Mischief Maker Read online

  Table of Contents

  Blurb

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  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

  About the Author

  By Andi Lee

  Visit Dreamspinner Press

  Copyright

  Mischief Maker

  By Andi Lee

  An Animal Lark Novel

  What to expect when your pet rat is expecting, or how to fall in love at a pet show.

  Jamie Hewett rescues and breeds prize-winning fancy rats. While he’s surrounded by supportive, animal-loving friends, his ex-boyfriend has never been one of them. One embarrassing breakup later, he definitely isn’t looking for love again, but perhaps a rebound relationship might ease his broken heart.

  Liam Donnelly’s quirky dating life is the subject of a popular vlog, and his viewers have interesting ideas on where he might find romance. When they suggest he take Mabel, his new rat, to a pet show, he’s up for the adventure.

  Although they can’t deny their growing interest in each other, neither Jamie nor Liam believes in love at first sight. They’ve both had bad luck with men, and Jamie isn’t pleased that Liam makes a living as a serial dater. On top of that, others are conspiring to keep them apart, and Jamie is left holding the baby—or twenty-plus babies—when their fur children have no trouble making a connection. Will a YouTube ukulele serenade convince Liam that Jamie’s love for him—and their unborn rat children—is for real?

  To Jean-Claude and Asher, the best of rats, and to The Five, the best of friends. Also to my parents for always believing in me.

  Acknowledgements

  FIRSTLY TO TA Moore, who convinced me that people would read a story about two men falling in love at a rat show. I’m not sure this would ever have been more than an idea without her not-so-gentle prodding! To Justine, who took me bat detecting many years ago and also helped me flesh out Jamie’s career. To the organisers of the UKMeet for putting together such an amazing event with so many opportunities. I don’t think I’d be here without it. And finally a huge thank-you to everyone at Dreamspinner for being so welcoming and taking a chance on me and my rat-loving boys.

  Chapter One

  A GROUP of Rats is Called a Mischief

  Zombie Brum City

  L_ofa_Ride

  223K Views. 8 days ago

  Liam barely remembered a time when his vlog wasn’t the most important thing in his life. As friends settled down into nine-to-five jobs and found partners, his life became less ordinary—just the way he liked it. If he ever felt a twinge of dissatisfaction, he would check how many new subscribers he had and scroll through his comments. His life was fun.

  He used his phone camera to check his appearance. His hair was too perfect, so he ruffled it with one hand until it fell into his eyes. When he deemed it tousled enough, he nodded, switched over to video mode, and pressed play.

  “Two words,” he said in the conspiring tone he used to draw his viewers in and create intimacy. “Escape Room.”

  His vlogging camera was a Panasonic Lumix, but when he was out and about, he liked the effect he got when he edited the lower spec on his phone into footage from the Lumix. It gave it a fake-reporter vibe.

  “In hindsight I shouldn’t have taken a hookup I met on Quirky Gay Guys to Zombie Brum City.” He winked. “I know what you’re all saying—he’s had worse dates. I have indeed had worse dates, but never have I ever let my date get eaten by zombies.” He exaggerated each movement and bit at his lips, knowing his viewers would eat it up. It was a look he’d practiced in the mirror, so he knew it was good.

  Liam’s mom called him flighty, and his dad said he was blessed with the pretty gene and would settle down eventually. Liam didn’t know about that. He’d never found a man he wanted for more than one night. And it wasn’t like he hadn’t tried.

  Zombie Brum City was an escape room in Digbeth, just ten minutes from Birmingham City centre. Digbeth had been in development since the Bullring opened years earlier, but it was still mostly full of abandoned factories and derelict buildings. The warehouse was easy to overlook from the road. It wasn’t any different from the other buildings—tall, red bricked, with broken windows held together by nothing more than dirt and age. The Zombie Brum City sign was rusted and had a fake bullet hole and a bloody handprint—not much different at all.

  Liam sat on the toilet in a cubicle. It wasn’t an actual escape room, just an average toilet painted to look like zombies were pulling open the doors and their decaying fingers had left bloody marks along the edge. It was a little off-putting.

  There was no one else in there, but he whispered anyway. “It turns out they frown upon people getting busy in their rooms. And my date didn’t enjoy being sacrificed to the zombies. But hey, in a zombie apocalypse, it’s every man for himself. Wait… shit, did you hear that?” He hadn’t heard anything, but he gave the camera a shake. “Shit.”

  He unlocked the door, peered around, and tiptoed out into the corridor.

  “All clear. I should try to get out of here.”

  To be fair, the night wasn’t all a lie. He had found his date on an app called Quirky Gay Guys, he did get caught getting a blow job, and he did sacrifice his date to the zombie gods. And he was almost home free when he rounded the corner and saw his date—he should try to remember his name—at the other end of the room.

  “Oi,” he shouted as he strode toward Liam, eyes blazing.

  “Oh shit,” Liam said into his phone, unable to contain his excitement. It was too good. He ran toward the doors, camera pointing at his feet. Then he crashed into two guys just outside. Flailing in an attempt to regain his balance, he grabbed on to the nearest person.

  The man tried to keep them both upright, but they teetered sideways, arms and legs tangling as they crashed to the ground. Liam couldn’t stop the fall, but he was able to twist at the last minute so he landed underneath.

  His head hit the gravel, which made his eyes water, and he had less than a second before the stranger landed on top of him and pushed the air from his lungs with an oof. The man’s curly brown hair ended up in his mouth, and his knee was dangerously close to Liam’s balls as he scrambled on top of Liam, trying to get up.

  He let out a stream of curses as he got to his feet, his friend steadying him. “Are you okay, darling?” the friend asked.

  Liam froze, still on the ground, but not because he was hurt.

  “I’m fine,” the brunet said as he patted dirt off his clothes. He glared down at Liam. “You should watch where you’re going.”

  Liam managed to suck in air through smiling lips and slowly sat up. “Sorry. It was an emergency.” He looked around to see if he was still being chased.

  The back of his head throbbed, and he gingerly pressed it with his fingers to see if he was bleeding.

  “
He’s hurt.” The other guy bent down toward him and moved his hand away so he could look. He parted Liam’s hair and felt around the knot that was forming there.

  “Serves himself right.” The man he’d run into folded his arms and looked out into the traffic across the carpark. Liam watched him with interest. He found his grumpiness endearing, and the grumpier he appeared, the more amused Liam became. Perhaps he’d hit his head harder than he originally thought.

  “You’re not bleeding, and your brain isn’t leaking from your ears, darling. Any double vision?”

  Liam shook his head but then wished he hadn’t. “Are you a doctor?” There was something in the way he touched Liam’s head that showed more knowledge than the average person.

  The man gave a soft laugh and stood up. “You could say that. I’m a vet.” He held out his hand to Liam and pulled him up. The other guy was still looking anywhere but at them.

  “Well, thanks for the checkup.” Liam looked to the other man and said, “I really am sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

  He gave a grunt, looked back for a second, and stormed off through the doors. Liam watched him, and when his gaze flickered to the guy’s tight arse, he smiled. Mr Grumpy was cute. A coil of affection tightened in his belly, and laughter bubbled from his lips as he remembered their tangled limbs and the look of annoyance that had crossed his face.

  “Thanks again,” he said.

  The vet gave him a salute and then said, “No problem. I had to make sure you weren’t too hurt.” He nodded toward the door, and Liam looked up, eyes connecting with Mr Grumpy through the glass. He bit back a smiled. “Don’t worry about him, he’s in a bit of a mood. Ta-ra a bit.” Then he turned around to go inside.

  JAMIE GROUND his teeth together and stood impatiently in the reception, waiting for Dane. The man behind the counter was talking animatedly to another guy, and they both ignored him, which suited Jamie just fine. He stepped toward a poster on the opposite wall and pretended to read it, but he couldn’t take in the information. He fished out his mobile from his pocket. Nothing from Paul, not a text or a missed call. Nothing.

  This was meant to be a fun night out, something different than going to the pub and getting drunk like usual, but it had all gone to shit. It hurt that it was his boyfriend and best friend who had blown him off. If it was a night at the village, they’d be the first there. He tried to push down the pain and annoyance and stared toward the door. At least Dane was there—even if he was hitting on that dickhead. The glow of a streetlamp showed them talking and laughing, and the annoyance he’d tried to swallow came back up again.

  Jamie rolled his eyes. Typical Dane, hitting on any pretty boy he found. He’d be fighting zombies alone at this rate. He glared through the glass, and as if he could feel the daggers he was shooting his way, the stranger looked up, and their eyes connected. A crackle of something—awareness, anger, Jamie wasn’t sure—shot through him, and he had to drag his eyes away.

  He needed to get a grip. He wasn’t usually so highly strung, but Paul had been acting strange for a while, and he didn’t know what to do about it. The door slid open, and Dane stepped over the threshold. Jamie sighed in relief. Finally.

  “Done flirting?” Jamie asked. He sounded childish to his own ears, but he couldn’t stop the words falling from his mouth.

  Dane laughed and flung an arm around his shoulders, which made it hard for him to stay mad. “You are in such a mood tonight, darling. I was just making sure he wasn’t concussed.”

  “What about me? I’m the one he crashed into.” Jamie looked down at his jeans that still had dirt and gravel clinging to the knees. Dane bent down and made a show of brushing the dirt off until Jamie’s lips twitched in an attempt at a smile and he stepped back.

  “Happy now? You need to lighten up. It’s not every day a gorgeous hot stranger ploughs into you.” Dane wiggled his eyebrows and licked his lips.

  “You are disgusting.” Jamie pushed him away playfully. “I didn’t notice what he looked like. I was too busy trying not to break a leg, thank you very much. We are going to be so late for our session.”

  “No need to be pissy with me. I’m not the one you’re mad at, darling. I’m here, aren’t I? I swapped night shifts at the practice, so I’m going to be working double weekends for you.”

  Jamie winced, realising what a selfish bastard he was being. He sometimes forgot not everyone had the luxury of picking their hours like he did. Dane swapping shifts meant he wouldn’t be able to go out partying on the weekend because he’d have to stay at the veterinary surgery to look after the animals staying overnight.

  “I’m sorry, I appreciate it, I really do. I’m glad you’re here.” He forced a large smile over his face, though he was sure Dane didn’t buy it. “Shall we see if we can survive a horde of zombies?”

  Dane tipped back his head and laughed. “Darling, I thought you’d never ask.” Jamie held out his arm, and Dane linked his with Jamie’s as they walked over to the two men at the reception desk and interrupted their conversation.

  Chapter Two

  MR LIAM Donnelly,

  Miss Alison Thorn and Mr Frank Hamilton request

  the pleasure of your company at their marriage.

  Liam threw his jacket over the back of the sofa and flipped the invitation in his hands. No plus-one? That was odd. Maybe it was a mistake. He only spoke to his cousin last week, and nothing was mentioned then.

  He needed a cuppa. He’d spent the whole day giving back-to-back driving lessons, and he was knackered. He filled the kettle, and while he waited for it to boil, he looked in on Mabel.

  “Hey, girl, did you have a good day?” He shook a tin of treats and grinned when she twitched her nose at him and launched herself at the bars. Mabel was a tart for a yoghurt drop. She reached out to him with one humanlike paw, and he placed a treat in it. Then she ran off and hid it in her bed.

  He fell in love with Mabel at a pet shop a few weeks ago when he went to buy a dog to show his family and friends he could be responsible. Apparently puppies in pet shop windows were a myth, but he saw hamsters, rabbits, and rats. Mabel was in the adoption section all alone, and she’d looked at him with her black eyes. It was love.

  Once she’d eaten her treat, she came back out and demanded cuddles. He opened the door, and she ran up his arm to his shoulder. “Who’s a good girl? Now I wonder what the hell Frank is playing at? Shall we ask Auntie Bethan if she knows what’s going on?”

  Mabel settled down. He grabbed his phone and opened FaceTime, hoping Beth would answer. She answered quickly, and he could tell she was in her dorm room at uni. There were other people with her, so she stood quickly and put her hand up so he’d wait before speaking.

  What’s up, fat face? She signed at him using BSL. He rolled his eyes and gave her the middle finger. Both Beth and their mother were profoundly deaf, and he’d learned British Sign Language from birth, so it was second nature to him. The invention of Skype and FaceTime meant it was so much easier for them to stay in touch now she was away at uni. They were able to do more than just text each other, which was very handy, especially when he had a very important question.

  Did you get an invitation from Frank and Alice?

  She nodded. They sent it to Mom and Dad’s.

  Did you get a plus-one? Liam said.

  I did. I’m taking my boyfriend. Why?

  Liam cursed out loud. How could they do that? Beth didn’t deserve a plus-one. She was practically a child. Frank didn’t give me a plus-one.

  Beth grinned and laughed. It was the only sound she made. He waited impatiently for her to look at him again, and he gave her two fingers, which just made her laugh harder. His family sucked. You suck, he signed, then pressed End.

  “Shall we go around to Frank and Alice’s and have it out?” he asked Mabel. She ground her teeth happily, and he took that as a yes. “By us I mean me. You can have another treat, though.”

  FRANK AND Alice had been living together for eight years,
and they owned a nice semidetached house in Sutton Coldfield, not too far from Lockstone, where Liam and the rest of Frank’s family lived.

  Liam drummed his fingers against the sides of his thighs as he waited at the door. What was taking so long? Frank finally answered with a smile that quickly dropped when he realised it was Liam.

  “Oh. Hi. I see you got the invitation?”

  Liam rolled his eyes, pushed past him, and marched straight to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee and eat all the good biscuits. Tea wouldn’t cut it this time.

  “What the hell, Frankie?” He purposefully used the childhood nickname to rub in their shared history.

  Frank was a tall, bulky guy who played rugby and had one cauliflower ear that he hid beneath his shaggy mop of hair. He towered over Liam, who wasn’t short by any means, but he’d never been intimidated by the huge lump, and he wasn’t going to start now.

  “You gave my sister a plus-one, but not me?”

  “I told Alice you’d notice that.”

  “I don’t get it. Why did Beth get a plus-one and I didn’t?”

  “It’s because we don’t trust you not to use our wedding in your vlog, bab. You’re the best man—you need to be respectful,” Alice said, and he jumped as she walked into the kitchen behind him. She pressed a kiss to his cheek to show she wasn’t mad.

  He didn’t think it was wise to tell her he didn’t need to have a plus-one to hook up at their wedding. In fact, a date might rein him in.

  “I wouldn’t do that to you guys.” Although it would have gotten great views.

  Frank gave him an affectionate shove over the table and stole a custard cream. “Didn’t you do that at Uncle Kev’s wedding last year? I’m sure that’s why they emigrated to America. He’s still having flashbacks of you banging the waiter behind the bins.”

  Liam groaned. He was never going to live that down. “What groom takes out his own rubbish?”