Fuck that guy.
I take a gulp of the champagne. Maybe I should have bought something stronger. Of course, I’m fairly broke, so even the champagne and cheesecake were a splurge. Lawyers are not cheap, and Wyatt fought me every step of the way. Because of course he did. I wanted nothing from him—not the car, the housewares, the furniture. He could keep it all, as far as I was concerned. All I wanted was my freedom. I wanted my name back, and a chance to have a life without walking on eggshells, tiptoeing around a moody bastard all the time. In the end, he couldn’t stop me from divorcing him. By the look on his face the last time I saw him in court, I think he was pretty shocked by that fact. He really thought he could keep me.
No one can. Not now. Not ever. I am officially done with men.
I take my time with the cheesecake and pour another glass of champagne. It’s a Thursday, so technically I have to work tomorrow, but luckily I work from home. I’m a copy editor for a company that builds websites—a job I got and kept for a year before Wyatt knew about it. He didn’t want me to work, and in the beginning I thought putting effort into the marriage meant doing what he wanted, so I went along with it. I was such an idiot. Luckily, I was able to leverage my English degree into the job that ultimately made leaving him possible.
The second glass of champagne goes down quicker than the first. I flip through some shows on TV, only half paying attention. I figure champagne doesn’t keep very well, so I get up to treat myself to another glass. While I’m out there, I check the bowl I keep underneath the sink cabinet, to make sure it isn’t full. Stupid leak. Stupid apartment. This place has been a nightmare since I moved in, and they still haven’t fixed half the problems.
My job is going well, and that was the first step in my plan to reclaim my life. Leaving Wyatt and getting a place to live was the second. This apartment isn’t much, but it’s mine and I don’t have to share it with anyone. That’s progress. Now that the divorce is official, I need to start thinking about what comes next. Project Get Emma Back should be in full swing, but I’m not sure if I know what that means. I was twenty-one when I got married, and still trying to figure out who I was. I spent the next six years trying to be who I thought Wyatt wanted me to be.
Now I’m honestly not sure who I am.
A sharp knock at the door makes me jump, and champagne sloshes out over my jeans. Shit. I take a deep breath to steady myself. It’s seven o’clock on a Thursday. Who would be here?
Oh god. Did Wyatt find out where I live?
I’m not hiding from him, exactly. He was a dick to live with, but he’s not the dangerous type. But I like the feeling that he doesn’t know where I am. Plus, I have nothing more to say to him. If I never see him again, it’ll be too soon.
I could pretend I’m not home and hope whoever it is goes away. But it could also be building maintenance; in addition to the leaky sink, I have a list of other things they’ve been promising to fix. This place is literally one step removed from a fucking crack house, and the neighbors smoke so much pot I’m pretty sure I’ve been high at least a dozen times since I moved in. But it’s cheap, and not in a completely horrible neighborhood. If it’s a maintenance guy, I should probably answer the door.
I take another breath and go to the front door. It’s all of four or five steps from the couch. My apartment is beyond tiny. If it’s Wyatt, I’ll simply tell him to go away, and close the door. He can bang on it all he wants, I don’t have to let him in. And if it is maintenance, I can give him an earful about the wretched state of this shithole.
I pull the door open—fast, like ripping off a Band-Aid. No one. The doorstep is empty, and there’s no sign of anyone on the stairs. I poke my head out and look around, but I don’t see anyone.
That’s weird.
I’m just about to close the door when I realize there’s a folded piece of paper taped to the outside. I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Way to get worked up over nothing, Emma.
It’s probably an advertisement. People flood this apartment complex with fliers all the time. After closing the door and making sure it’s locked, I grab my champagne and sit down to check this out. I unfold the paper and see the apartment logo at the top. My eyes dart across the page, my stomach clenching with every word.
Infestation.
Insects.
Hazardous.
Vacate the premises.
I have to be out of my apartment for at least a week? Starting tomorrow? Son of a bitch, they must be joking. Where am I supposed to go? They can’t just kick me out like this. I don’t care if they’ll prorate my rent; I need a place to sleep.
I slump down on the couch, the letter falling from my listless fingers. Shit. This is not the first time this stupid apartment has had issues. First it was the plumbing. Then the roof leaked. They made me live without power for three days when something happened to the electricity. And now this? I really need to get out of here.
But I’m not sure where to go. I don’t exactly have friends I can call up and ask to crash on their couch. I could rent a hotel, but I don’t think I can afford it. Not yet. Getting divorced is freaking expensive.
That leaves family. I could stay with my mom. But she moved into a small condo a few years ago, and she doesn’t have a lot of room. Plus, being in close quarters with my mother for an extended period of time (as in, more than an hour) is akin to torture. That leaves one person: Gabriel.
I bring up my brother’s number and give him a call.
“Hi, Sis,” he says. “You caught me with about two minutes before I have to go. What’s up?”
Gabriel is the head chef at the Ocean Mark, a beautiful fine dining restaurant out in Jetty Beach, the town where we grew up. He lives and breathes his job.
“Okay, I’ll do this quick. I have to be out of my apartment while they spray for bugs or something. I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“Say no more, Emma,” he says. “You know you can stay here anytime. I’m hardly ever home, anyway.”
“Thanks, Gabe,” I say.
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Okay,” he says. “If I’m at work, let yourself in. And come up to the restaurant. I’ll feed you.”
I smile. Gabe’s cooking is amazing. “I’ll take you up on that.”
“Good,” he says. “See you then.”
I hang up with a sigh. My brother is a great guy, and staying at his place won’t be so bad. It’s the town I’m dreading.
I hate Jetty Beach, with a seething passion that is probably not healthy. I lived there most of my life, but I avoid going back as much as possible. It’s been years since I spent more than a day there. Even when I first left Wyatt, I didn’t go home to my mom’s, or to Gabriel’s. I paid for a hotel those first few nights, and was happy to do it. It meant I didn’t have to go home.
And now I have to go back?
I close my eyes and lean against the couch cushions. There’s nothing actually wrong with the town, it just holds too many memories—both good and bad. The bad ones came last, and things ended so horribly that I associate all that pain with the place. Every time I drive through that stupid little beach town, all I can see is him.
All I can see is Hunter.
Keep reading Operation Get Her Back
Afterword
Dear reader,
If you’ve read the Jetty Beach romances up to this point, you’ve probably started to catch on to a theme in the stories I write. Broken people.
There’s something so compelling about people who bear wounds and scars, and the ways that love can help them heal. Honestly, who among us isn’t at least a little bit broken? One of the main reasons I’m drawn to writing romance is because I believe in the healing power of love. I’ve lived that in my own life, and it comes naturally to me on the page. People are flawed, and exploring how those flaws influence the choices we make is fascinating to me.
My editor called Clover “beautifully broken,” and that’s exactly
what I meant for her to be. I hope I’ve done her justice in this book, because she became so special to me. Beneath her optimism and her charming smile, she’s a deeply wounded woman who was abandoned by the two people who should have loved her enough to stay in her life. She’s left with a very skewed concept of her place in the world—she’s always searching, but never finding what she’s looking for. And behind that search is a lot of fear.
She comes to realize that her dependence on “fate” is a coping mechanism, and often an excuse. She’s terrified of letting anyone get too close to her, lest they leave her the way her parents did. That fear dominates her life until she finally learns to trust in what she has with Cody.
Cody was a departure for me in some ways. There’s no sad backstory for Cody. He has a nice family. He’s a successful doctor and business owner. Is his life perfect? Of course not, and he’s not perfect either. But the brokenness that usually draws me to a character wasn’t there for him.
But I realized he was exactly what he needed to be for this story—for Clover. They were both searching for the one to make them whole, the other person to complement their strengths and shore up their weaknesses. And they do this for each other so perfectly. Cody never saw her coming, and Clover couldn’t have guessed she’d wind up with a man like him. But sometimes life’s little surprises are the most magical things.
I love the magic.
Thanks for reading!
CK
Also by Claire Kingsley
For a full and up-to-date listing of Claire Kingsley books visit www.clairekingsleybooks.com
The Bailey Brothers
Steamy, small-town family series. Five unruly brothers. Epic pranks. A quirky, feuding town. Big HEAs.
Protecting You: Series Origin Story
Fighting For Us
Unraveling Him
More Bailey Brothers coming soon!
The Miles Family
Sexy, sweet, funny, and heartfelt family series. Messy family. Epic bromance. Super romantic.
Broken Miles
Forbidden Miles
Reckless Miles
Hidden Miles
Gaining Miles: A Miles Family Novella
Dirty Martini Running Club
Sexy, fun stand-alone romantic comedies with huge… hearts.
Everly Dalton’s Dating Disasters
Free Faking Ms. Right prequel
Faking Ms. Right
A hot fake relationship romantic comedy
Love According to Science
A hot enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy
Bluewater Billionaires
Hot, stand-alone romantic comedies. Lady billionaire BFFs and the badass heroes who love them.
The Mogul and the Muscle
A billionaire and her bodyguard hot romantic comedy.
The Price of Scandal, Wild Open Hearts, and Crazy for Loving You
More Bluewater Billionaire shared-world stand-alone romantic comedies by Lucy Score, Kathryn Nolan, and Pippa Grant
Bootleg Springs
by Claire Kingsley and Lucy Score
Hot and hilarious small-town romcom series with a dash of mystery and suspense. Best read in order.
Whiskey Chaser
Sidecar Crush
Moonshine Kiss
Bourbon Bliss
Gin Fling
Highball Rush
Book Boyfriends
Hot, stand-alone romcoms that will make you laugh and make you swoon.
Book Boyfriend
Cocky Roommate
Hot Single Dad
Remembering Ivy
A unique contemporary romance with a hint of mystery.
His Heart
A poignant and emotionally intense story about grief, loss, and the transcendent power of love.
The Always Series
Smoking hot, dirty talking bad boys with some angsty intensity.
Always Have
Always Will
Always Ever After
The Jetty Beach Series
Sexy small-town romance series with swoony heroes, romantic HEAs, and lots of big feels.
Behind His Eyes
One Crazy Week
Messy Perfect Love
Operation Get Her Back
Weekend Fling
Good Girl Next Door
The Path to You
The Jetty Beach Box Set Books 1-4
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About the Author
Claire Kingsley is a Top 5 Amazon bestselling author of sexy, heartfelt contemporary romance and romantic comedies. She writes sassy, quirky heroines, swoony heroes who love their women hard, panty-melting sexytimes, romantic happily ever afters, and all the big feels.
She can’t imagine life without coffee, her Kindle, and the sexy heroes who inhabit her imagination. She’s living out her own happily ever after in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and three kids.
www.clairekingsleybooks.com
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