by Ginny Baird
Meet me in the middle!
****
Tara’s boots left the pavement the instant she got his text. Heath was less than a mile away! She darted forward, pressing her way through the crowd. Tara had never been much of a runner, but this was the marathon of her life. Her destiny waited just two track lengths ahead.
If Heath met her halfway, he’d cover the same distance in no time. Tara ran with all her might, feeling fire in her veins as icy air stung her face. The wintery cold had no hold on her now. The only one she wanted to hold her was Heath.
****
Heath raced through the bitter chill with one thought in mind. Tara would be in his arms soon. Whatever had gone wrong, no matter what mistakes he’d made, he’d fix them, if she’d only agree to be his. Heath picked up his pace, his shoes pounding the walking path beneath him. When he saw Tara rushing in his direction, his spirit soared.
Tara’s pretty green eyes lit up and a smile warmed her lips. “Heath!” she called loudly. “Over here!” Her arms were up and waving as she barreled toward him, weaving in and out of curious onlookers who began to peel off to the side.
“Tara!” he cried, the word scraping from his throat. He’d never been happier to see anyone in his life. The pedestrians on his portion of the bridge slowed to a stall, as well. Soon, everyone around them had stopped to watch the impromptu reunion between the apparently estranged lovers.
She tore toward him and leapt into his arms. Heath caught Tara joyfully, swinging her around and around. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t come,” he said huskily.
Her voice quaked as she gazed up at him. “I thought when you said the Brooklyn—”
“I know, darling. I know. It’s totally my fault.”
She eyed him longingly. “The important thing is we’re here.” A wave of relief crashed over him. This was his chance. Heath gently set her down, and spoke from the heart.
“I want to apologize, Tara. For any of the hurt and confusion I caused you, and your dad.”
Her eyes glistened. “Heath, I’m sorry too. So, so sorry…I wouldn’t listen to you.”
“I’ve made some mistakes, but please believe they were done out of wrongheadedness—not malice.”
She nodded thoughtfully, like she understood, though her face was flushed.
Heath brought his arms around her, embracing her fully. “I’ll make it up to you—to you and your dad, both.” He viewed her convincingly. “I have a plan.”
She smiled and her lips trembled. “There’s no better planner than you.”
That was all the encouragement Heath needed to make his next move. He astonished her by pulling a small velvet ring box from his coat pocket.
At that precise moment, it began to snow.
People all around them oohed and ahhed, as tears pooled in Tara’s beautiful green eyes.
“I know I’ve made a mess of this. But if you’ll give me the rest of our lifetimes, I’ll make it right.”
He flipped open the ring box, exposing a gorgeous two-carat solitaire. It was set in an intricate white gold setting, which had been meticulously designed for Juliette by Lyle. Little rosebud flowerets sat at the base of the stone, which glittered like new-fallen snow.
Heath had use the original setting, but upgraded the diamond for Tara. He’d taken a risk in having this custom-made piece of jewelry altered, but from the look on Tara’s face it was paying off in spades.
“This engagement ring belonged to my Grandma Juliette,” he told her. “She and my Granddad Lyle were married for over sixty years. I’m hoping we’ll be that lucky.”
Tara gaped in surprise as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Are you…?”
Heath took her hand and dropped down on one knee to stunned gasps from the crowd. “Tara McAdams,” he rasped hoarsely. “Will you marry me?”
She clamped a hand over her mouth, but she was nodding. And crying. Boy, was she crying—to beat the band. But those were joyful tears, Heath was sure of it.
“You bet I will!” she said, tugging him to his feet. He motioned toward her left hand and Tara quickly removed her glove, allowing Heath to slip the ring on her finger.
“I had it adjusted for you,” he said. “It’s a perfect size six.”
She stared up at him and her face held a beautiful blush. “It’s marvelous. The most incredible ring I’ve ever seen.”
“I was hoping that, after the wedding, we could honeymoon in Ireland?”
Tara sighed happily. “Ireland?”
“You said you’ve always wanted to go.” Heath observed her lovingly. “And, sweetheart, I’ll go anywhere with you.”
She grinned, then asked jauntily, “I suppose you’ll be asking me to move to Savannah, next?”
“I’d be so honored if you would. I’ve got my business there and my granddad—”
“What about my bookshop?” she cut in, but she was beaming even more brightly than before.
“Do you think that Jeannie might be interested in taking over the original Happy Hearts? A really awesome rental space has just opened up around the corner from Forsyth Park, and I was wondering if you might like to start a second store? With a certain investor’s help, of course,” he added with a twinkle.
Tara’s gaze sparkled merrily. “Heath Wellington, I think that’s a fine idea!” She stopped suddenly…worry furrowing her brow. “And, my dad?”
Heath grinned, surprising her with his answer. “Richard tells me he’s ready for warmer weather.”
Tara blinked like she couldn’t believe it. “Well, then! I suppose it’s all settled.”
Heath took her back in his arms. “So, what do you say?” he pleaded warmly, as snow continued to pound them. “Will you move to Savannah, and be my bride?”
A woman in the crowd yelled, “Yes! Say yes!” and Tara laughed out loud. “Sounds like I’d better agree with her, or the mob will come after me.”
It was Heath’s turn to laugh, and his spirit was light. So light, he felt he could fly. Tara and he were going to build an amazing life together in Georgia. More amazing than he’d ever dreamed possible. “I think you’ve just made me the happiest man alive.”
“You’ve made me unbelievably happy, too.” She paused, then petitioned boldly, “But you will still explain…? About my dad’s bank, and why you didn’t—?”
Heath pulled her closer. “Yes, darling. Everything.”
Her hat and wavy dark tresses were dusted white, but her cheeks burned bright pink. Love and affection were written in her eyes. “You’re what I wanted for Christmas, Heath.”
Heath cupped her face in his hands and heat flooded his veins. He’d never adored a woman so fervently or wanted anyone in his life this much. “You’re what I want always, Tara.”
She nodded sweetly as his mouth moved in, and snowflakes gently danced around them. “I’m yours.”
“Together forever through time,” Heath whispered. “Lyle had that engraved in your engagement ring for Juliette. Now, it’s etched in my heart.”
“That’s beautiful.”
His lips brushed over hers. “So are you.”
Heath kissed her soundly while wintery winds blew, ruffling their coats and riffling their hair. Then, to cheers and applause from their onlookers, Heath scooped Tara up in his arms and carried her all…the…way…back to Manhattan, where a wonderful hotel suite awaited them, and they would not be needing separate rooms.
As a special treat for his new fiancée, he’d asked room service to have a bottle of champagne and a pint of gourmet pistachio ice cream chilling—on ice. Heath was going to take every occasion to spoil Tara, and he couldn’t wait to get started tonight.
The End
Author Bio
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Ginny Baird has published novels in print and online and received screenplay options from Hollywood for her family and romantic comedy scripts. Whether writing lighthearted romantic comedy or spine-tingling romantic suspense, she delights in delivering heartwar
ming stories. Ginny is the author of the Christmas Town series, the Holiday Brides series, the Summer Grooms series, a Romantic Ghost Stories series, and several standalone books. She invites you to visit her website and connect with her on social media. http://www.ginnybairdromance.com/
BEACH BRIDES THANK YOU
Thanks for reading Tara’s story!
Nina’s book is next.
Read a Sneak Peek in the Excerpt.
Find all of the Beach Brides at Amazon!
MEG (Julie Jarnagin)
TARA (Ginny Baird)
NINA (Stacey Joy Netzel)
CLAIR (Grace Greene)
JENNY (Melissa McClone)
LISA (Denise Devine)
HOPE (Aileen Fish)
KIM (Magdalena Scott)
ROSE (Shanna Hatfield)
LILY (Ciara Knight)
FAITH (Helen Scott Taylor)
AMY (Raine English)
Excerpt Copyright Information
Prologue and Chapter 1 from
Nina (Beach Brides Series) by Stacey Joy Netzel
Copyright © 2017 Stacey Joy Netzel
Nina
Beach Brides Series
by
Stacey Joy Netzel
Prologue
Nina’s message in a bottle...
Single heroine seeks humble, kind, super sexy hero for a real life Happily Ever After.
No cheaters or jerks need apply—or anyone else who doesn’t meet the following criteria:
1. Must be one year older than me. Exactly. I don’t mind sharing a birthday with the love of my life.
2. Must speak French.
3. ‘super sexy’ = Sexiest Man Alive level of hotness.
4. Must be humble and kind. Think of Tim McGraw’s song. And if you’re not a fan, don’t bother applying.
5. Must be rich. (Billionaire world traveler would be a bonus to weigh heavily in your favor.) Do not equate this to me being a gold-digger. I’m just not willing to support lazy moochers who don’t know the first thing about being a real man. (hint: real men don’t mooch) So...a hard worker would be okay, too.
6. No tattoos
7. Must have a sense of humor. And be willing to admit when you’re wrong. AND apologize when you’ve been a jerk. (but remember, no jerks need apply, so figure that one out.)
8. Must have one blue eye and one brown.
9. Must be a prince. No country required.
10. Must be willing to hand over your whole heart to my tender, loving care for the rest of your life.
bemyhero (at) priley...
Chapter 1
June
Enchanted Island, Caribbean
Nina Delveaux tapped her pen against her lips as the light ocean breeze stirred a stray strand of hair against her neck. She had only a few more minutes to finish her note and meet the girls down at the beach for The Toss, yet her gaze followed a white tuft of fluff as it floated past her open bungalow doors and out of sight.
This little message in a bottle thing was downright silly if you asked her. They all knew it, and had even laughed about it over the endless supply of wine and fruity, tropical drinks last night. Yet, she wondered if secretly some of her fellow Romantic Hearts Book Club members were genuinely hopeful about writing a message to their perfect hero and tossing the message out to sea for the fates to play with.
She was a lot more practical than that, because if there was such a thing as fate, the ol’ girl had already had more than enough fun with her. She adored romance books for the fun, fantasy escape they were, not because she had any foolish notions the stuff between the covers mirrored real life. Just like there was a reason she read romance, there was a reason it was called fiction.
Her boss—and best friend—had called her jaded more than once. So would the book club members if she ever told them how she really felt about real life love. But, it wasn’t their fault she couldn’t spot a good man any better than she could pick a good cantaloupe. It wasn’t her fault either, when she couldn’t see what was beneath the outer layers.
The fruit was usually too green or too rotten when she cut it open.
The men were usually revealed as too selfish.
Or too interested in her famous boss.
Too immature, too much of a commitment-phobe, too...whatever. You name it, she’d dealt with it. Short of some miracle man meeting every condition on her list, she was done with the idea there was one special someone out there for her.
Nina skimmed her tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top note—or personals ad, really—so she could get this out of the way and enjoy her last night on the beach with friends.
Single heroine seeks humble, kind, super sexy hero for a real life Happily Ever After.
No cheaters or jerks need apply—or anyone else who doesn’t meet the following criteria:
1. Must be one year older than me. Exactly. I don’t mind sharing a birthday with the love of my life.
2. Must speak French.
She couldn’t speak French, but so what. It went with her last name, and it was supposed to be the language of love, so her perfect fantasy hero needed to speak fluently so he could romance her socks off. Literally.
3. ‘super sexy’ = Sexiest Man Alive level of hotness.
4. Must be humble and kind. Think of Tim McGraw’s song. And if you’re not a fan, don’t bother applying.
5. Must be rich. (Billionaire world traveler would be a bonus to weigh heavily in your favor.) Do not equate this to me being a gold-digger. I’m just not willing to support lazy moochers who don’t know the first thing about being a real man. (hint: real men don’t mooch) So...a hard worker would be okay, too.
6. No tattoos
7. Must have a sense of humor. And be willing to admit when you’re wrong. AND apologize when you’ve been a jerk. (but remember, no jerks need apply, so figure that one out.)
Hmm. What else to add? It was impossible for any one man to fit her first seven requirements, but since she’d numbered the list, going to ten would make it nice and even.
She was deciding on eye color when another tuft of white fluff floated into view. It reminded her of the cottonwood seeds that made it look like it was snowing every spring where she’d grown up in Wisconsin. A change in air currents swirled the white fuzz into her bungalow.
It dipped and lifted, and watching it made her think of the scene from Practical Magic when Sandra Bullock’s character created an impossible love spell to protect her heart from being broken again.
That wasn’t quite what she was doing here, but…everything else on the list was so far out of reach, why not? She put the tip of her pen back to the paper.
8. Must have one blue eye and one brown.
9. Must be a prince. No country required.
She grinned at that one. Okay, so this ridiculous dare was kind of fun after all.
And, finally, for the most important one—even though no guy would ever get this far...
10. Must be willing to hand over your whole heart to my tender, loving care for the rest of your life.
bemyhero (at) priley...
****
As you can see, Nina’s jaded and guy-shy after too many heartbreaks, so she is determined no one man will ever meet the impossible criteria specified in her message in a bottle. Little did she know she’d meet wounded veteran Finn Regan eight months later...
*** End of Excerpt***
Nina
Beach Brides Series
by
Stacey Joy Netzel
Buy Here
ons">share
