Fireworks of Love

by Jessica Gray

  Fireworks Love

  Los Angeles Armstrongs

  (Rowan and Joanna)

  L.A. Armstrongs Book 7

  Armstrong Series Book 13

  Jessica Gray

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, and places in this book exist only within the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons or locations is purely coincidental.

  Fireworks of Love, Los Angeles Armstrongs, Book 7

  All Rights Reserved

  Copyright © 2017 Jessica Gray

  This book is copyrighted and protected by copyright laws.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission from the author.

  All characters, names, and places in this book exist only within the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons or locations is purely coincidental.

  Cover Design by http://www.StunningBookCovers.com

  FIREWORKS OF LOVE

  Chinese New Year is fireworks, magic, and love. But can a fleeting flirtation become something more?

  Rowan Ellison came to Beijing to absolve his residency as an emergency doctor, not to be told about hocus pocus, and definitely not to get involved with a woman.

  But when his friend sets him up on a blind date with the amazing Jin Yue Wei, he is tempted to change his mind.

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 1

  Jin Yue Wei stomped her foot into the icy ground.

  “Where are they?” she asked her roommate Mei-Zhen with a scowl, hugging her arms around herself to keep warm.

  Mei shrugged her shoulders. “Be patient, Joanna.”

  She appreciated Mei’s use of her English nickname, but Joanna’s patience hung by a very thin thread. After spending the entire night on a train travelling third class from Beijing to Harbin, the last thing she needed was to stand in sub-zero temperatures waiting for two men she’d never met. Weiguoren – foreigners, no less.

  She should have stayed home to study for her exams. At least she’d be warm and comfortable. But no, instead of spending the day with her nose in her books, as any dedicated student would do, she had jumped at the opportunity to spend the weekend in Harbin the moment Mei had offered. Mei’s friend had cancelled on her at the last minute, and she’d been looking for another travel partner.

  Joanna couldn’t resist. Being born and raised in the southern part of China where it was always warm, she’d never seen snow before. The Harbin Ice Festival was famous far beyond its borders and for many years she’d yearned to visit one day and witness the glorious sights.

  Now that she stood here, waiting on some guy she’d never met to show up, and freezing her petite ass off, it had suddenly lost its appeal.

  “This certainly isn’t the fun and relaxation you promised,” she said, pouting at Mei, and pushing her bottom lip out dramatically.

  “Wait and see.” Mei shrugged.

  “It’s freezing out here,” Joanna complained, hopping from one foot to the other and rubbing her hands up and down her arms.

  Mei laughed. “That’s why they call it Ice City.” She’d grown up near the Russian border and the Siberian cold never fazed her.

  Just when Joanna thought she’d become icebound, Mei pointed to the left and waved at the two men walking towards them. “Our wait is over. Here they come. Remember to use your English name because it’s easier for them to pronounce.”

  “What are their names again?” Joanna asked as she took in their appearance.

  “Nelson and Rowan. Nelson is the blond with the killer blue eyes, and Rowan is the dark, handsome guy with the green eyes.” Mei winked at her and then whispered, “The blonde is mine.”

  Joanna nodded. As far as she was concerned, Mei could have them both. She was here to visit the Ice Festival and not to find herself a man, much less a foreigner.

  As the men approached them, she couldn’t help but study their appearance. They were both huge, towering above all the other people around them. Joanna estimated they had at least a full foot on her diminutive height of five foot one. Nelson had the boy-next-door look about him and an easy smile on his lips as he sauntered towards where they stood. He moved like he didn’t have a care in the world and Mei’s eyes flashed with interest.

  Joanna turned her attention to the other man, Rowan. The way her eyes widened during her second glance at him pricked her annoyance as did the sudden heat flushing her body. Rowan’s stunning good looks set her back on her heels, even more so than Nelson’s boyish charm. The brooding man possessed dark hair and obvious muscles beneath his down jacket, but no welcoming smile lit his eyes or touched his lips. His chiseled jaw was set, his lips pressed into a thin line, and there was a restlessness about him that no one could miss.

  He might as well have had a neon sign blinking above his head stating he’d rather be anywhere else.

  She cocked her head and observed him more closely, murmuring to herself, “Good morning, grumpy.”

  “Good morning,” Nelson greeted them, shaking both girls’ proffered hands. “I’m Nelson and this here is Rowan.”

  Rowan barely unclenched his teeth to mutter something similar to “Good morning”, keeping his hands firmly in the pockets of his down jacket. Now she could add rude to his already growing list of faults.

  “Did you wait long?” Nelson asked with a syrupy smile.

  Joanna knew his kind, acting as if he were the emperor himself and only out to take advantage of Chinese women. But apparently Mei didn’t see through his ruse or didn’t care, because she fell all over herself, trying to charm him.

  “A few minutes. We’re so glad you are here. It’ll be such a fun weekend.” Mei batted her eyelashes at Nelson and stared at him with a silly, star-struck expression on her face that turned Joanna’s stomach. “How about you two? No sudden emergencies?”

  Both men worked as resident emergency doctors at the University hospital where Mei and Joanna studied TCM, Traditional Chinese Medicine.

  Nelson smiled and shook his head. “No, we’ve got the next few days off. We flew in from Beijing this morning.” Then he struck up a conversation with Mei and soon entwined his arm with hers as they took off towards the festival grounds.

  The entrance gate to the Harbin Ice and Snow Happy Valley was an immense castle-like structure built from ice cubes with small cones in trendy red, pink and blue adorning the roof. Above the gate, sat a huge globe that reminded her of an observation deck.

  Excitement coursed through Joanna at the prospect of seeing the fabulous sculptures inside, but she hated the fact that Mei’s immediate absorption with Nelson stuck her with the surly Rowan as her companion. She gave him a small smile, hoping he would get rid of his obvious irritation at life in general and at least be civil to her.

  �
��So, you’re studying medicine, too?” Rowan asked as he fell in step beside her.

  “Yes, this is my first semester.”

  “I thought Nelson said you were about to graduate?” he asked with a raise of his brow.

  Joanna nodded and bit her bottom lip. “Mei and her friend are. But I just started.”

  A scowl darkened his face and he hurried to close the distance to Mei and Nelson, leaving Joanna no choice but to sprint to keep up with his long strides. She’d just been dismissed.

  So much for an enjoyable weekend.

  Chapter 2

  I’m a first-class asshole. Rowan’s anger was directed at Nelson, but since his friend was way ahead, his arm tightly wrapped around Mei, Rowan chose to take it out on the girl by his side. She didn’t deserve his grumpiness, and yet, he felt no remorse and only frustration. Some days simply sucked.

  Nelson had tricked him into this weekend trip. He’d been singing the praises of the world’s largest ice and snow festival. Myriads of tourists, Chinese and foreigners alike, visited every year to admire the spectacular sculptures completely made of ice and snow. And Rowan had been more than a bit intrigued when Nelson had promised him a great surprise for Rowan’s birthday today.

  If he’d known the surprise was a blind date, Rowan would have refused to consider the hair-brained plan that brought them here. But for once he had hoped that Nelson possessed more sophisticated interests than banging the next random girl.

  What an awful surprise!

  “It’s amazing,” Joanna whispered next to him where she stood gazing up at a Cinderella’s castle lit up in green and yellow.

  “Looks like a lot of work,” he said. The impressiveness of the ice sculptures weakened his resolve to be grumpy. He turned to glance at Joanna, who’d removed her scarf for a moment. He got his first full glimpse of her face and fell silent overcome with shock. And something else.

  Her exquisite beauty stunned him, featuring a flawless complexion, almost black almond-shaped eyes, smooth black hair peeking out from her beige wool bonnet, and a wonderful smile that curved her lips. When she noticed him watching her, she turned her head and he spotted a small birthmark on her cheek. For some strange reason he wanted to touch the birthmark, that enhanced her beauty, making her unique.

  “It is,” she answered with a shy voice, “I’ve read the artists need weeks to finish such an elaborate sculpture.”

  He glanced at her again, and took a quick step away, confused by the strange sensations rushing through his body. Although he’d never be considered a player like Nelson who had unlimited women lusting after him, Rowan wasn’t a saint either. But this? Sweet Joanna evoked emotions a lot more complex – and terrifying – than the simple sexual attraction he knew how to deal with.

  “It says here the artist is from Norway,” he read from the sign indicating the artist and theme.

  “When the festival first began many years ago, only Chinese sculptors could participate, but it quickly gained international attention and is now the largest festival of its kind with the best artists from all over the world. There are other festivals in Sapporo, Norway, and Quebec, but the one in Harbin eclipses them all,” Joanna explained with a shy smile.

  They continued to walk between the sculptures that reminded him somehow about the magnificent buildings on The Strip in Las Vegas, with the difference that these here were made of ice, to exist for several months at most, until Summer came and they melted away.

  A gust of wind swept through and he hunched his shoulders inside his down jacket. The bitterly cold winds reminded him of Harbin’s reputation for the coldest and longest winters among all Chinese cities. He’d read that the average temperature in January was minus one degree Fahrenheit. Add in the wind and the city well deserved its nickname Ice City.

  Joanna stopped in front of another sculpture, a “Wow” slipping from her lips.

  A yellow-lit monument resembling the US National Archives in Washington sat on top of an artificial hill, a flight of steps glowing in bluish-white leading up to the top. Except for the artificial hill, everything else was made of ice.

  Rowan couldn’t help but be impressed with its massive size and the detail that had gone into the structure. The stairs even boasted a handrail – made from ice. He tipped his head back to see the top of the massive ice monument that soared to over one hundred and fifty feet.

  They walked up the flight of stairs in silence, both of them in awe at the magic beauty. About halfway up, Joanna slipped and he caught her elbow. The grateful smile she bestowed on him sent zings of heat through his body, despite the bitter cold surrounding them.

  Rowan let her elbow go and continued the trek upward. He wasn’t here for a quick hookup, and especially not with a Chinese girl. In the two months he’d spent at the Beijing University for his residency he’d experienced that the girls willing to date foreigners, usually had a different agenda than his career oriented one. Their only goal in life seemed to be to find a husband to support them and possibly take them out of China. He’d stayed away from that trap as best as he could, but now Nelson and his asinine plans had catapulted him right into it. Damn Nelson.

  When he and Joanna reached the top of the artificial hill, he turned to look down, the entire festival grounds laying at their feet. The ice sculptures shone in the most trendy colors, making it a touch too kitschy for him.

  “Wow. Isn’t it wonderful?” Joanna asked.

  “They used LED lights so they don’t melt the ice,” Rowan said with a grin. The way she looked, excited and happy, reminded him of his sister Roxie when they were teenagers. He’d never understood her penchant for pink, shiny and glittery. It seemed to be an international girl thing.

  “Yes, imagine how much more spectacular they must look at night,” Joanna said with such a shy and sweet smile, it tugged at his heartstrings. The whirling sensations in his body were anything but brotherly. But the touch of innocence in her face made him want to run away. She looked like she was barely seventeen, and even though Joanna must be the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, he couldn’t allow himself to be attracted to someone so young.

  “I guess so.” Rowan turned his head, but then his glance fell on Mei and Nelson wrapped around one another. He sighed, because he already knew how their day would end up. A sense of discomfort crept up his spine. If he didn’t want to be exceptionally rude, he’d have to take the bait and spend the evening with Joanna. Whether he liked it or not. He just hoped she wouldn’t get the wrong idea and think he was even remotely interested in her.

  Right in this moment he wanted to strangle Nelson for tricking him into this situation. Worst birthday ever. A wave of nostalgia swept over him as he realized he’d be celebrating his birthday without his friends and family in the US for the first time in his life. His only friend Nelson, had totally forgotten the occasion in his quest to scratch another notch in his bedpost.

  Rowan reached for the phone in his pocket to dial his parents’ number, but then stopped midway as he remembered the twelve-hour time difference. He parents would be fast asleep this time of the night and it wasn’t even his birthday yet back home.

  Chapter 3

  Joanna watched the various emotions travel across her companion’s face. When he forgot to be grumpy, he was actually nice. And his smile… her knees went all wobbly and she could barely hold a conversation with him. He must think I’m a total klutz, not able to speak more than a few mumbled words.

  She wasn’t quite sure what to do with the rioting sensations coursing through her body, since she’d never experienced such a strong visceral reaction to a man before, especially not a foreigner. For a moment she despised Mei, who’d cast her aside the moment Nelson had showed up. I don’t get it, why does she need a man to provide for her?

  “Shall we walk around a bit? It looks like our friends prefer to be alone.” Rowan said it with disdained look on his face, followed by sadness.

  She almost grabbed his gloved hand to comfort him. What
on earth could make him so sad? Surely not the fact that he had to spend the day with her? The temperature fell another ten degrees as she pondered the notion that she was the cause for his dismay.

  But Joanna wouldn’t be herself if she weren’t determined to make the best of things. She’d come to Harbin to enjoy the ice festival. And she would do so, no matter what Mei-Zhen, Nelson or Rowan did.

  “Sure,” she answered, and called after Mei to let her friend know they’d meet in a couple of hours for a late lunch.

  Rowan tilted his head and when she turned back to him, openly studied her with a suspicious look in his eyes. “What exactly did you tell your friend?”

  “Just that we’ll meet in two hours at the entrance gate,” she said, laughing at him.

  “So you’re okay with her leaving you alone with me?”

  Joanna’s heart thumped against her ribs. They weren’t exactly alone, since at least a thousand other visitors littered the festival grounds. But the way his green eyes with the cutest brown specks fixated on her made it seem like the rest of the world had disappeared. Ripples of exhilaration coursed through her body. She unconsciously stuck out her bottom lip before she answered, “It’s not how I’d envisioned the day, but…”

  “But what?” His face hovered mere inches away from hers, his warm breath caressing her cold cheeks. Her entire body trembled with longing, an unexpected sensation that she couldn’t quite define.

  “… but…I’m determined to enjoy it. I’ve wanted to see the ice festival for years, and I won’t let anything or anyone ruin this day for me.” She shoved her mitten-clad hands through the air to emphasize her words.

  The magic of the moment vanished the moment Rowan’s laughter pierced the chilly air. “That’s a word. Let’s go and enjoy the sculptures.”

  He fell in step with her and she peeked at his chiseled profile a few times to determine whether he was making fun of her or not. But it seemed he was serious. His face had lost the grumpy expression and he looked even more handsome now. Handsome enough to send tingles deep down her stomach.