by Cathryn Fox
“You were so angry, Sean. I wasn’t sure you wanted me to stay.”
I grip my hair and pull it. Fuck. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get so angry, but I was scared, Summer. I’d never been that scared in my fucking life.”
“I was scared, too. Still am.”
I pull her to me, and glance over her shoulder expecting to see someone holding a gun over us. “Why?”
“I’m scared I ruined things between us. You see, Sean. I’ve loved you since I was twelve years old.”
I nearly sob from happiness. “I’ve loved you just as long, Summer.”
“I never should have thought I could trick you into believing I was someone else.”
“It might have been thirteen years, but the second I set eyes on you I knew who you were.”
“Same, but it hasn’t been thirteen years for me.”
“No?”
“Dad and I watched all your races. We were so proud of our Blue Bay boy.”
My head rears back. “Your dad . . . proud of me?” I scoff and wave my finger between us. “I’m not sure he’d be so happy about this.”
“I thing you might be wrong about that. I think he knew how protective you were of me and might have sent me here on purpose.”
While I’m not too sure about that, there’s a question I need to ask, even though I’m not sure I want to hear the answer. “How long are you here?”
“Seeing as you went through all the trouble to make a sign for me. The least I could do is stay and open my practice. Besides you won’t go to a doctor and you need someone to help you work all the kinks out,” she says, her voice playful, so mischievous my insides warms, aching to take her to the bedroom and show her just how much I like that idea.
“There you go using that word ‘kink’ again. Don’t toy with me, Summer. There will be consequences.” She grins like she likes that idea and my heart soars with the love I have for her. But I wipe all playfulness away and sober. “Only one problem, though.”
She angels her head, take in the seriousness on my face. “A problem?” she asks, and takes a tentative step back, like she’s worried she really did make a mess of things. “What kind of problem?”
“As far as I’m concerned, we need to toss that sign in the garbage.”
She gulps and I hear her throat. “Sean, I thought—”
“It has your name wrong.”
“I know I never should have said I was Jenna—”
“Summer,” I say, stopping her. “It has your last name wrong.”
She still looks confused, until I drop down onto one knee. Her eyes go wide and her mouth drops open forming that perfect “O” that I love so much.
“It should say Summer Owens.”
“Sean—”
“Marry me, Summer. Make me the happiest man in the world.”
She takes deep gulping breaths, tears pooling in her eyes. “Say yes.”
“Yes,” she cries out, and I climb to my feet, gather her into my arms and carry her down the hall.
“Now there are only two things left.”
“What?” she asks as she wraps her arms around me to hang on. And she’d better fucking hang on because we only get one shot at this life, and ours is going to be a ride to remember. “The cottage is finished, and it’s time to for us to christen it.”
She giggles, and presses her mouth to mine. I kiss her with all the love inside me. I set her on the bed and tug off my T-shirt. Her eyes roam over my scars, ones that have healed from her love and her touch, then her eyes go wide. “Wait, you said two things.”
“That’s right. We need to work on giving Gram that little great-granddaughter she wants.”
Summer’s smile nearly brings tears to my fucking eyes. She reaches out to me, pulls me to her warm body. “I love you Sean.”
“I love you, too, Summer,” I say as I close my lips over hers. “I always have.”
Acknowledgments
A book never comes together alone. Behind the scenes there is a huge support team, and for me it starts with my wonderful agent, Elaine Spencer, who is always running around in fifty different directions because of me. Thanks you for all you do, Elaine. Another huge thank-you to Holly Ingraham. You have been such a pleasure to work with. I love your insight and value your opinions. I hope we do many more books together in the future. A shout-out to Julianne MacLean, Pamela Callow, and Kelly Boyce, my whine-and-wine friends who are always there with their great advice!
Don’t miss what the Blue Bay Crew is up to next in
LEVELED
Available 2018 from SMP Swerve
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cathryn Fox is a wife, mom, sister, daughter, and friend. She loves dogs, sunny weather, anything chocolate (she never says no to a brownie), pizza, and red wine. Cathryn has two teenagers who keep her busy and a husband who is convinced he can turn her into a mixed martial arts fan. When not writing, Cathryn can be found laughing over lunch with friends, hanging out with her kids, or watching a big action flick with her husband.
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter One: Summer
Chapter Two: Sean
Chapter Three: Summer
Chapter Four: Sean
Chapter Five: Summer
Chapter Six: Sean
Chapter Seven: Summer
Chapter Eight: Sean
Chapter Nine: Summer
Chapter Ten: Summer
Chapter Eleven: Sean
Chapter Twelve: Summer
Chapter Thirteen: Summer
Chapter Fourteen: Sean
Chapter Fifteen: Sean
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright Page
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
DEMOLISHED. Copyright © 2017 by Cathryn Fox. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Mimi Bark
Cover photograph: man © Arthur-studio10/Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-15295-4 (ebook)
First Edition: August 2017
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