Dreaming of You, page 22
"All right." She untied the bow and peeled the tape off, taking care not to rip the paper. It fell away, and she found herself looking at a small silver key. "What is it?"
"The key to my heart."
She rolled her eyes. "No, really?"
"It's a key to my apartment," he said, watching for her reaction. "Move in with me, Riss. I know you liked that storefront we looked at the other day. Buy it and come be with me. I'll make it worth your while. How do naked Sundays sound? I'll cook you brunch and give you orgasms."
She flushed, and her insides turned to goo at the prospect of spending idyllic weekends lolling about in bed with him. She'd never dared to hope for anything so wonderful before he came along. Shifting cities wouldn’t be easy, but she'd already discussed a partnership arrangement with Leo, and he was on board.
"Yes," she said, loving the smile that quirked his lips and told her he was as blissfully happy as she. "On one condition."
"I can do naked Tuesdays too, but only at home. If I started at work, Sterling would have my head."
She giggled. "I'm not sharing you with everyone at the office. My condition is, I want everything with you. I want to meet your other friends, spend my free time with you, maybe marry you one day and have that family we talked about.”
He seemed to think about it. Her stomach dropped to her shoes. But then he grinned. "The only problem I have with that is the 'maybe' you put in front of marrying and having kids. I definitely want that with you, however we’re able to get it."
Relief rushed through her, followed closely by a wave of affection. God, she loved this playful man. She told him as much.
"And you make my heart beat, love," he replied, nuzzling her ear. "You give me hope again. Come on, there's a party happening. Let's go find the cake." Twining her hand with his, he led her toward the sound of Christmas carols and laughter.
More than that, he led her toward their future. Together.
* * *
**********
* * *
Can’t get enough of Sterling? Read Then There Was You and see him fall head over heels for the last woman he expects.
Look on the next page for a sneak peek, or grab it for FREE here: books2read.com/then-there-was-you-hb
* * *
If you sign up to Alexa’s newsletter, you’ll receive a free copy of Unexpectedly Mine, a heartwarming short romance in the Little Sky world: www.alexarivers.com
Then There Was You – Excerpt
Proposed conditions of sale:
1. Purchase of land is to the value of two million dollars.
2. The existing lodge cannot be demolished within ten years of sale.
3. No more than twenty people may be accommodated on the property at any time.
4. The waterfall trail must be maintained for visitor access.
5. The cabin may continue to be tenanted by Tione Kingi and his dogs (Trevor, Zee, Bella, and Pixie) for as long as they wish to stay.
6. The purchaser accepts responsibility for the care and feeding of the cat who lives beneath the lodge for the remainder of its natural life.
7. Any attractive male guest may be required, upon invitation from the Bridge Club, to attend one of their weekly gatherings (shirt optional, but not recommended).
* * *
Sterling Knight scanned the ridiculous list of demands he’d received from Katarina Hopa, who owned the beachfront lodge his company wanted to acquire, and returned to item seven, raising a brow. He wondered who was responsible for determining whether a man met the criteria for being “attractive”—and also what drug Mrs. Hopa had been under the influence of when she’d penned this letter.
If he agreed to her conditions of sale, the property would be rendered useless. His boss wouldn’t be able to develop it, and Sterling wouldn’t be able to prove how worthy he was of the great responsibility bestowed upon him. He shifted in the seat of his car, took a pen from his shirt pocket, and tapped each item in turn. Were there any he could accept?
For starters, the market value of the land was only a quarter of what she’d requested. He’d stopped by the place on the way to the cafe where he was scheduled to meet her in five minutes, and the building wasn’t in great condition. He couldn’t leave it standing because it would be an eyesore to the wealthy clientele he intended to attract.
Number three, he could work with. Keeping a resort on the smaller side would add to its perceived exclusivity. Number four was also a possibility, although he hadn’t seen the trail, so he didn’t know what he’d be working with. Still, having private access to a waterfall would be another drawcard for guests. Demand number five was impossible, as was six. If they demolished the lodge, the cat would be homeless. He’d do the right thing, though, and have someone catch the creature and take it to a shelter. Maybe this Tione guy. He sounded like he’d know how to deal with a cat.
He eyed the seventh request, rapping the pen against the paper as he thought. Who were the Bridge Club, and why did they want access to handsome guests? The whole thing sounded shady to him. Quite possibly illegal. He put a strike through the words, then tucked the paper into his pocket, adjusted his suit, grabbed his briefcase, and climbed out of the company car, locking it behind him. Haven Bay seemed like a safe little town, but hundreds of tourists passed through each day, and he wasn’t taking any chances.
He made his way into the town square, a cobblestoned area speckled with old-fashioned streetlamps like something out of a quaint English village, and searched for Cafe Oasis, where Mrs. Hopa had asked to meet him. Spotting it on the opposite side of the square, he made his way past a bronze statue of a man with a surfboard and pushed his way in.
A doorbell chimed as he entered, and he only just managed not to flinch in surprise—it had been a long time since he’d heard anything of the kind since they weren’t popular in busier Auckland stores. The café’s interior was charming, he supposed, if you liked wooden floors and patterned wallpaper. He didn’t see anyone who looked like he believed Mrs. Hopa would, and he was debating whether to order coffee when the table nearest him fell silent, six gray-haired ladies turning to stare with expressions ranging from curious to hostile.
One of them, a cherub-cheeked biddy in a pink tracksuit, slowly rose and shuffled over. She was less than five feet tall, but her piercing blue eyes skewered him, threatening all kinds of harm that should have made him laugh, but oddly sent a cold shiver down his spine.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Knight,” she said in a tone that wouldn’t have been out of place in a face-off from an old western movie. He half expected a tumbleweed to blow by.
“Mrs. Hopa?” he asked, surprised. With a name like Katarina Hopa, he’d expected someone a little younger and a little more Maori.
“No.” The old woman’s voice was steely, her apricot lips pursed together. “I’m Betty. I represent Mrs. Hopa.”
“Oh.” He glanced back over at the table she’d come from. “Is she here?”
“I’m afraid not.” Betty crossed her arms, scowling up at him. “You’ll be dealing with us today.”
“No offense, ma’am, but I prefer to deal directly with my business contacts rather than an intermediary.”
“Too bad.” Her eyes narrowed. “If I’ve learned anything in all my years, it’s that we don’t always get what we want. As far as you’re concerned, today we are Mrs. Hopa. We have her best interests at heart, and to be blunt, she doesn’t want or need to speak to you.” Then she took him by the arm, led him to her cronies, and claimed the last proper chair, leaving him with a stool that had no back and was half a foot shorter than the others.
He suppressed a laugh. The wily woman was trying Psychology 101 tricks to put him at a disadvantage. “Nice to meet you all,” he said, nodding to each person in turn. “I’m Sterling Knight, and I represent Lockwood Holdings.”
“We know who you are,” one of them snapped, leaning across to glare at him. The set of her jaw and folds of her face reminded him of a bull terrier. “Tell us what you want.”
He sat back. “Aren’t you going to introduce yourselves to me?”
“No,” the old bulldog growled. “That’s not pertinent to this conversation. Tell us why you want Kat’s property.”
Judging from the determined expressions around the table, he wouldn’t be making any ground until he gave them something to work with. That was fine by him. All negotiations required a bit of give on both sides.
“My employer would like to purchase Mrs. Hopa’s property for a competitive price to redevelop the site into a five-star resort.”
There was a collective gasp, then something thumped him in the chest, knocking the air from his lungs. He folded, clutching his ribs and hauling in oxygen to replenish what he’d lost. Once he’d recovered enough to straighten, he searched for whatever it was that had struck him.
A purple purse sat on his lap. Someone had thrown it at him with enough force to wind him. He rubbed his chest, wincing. Damn, these women were stronger than they appeared.
“Who did that?” No one so much as fidgeted in their seat. He held the purse up. “I’ll ask again. Who does this belong to?”
Betty snatched the purse from him and passed it to the woman on her other side, staring at him as though he were a rattlesnake. “Dear god,” she said, appalled. “First you say you want to tear down Sanctuary, then you hold poor Nell’s purse hostage. What sort of monster are you?”
“I wouldn’t have damaged anything,” he said in his own defense, not that any of them believed him. No matter. He knew the truth. He may be ruthless when the situation called for it, but he’d never harmed a senior citizen, and he wasn’t about to start now.
“You actually want to demolish our beautiful Sanctuary?” another lady asked, her lower lip quivering.
Sanctuary, he’d learned, was what Mrs. Hopa had named her partially renovated lodge. It was obscure and strange, in his opinion. Not at all a good marketing tactic. He kept his mouth shut, knowing it wouldn’t be wise to voice his thoughts.
“Not necessarily. The building could be relocated to another site, but we’d construct the new resort from scratch.”
“Move Sanctuary?” the bulldog demanded. “Just how do you expect anyone to do that?”
“It’s quite straightforward these days.” He ran a finger along the edge of his tie and adjusted his collar. The conversation was veering dangerously off topic. “I’d really prefer to speak to Katarina about this directly.”
Betty puffed up like an angry poodle. “There’s no need for you to bother her with your crazy plans. Darling Kat has enough on her plate, and luckily she has us to keep the likes of you away from her.”
He tried a different tack. “Let’s be reasonable. I can see that Sanctuary means a lot to you, but it must be a drain on Katarina’s resources. With the money she’d get from selling the property, she’d be able to start over elsewhere, and my company can help Haven Bay the way I’d like to.”
“Help us?” a plump lady with a silver buzz cut demanded. “How on earth would you be doing that? We’re overrun with tourists as it is. At least the ones we have are friendly. If you bring snobs into town, you’ll ruin what makes the bay special.”
Would he?
He dismissed the thought. Of course not. Things would change, but change meant progress, and progress was a good thing, even if it took people a while to realize it. Just look at what had happened with Eli’s development in Itirangi. Everybody had hated the idea at first, but now it was a stunning success.
“I think you’re being shortsight—ouch!” A heavy coin purse bounced off his shoulder onto the floor.
Betty scrambled to return it to the bulldog across the table before Sterling could get his hands on it. “Nice shot, Mavis,” she said, lobbing it back.
Sterling stood, and kicked his stool away. He battled the urge to yell at them, or throw something. They were frail and more than twice his age—it wouldn’t be fair to retaliate. That didn’t stop his body from heating with frustration. He picked up his suitcase and gripped the handle tightly enough to cut into his palm. He couldn’t believe he’d driven all the way from Auckland only to be treated like scum by these abominable ladies.
“You’re all being incredibly rude,” he huffed, shoving his free hand in his pocket so he didn’t strangle someone with it. As the chief operating officer of a multi-million-dollar corporation, he didn’t have the luxury of wasting hours on fools’ errands. His heart sank at the thought of the mountain of work waiting back in his office, and his throat constricted. He closed his eyes until he’d regained his composure. “You should know better than to behave so poorly at your age.” Then he swung on his heel and made for the door.
Something hit him in the back. He stopped, and turned around ever so slowly, scanning the floor until his gaze fell on a pink purse.
“It’s rude to mention a woman’s age!” one of the she-devils yelled.
He wanted to stomp the purse into the ground. To scoop up the remains and set fire to them. It would serve them right. But he prided himself on taking the high road, so he gritted his teeth, nudged the purse with his foot, and stomped out.
The old ladies had won this round, but he’d be back, and next time he wouldn’t be leaving without Katarina Hopa’s signature on a dotted line.
**********
Download the book for free to keep reading here: books2read.com/then-there-was-you-hb
Love was never part of the plan… Then There Was You…
Sterling Knight understands the value of hard work and financial stability better than anyone. His past certainly taught him that. So he’s determined to prove himself at work by ensuring that his company’s next project—a resort in the small seaside town of Haven Bay—is a huge success. He’s found the perfect piece of land. Now all he has to do is convince the stubborn (and distractingly beautiful) owner to sell.
Katarina Hopa has no intention of ever selling her land to some corporate suit. That land, her sanctuary, is all she has left. But there’s something about Sterling that stirs feelings and desires she thought she’d buried with her husband long ago. Ignoring their intense attraction is impossible. All she can do now is guard her heart against the devastation that’ll happen when everything falls apart. And it will fall apart. Because surely no one gets a second chance at true love… right?
Can Katarina and Sterling overcome the pain of their tragic pasts and clear a path to happily ever after?
* * *
Grab the book for free here: books2read.com/then-there-was-you-hb
He’s big-city successful. She’s small-town sweet. But thanks to one reckless night of passion, these opposites are about to become family.
With her professional reputation in tatters, journalist Aria Simons needs to get back on track. A promotion at her local paper is just the way to do it. She can’t afford distractions—especially not handsome ones like Eli Lockwood. But his plans for a development in her idyllic hometown might be exactly the scoop she’s seeking.
Eli never expected to end up stuck in a tiny lakeside town in the middle of nowhere with his rebellious teen sister. Unfortunately, the only person who can handle the girl is a reporter looking for an exclusive. They strike a deal, but it doesn’t take long before he can’t get the vivacious woman out of his mind.
When one hot night at the beach has lasting consequences, will Aria fight for her ready-made family, or will Eli’s empty childhood make him shut her out…for her own good?
* * *
Grab the book for free here: books2read.com/accidentally-yours
She’s trusted the wrong man too many times. But when she starts a fling with her best friend’s playboy brother, she knows exactly what she’s getting into…right?
Sophie Delaware has chronically bad taste in men. After another disastrous relationship implodes, she’s ready to give up on love. What she needs is a little fun, with no strings attached, and she knows the perfect guy for the job.
Cooper hasn’t had a serious relationship since he returned from military service. He wears his serial dater persona like a cloak and doesn’t speak of the nightmares that plague him. When Sophie proposes two weeks of unadulterated pleasure, he knows he shouldn’t agree, but his little sister’s best friend grew up to be more tempting than he expected.
Before Sophie knows it, Cooper has taken it upon himself to be her one-man support system. He was supposed to be a fling, but there’s more to the dreamy veteran than meets the eye, and now she’s at risk of losing her heart. When it comes time for their affair to end, will she be brave enough to put everything on the line, or will her past get in the way of happily ever after?
* * *
Buy the book here: books2read.com/from-now-until-forever
When Avery’s high school sweetheart is assigned to protect her from a killer, will she decide their love is worth a second chance?
The first heartbreak cuts the deepest. Dr. Avery Brown learned that lesson the hard way, but she’s not the same naïve, disillusioned girl she used to be. She’s older, wiser, and too busy revolutionizing forensic science to indulge in ‘what ifs’.
Sergeant Gareth Wayland never got over his first love. When her laboratory is vandalized and her house is burned to the ground, he’s determined to protect her. If only he could stop being distracted by her rare smile and nimble mind.
