by Jill Shalvis
“Can you do it without a douche-bag boyfriend?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.” Josh leaned back on the bench, exhausted, and more than a little worried about Grace. But beyond that, there was something new blooming in his chest.
Or rather, the lack of something old. He’d felt like a family tonight with Toby and Anna. A real family.
That was all Grace. It was still Grace, and she wasn’t even in the room. He’d actually believed that he didn’t have anything at stake with her, that it would cost him nothing to enjoy the fun while it lasted. To enjoy her.
But he’d been wrong. He’d had his family at stake, his heart. Everything.
And she loved him. It’d been a shock to hear her say it. After she had, all he’d wanted to do was hear it again, but he quickly realized during her vanishing act that it’d been a mistake on her part. She hadn’t meant to say it at all.
She loved him, but she didn’t want to love him.
He’d found someone he’d never in a million years expected—someone who’d put it all on the line for him, someone to love him—not for being a doctor or a dad, but just for being Josh.
And he’d blown it.
The front door of the station opened and more people arrived. Amy. Matt. Ty. Lucille and her entire posse.
Hell, half the town.
Lucille and her gang were carrying posters that said things like FREE GRACE. One of the sheriffs confiscated the posters when an eighty-five-year-old Mrs. Burland hit one of them over the head. He said he’d arrest her for police brutality, but he was afraid of starting a riot.
Finally, Sawyer came out of the back, leading Grace, on crutches, and everyone started yelling at Sawyer at once.
“She was only protecting Anna!”
“You can’t arrest her!”
“We won’t let you take her!”
Sawyer held up a hand, and the din stopped on a dime. “You people are crazy, you know that?”
The yelling renewed, but again Sawyer stopped them. “She’s not arrested! We just had some questions that needed answers. Seriously, you all need a life. Grace is free to go.”
Grace was standing in the middle of the crowd looking a little bowled over at the support. And also a little unstable on her feet, especially when everyone began to move in too close. Josh waded in, parted the seas, and drew her up against him, crutches and all.
Grace hadn’t seen him coming, but the minute Josh’s warm, strong arms surrounded her, she sighed. “Hey,” she said, breathless. The crutches were a bitch, and all the people were a little disconcerting, but that wasn’t what had stolen the air from her lungs.
Nope, that was all Josh, and the way he’d somehow pushed through the crowd to get to her. It was how he’d pulled her in tight, as if she were the most precious thing to him, as if he couldn’t wait another second to touch her.
She liked that, a lot.
Everyone around them seemed a little crazy, but she realized that they were here for her.
Her.
In her world, she’d always had to earn acceptance, approval, even love. But from the very beginning, it’d been different here. She had Amy and Mallory, who had accepted her as is, and the rest of Lucky Harbor had eventually done the same, no questions asked. She’d never experienced anything like it. It was humbling.
It was amazing.
And then there was Toby and Anna.
And Josh…
Behind them, Sawyer was shoving people toward the door. “Out. Everyone out.” He eyed Lucille’s FREE GRACE sign and shook his head at her.
Unrepentant, she grinned, then turned to Grace. “You did good, hon, protecting the tot. If Dr. Scott doesn’t realize what a catch he has, we’ll all make sure to hit him with our signs when he comes out of the station.”
“Hell,” Josh said. “I’m right here.”
“He ought to make an honest woman out of you,” Mr. Saunders said, ignoring Josh. “If he doesn’t, I will.”
“No, I will,” Mr. Wykowski said, waving his cane.
“Easy, boys.” Lucille looped an arm into each of theirs. “There are plenty of honest women to go around.”
Sawyer pointed to the door. He wasn’t the kind of guy people messed with. If he wanted the place empty, the place got empty, in a hurry. In less than two minutes, it was just Josh and Grace. Even Anna and Toby had gone outside to wait.
In the ensuing silence, Sawyer shook his head, muttered something to himself that sounded like “fucking Mayberry,” and gave Josh and Grace a nod. “I’ll be in the back.”
Then they were alone. Nerves danced in Grace’s belly.
“You okay?” Josh tilted her face up to his, searching her features as if he couldn’t get his fill.
She gave herself permission to do the same. She had no idea what her future held exactly, but for the first time in her life, that was okay. She’d found herself. Here, in this town.
With this man.
And that was enough. She’d found her own way, not because of what her job title was or how much money she pushed around, but because of who she was. On the inside. Which, as it turned out, had nothing to do with numbers at all. “I’m okay. Devon’s not pressing charges.”
Josh let out a breath and pushed the hair from her face, tracing a finger along her temple, tucking a strand behind her ear. “I missed you last night.”
Out of all the things that she’d expected him to say, that was just about last on the list. She pulled back to meet his gaze. “But after I left, you didn’t even call.”
“I thought you needed some space. My mistake,” he said quietly.
“No, it’s mine,” Grace said in a rush, the words needing to get out. “I’m sorry about what I said. It was too soon. I shouldn’t have—”
Josh cut her off with a kiss that made her toes curl. “Don’t be sorry,” he said when they broke apart. “I love you, Grace. I think I have since day one when you jumped into my life with both feet, giving me all you had just to help me out.”
She stared up at him, feeling the anxiety in her chest break free, giving way to hope and love. “You should know that it wasn’t all from the goodness of my heart. It was also for the goodness of my very sad bank account.”
His mouth curved. “Liar. You’d do just about anything to help anyone, even people who only a few months ago were perfect strangers.” And though he kept his eyes on hers, he gestured outside with a jerk of his chin, where everyone in town was straining their eardrums trying to catch their conversation.
They’re trying to see if you’re making an honest woman out of me,” she said.
“Working on it,” he said. “It’d help if you threw yourself at me in front of them.”
She laughed and did just that, flinging down her crutches and hitting him midchest. Her cast weighed her down a bit but he seemed to have no problem catching her. She wrapped herself around him like a monkey and buried her face against his throat, breathing him in. “You haven’t asked me if I’m taking the job.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
She lifted her head. “No…?”
“Either way, we’ll make it work.”
Her breath caught as her heart filled with so much love and hope she didn’t know if she could contain it all. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Nope. Nope, she couldn’t contain it all, some of it spilled out in the form of a dopey smile. “You really wouldn’t mind dating a woman who lived far away?”
His gaze roamed her features hungrily. “Hell, Grace. I’d go to Australia to visit you. I don’t care about the job, or where you lay your head down at night, as long as your heart’s mine.”
Her heart melted. “I’m not taking the Seattle job, Josh.”
He closed his eyes. “So the offer was from Portland, then. All right, so we’ll get intimately familiar with frequent-flyer miles.”
She slid her fingers into his hair and waited until he opened his eyes and looked at her. “I didn’t take tha
t job either.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. He was catching on. “Give me a hint,” he said.
“It involves shoe boxes.” She drew in a deep breath and said it out loud for the first time. “I’ve lived in quite a few places in my life, and none of them ever felt like home. Until Lucky Harbor. For the first time, I feel like I belong somewhere. Here. I’m going to stay and open a small bookkeeping firm. I might have to supplement the income at first with other jobs, but as it turns out, I like mixing it up. What do you think?”
His smile was a thousand watts. “I think it’s perfect. You’re perfect. You know how much I love you, right? You, just the way you are.”
“Really?”
He pulled her in tighter and buried his face in her hair, inhaling her in. “Forever,” he said, and as he lowered his head to kiss her, a wild cheer went up from the crowd outside the window.
Epilogue
One year later
Grace woke from a Maui sun-soaked snooze when a shadow blocked her rays. She opened her eyes and took in the sight of Josh in nothing but loose board shorts, slung so low on his hips as to be indecent. His big, built body was tanned and wet from his ocean swim. Very wet, and he had a wicked gleam in his gaze. “Don’t,” she warned him. “Don’t you dare—”
With a badass grin, he scooped her out of the oversized lounge chair on the private beach of their honeymoon house and up against his drenched body.
“—get me wet,” she finished weakly.
“Oh, I’m going to get you wet, Mrs. Scott. Very wet.” He nuzzled her for a moment, then dropped down onto the lounge, with her now on top of him. He made himself comfortable, his hands roaming freely over her body as he did. “Mmm. You smell like a coconut. You know I love coconuts.”
She did. She knew this firsthand…It’d been a lovely few days, and they had a few more left. They’d gotten married six months ago, but this had been their first opportunity for a getaway. Anna had come home on college break to watch Toby and Tank for them.
They’d made the most of their alone time, and Grace lay there on top of Josh in sated, contented quiet. Working their way down her sexual fantasy list had proven exhausting business, and they had yet to start on Josh’s, although sitting on him as she was, she could tell he was ready to get going.
Josh entwined his fingers with hers and drew them up to his mouth, kissing her palm, regarding her with a serious look on his face. “Promise me something.”
“Anything.”
His free hand slid to her still-flat belly. At only three months pregnant, she wasn’t yet showing at all. “We skip the Star Wars DVDs with this one.”
The Chocoholics’ Cupcakes-Worth-the-Fat-Grams
Cupcakes
1 7-ounce milk chocolate bar
¼ cup butter
1 ⅔ cups boiling water
2 ⅓ cups unsifted flour
2 cups light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine chocolate, butter, and boiling water in medium bowl. Stir until smooth. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add chocolate mixture to dry ingredients, beating well. Blend in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Beat till smooth, about 1 minute.
Pour into cupcake tins (approximately 24 cupcakes) and bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
Frosting
2 ½ tablespoons cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
¼ cup milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
Sift cocoa and sugar in a saucepan. Add butter and milk and bring to a rolling boil for 60 seconds. Add vanilla. Pour into a small mixing bowl and beat until cooler and spreadable.
Frost cupcakes and enjoy the scrumptiousness!
After Maddie Moore loses her boyfriend and her job, she moves to Lucky Harbor to fix up the inn her mother left as her inheritance. But the contractor she’s hired is making it hard for her to remember that she’s sworn off men…
Please turn this page for an excerpt from Simply Irresistible and see why readers first fell in love with Lucky Harbor.
Chapter 1
“I chose the path less traveled, but only because
I was lost. Carry a map.”
Phoebe Traeger
Maddie drove the narrow, curvy highway with her past still nipping at her heels after fourteen hundred miles. Not even her dependable Honda had been able to outrun her demons.
Or her own failings.
Good thing, then, that she was done with failing. Please be done with failing, she thought.
“Come on, listeners,” the disc jockey said jovially on the radio. “Call in with your Christmas hopes and dreams. We’ll be picking a random winner and making a wish come true.”
“You’re kidding me.” Maddie briefly took her eyes off the mountainous road and flicked a glance at the dash. “It’s one day after Thanksgiving. It’s not time for Christmas.”
“Any wish,” the DJ said. “Name it, and it could be yours.”
As if. But she let out a breath and tried for whimsy. Once upon a time, she’d been good at such things. Maddie Moore, you were raised on movie sets—fake the damn whimsy. “Fine. I’ll wish for…” What? That she could’ve had a do-over with her mother before Phoebe Traeger had gone to the ultimate Grateful Dead concert in the sky? That Maddie had dumped her ex far sooner than she had? That her boss—may he choke on his leftover turkey—had waited until after year-end bonuses to fire her?
“The lines are lit up,” the DJ announced. “Best of luck to all of you out there waiting.”
Hey, maybe that’s what she’d wish for—luck. She’d wish for better luck than she’d had: with family, with a job, with men—
Well, maybe not men. Men she was giving up entirely. Pausing from that thought, she squinted through the fog to read the first road sign she’d seen in a while.
WELCOME TO LUCKY HARBOR!
Home to 2,100 lucky people
And 10,100 shellfish
About time. Exercising muscles she hadn’t utilized in too long, she smiled, and in celebration of arriving at her designated destination, she dug into the bag of salt and vinegar potato chips at her side. Chips cured just about everything, from the I-lost-my-job blues, to the my-boyfriend-was-a-jerk regrets, to the tentatively hopeful celebration of a new beginning.
“A new beginning done right,” she said out loud, because everyone knew that saying it out loud made it true. “You hear that, karma?” She glanced upward through her slightly leaky sunroof into a dark sky, where storm clouds tumbled together like a dryer full of gray wool blankets. “This time, I’m going to be strong.” Like Katharine Hepburn. Like Ingrid Bergman. “So go torture someone else and leave me alone.”
A bolt of lightning blinded her, followed by a boom of thunder that nearly had her jerking out of her skin. “Okay, so I meant pretty please leave me alone.”
The highway in front of her wound its way alongside a cliff on her right, which probably hid more wildlife than this affirmed city girl wanted to think about. Far below the road on her left, the Pacific Ocean pitched and rolled, fog lingering in long, silvery fingers on the frothy water.
Gorgeous, all of it, but what registered more than anything was the silence. No horns blaring while jockeying for position in the clogged fast lane, no tension-filled offices where producers and directors shouted at each other. No ex-boyfriends who yelled to release steam. Or worse.
No anger at all, in fact.
Just the sound of the radio and her own breathing. Delicious, glorious silence.
As unbelievable as it seemed, she’d never driven through the mountains before. She was here now only because, shockingly, her mother’s will had listed property in Washington State. More shockingly, Maddie had been left one-third of that property, a place called Lucky Harbor Resort.
Raised by her set-designer dad in Los
Angeles, Maddie hadn’t seen her mother more than a handful of times since he’d taken custody of her at age five, so the will had been a huge surprise. Her dad had been just as shocked as she, and so had her two half-sisters, Tara and Chloe. Since there hadn’t been a memorial service—Phoebe had specifically not wanted one—the three sisters had agreed to meet at the resort.
It would be the first time they’d seen each other in five years.
Defying probability, the road narrowed yet again. Maddie steered into the sharp left curve and then immediately whipped the wheel the other way for the unexpected right. A sign warned her to keep a lookout for river otters, osprey—what the heck were osprey?—and bald eagles. Autumn had come extremely late this year for the entire West Coast, and the fallen leaves were strewn across the roads like gold coins. It was beautiful, and taking it all in might have caused her to slide a little bit into the next hairpin, where she—oh, crap—
Barely missed a guy on a motorcycle.
“Oh, my God.” Heart in her throat, she craned her neck, watching as the bike ran off the road and skidded to a stop. With a horrified grimace, she started to drive past, then hesitated.
But hurrying past a cringe-worthy moment, hoping to avoid a scene, was the old Maddie. The new Maddie stopped the car, though she did allow herself a beat to draw a quick, shuddery breath. What was she supposed to say—Sorry I almost killed you, here’s my license, insurance, and last twenty-seven dollars? No, that was too pathetic. Motorcycles are death machines, you idiot, you nearly got yourself killed! Hmm, probably a tad too defensive. Which meant that a simple, heartfelt apology would have to do.
Bolstering her courage, she got out of the car clutching her Blackberry, ready to call 911 if it got ugly. Shivering in the unexpectedly damp ocean air, she moved toward him, her arms wrapped around herself as she faced the music.
