see. He was nice right now, but he’ll be a total pain come fitting day.”

  Lily flexed and snarled, “He better not be. I can totally take that guy and anyone else who tries to mess up your big day.”

  Addison laughed. “You’re going to be very busy, then. Can I send you after Max and Finn next?”

  “The twins?” Lily asked, surprised. “They were jerks last time I saw them, but Max, at least, was better this time. I saw him at the airport and he was really cool again.”

  “I’m sure they’ll be really great to you, but they’re at each other’s throats.” Addison pulled on one of her blonde curls. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a fight at the wedding. I don’t know what’s gotten into them, but they’re being ridiculous whenever I see them together.”

  “Bummer. I’ll squash it if it comes up.” Lily’s phone vibrated. It was Angelsen again. She turned her phone to silent and ignored it.

  “Who was that?”

  “No one. Tell me what I’ve missed in the three days we haven’t talked.”

  Addison filled Lily in on the surprise she was planning for Chet at the reception: a red velvet groom’s cake in the shape of a rhino. She’d seen it in a movie and loved the idea.

  Her eyes lit up as she talked about her fiancé. Lily was so happy for her friend. She couldn’t wait until she had that kind of love too. She’d been the one looking for island love when they came the first time, so it had been a bit of a letdown that she’d walked away empty-handed. Even worse, she had no prospects back home.

  She was back to square one in her love life. She had been living vicariously through Addison during the planning. She hadn’t given up on love yet, but she was putting it on pause. Once she got her friend married and knew her job was safe, she’d think about love again. It could wait.

  Two

  There was a circle of pretty women dancing around Max Nunez. The one closest to him grabbed his tank top and tried pulling him in for a kiss. Max grabbed the girl’s hand and shook his head. He wasn’t about to make out with some random chick. She was a beautiful woman, but not his type. Not to mention that his twin brother Finn was already scowling at him from across the bar. Typical.

  He didn’t know what had come over his brother, but Finn was a walking frown these days. He used to be a blast. They’d always had different friends, but he and Finn were still close. Max and his best friend Shane would go out together all the time. Finn would join them at least once a week, and they’d have a lot of fun. Now, Finn was still coming but he was never happy. It was like he was looking for something to be mad about.

  It didn’t help with the ladies. Nobody wanted to be around an angry, moody guy all night. It wouldn’t have been such a problem for Max if it wasn’t for the triad. He and Finn had known since they were children that they were destined to have a triad marriage with one lucky woman. Max didn’t know how that was going to happen with Finn in his current state. His mind immediately went to Lily, and he was bummed out. He excused himself from the circle of ladies to get another drink.

  He’d been into the spunky brunette from the minute he first laid eyes on her. She was curvy in all the right places, and hilarious. Lily always said whatever was on her mind. Sometimes that meant she put her foot in her mouth, but she was unapologetic about her opinions. They’d gone out on a date, but it was a disaster. Max had pretended that he hated her as much as Finn did. It was a stupid lie, but it was better than trying to convince his brother to change his mind.

  Lily was back on the island for the big wedding and just his luck, he’d run into her at the airport. She still took his breath away. There was a connection there that he wouldn’t mind exploring, but he couldn’t. He and Finn were having problems, but he still wanted to be part of a triad. In his heart, he knew there was no way he’d claim his mate without his brother’s support. Whoever he was going to end up with had to be someone Finn liked too, and that wasn’t Lily.

  “Finished dancing with those girls?” Finn asked.

  Max downed his drink and asked for another and a shot. He hadn’t even noticed his brother coming over. “I am. They weren’t so great.”

  “That doesn’t usually stop you.”

  He got his second s
hot and drank it quickly. Not this again. “Are you mad at me?”

  “I was just wondering if you were going to bring another tourist home tonight. I was hoping to get some sleep. You’ve kept me up four nights in a row.”

  “I haven’t brought four girls home this week.” He hadn’t brought home anyone for a very long time. More than a month, shamefully. Not that Finn would notice in his funk, but none of the women at Club Safari were interesting Max anymore. He was having a dry spell to rival all dry spells.

  “No, but you’ve been out until the wee hours of the morning and then you stumble in and wake me up.”

  “Is now really the time for this? We’re at a club. Enjoy yourself. Maybe if you had a little fun you’d sleep better.”

  “Sure, let me fist-pump with my bros all night and I’ll sleep great.” Finn ordered a drink and turned to survey the club while he waited. “I think this is my last trip to the Club for a while. This place is getting played out already.”

  Max shrugged. “If that’s what you want. We could hang out at the bar in town too. That place has gotten much cooler now that the new hires have come in.”

  “Eh. I think I’m done with trying to find women in clubs.”

  “Ok.” Max looked at the bar. “So you don’t want come out with me anymore?”

  “I guess not. You seem to have a lot more fun with Shane, anyway.”

  “Cool.” That stung. He didn’t want Finn to see how much it bothered him, so Max went back to the dance floor. By the time he came back to their table to take a break, Finn was already gone.

  “He left an hour ago,” Shane told him. “I don’t think he was having fun. Your brother’s becoming a real drag, bro.”

  “Whatever.”

  One of the girls he’d been dancing with approached the table with two of her friends. Shane quickly moved down and waved the shot girl over. He ordered a round of shots for the whole table and started chatting up the women.

  Max wasn’t in the mood for dancing or drinking anymore, but he didn’t want to go home either. He would stick around with Shane for the rest of the night. It wasn’t like Finn wanted him back at the house, anyway. Not that Max wanted to talk with Finn at the moment, either. He would let it wait before approaching him again. Maybe he’d be in a better mood once the wedding was over.