Summer Magic: Part of the Summers in Seaside Series, page 14
“Why isn’t she going?” I ask.
“Apparently, things came to a head with Carson. He caught her in another lie––something stupid, I don’t know––and he called her out on it. She called him a dick, and then Taylor’s husband got involved in the argument! Chelsea said it was a real shitshow, which ended with Taylor telling Carson that she will not attend their wedding.”
“Wow,” I say, trying to wipe the smile off my face. I feel bad about Carson’s relationship with his sister. I always thought he was a nice guy, and we always got along back when Taylor and I were together. But it’s a relief to know that my lying ex-girlfriend will not be in Vegas when we are. That’s a weight off my back!
“I’m excited to go to Vegas,” Olivia says, placing her hand on my knee.
“I am, too. It’ll be fun to get away with you. Especially somewhere fun like Vegas!” I lean over and kiss her briefly on the lips.
The movers continue to bring new furniture into the house, and I tell them which room to put it in.
“I love this place,” Olivia says. “I’m so glad this is the house you bought.”
“Me, too,” I reply. “It’s perfect in every way. It’s right on the beach, close to town, not too far away from you, and it has the yellow door.”
Olivia smiles. The yellow door drew me to this house in the first place. My mom once told me that she would love to have a house on the beach with a warm, welcoming, sunny yellow front door. When I saw the listing for this house, it instantly reminded me of her. It made me feel as if this house was meant to be mine, and it turned out to be the perfect house for me.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Olivia says, resting her head on my shoulder.
“I am, too, babe. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
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Come along to Vegas for Chelsea and Carson’s wedding in the upcoming novel, Playing Vegas, coming November 14, 2022! Stone and Olivia will make an appearance, while Brianne discovers that Chelsea’s little brother isn’t so little anymore…
Preorder Playing Vegas now: https://books2read.com/u/mZQ0Ve
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AND find out what happened to Stone’s sister Celeste in the upcoming Kiss & Tell Anthology coming September 6, 2022! Celeste’s short story will be included in this multi-author new adult college romance!
Preorder Kiss & Tell now: Books2read.com/kissNtell
Also by C.L. Collier
What I Never Knew Series
What I Never Knew
What I Never Knew I Wanted
What I Never Knew I Needed
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Discovering Us Series
Stacking the Deck
Finding Our Rhythm
Worthy of Love
Meant to Be
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The Vagabond Series
Passion in Paris
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The Salvation Society
Harbor
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Visit C.L. Collier’s web site
The Summers in Seaside Series
Summer Salvation by Rebecca Gallo
https://books2read.com/u/4DP8Qd
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Summer of Thrills by Ellie Isaacson
https://books2read.com/SummerofThrills
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Summer Shivers by Denise Wells
https://books2read.com/u/4jga82
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One Wild Summer by Amy Stephens
http://books2read.com/onewildsummer
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Summer Swoon by Tina Gallagher
books2read.com/u/bPyBLr
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Summer of Chloe by Cata Ree
http://smarturl.it/SummerofChloe
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Summer Job by Jo Richardson
https://books2read.com/SummerJobStory
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Only for the Summer by Shannon O’Connor
https://books2read.com/only-for-the-summer
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Summer Solstice by Jami Denise
https://books2read.com/u/47Yggj
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Summer Sounds by Mel Walker
https://books2read.com/summersounds
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Finding Summer by Cassandra Cripps
https://books2read.com/u/b5XLGG
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Booked for the Summer by Monica Misho-Grems
https://books2read.com/Bookedforthesummer
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Summer Escapades by Barb Shuler & KA Graham
https://books2read.com/SummerEscapades
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The Summer Dare by Amanda Shelley
https://books2read.com/SummerDare
Coming Soon from C.L. Collier
Together We Stand Anthology - preorder now - available August 24, 2022
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Kiss & Tell Anthology - preorder now - available September 6, 2022
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Let’s Get Naughty Anthology - preorder now - available November 1, 2022
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Playing Vegas - preorder now - available November 14, 2022
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XOXO: Limited Edition Romance Anthology - preorder now - available February 1, 2023
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C.L. Collier’s newsletter - Stay tuned for more!
Acknowledgments
I would like to acknowledge all of the authors of the Summers in Seaside Series! Thanks for taking a chance on this series, as well as Amanda Shelley and me as series leaders! When Amanda first came to me with the idea for Summers in Seaside, I fell in love and hoped others would fall in love with the idea, too. I think we’ve created an amazingly fun and diverse series–and we hope it will continue with more books in the future!
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I would also like to acknowledge a few inspirations I had for Summer Magic…
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First, the Sandy Shore Inn was inspired by two different places: Crow Haven Corner in Salem, Massachusetts and the Old Consulate Inn in Port Townsend, Washington. I had the pleasure of staying at Crow Haven Corner back in October 2019. I fell in love with the ambiance of the historic home, which is not only known as the Oldest Witch Shop in Salem, but it’s also home to Lorelei’s Witch House–a luxury AirB&B. Yes, the real Lorelei also helped inspire Aunt Lorelei in Summer Magic, although I made the book character a little different… there’s no duplicating Lorelei of Crow Haven Corner–she’s a wonderfully caring and unique human being (and I never once saw her wearing a caftan dress)! I can’t wait to travel back to Salem someday and stay at Crow Haven Corner again! You can see Lorelei’s Witch House at Crow Haven Corner, which was the inspiration for the interior of the Sandy Shore Inn (there’s also a video featuring the real Lorelei) here: https://www.crowhavencorner.com/airbnb
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The second inspiration for the Sandy Shore Inn is a B&B I’ve never actually stayed at, although I’ve driven past and seen many pictures of before. The Old Consulate Inn is in Port Townsend, Washington, which is one my favorite towns in all of the Pacific Northwest! In fact, I love the town so much, it was the setting of another one of my books, Harbor. You can see the beautiful and historic Old Consulate Inn, which is what I imagined the exterior of the Sandy Shore Inn to look like here: https://oldconsulate.com/
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Music is a huge inspiration for me, and at the time of writing this book, I was listening to a lot of Biffy Clyro, so I had to mention the band in the story. If you’ve never heard of Biffy Clyro, they’re a rock band from Scotland. While they sell out arenas in the UK, they’re a little known band here in the US. My boyfriend and I discovered their music–surprisingly–on MTV (they do still play music sometimes)! Anyway, if you enjoy rock music, you should check them out! https://www.biffyclyro.com/
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I hope you enjoyed reading Summer Magic as much as I enjoyed writing it! Seaside, Oregon is a fun destination for my family, and since it’s only a couple of hours away from where we live, we go as often as we can. If you ever find yourself in the beautiful seaside town, I highly recommend staying at the Gilbert Inn. I discovered this B&B the last time my daughter and I visited Seaside, and we had a wonderful stay at this historic home! It was within walking distance to the beach, as well as only a block away from the main drag in town. I was already at least halfway finished with Summer Magic by the time we stayed here, so it didn’t really inspire anything for the book, but it’s still a pretty awesome find in Seaside! You can check out the Gilbert Inn, as well as pictures of Seaside, Oregon here on their web site: https://www.gilbertinn.com/
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Thanks for reading!
About the Author
C.L. Collier lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She was raised in the Seattle area, and although she lives closer to Portland, Oregon now, she frequently visits the hometown she loves. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading, watching her favorite sports teams, spending time with her family, or going to concerts. She likes her music loud, wine and coffee sweet, and her books steamy.
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Click here to visit CL Collier’s web site!
C.L. Collier, Summer Magic: Part of the Summers in Seaside Series
