The Gift of Happiness
Page 18
She didn’t look at him. Traffic sounds in the background. Dead silence between them. “My apartment has air conditioning,” he said softly. It was an invitation and she turned to stare at him, eyes giving nothing away. “You could come over for a nightcap if you’d like, and cool off for a while.”
A moment, at once quickly gone and yet so slow in going. Leslie looked around, warring within herself. You know what he’s asking, she whispered to herself silently. You learned your lesson once, girl. You only needed to learn once in the past.
She stared out into the black and glaring night, feeling the heat, the humid, sticky evening. An almost instantaneous succession of images flashed in her mind, the last being her empty apartment. She took a deep breath, feeling the muscles in her chest move, her lungs work, and then she turned slowly to look at Scott, at his wide, powerful shoulders and those trim hips. He was taller than she by a half a head, and much heavier. His legs were long and lean, as were hers. She smiled with her head half tilted at him, feeling his eyes on her, watching her, quietly waiting. “I’d like that,” she said.
Sometimes love is worth breaking all the rules.
Breaking the Rules
© 2012 Jennifer Archer
When Claire Mulligan’s fiancé decides they should become contestants on the popular reality show Eden to win money to save their failing business, she reluctantly agrees. But once filming starts, James seems more interested in the other female contestants than her.
After an impulsive attempt to draw his attention, Claire finds herself naked on the beach during a total island blackout. But instead of James, cameraman Mitch Talbott comes to her rescue. He can’t see her; she can’t see him. But the sparks they generate light up the night.
When morning comes and Claire has disappeared, Mitch decides it’s worth breaking the rules to find his mysterious sea maiden. But will he be able to convince Claire to forget about James and take a risk on him?
Enjoy the following excerpt for Breaking the Rules:
Claire Mulligan drew a breath of salty air. She’d never ventured this far down the beach. The quiet cove was dark and deserted. Just the sort of place she craved following the hectic frustration of the last few hours.
After a long deluge of wind and rain earlier in the day, the storm had finally eased. Brief lightning to the south assured the reprieve wouldn’t last long. A heavy blanket of clouds obscured the moon and stars.
Claire scanned the area, her gaze settling in the distance on Crescent Moon, home these past two weeks for her and the other Eden competitors. Bright lights surrounded the resort, reflecting off the water like a treasure of jewels beneath the surface. Shimmering golden lanterns hung low in the trees along the walkways and around the pool. Guitar strains drifted on the fragrant night breeze…a sultry love song intended to send Cupid’s weapon of choice straight through the hearts of would-be lovers or to sharpen the arrows in couples already shot.
Claire sighed. Leave it to James to ruin an evening picture perfect for romance. She thought of how he’d ignored her at every turn and sighed again. Tonight was a mixer; no teams, no pair-offs. Rupert Asterisk, the show’s host, had instructed the players to mingle and get to know one another better. Claire nibbled her lower lip. Apparently James felt he knew her as well as he cared to.
When tears threatened, she blinked them back. James’s behavior tonight was no different than on any other night since a week or so after the game started. Since he quit trying to hide his fascination with her female competitors.
Claire sniffed. It had been a mistake to let him talk her into this. She wasn’t the sort who relished airing private matters on national TV. But James had insisted it would not only be fun, but a great chance to possibly win an awesome honeymoon and a whole lot of money. Money they could use to bail their floundering business out of debt. He’d said a lot of other things, too. Comments that had made her feel dull and uptight. So, rather than disappoint her fiancé, she’d agreed to audition for the show.
They had pitched themselves in a different light from the other competitors—as a committed couple out to test their relationship. Would their bond unravel or tighten? She’d been so naive that she hadn’t taken that question seriously. In her mind, it was only a sales ploy to win over Eden’s producers. And it had worked. But now here she was…alone on a deserted beach while James alternately flirted with the cameras and every female in a bikini. Had she been so dull she’d driven him away? If so, she could change; she would change.
After another quick glance in every direction, Claire drew a deep breath, then reached for the bathing suit string at the back of her neck. She couldn’t let James fall in love with another woman. She couldn’t lose him over a silly game show. The money and trip weren’t what enticed him; she’d known that from the start. His desire to appear on Eden was a direct result of that stupid B movie filmed on location in Prairie last year. If not for James’s bit part in it and the ridiculous line he’d adlibbed that had caught everyone’s attention, he wouldn’t have the slightest interest in Eden. His brief brush with celebrity had muddled his common sense. He’d snap out of it and become his old self again just as soon as they got off this island…she had to believe that.
Claire closed her eyes and pulled the string. Then she said a quick prayer that James would take the bait and follow her here. She’d made certain he’d watched her leave. And he’d have to be blind not to see that she was upset. If she ever meant anything at all to him, surely he wouldn’t let her venture off alone in the dark in this state of mind.
Though she wasn’t the least bit cold, Claire’s teeth chattered. “You can do this,” she whispered as she let her bikini top fall forward.
Yes, that ridiculous low-budget film had changed everything. Rodeo Romeos. What a laugh. James might sell feed and tackle, but he did so wearing leather loafers, not leather boots. The movie was the first time she’d ever seen him in a pair of Wranglers. James had become addicted to the adrenaline that accompanied his fifteen minutes of fame. When the high had worn off, he went looking for another fix. He’d found it in Eden.
With fumbling fingers, Claire reached back and unhooked the clasp between her shoulder blades. After dropping the strip of fabric in the sand beside a palm tree, she pushed the lower half of her suit to her ankles and stepped out of it. With a kick, she sent the bottoms toward the tree, too.
The ocean offered thunderous applause, appreciation for her impromptu striptease. The breeze blew warm against her naked body.
Exhilarated by her daring, Claire glanced over her shoulder. A line of cabanas was snuggled cozily in the palm trees several yards back, their shades lowered against the night like sleepy eyelids. Only the slivers of light, around a few of the windows hinted at life inside. The crew’s living quarters. She’d seen them on the Crescent Moon Resort map. Which meant she’d wandered into a restricted area, off-limits to players. If caught here, outside the boundaries, she could be kicked off the game—a disaster she should avoid at all costs. Just the thought of leaving James alone on the island with all those half-dressed bimbos made her blood boil.
With a nervous laugh, Claire looked back at the water. On the other hand, maybe getting in trouble with the show’s producers would work to her advantage. Maybe she’d snag her fiancé’s attention and he’d see her in a whole new light. Considering the women he’d flirted with these past couple of weeks, James was in the market for someone with a wild streak.
Lightning flickered again in the distance. A low rumble of thunder followed. Claire drew a shaky breath. She cast one last glance at the lights of Crescent Moon. “Here’s to breaking the rules,” she yelled. Turning, she ran toward the water, then plunged into the waves.
The Gift of Happiness
Amanda Carpenter
The only thing she wanted was her freedom…
The daughter of a very rich and ruthless man, Katherine Marie Farlough wants nothing more than to be free of his demanding, merciless clutches. Trapped like a bi
rd in a cage, she acts out in an attempt to have someone—anyone—recognize her desperate situation.
Lucas Dalton is the most handsome man Katherine has ever seen, and he also happens to be her father’s business rival. He’s also the only person to see behind her glittering façade to the desperation lurking underneath. With no regard to the problems it might cause him, Lucas offers her the chance at freedom, independence, and even love…
This Retro Romance reprint was originally published in December 1988 by Mills & Boon.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
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The Gift of Happiness
Copyright © 2014 by Amanda Carpenter
ISBN: 978-1-61921-784-3
Edited by Heather Osborn
Cover by Angela Waters
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Original Publication by Mills & Boon: December 1988
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: February 2014
www.samhainpublishing.com