by Taylor Hart
Taking a large breath, she smiled. “I want to forgive myself, but I wanted to ask you to forgive me first.”
He stared at her, still unable to believe she was right here, and what she seemed to be asking for was so much more than he could have ever hoped for. A tear fell down his cheek. “There’s nothing to forgive.”
Slowly, she blinked, and tears trickled down her cheeks. “Then I have something else to ask you?”
He frowned. “Okay.”
“Marry me?”
His heart raced. “What?”
Her eyes fluttered and she let out a light laugh. “You have probably heard, baby Lincoln needs some parents.”
There was no way she was asking what he thought she was asking.
Gently, she reached up, touched the stubble on his face. “I thought he could use parents who had been through a lot of crap. Parents who could choose to focus on the future. Parents who could choose each other. And then choose him.”
Warmth filled him and he swallowed, unbelieving. He stared into her beautiful green eyes. Making a command decision, he fell to a knee. “The egomaniac has to do this.”
She let out a light laugh and blinked. “Really?”
He got settled and held her hand, his heart pounding, but knowing everything in their lives had led them to this perfect moment. “Savannah, if you marry me I swear I will make you happy. Or I’ll spend my life and fortune trying. And I will be a good father to Lincoln.”
Tears washed down her face and she nodded, her other hand flying to her mouth. “Yes.”
“Yes!” He was speechless. Then he stood, hoisting her up into the air, he spun her around and she laughed.
Eventually he put her down. “I can’t believe it.” Gently, he kissed her lips.
“I know.” She kissed him back.
“You found me.” He planted kisses from her ear to her shoulder.
She giggled. “I love you.”
He smiled back at her. “I’ve always loved you, Sav. I always will.”
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Excerpt of Love at the Ocean Breeze
Prologue of Love at the Ocean Breeze
By Jennifer Youngblood & Sandra Poole
Lacey’s stomach growled. If only she’d thought to pack a granola bar … or something to snack on. She and Milo had been trudging through the overgrown trail for over an hour. She’d drained her water bottle in the first twenty minutes of the hike, and a blister was forming where the strap of her sandal rubbed relentlessly against her heel. Why had she not thought to wear tennis shoes? “Can we please turn around and go back?” she asked wearily.
Not bothering to look at her, Milo waved a hand as he increased his pace. “The waterfall’s great, babe. There’s a pool below it where we can swim. We’re almost there. Just a little further.”
“That’s what you said thirty minutes ago,” she grumbled, hurrying to keep up. Milo had grown up in the nearby town of Hauula, Hawaii. But he hadn’t been to this waterfall since he was a kid. Even though he swore he knew the way, Lacey was starting to wonder. At this point, she didn’t give a flying flip about some waterfall—no matter how beautiful it was. But Milo was determined to forge on until he found it or they passed out from exhaustion. And judging from the way things were going, it would most assuredly be the latter.
Lacey swatted the mosquito on her leg. She managed to kill that one, but ten more took its place in the blink of an eye. She was getting eaten alive! The air oozed moisture, bathing her in sticky sweat. If only her Texas friends could see her now. She glanced at the waist-high weeds and vines growing in tangles, and the trees crowding in around them. It looked like a scene straight out of The Jungle Book. She chuckled humorlessly at the thought. She’d come to Hawaii three months ago on vacation. Her second day on the island, she met Milo Kahele at Waimea Bay where he was back diving off a cliff. He was a local boy—a surfer heartthrob with a quick smile and great body. They’d been inseparable ever since. Her older brother Trevor didn’t approve of the relationship and would freak if he knew she was living with Milo. Trevor was always calling and texting, trying to get her to come back home and enroll in a community college. But it was none of his stinking business what she did with her life. She was an adult and could do as she pleased. She had no intention of sitting in a boring classroom. She’d never had as much fun with anyone as she had with Milo … well, most of the time, present activity excluded. Her lips formed a petulant scowl. If Milo didn’t find the wretched waterfall soon, she was going back to the house—with or without him.
Milo stopped so suddenly that Lacey nearly toppled forward to avoid barreling into him. “Careful,” she growled.
Milo stepped into a clearing, and Lacey followed close behind. For a split second, she thought he might’ve actually found the waterfall, but no—it was only a crummy building that looked like it had been forgotten eons ago.
“I could’ve sworn we were going the right way,” Milo said, scratching his head.
“Obviously not,” she retorted, blowing out a long breath. “We need to go back. I have a blister on my foot.” She looked at her heel. It was bleeding. Where was a Band-Aid when she needed it?
His shoulders sagged in defeat. “Okay.”
Lacey plopped down on the ground. “I need to rest a minute before we head back.” She groaned. It felt good to sit down. “Care to join me?”
“Yeah,” he said absently, his eyes darting to the shack. “A strange place for a building.”
“I guess.” Lacey stretched out her legs, her stomach growling again. “Do you have any snacks in your backpack?”
“No, sorry. I think I’m gonna check it out.”
Her face fell. “What? The building? No.” She pointed. “There’s a padlock on the door. That’s code for keep out.”
“Nah, dat means there’s something valuable inside.”
“Yeah, spiders and bugs.”
He wriggled his eyebrows, an adventurous smile curving his lips. “Be right back.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Lacey said, but he was already jogging towards the building.
Milo tugged on the padlock. When it didn’t budge, Lacey assumed he’d grow tired of the game and come back. To her dismay, Milo found a rock and beat on the lock. A couple of minutes later, it broke. Milo pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Lacey tensed, glancing around. Even though it looked forgotten, the building belonged to someone. And the owner certainly wouldn’t appreciate Milo breaking into it. Milo was a daredevil from the word go, which is what attracted her to him. But this was going too far. She stood.
“Milo,” she called, “you’ve had your fun. It’s time to go.”
No answer.
“Milo!” she said angrily, rushing toward the building.
Before Lacey got to the door, Milo came running out, a look of exhilaration on his face. “You won’t believe it. The whole building’s filled with crates of paintings and statues.”
“Whatever’s in there, doesn’t belong to us. We need to go.”
He let out a loud whoop. “Ever heard of finders keepers? This is incredible, babe.” He took her hand. “Come on. I’ll show you. The stuff looks expensive.”
Lacey picked through the crate closest to the door. It didn’t take a trained professional to know that Milo was right. The paintings were exquisitely done in vivid detail. The items were valuable.
“We can sell these.” He began talking fast. “One piece will probably bring more money than we could make in a year.” He laughed. “Ten years.” He clenched a fist. “Oh, my gosh. I can’t believe it!”
“I don’t know.” Lacey chewed on her cheek. “These pieces belong to someone. They’ll come back for them. Maybe they’re stolen.”
Milo grabbed her arms, a feverish excitement in his eyes. “There aren’t any car tracks leading to the building. And the lock was so old and rusted that all I had to do was barely
hit it and it fell off. This is our lucky day. Think about it,” he said enticingly. “No more waiting tables, for you. We can eat at the best restaurants. Stay in nice hotels. Maybe even buy a house.”
It was tempting. Everything in Hawaii cost a fortune. Lacey had blown through her meager savings in the first week and had taken a waitress job at a café, which paid barely enough to cover her food and other expenses. Thankfully, Milo was letting her stay at his place rent free, but that couldn’t last forever. Eventually, she’d have to start paying her fair share. And she couldn’t do that on what she was making now. “But what’ll happen if somebody finds out we took these things?” A shudder ran through her as she glanced around, looking for cameras. “What if the place is under surveillance?”
He nodded. “You’re right. We need to be careful. I have a friend we can call. Someone who can help.”
“A friend?” She shook her head. “I dunno. Maybe we should just walk away and pretend we never found this.”
“Turn our backs on a fortune?” He squared his jaw. “We’ll never get another chance like this.” His eyes battled hers. “Please? Just let me call my friend.”
“Okay,” she finally said.
A smile broke over his lips. “You won’t regret it. We’re gonna be rich!”
Read more of Love at the Ocean Breeze HERE
Excerpt of How to Love a Dog’s Best Friend
by Cami Checketts
Chapter 1
As she walked up to the sprawling house, Brikelle noticed the gorgeous rustic flair with huge timbers supporting the porch and decorating the exterior. The stucco and rock mansion had to be over twenty thousand square feet. Even though the house was still getting the finishing touches of cabinets, plumbing, and lighting fixtures, there were already crews working on the grounds and all the concrete was poured.
She saw a new-looking four-door white truck with the logo of Jepson Cabinetry on the side parked next to the seven-car garage and a Land Rover with Timberline Construction screened on the back window. She decided to approach the front entrance rather than walk around to the garage, but as she reached the door, she didn’t know whether to knock or walk right in. When she nudged the door, it popped open and she stepped through, admiring the two-story foyer with windows and skylights bringing in plenty of natural light. The chandelier was classy, yet still had a trendy feel with rectangle panels and an oil-rubbed bronze finish.
The original interior designer had done a fabulous job. Brikelle hoped she could keep the ball rolling the way Mrs. Jensen wanted it. The general contractor, Joshua, had explained that his designer had been put on bed rest with an extremely difficult pregnancy and the doctors didn’t want her working at all, handing Brikelle the opportunity of a lifetime.
“There she is,” Joshua called out from the edge of the entry, next to wide staircases that went to the basement and the upstairs. The wrought iron railings decorating the staircases were perfect—funky yet still classy. “Come in, come in.”
She walked across the slate floor past arched doorways. From the plans she’d studied, the one on the right was going to be Mrs. Jensen’s office and the one on the left a formal living room. They both had great lighting with huge windows and she loved the beveled cherry floors.
“Great to see you.” She reached Joshua’s side and he gave her a quick handshake. Brikelle smiled at him, but her eyes were drawn to the massive great room with its two-story windows and all the woodwork. The style now was “anything goes,” which she heartily approved of—wood in every variety was integrated into this great room, and it was gorgeous.
At the end closest to the entrance where she stood, there was a formal dining area through an archway, the windows overlooking the patio and the lake beyond. The other end was the kitchen. Several more living areas could be seen through other porticos. This place was unreal and she got to decorate it. Yes!
The cabinet guys were busy in the kitchen, hanging doors. Knotty alder. It was one of her favorite woods for a kitchen with its knots and swirls giving such a distinctive cabin-type flair.
Her eyes swept over the men briefly. The one with his back to her had an extremely nice build, wide shoulders with the muscles stretching his T-shirt in just the right way. And his Levi’s fit—well, she shouldn’t dwell on it, but they definitely fit. She caught a glimpse of his profile and firm jawline with dark stubble that just screamed tough guy/handsome hottie. Why did he seem familiar?
Forcing herself to look back at Joshua, she smiled. “This is spectacular.”
“I thought you’d love it. Let me give you a tour, and then Emma should be here any minute to tell you some of her preferences. She’s honestly pretty easy to please.”
“Sounds great.” Her hands had started sweating again, and now her body was trembling slightly, but it was a good kind of nerves. This was so big! Her boss at Maison Design, Angela, would be thrilled that she landed this job. How incredibly lucky she’d been to meet Joshua. “Thank you for this opportunity.”
“You’re going to do great, and if Emma likes you, there will be lots of other projects.”
Brikelle could only grin at him. A month out of college and she was handed an in that every designer would be thrilled with.
Joshua turned and walked toward the kitchen. It was massive with an island bar that could probably seat twenty. The wood in the island was walnut, which was a great contrast to the light reddish-brown alder used in the rest of the kitchen. She glimpsed a sparkling white preparation kitchen off of the main kitchen, and beyond that the mudroom and laundry room.
“I want you to meet the cabinet and wood-working guru, Colt Jepson,” Joshua said.
The nicely built guy turned around with a grin on his face. “Nice to …” His voice trailed off and his eyes widened. She gasped as she recognized him. “The dog-hater,” he whispered, as if in shock to come face to face with her again.
“The guy who doesn’t control his dog,” she flung back, for lack of a better slam.
Joshua’s eyes darted back and forth between them, and the other cabinet guys paused in their work. Sparks crackled in the air, but not in a good way. Colt’s blue eyes reflected confusion and hurt. “You want me to lock up my innocent dog because you hate animals? He didn’t even do anything to you.”
“Nothing would make me happier than knowing that huge beast isn’t going to chase me next time I run up the canyon.” Brikelle took a step closer to him. That this Colt guy was so laid-back about his dog having chased and tormented her made her furious. He had no clue that it wasn’t hatred, it was sheer terror, but she refused to act intimidated around him. She knew his type—good-looking, tough construction guy who drove his big truck with his big dog hanging off of the tailgate. He imagined every woman would cower to his demands. She was going to show him she wasn’t some sissy he could push around. He reminded her of Bradley Cooper, one of the stars of the A-Team remake, with that handsome face, blue eyes, perfect amount of facial hair, and perpetual smirk, like he was patiently enduring her crazy diatribe. She’d wipe that smirk right off.
He sort of shook his head, making her advance even more. She wanted to poke him or something and stop him from looking at her like she was the irrational one.
“Ike is too gentle and old to hurt anybody,” he explained as if she was a small child. “My nieces and nephews chase him around and take turns riding on him.”
She was close enough she could finally poke, but she took it to the next level and smacked him on the chest. “What? Who in their right mind would let a little child be around a violent creature like that?”
Colt wrapped his hands around her arms and pulled her right up against his chest. It didn’t hurt, but it definitely wasn’t some romantic move. He was probably as ticked as she was, but instead of yelling like she was doing, he lowered his voice and said very slowly and softly, “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Please stop calling my innocent dog derogatory names and act like a professional.” His eyes flitted to Joshu
a for emphasis.
Joshua. She couldn’t jeopardize this job. She froze and whirled away from Colt, but his arms were still clasped around her. They were in a completely awkward embrace as they both realized that his crew and Joshua were not the only ones watching.
Mrs. Emmaline Jensen was at the edge of the great room, Joshua right next to her, and they were both studying the two of them. Joshua’s face was filled with concern, but Mrs. Jensen’s blue eyes lit up. She was a teeny thing with the most gorgeous white hair and a smile and eyes that age hadn’t dimmed. She was dressed in a classy navy-blue business suit, and the only jewelry she wore was a glittering diamond on her left hand. Brikelle remembered hearing her husband had passed away only a few months ago.
“Oh, this is delightful.” Emma clapped her hands together and beamed at the two of them, looking to Joshua. “Why didn’t you tell me my new designer and our favorite cabinet maker are a couple?”
Colt’s arms finally fell away from Brikelle, but she was too shocked to take a step away like she should’ve done.
“Oh, yeah, I did forget,” Joshua managed, giving a nervous chuckle and recovering much quicker than either of them.
“Oh, I love happy couples. Now I must demand that both of you come stay with me next weekend for the celebration of my new house.” She gestured around. “It’s going to be a great party and if everything turns out the way I hope, I’m sure you’ll meet a lot of people who would want to hire both of you. Plus, I’d really love to chat about the condos I’m building near Snow Basin.”
Brikelle’s head was spinning and she had no clue how to respond. This woman assumed they were a couple and had just invited them to a huge party here next weekend? The work opportunities she’d casually flung around with the invite told Brikelle that she and the obnoxious cabinet shop owner would be very wise to not mess this up, but she didn’t want to lie and say she was part of a couple, especially with the man next to her.
