Momma's Got a Brand New Jag: BBW Shifter Romance (Seaside Shifters Book 1) Read online

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  Seaside Shifters: Momma's Got a Brand New Jag

  by Dinah Del Mar

  This is work of fiction. All characters and events reside solely in the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual people, alive or dead, is purely coincidental. All characters are eighteen years of age or older.

  © 2015, Dinah Del Mar. No portion of this work can be reproduced in any way without prior written consent from the author with the exception of fair use for review and editorial purposes.

  Table of Contents

  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

  Seaside Shifters: Momma's Got a Brand New Jag

  Chapter One

  Czarina Salinas was having one hell of a bad day. In the morning on her way to work, she’d gotten a flat tire. No one had bothered to stop on the highway to help her, but then again, she hadn’t really expected anyone to. She was a curvy girl, and no damsel in distress—she’d known how to change a tire by herself since her dad had shown her how when she was 15 and learning to drive.

  To make things worse, she’d been late for her shift, which wouldn’t have been a big deal if her unit hadn’t been scheduled for an audit today. The hospital she’d worked at for years had recently been bought out and the new corporate overlords had sent out memos reassuring everyone that nothing would change, but that auditors would be systematically checking out every department just to see how they did things. Rina wasn’t stupid. She knew that meant they were looking to cut costs wherever they could. It was only about the bottom line. Nevermind the fact that she’d never been late until today, or that her patients called her their “angel” since she was so good with all of them. She’d explained about the flat tire, but the auditor had given her a disapproving look and made ‘tsk, tsk’ noises while checking something off and making notes on a clipboard. Rina had wanted to shove his pen right up his supercilious ass. She’d become a registered nurse because she wanted to help people, not suffer through bureaucratic nonsense. At least the benefits were good.

  At lunch, the sketchy-looking ham and cheese sandwich she’d decided on for lunch had gotten stuck in the revolving tray of the vending machine. She’d used the last of her cash on it. The antiquated machines at the hospital only took cash, and the cafeteria had been closed for inventory, so Rina had dug through her purse until she found some old, lint-covered cough drops and sucked on those throughout the day.

  At least she’d be able to see her boyfriend Jeremy tonight. He’d been gone for the past two weeks visiting family back home. His mom had needed surgery for a heart condition and he’d wanted to be there for the procedure and to help with her recovery. Rina hadn’t heard from him much, but she’d figured he’d been busy with family matters and thought it was best to give him some space and not make demands on his time. She’d called and left voicemails about her day every day he’d been gone, but he had only texted her sporadically while he’d been gone. She allowed herself to fantasize briefly, imagining him proposing to her once he was back. She’d read in Cosmo that men sometimes got weird and distant right before proposing.

  Finally, her shift was over, and she headed home. She couldn’t wait to curl up in bed with her boyfriend, maybe see what was new on Netflix, but definitely order in some food. She opened the front door of their apartment to find him sitting on the couch with his suitcases still packed. Rina rushed over to his side.

  “What’s going on? Is something wrong? Oh my god, is it your mom? I can call out for the week if—”

  “Rina, stop,” he said quietly. “We need to talk.”

  Her heart sank. That was never a good phrase to hear.

  “Are you breaking up with me?” she asked. Her heart thudded painfully in her chest. She was afraid she already knew the answer, and it wouldn’t be good.

  Jeremy looked like he’d rather be anywhere but here. “I…yes. I had a lot of time to think while I was gone and I’ve decided that this is for the best.”

  Rina shook her head, her ponytail swinging from side to side between her shoulder blades. “What do you mean ‘you’ve decided’? Don’t I get a say in this? I don’t understand. Everything was fine before you left to go home. What happened?”

  He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Look, things haven’t been right for awhile with us, and deep down I think you know that. I just…I think you want things that I can’t give you,” he said.

  “What the fuck does that even mean?” Rina’s fingernails dug into her palms, but she was too heated to feel the pain.

  “You’ve been pressuring me to ask you to marry me, and—”

  “We’ve been dating for five fucking years, Jeremy! There are people who get married after five months. Hell, probably even five minutes, out in Vegas,” She knew it was a weak argument, but it was all she had. “I mean, what’s the point of dating if it doesn’t lead to something more?”

  Jeremy didn’t answer. They’d had the same tired argument for the past two years now. Jeremy was a few years younger than she was, so she’d tried to give him the benefit of the doubt when they’d first started dating, that maybe his biological clock wasn’t as timely as hers. After their three year anniversary she’d started to suspect maybe he didn’t have one at all.

  Speaking of suspicions, a thought occurred to her.

  “Wait. Do you even want to get married?” She stood with her arms folded underneath her chest.

  “I don’t know,” he said.

  “How can you not know?” she said. “After all this time…” She trailed off as Jeremy looked down at the floor, not meeting her eyes.

  “I just don’t know, okay?” he mumbled.

  “Unbelievable,” she said.

  Jeremy remained silent, not looking at her.

  Rina couldn’t take it anymore. “I think you should go now,” she said and Jeremy let out a sigh before nodding and picking up his suitcases.

  “I’ll come back to pick up the rest of my things later this week,” he said. Then he was gone.

  “And just when I’d thought the day couldn’t get any worse,” Rina said to her empty apartment.

  Chapter Two

  “Bring you the usual, ladies?” Han had seated them at their usual booth and anticipated their order. He was their favorite waiter and they always left him a big tip.

  It was Tuesday night, which meant that Rina was out getting dinner and drinks with her two best friends, Jocelyn Torres and Kristine Reyes. They’d been best friends since elementary school and because they were the only three Filipina girls at the school, eventually their families had even become friends.

  Ni Hao Mao’s had opened after they’d all moved back to their hometown after graduating from college. They came here for dinner at least once a week. The restaurant had recently added a half-price happy hour special on Tuesdays and the cheap drinks were just a bonus as far as they were concerned since they already loved the food.

  The three of them had ordered their usual—seafood pan fried noodles, crispy Peking duck, and beef with broccoli, all with extra steamed white rice, and were splitting them family style. The dinners also came with vegetable spr
ing rolls and soup.

  Rina mixed some sweet and sour sauce with some duck sauce and dipped her spring roll into it before taking a big bite. It had been a little over a week since Jeremy had left.

  “So, Jeremy still hasn’t come by to get his things,” she said. “I don’t want to get my hopes up, but…I’ve got my hopes up.” She was about halfway through her spring roll.

  Cely and Kris exchanged glances. Kris was the most timid of the group. She pushed her dark red frames up her nose.

  “Will you just tell her already?” she asked Cely.

  Rina put down her spring roll and wiped her hands off on a napkin. “Tell me what?” she said with a frown.

  “We just found out about this right before you got here, so don’t get too mad at us.” Cely pushed her egg drop soup to one side.pushed it to one side. “We’re just the messengers anyway, and you know what they say about messengers…” She pulled her phone out of her designer handbag and swiped her fingers on the screen, cueing up a video. Cely handed her phone across the table to Rina.

  The video was grainy and shaky, as though it had been taken with a really shitty camera phone by someone who wasn’t used to shooting videos. The audio wasn’t on, but Rina didn’t need or want to hear it anyway. It was clear what was going on. Jeremy was down on one knee in a restaurant proposing to a tall, slim girl she didn’t recognize. The restaurant she definitely recognized though. It was Solstice, the restaurant they’d gone to on their first date and where they’d gone for their anniversary dinners every year they’d been together. That piece of shit.

  She handed the phone back to Cely and calmly resumed eating her spring roll. Cely and Kris exchanged glances again.

  “Uh…stupid question, but are you okay?” Kris asked with a worried look.

  Rina shrugged. “Just because I’ve got a broken heart doesn’t mean my stomach has to suffer, too.” She finished her spring roll and started on her wonton soup.

  She’d always comforted herself with food, ever since she was a little girl. Her mom had tried to make her feel ashamed and guilty over food, telling her that she needed to eat a lot less if she ever wanted to get married, but thankfully her grandmother had intervened. Her lola had told her she was beautiful no matter what and always made sure to feed her whenever she was upset or sad. If her lola hadn’t passed away years ago she would have headed there tonight for sure.

  “He’s such a bastard,” Cely said, and Kris nodded in agreement. Cely was the diva of the group, and had never gotten along with Jeremy. Kris hadn’t liked him much either, but was less vocal about her dislike.

  “I’m pretty sure calling him that is an insult to bastards everywhere,” Rina cleared her throat. “You know he never once got me off by himself? In five years?” Normally she didn’t encourage Cely and Kris openly bashing Jeremy, but after what she’d just seen, it was open season as far as she was concerned.

  Cely snorted derisively. “Girl, you should have kicked his ass to the curb a long time ago and replaced him with a Magic Wand.” Cely had an impressive collection of sex toys and never hesitated to recommend them whenever someone talked about less than stellar sex.

  “Still haven’t tried it out, but there’s no time like the present!” Rina winked as Cely laughed and Kris blushed. Cely had given Rina a Magic Wand for her birthday last year. While Rina had found it hilarious, Kris had turned beet red when she saw what it was. Jeremy had been furious, insulting Cely and picking a fight with Rina in front of everyone. The fact that it was her birthday didn’t seem to matter to him.

  The girls began digging into their entrees. Ni Hao Mao’s had never let them down. The food was consistently delicious and fresh. The table was silent for a few minutes as the girls enjoyed their dinners.

  “I can’t believe what a selfish prick he was. He never deserved you, not for a second,” Kris said. Cely nodded in agreement.

  Rina knew it was true. Logically, she knew that. It was just a matter of time before her heart followed suit, but it still hurt. She forced herself to smile. “Thanks, guys…I mean it. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Cely rolled her eyes, saying ‘don’t make it weird’ while Kris smiled in return.

  Rina looked down thoughtfully at the giant platters of food. “I guess all this delicious food would be mine, and mine alone…” She started to playfully pull them all toward her.

  “Oh no you don’t, you bitch!” Cely pretended to stab her with a fork. The trio erupted into laughter again as they finished the last of their entrees.

  Han came by to refill their drinks and ask if they wanted dessert. They didn’t always get dessert so he always made sure to ask. The girls passed, and handed their check cards over to him before he left. They didn’t need to see their checks. Han never made a mistake and they always ordered the same things so they knew how much it would cost by heart.

  The restaurant was busy tonight and after a few minutes Han came back and apologized for the delay, saying that their POS system needed to be rebooted because one of the new servers had been training a new person and the new person had somehow managed to freeze the entire system. It would still be at least ten minutes before he could run their cards, so he brought them some egg custard tarts on the house to thank them for being so patient. The girls weren’t in any particular hurry, but it was a nice touch. Han was definitely getting a big tip. He was walking away from the table when he spun back around.

  “Oh, almost forgot,” he said with an apologetic smile. He pulled some fortune cookies out of his apron pocket and put them on the table. “Finish your dessert first or it’s bad luck.” Then he disappeared among the crowded tables.

  Rina finished the last of her tart. “Bad luck, huh?” she said as she picked up a fortune cookie. “I definitely don’t need any more of that.” She opened it up, popping half of the cookie into her mouth while she coaxed the fortune out of the other half before eating that as well.

  She read her fortune aloud. “A pleasant surprise is in store for you tonight.” She gave a little snort at this. “It’s about time,” she said. “I’m way overdue for something pleasant…in bed,” she added with a laugh. The ‘in bed’ fortune cookie game always made them laugh at the end of their Tuesday night dinners.

  Kris and Cely had finished their egg tarts, so she motioned for them to follow suit. Kris went next, delicately opening her cookie but not eating it.

  Kris scanned over her fortune quickly before reading it aloud. “You will receive unexpected support over the next week. Accept it graciously…in bed?” she said. She laughed, saying, “I think maybe my fortune got mixed up with someone else’s. I mean, this doesn’t really apply to me.” She slid the remaining cookie toward Cely.

  “Don’t be so sure,” said Cely as she cracked open her cookie, only eating half, scrunching up her nose to indicate she didn’t like the taste. She pushed the remainder to the side along with the wrapper.

  “They’re deliberately vague, so that anyone can get any fortune and it’ll still apply. Sort of like horoscopes.” Cely thought the fortunes in the cookies were bullshit, and didn’t believe in horoscopes either. She read her fortune aloud regardless since they were playing the game. “Do not dwell on differences with a loved one—try to compromise…in bed.”

  Rina and Kris exploded into fits of hysterical laughter. Cely tossed her head defiantly. “Even if I had a loved one in bed, I sure as hell wouldn’t compromise.”

  “Oh, believe me, we’re well aware,” Rina said as she and Kris continued to laugh. Kris had pulled off her glasses and was dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. Cely hadn’t even wanted to share food with them when they’d first become friends. She was a true diva. Neither of them could imagine Cely not getting her way in bed.

  Han came back with their receipts, apologizing again for the wait as they reassured him it was fine. They each tipped well over twenty percent on their checks and exchanged hugs as they parted ways in the parking lot.

  Chapter Three

  Rina walke
d into her apartment and slipped off her heels as she tossed her purse onto the couch. The apartment had seemed way too empty this past week. Maybe she’d get a cat. Having grown up with them, cats have always held a special place in her heart, but Jeremy had said he was allergic. Somehow that had been her fault, too.

  “Now what?” she said to her reflection in the entryway mirror.

  She decided to check her email. She’d been putting it off for way too long, not wanting to see notifications about Jeremy on various social media sites. But seeing that he’d become engaged to someone else almost immediately after breaking up with her made her determined to delete anything related to that loser out of her life. She grabbed her laptop and sat down on her couch.

  “One hundred thirty three new emails?” She groaned, then gritted her teeth. She knew she’d feel better once she was done.

  “Delete, delete, spam, read you later, delete…” Ten minutes and one piece of cookies and cream polvorón later, she’d managed to whittle her inbox down to about fifty emails. The cleaning process was making her feel better, but she did feel a little stab at her heart every time she saw “Jeremy has updated his status…” before chucking those emails into the trash.

  One email in particular caught her eye. The subject line read, “Congratulations on winning the grand prize!” She’d almost marked it as spam, but her spam filters were pretty efficient and had ignored this e-mail regardless. Curiosity got the best of her. If it was nothing, it’d take her two seconds to toss it in the trash.

  “Holy shit,” she said as she scanned the e-mail. “Is this for real?”

  A few months ago she’d entered a contest online for a trip for her and two others to an oceanside resort, complete with a shopping spree and makeover for the winner. She knew the odds of her winning were astronomical, but she’d entered anyway. She’d told Jeremy about it as she typed in her info, saying it would be a fun and romantic vacation for them if she won.