One to Chase (One to Hold #7)
Page 25
It more than paid for itself last spring when we had to hide a former client, Star Brandon, from a blackmailer we feared might try to kidnap her baby girl Cami.
Still, none of this is who I am. I couldn’t be more of a fish out of water in this place.
I try to keep my voice even so I don’t wake my sleeping fiancée. “I need you to stay calm. It’s not good for your heart to get so worked up.”
“My heart is fine,” Sylvia counters. Who ever said our mother was gentle never met her. “You promised to go with me this summer. I want you to consider how much you love being there and think about your future.”
A loud breath exhales through my lips, and I rub my forehead. “We’ll stay a month. Six weeks at the most. But I’ve made commitments to Derek and Patrick here.”
“You hate being there, Stuart William. Don’t tell me you like it.”
“I’ll do what makes sense for Mariska and me.” My voice is sharp, that old alpha-dog coming out, and as much as I love my mother, as much as her heart attack scared the shit out of all of us, I can’t not be who I am.
She immediately softens. “That’s all I’m asking you to do.”
Irritation fans in my chest at her quick surrender. It’s almost like she was just trying to get me worked up. “We’ll see you in a few days.”
“I love you,” she says before disconnecting.
My arm lowers too hard, and the beautiful girl on my chest sits up. Her eyes glow like the sunset, and a sexy smile is on her lips.
“Stuart William?” I love her soft voice. “It sounds like your mother has a bee in her bonnet.”
I laugh as desire bubbles in my chest—my anger momentarily forgotten in the light of this gorgeous creature who agreed to be mine. Lifting her in my arms, I turn us so her back is against the mattress.
“My mother wants us to move from the penthouse suite I’ve given you here to a horse ranch in the toughest wilderness in the continental U.S.”
Leaning down, I kiss her neck, inhaling her jasmine scent. She hums a satisfied sound, threading her fingers in the sides of my hair. “We have some amazing memories at that horse ranch.”
Lifting my head, I look into her eyes. She’s everything I love, and at the same time, she’s quite a bit younger than I am.
“Bill’s house is nice, but when the winter sets in, it’s pretty isolated. You sure that wouldn’t bother you?”
She smiles, tilting her head to the side. A wavy lock of chestnut hair falls across her beautiful face. “As long as I’m with you, that’s all I care about.”
My brow lines, and I think of my mother and my sister. I think of all the women I’ve known. Wilderness life might sound exotic, but when reality hits, is not their cup of tea.
We’re young in love, and making a commitment to that life, taking her away from her friends, access to her art... It’s not a decision I’m comfortable asking her to make on a permanent basis.
“We’ll help out this summer while you’re out of school. Derek won’t mind if I telecommute.” Cupping her small face in my hand, I kiss her lips. Lifting her hand, I kiss the rose engagement ring on her finger. “I’m not ready to take you out of this palace. I want to give you everything.”
“I’ve never been a princess, Stuart.” She shakes her head, blinking up at me through thick lashes. “I’m just a gypsy girl. You know that.”
Catching her face, I look deep into those sunset eyes that haunted me every day we were apart. “I want you to have every beautiful thing I can give you.”
Her hands are at my neck, and she meets my gaze with equal force, the amazing strength inside her that’s always matched mine. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever wanted. You and our babies and our family.”
Our mouths meet, and I kiss her hard, tongues sliding together. How I found this girl is one of those twist-of-fate mysteries I’ll never solve, yet here we are.
*
Stepping off the private jet in Great Falls, I hold her hand as I carry our bags to the parking lot where my uncle left us a classic Silverado to drive back to the ranch. She’s dressed in a filmy white dress, a flower in her hair, and I help her in the step-side before closing the door and going to the other side.
We drive miles down the lonely dirt road to the ranch situated in the middle of nowhere. The big main house appears on the flat lands, and I pull into the yard to park by my uncle’s orange Ford.
I get out and go around to the passenger’s side to help her down. Inside my mother is waiting with my uncle Bill. Amy and I decided we didn’t need to burden her with the secrets of the past, with what we knew about our father’s infidelities.
She would grant us forgiveness, but would dragging up all that pain make a difference? No, we decided we’ve both moved on from those old scars. Our top priority now is making her and Bill feel safe enough to trust us with their love.
“It’s as incredible as I remember,” Mariska sighs, and I pause to follow her gaze past the barn where the horses wait, and across the great plain.
The sky spreads out as far as the eye can see in orange, yellow, and blue twilight, and it’s nothing but brown grasses and big sky.
My soul aches for this land as much as my heart beats for the woman at my side. My mother’s right. I belong here, but I’ll be damned if I’ll sacrifice Mariska to have it.
We’ll have to find another way.
* * *
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Thank you for reading!
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed One to Chase! Amy has been referenced in both Knight brother books (One to Keep & One to Leave), but it wasn’t until Marcus joined the series in One to Save that I knew she had to come back from Paris.
Marcus is such a strong character, and based on Stuart and Patrick, I knew Amy would be just as strong. One of my favorite things is colliding a strong male with a strong female and watching the sparks fly. This pair was sizzling.
I didn’t expect One to Chase to unfold as a novel of manners. (A t
ype of novel focused on the values of a certain social class—think classics like Pride & Prejudice or current faves like Gossip Girl.) I enjoyed delving into that world and seeing the “villains” get what was coming to them. I hope you did, too!
Up next in One to Take, I’ll be headed back out west to tie up Stuart and Mariska’s story (wink!). Stuart is one sexy cowboy, who became a reader favorite. In the process, I’m sure I’ll get to the bottom of the Sylvia and Bill story as well. So stay tuned, One to Take will be out Fall 2015! I’ve already started the Pinterest board here: https://www.pinterest.com/AuthorTiaLouise/one-to-take
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Thank you again for spending time with me. I hope to hear from you soon!
Stay sexy,
<3 Tia
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NOTE: All are stand-alone novels. Adult Contemporary/Erotic Romance: Due to strong language and sexual content, books are not intended for readers under the age of 18.
One to Hold
(Derek & Melissa)
Derek Alexander is a retired Marine, ex-cop, and the top investigator in his field. Melissa Jones is a small-town girl trying to escape her troubled past.
When the two intersect in a bar in Arizona, their sexual chemistry is off the charts. But what is revealed during their "one week stand" only complicates matters.
Because she'll do everything in her power to get away from the past, but he'll do everything he can to hold her.
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* * *
One to Protect
(Derek & Melissa)
When Sloan Reynolds beats criminal charges, Melissa Jones stops believing her wealthy, connected ex-husband will ever pay for what he did to her.
Derek Alexander can’t accept that—a tiny silver scar won't let him forget, and as a leader in the security business, he is determined to get the man who hurt his fiancée.
Then the body of a former call girl turns up dead. She’s the breakthrough Derek’s been waiting for, the link to Sloan’s sordid past he needs. But as usual, legal paths to justice have been covered up or erased.
Derek’s ready to do whatever it takes to protect his family when his partner Patrick Knight devises a plan that changes everything.
It’s a plan that involves breaking rules and taking a walk on the dark side. It goes against everything on which Alexander-Knight, LLC, is based.
And it’s a plan Derek’s more than ready to follow.
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* * *
One to Keep
(Patrick & Elaine)
There’s a new guy in town...
“Patrick Knight, single, retired Guard-turned private investigator. I was a closer. A deal maker. I looked clients in the eye and told them I’d get their shit done. And I did...”
Patrick doesn’t do “nice.”
At least, not anymore.
After his fiancée cheats, he follows up with a one-night stand and a disastrous office hook-up. His business partner (Derek Alexander) sends him to the desert to get his head straight—and clean up the mess.
While there, Patrick meets Elaine, and blistering sparks fly, but she's not looking for any guy. Or a long-distance relationship.
Patrick’s ready to do anything to keep her, but just when it seems he’s changed her mind, the skeletons from his past life start coming back.
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* * *
One to Love
(Kenny + Slayde)
Tattoos, bad boys, love...
Boxing, fame, fortune...
Loss.
It’s the one thing Kenny and Slayde have in common. Until the night Fate throws them together and everything changes.
It’s a story about fighting. It’s about falling in love. And it’s about losing everything only to find it again in the least likely place.
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* * *
One to Leave
(Stuart & Mariska)
Some demons can't be shaken off.
Some wounds won't heal.
Until a pair of hazel eyes knocks you on your ass, and you realize it's time to stop running.
#SexyCowboy
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* * *
One to Save
(Derek & Melissa)
“I lost myself in the darkness of trying to protect you...”
Some threats come at you as friendly fire.
Some threats take away everything.
Family won’t let you go down without a fight.
The Secret isn’t as secure as Derek’s team originally thought it was, and a person on the inside of Alexander-Knight is set on exposing him, breaking him, and taking away all he holds dear.
Refusing to let anyone suffer for his crimes, Derek takes matters into his own hands. He’s exposed, he’s defenseless, but his friends are determined to save him.
#SaveDerek
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* * *
One to Chase
(Amy & Marcus)
Paris fashions,
Chicago nightlife,
Secrets and lies...
Welcome to the North Side.
Marcus Merritt doesn't chase women. He doesn't have to. But when the spirited and sexy blonde who left him wanting more shows up in his office looking for work, little things like the rules seem ready to be rewritten.
Amy Knight is smart, ambitious, and back home in Chicago to care for her mother. A courtesy meeting with one of the top lawyers in the city should be a boost to her career...
Until the polished green-eyed player turns out to be the same irresistible “random” she hooked up with at a friend's wedding in Wilmington. Bonus: He's the brother of her older brother's new wife. What the hell?!
Who's chasing whom? It all depends o
n the day. Or the night.
#SexyLawyer
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**Get a taste of Marcus and Amy FREE in “Runaway”: A One to Chase prequel!
“Runaway” is a FREE ebook on Amazon | iTunes | Kobo | Google Play | Barnes & Noble | ARe
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One to Take
(Stuart & Mariska)
Back to Montana, but our strong and silent cowboy is still learning how to communicate with the gypsy girl who stole his heart.
It’s setting up to be just as hot and volatile in Big Sky country as it was in One to Leave. Don’t miss it~
#MoreSexyCowboys Coming Fall 2015!
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Acknowledgments
There’s a moment (for me), in every book when I start to feel overwhelmed and like I just... can’t... I’m exhausted, finding the words is too hard, life is too busy, my children need me, five million things are blowing up at once...
Then I’ll get a little note, or an email, or a new five-star review saying, “please don’t stop!” (squee!), and all the readers, fans, supporters, bloggers, the amazing network out there waiting for a new adventure, a new set of characters to fall in love with, a new escape, gets me back in the saddle.
So my biggest thanks goes to YOU for keeping me going!
Thanks to my husband, Mr. TL, for his unwavering support and encouragement and for being Marcus’s brain.