“Better now.” The corner of his mouth kicked up. “Can I come over to you? Or will you sic your llama guards on me?”
“Actually, I’m expecting a tour group at any moment.” She offered up a polite smile. “Sorry.”
Hashtag not sorry.
Because without the barrier of the creek, which really wasn’t much of a barrier, she didn’t trust her self-control as much as she liked. She’d missed him. Crazily so.
He nodded, pursing his lips. His kissable lips—stop it, Karen.
“The thing is, I am your tour group. I booked it out, and your boss said you can finish early.”
“She did, did she?” Sally did have a soft spot for charming young men, and Karen bet Art could win the charming stakes when he put his mind to it.
“It being New Year’s Eve and all. On the cusp of new beginnings and maybe even a little magic.”
Fisting her hands on her hips, Karen narrowed her eyes at him. “Thought you didn’t believe in magic?”
Art stepped onto the first stepping stone. “That was before I met you.”
She snorted, which startled Lady Gaga who had come alongside her to eyeball the stranger for possible snacks. “Yeah, right. Because I had so much influence on you during the five days I was in Tekapo.”
He didn’t respond to this accusation, merely crossed to the next stone, lifting his arms slightly in order to balance. It’d serve him right if he slipped and fell into the creek’s chilly water. Would she help him out? Or laugh along with her llamas?
But he reached the other side without incident, and stalked toward her. Karen backed up a step, bumping into Lady Gaga’s sturdy side, the drama llama’s appetite and curiosity overcoming her fright. A couple of their bolder alpacas, Cher and Tina, crowded around her, effectively hemming her in.
Figuring the best defence was a quick offence, especially when matters of the heart were concerned, Karen channeled the real Cher and Tina Turner attitude. “Thought you were working tonight?”
“I got someone to cover my shift,” he said.
“Why are you here?” Her pulse beat triple-time. She had only a few past failed relationships she could learn from, but logic drew her to the conclusion that Art hadn’t come all this way to break off something they hadn’t officially started. And that set butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
“It’s all Charlie’s fault.”
Huh? Not quite the response she’d expected. “How is you being here your brother’s fault?”
Art took another step toward her, and Tina and Cher arched their graceful necks forward to investigate his pockets.
He laughed—a slightly nervous laugh. “They’re not going for the family jewels, are they?”
She shook her head and he closed the distance between them, taking her hands in his. She looked up into his Lake Tekapo blue eyes, and her grasp of the English language was lost.
“I missed you.” He squeezed her hands, his voice roughened by an unidentifiable emotion.
“I missed you, too.” The words squeezed out in a whispered rush. “But back to Charlie. Is he okay?”
His gaze softened on her face. “He’s fine. My little brother is the smarter of the two of us.”
Charlie who, although he was in a wheelchair, seemed happy, well-adjusted, and head-over-heels in love with his fiancée. “Yeah, I think he is.”
Art grinned, none of his smile’s potency lost in the five days since she’d seen him last. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. Anyway, he called me two days ago and afterward I realized something. If Charlie hadn’t come with me Christmas shopping, if he hadn’t been injured, if I hadn’t reevaluated my life at that point and decided to move to New Zealand, I wouldn’t have been at Tekapo. And if I hadn’t been at Tekapo, I wouldn’t have fallen back in love with astronomy again, I wouldn’t have found what I didn’t know I was searching for, and I wouldn’t have met and fallen in love with you.”
“You’re in love with me?” Her heart slammed into her chest over and over. “Are you sure? I mean, how do you know?”
He tugged on her hands and she stumbled forward into the warmth of his embrace. With his arms wrapped around her waist, he spun her in a half circle then pointed to a spot in the cloudless blue sky. “Right about there,” he said, “is the Southern Cross. Remember on the tour I told you how to navigate using it?”
“Um. No. I was too busy staring at your butt because you got all scientific.”
He laughed, tapping her chin so she tilted her head back to look up. “Well, I like to believe the Southern Cross guided me to you. And even though you can’t see it right now, I know it’s been there for millions of years and I know it’ll be there for millions more. Just like my feelings for you.”
Lady Gaga bumped her nose against Karen’s hip. Karen slid her fingers into the llama’s soft coat and held on, unsure if her legs would keep her remaining upright. He loved her? Bubbles of joy replaced the butterflies in her stomach, and if it wasn’t for terrifying her herd, she would’ve let out a rebel yell of victory.
He loved her. And if that wasn’t a Christmas miracle, what was?
Art watched doubt drain from Karen’s face, and hope and wonder surge in. She didn’t say anything, her gaze scanning the horizon as if searching for the elusive star system in daylight. His heart felt as if it had crammed itself into his throat, heartbeat using his vocal cords as a punching bag. What if she didn’t feel the same? What if he’d blown it by throwing the L-word into the mix too soon? Maybe he should’ve led with, “Hey, babe. Wanna hit the pub for a New Year’s tipple?”
Then she smiled—and it was a smile that had caused him many hours of lost sleep that week. “Arthur.”
The way she said his full name sent a shiver down his spine. She rose on tiptoe and twined her arms around his neck. “Remind me this time next year to give Charlie a fruit basket to thank him for his part in sending you here.”
“Charlie doesn’t get all the credit, you know.” His brain might have been a little slow on the uptake, since it was replaying the phrase ‘this time next year’ and analyzing data that suggested Karen intended to be around in three hundred and sixty-five days’ time, but maybe…possibly… more than likely…
She brushed her petal-soft lips across his. “I know. I guess your little brother isn’t responsible for how your incredibly brilliant mind, kind heart, and superb butt made me fall in love with you, too.”
“You love me, too?” He was almost afraid to ask in case she took it back.
“Yes. To the Southern Cross and back.”
“That’d take you years to reach the nearest star.”
“Oh, shut up, Starman, and kiss me.”
He did, lifting her off her feet so her legs hooked around his hips, and holding her, knowing he’d never let her go again.
She’d far too much to learn about the solar system for them to cover it in just one lifetime.
Epilogue
New Year’s Eve, One Year Later…
Fair Isle, Shetland Isles.
Karen wound her new Fair Isle scarf tighter around her neck and shifted closer to Art under their shared blanket. She tried not to shiver, since this short holiday to the Shetland Islands after attending Charlie and Meg’s wedding and then Christmas Day with the Donnellys was a lovely surprise.
“Nothing’s happening yet.” She tilted her chin, squinting into the night sky.
Art had chosen to set two deck chairs up on a spot on the snow-covered grass not too far away from the historic South Light lighthouse where they were staying. They’d spent the past two days exploring the incredibly picturesque island, including a visit with a local Fair Isle artisan knitter who’d blown Karen’s mind with her incredible creations. And for the past two nights they’d waited for a glimpse of magic in the night sky.
“Be patient,” he murmured.
She stamped her fleece-lined boots on the crunchy snow. There was cold, and then there was this place. But for Art, who’d been wanting to sha
re the northern lights with her—or aurora borealis as he insisted on calling it by the correct scientific name—she would let every one of her toes freeze off. Even though they could have watched the phenomenon from snug inside their little double bed.
Leaning against him, she pressed the tip of her freezing nose into the warm skin of his neck. He smelled like heaven. He smelled like hers.
She still marveled at the wonder of this past year. They’d done the long-distance thing for two months—long-distance meaning one of them traveling the three hours between Christchurch and Tekapo—and then Art scored a job at the Canterbury Astronomical Society in Christchurch. He’d moved in with her, and they’d been inseparable ever since.
“You know patience is not one of my virtues,” she said.
“Luckily you have lots of other ones.”
Under the blanket, his hand slid down her back and squeezed her butt.
“Lucky me.”
And she was lucky—so, so lucky. One spin around the sun and she had everything she could possibly want. A job that wasn’t work, good friends, and a new family in the UK. But more than anything else she could’ve asked Santa for, she had a man who loved her. A man she loved.
“Here we go,” Art said.
Karen lifted her head, eyes widening at the streaks of green and pink and purple appearing above them. She shivered again, but not because of the cold. It was indescribably beautiful, and she could only stare silently upward. This was something she would never, ever forget.
“Oh.” There wasn’t anything else she could think of to say, other than, “I was wrong—this is worth the wait. Thank you, Art. I love you.”
He smiled down at her. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“What?” She chuckled. “That I was wrong?”
“No.” He dug into his jacket pocket and then lowered himself to one knee on the snowy ground.
Karen forgot to breathe in all that gorgeous, clean, icy air.
“That this—that we—are worth the wait. I’m glad you love me. I’m glad that we’ve spent almost every day together for the past year, and now I can’t imagine spending even a day away from you. I love you to the moon and back—which is far more achievable than the Southern Cross—”
“You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you?” She tried to sound scolding, but the nerves made her voice shake.
“Never.” He flipped open the lid on a tiny black box to reveal a ring. The diamonds in the center cluster sparkled under the green, pink, and purple lights above. “And I’ll remind you of it every day of our lives together as your husband. If you’ll marry me.”
“I’d rather you tell me every day that you love me,” she said.
Art pulled the ring from the box. “That goes without saying. So will you marry me?”
“Yes.” Tears stung the corners of Karen’s eyes as Art slipped the sparkling diamonds onto her left hand.
Then she kissed him, and he kissed her, while the aurora borealis spun its magical blanket through the stars above.
* * *
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Sneak Peek of Hide Your Heart (Bounty Bay Book 1)
Hiding in plain sight just got complicated…
Lauren Taylor and her young son have fled back to her hometown to escape fame’s cruel spotlight, and all she wants to do is start over. No press, no pictures, no problem. Until Nate Fraser, a sexy photojournalist, moves in next door. Resisting his kisses and keeping her secrets soon become the hardest thing she’s ever done.
Nate’s got one foot out the door and one last assignment before he resumes his nomadic lifestyle, camera in hand. His every instinct screams that his beautiful but unwelcoming neighbour is hiding something. He couldn’t care less when it’s difficult enough to keep his eyes—and lips—off of her. No matter how much Nate attempts to keep his heart out of reach, he’s drawn into her life. But a guy like him can never have what he wants most. Can he?
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Excerpt from Hide Your Heart
Chapter 1
Lauren Taylor smacked the steering wheel. “Right. It’d better work this time, or I’ll kick the bumper so hard it’ll pop out the exhaust pipe.”
Giggles erupted from the passenger seat and she shot her four-year-old son, Drew, a weary smile. Her station wagon had skidded off the gravel road in the rain, and the front wheels were wedged in a muddy ditch. After stuffing branches under the tires for traction, Lauren had returned to the driver’s seat cold, wet and gritting her teeth at her own stupidity. Raised in New Zealand’s subtropical Far North, she knew better than to trust the unpredictable summer weather.
She turned the ignition key, and the engine coughed to life. “Please, please work this time.”
Remembering Todd’s instructions, Lauren trod on the clutch and slotted the gearstick into reverse. “C’mon, old girl, you can do it.”
The steady pressure on the gas pedal as she teased the clutch pulled the car backward over the branches in jerky hops. Mud-slicked tires hit another slippery patch, and one wheel rotated with a high-pitched hum. Lauren kept her foot down, as if sheer will alone could drag them from the ditch. Black smoke poured from the tail pipe. The motor stalled, the station wagon sliding back into the thick mud.
She leaned her head against the seat. Tears prickled in the corners of her eyes.
Drew patted her arm. “Don’t cry, Mummy. We can stay in the car tonight and have a ‘venture. I’ll be okay without my nightlight.” His voice quavered on the last word.
Ever since they’d fled their Manhattan apartment two years ago, Drew needed his nightlight to keep the multi-limbed monsters in his head at bay. But better his imaginary monsters than the one on two legs who still stalked Lauren’s nightmares.
She squeezed her son’s hand. “Don’t worry. It’ll take more than mud to stop me from tucking you up in bed tonight.”
Java jumped over the stack of luggage in the back seat, and a warm tongue licked the back of her neck.
“Back you go, boy.” Lauren pushed the dog’s black and tan head away from her shoulder.
Java whined but returned to the rear of the car.
Lauren ruffled the spill of dark curls across Drew’s forehead and undid his safety belt. “Mummy’ll get out again and have another go. Taylors never give up the fight, do they?”
Drew shook his head and grinned. “Never, ever.”
No. Never, ever again. “I won’t be long.”
Rain pounded the roof, a relentless roar drowning all other outside sound. With a bracing breath, Lauren opened the door and lowered a foot straight into ankle-deep mud.
“Why don’t you move back to Bounty Bay with us?” She mimicked her brother’s cheerful voice. “You’ll have privacy galore, surrounded by native bush seething with history.”
History? More like prehistory. Even the cellphone coverage up here was spotty at best.
Great idea, Todd.
Lauren climbed out and slammed the door before the wind could snatch it from her hand. A howling gust hurled a volley of raindrops at her face. She smoothed her hair and swiped rain, like cool tears, from her eyes. Fists on hips, she sloshed around to the hood to consider her predicament. Though
her first attempt hadn’t worked, it wasn’t too shabby an effort. For a city girl.
Except she was no longer a city girl.
She grimaced at her watery reflection in the windshield. A clump of mud inched down her cheek, and her tee shirt clung in sodden wrinkles. Oh, if the tabloids could see her now.
With an unladylike snort, Lauren smeared the mud off her face. Back to business—more manuka branches ought to do it. She braced her knee to climb out of the ditch, but a chunk of dirt shifted and collapsed beneath her foot, wrenching her ankle to the side as it slid backward. Lauren sprawled on the road and her startled cry flushed a family of quail from the bush.
“Mummy? Mummy!” Drew’s muffled shouts were followed by a frantic knocking on the car’s window.
She rolled over to wave at him and sent him a shaky thumbs up.
Lauren used her shirt to blot the blossoming specks of blood on her palms. Goddammit that stung! Teeth clenched, she tested weight on her ankle, but jolts of agony arrowed up her left leg. Walking home was not an option.
She crawled onto the road and using the car’s hood, hauled herself upright.
Drew wound down the window, his nose peeping through the small gap. “Mummy, are you okay?”
Stuck on a little-used road in the rain with daylight fading? She was anything but okay.
Lauren forced a breezy note into her voice. “I’m fine, sweetie, just a little ouchy.”
The unmistakable rumble of an approaching engine catapulted her heart into her ribs. Teeth mashing her lower lip each time her left foot touched the ground, Lauren hobbled to the center of the road. A black Range Rover crested the hill. Caught in the beams of the headlights, she raised a hand and squinted at the vehicle.
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