Review & Excerpt – All Our Tomorrows by Catherine Bybee
Synopsis
When Chase Stone’s estranged father dies, leaving his multibillion-dollar business to his children, no one is more surprised than he. Growing up outside of the high-stakes world filled with human vultures, Chase and his sister, Alex, are less than enthusiastic about stepping into their father’s shoes. That is until they learn of a half-brother they didn’t know existed and must find to share their inheritance with.
Piper Maddox was the elder Mr. Stone’s übercapable assistant—abruptly fired two weeks before his death. She knows everything about Stone Enterprises and the man who built it. But Piper has no desire to work for another member of the Stone family. Even one as down to earth as Chase.
Desperately needing financial security, Piper agrees to return so long as kissing up to Chase and accepting unwanted advances were not part of her job description. A task that becomes a serious hurdle for both of them. Piper and Chase scramble to find the third Stone sibling before the media does, sharing secrets along the way. Secrets that can bring them together or tear them irrevocably apart.
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Review
I always enjoy Catherine’s books, but this book I LOVED! I think it was a combination of the characters, witty banter, and finding love despite the circumstances. And the ending? Way to leave me hanging, Catherine! I now cannot wait to read the next book or two.
I loved Piper’s character. She may have had a rough start at the beginning of the book due to circumstances beyond her control, but she knows how to get things done, and she is exactly what Chase and Alex need as an assistant in the company. It isn’t their fault that their father was your typical womanizer. I never understood why men with money seem to think they have their own set of rules.
Chase is hit hard by Cupid when it comes to Piper. He doesn’t realize it at first until a conversation with his friend Jack puts it all into perspective. Chase and Piper have a mutual attraction that they fight, but I am glad they don’t resist for too long.
Not all of the characters are nice. There is the widow, Melissa, who is your typical gold digger and doesn’t like the will’s contents. There are some board members of the company that Chase and Alex take over that have suspicious agendas. There is even the lawyer who has me perplexed. Is he trying to find the elusive half-brother? What is his agenda? Only future books will give us that answer.
As I originally stated, I LOVED this book and was very sad when it ended. But it just leaves me wanting to read more, and I can’t wait to find out who is next in the series. Is it Alex finding her love match, or is it the half-brother?
Pick up and read this book; you won’t be disappointed. We give it 5 paws up.
Excerpt
Piper shoved her hand into the sleeve of a clean shirt she was folding, right as her phone rang.
The number displayed from the caller twisted in her gut like a knife.
She reached down, her arms still engulfed in the shirt, and silenced her phone. “Go away,” she said out loud.
With her shirt right-side out, she proceeded to fold it with short, angry movements. It was the middle of a workday. One that she shouldn’t be home folding laundry and worrying about how she was going to pay her upcoming rent.
Her phone rang again, only seconds from when she silenced it.
Piper snatched it off the side of the sofa, ready to silence it again.
Only this time, Julia’s name appeared.
Piper slid the answer button over, put the phone on speaker, and spoke without so much as a hello. “I told you not to call me from the office line.”
“I know,” her friend said in a voice that lifted a full octave above normal. “Sorry. I’m distracted.”
Piper looked at her pile of laundry and huffed. “Me too. I’m completely overwhelmed.”
“Turn on the news.”
“I don’t watch the—”
“Channel five. Hurry. They broke for a commercial but they’re coming back.”
Piper dropped her folded shirt on top of the pile and reached for the TV remote. “Is this about him?”
“The whole office is buzzing. Well, those of us that are here today.”
The TV flashed to life, and the local news station was selected. “Let me guess, he didn’t die of natural causes after all.”
“You think someone killed him?” Julia asked with a short laugh.
The tail end of a commercial suggesting the latest antidepressant could be a life changer for you greeted Piper as she changed the channel. “I think he pissed off plenty of people. I wouldn’t be surprised if foul play is determined.”
The afternoon news crew led in with a welcome and a smile.
“What am I looking for here?” Piper asked. “They’re covering his funeral.”
That wasn’t a surprise. “So.”
“The camera’s zeroed in on his kids.”
Piper sat on the arm of her sofa and turned up the volume on the TV. “You mean his adult children.”
“Still his kids.”
Considering Piper had worked with Stone Enterprises for seven years, the last five as the executive secretary to Aaron Stone, and never seen the man’s children, she was interested enough to watch the images on the screen.
The news anchor led into the story with a graphic of Stone’s image overlaying a picture of the hotel’s logo, along with the man’s birth date and death date boldly placed at the bottom of the screen.
“Are you watching?” Julia asked.
“Yeah.”
The news crew captured several people leaving the church where Aaron Stone’s funeral had taken place.
Melissa, the trophy wife, was hard to miss. Perfect hair, perfect dress, and flanked by people Piper had never seen. Behind her followed a tall man with dark, almost wavy short hair, stern jaw, and lifeless expression.
“Do you see him?”
“The guy behind Melissa?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s the son?” Piper asked.
“Chase Stone.”
“He looks like an asshole.”
“Oh my God. He’s gorgeous. How can you say that?”
“If you like ’em tall, dark, and brooding.”
About the Author
Catherine is a #1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and Indie Reader bestselling author. In addition, her books have also graced The New York Times and USA Today bestsellers lists. In total, she has written thirty-six beloved books that have collectively sold more than 8 million copies and have been translated into more than twenty languages.
Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full time and has penned The Not Quite series, The Weekday Brides series, The Most Likely To series, and The First Wives series.
