Passionate Kisses 2 Boxed Set: Love in Bloom

by Magda Alexander

  He reddened. “Thanks,” he said in a gruff voice. “I know it’s probably for the best,” he added. “We weren’t right for each other. Hadn’t been for a long time. Just hard lettin’ some things go.”

  Boy, did Pearl know about that. The thing was, you never knew the good that waited for you until you let go of the old.

  The ship’s whistle blew, and the view outside changed as they moved away from the pier.

  “Here we go,” Bryce said. “Take it all in, man.” He lifted his glass as if toasting everything beyond the window. “Nothing better than setting sail and leaving the shore behind.” He glanced back at them. “Whole new beginnings wait out there. Every single time, it’s a different adventure. I love it. Never gets old.”

  New beginnings. An adventure. Pearl glanced up at Jace, who put his arm around her and kissed her gently on the temple. Her heart burst with happiness. She couldn’t wait for it all to start.

  THE END

  Note to Readers

  I hoped you enjoyed the story of Jace and Pearl - I had such fun writing it! Now, if you’re a native of Florida’s Gulf Coast, you probably know there is no establishment like Dolly’s Diner on The Esplanade in Venice. But I spent many lovely hours visiting that area both as a child and an adult, and I just knew it had to be the setting for one of my books someday, so I hope you’ll excuse any liberties I took with the town!

  Setting Sail is actually the prequel to the complete Cocktail Cruise trilogy. Want to read more about these characters? You’ll see Toby find his happy-ever-after (after some controversy!) in Tequila Sunrise. Meanwhile, Bryce meets an elementary school teacher with a tantalizing secret in Sex on the Beach. And a sexy cruise ship dance instructor wins over a single mom (who just happens to be Toby’s sister) in Between the Sheets, the third story in the series. All three are available now at your favorite online retailer!

  Buy Tequila Sunrise

  Buy Sex on the Beach

  Buy Between the Sheets

  Buy the complete Cocktail Cruise Collection

  About The Author

  Allie Boniface is also the author of the Hometown Heroes series, a contemporary collection of suspenseful love stories set in a coastal New England town. She was born and raised in a tiny community in upstate New York, which probably explains her fascination with the magic of small town life. She currently lives and works outside of New York City with her husband. Above all, she is a firm believer in the power of love and the emotions that connect us all!

  To sign up for Allie’s newsletter, which contains sneak peeks, free reads, and signing and release information, please visit this link: allieboniface.com/contact.html

  To connect with Allie online, please visit the links below:

  Allie’s Website

  Allie on Facebook

  Allie on Twitter

  Tempting Vivi

  By

  Liz Kelly

  To Nance

  World’s Greatest Teacher.

  Period.

  And

  The Fideles of Wake Forest University

  “Raise Hell”

  Chapter One

  May

  “You’re breaking up with me?” Vivi DuVal’s eyes shot wide as her mouth gaped open. “Now?” she sputtered.

  “Well, yeah.”

  She watched as Kevin sort of grimaced. Definitely looked sheepish. She considered his lean build and pretty, pretty face. And, oh God, that hair. It was always so well groomed. She liked that. She liked groomed.

  What she didn’t like was being dumped just as she finally had a moment to breathe.

  “You’re breaking up with me now, right after I’ve finished my last exam? With one week to go until graduation?” she said, her voice escalating. “Right before Beach Week?”

  “Vivi, Vivi, Vivi,” he sighed, motioning them both over to a bench in the center of campus. “There’s just something you need to know. About me. About us.”

  “Is this about me throwing myself at you after Wine and Roses?”

  He cleared his throat. “A little bit.”

  “But that was such a great night. You can’t blame a girl for wanting a little more, after we danced the way we danced all night long.”

  “I understand. I do. That’s why we need to talk.”

  “I thought we were so compatible. We’ve been to all of your fraternity dances. Had a great time at all my Fidele social events.” She stopped and sucked in a breath, her arms splayed out to stop everything. “Wait. Is this because I’m bossy?”

  “No, Sugar Belle, you’re not that bossy. You’re a natural-born teacher. You’re gonna be great leading a classroom.”

  “But I’ve neglected you, right? Graduating in three years hasn’t been easy with the double major and all. I know I’ve neglected my social life, but I really thought you and I were good.”

  “We are good. I’m still crazy about you. And Sugar Belle, trust me. You’re perfect just the way you are. You’re just not perfectly perfect for me.”

  “You’ve found someone else?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Kevin sighed. “It means that you’re still a little young and naive and have yet to figure out what most of my close friends suspect.”

  “You’re saving yourself for marriage?” she whispered.

  He smiled at her. A patient, sorry smile. And then the words dropped out of his mouth. “I’m gay.”

  Blank stare.

  “I like guys,” he offered.

  “I know what gay means, Kevin. I’m not that young or naive. I just don’t…” she hesitated, shaking her head, trying to clear it, “…understand. How are you gay? Why…why would you keep asking me out if you were gay?”

  “Because I’m social, and I like to dance, and I like you, and I like your friends and I wanted to be a part of everything without making waves. I wanted to have fun and enjoy myself during college.”

  “We made out. You felt me up on every damn date,” she insisted. “What the hell?”

  “I like your breasts,” he said. “I like kissing. I’m just more attracted to guys.”

  “So you used me?”

  “I didn’t use you, Sugar. I like you. You know I like you. A lot. No one’s more fun on the dance floor. But after the incident in the car the night of Wine and Roses, I figured I’d better let you know about me. Still, Sugar, it shouldn’t really change that much between us. You’re one of my best friends. “

  That statement made Vivi gasp.

  That best friend statement was the arrow that shot through her shock and triggered the avalanche of pain…and heartache…and self-doubt…and insecurity.

  Oh, wow, the insecurity.

  Vivi was fortunate. She had a lot of close friends. She had girl friends and guy friends, and now she could add Kevin to that list, she supposed. But the wound his words opened was dark and it was deep. Because she didn’t want another friend. She’d thought she was someone’s love interest. She’d thought he was interested in her romantically. She’d thought she was dating this guy for real, not for show.

  “I showed you a good time.”

  She heard his words as if she were underwater, and although she looked toward Wait Chapel, which stood at the end of the beautiful lawn, she couldn’t see it. Yeah, he had shown her a good time. She couldn’t deny it. Such a good time she did not see this coming.

  “You used me, Kevin. You wanted me on your arm so you could have fun and not…make waves.”

  “I didn’t use you. We went out on dates and enjoyed ourselves. We had fun together. Just because I wasn’t hell-bent on getting you into bed at the end of those dates doesn’t change the good times we’ve had.”

  She looked at him then. Really looked at him. Kevin’s neat appearance was not unusual on Wake Forest’s campus. His pretty looks didn’t scream gay. Maybe his hair was a little too…styled all the time. He never had a hair out of place. Oh, man. She had really appreciated all that about him. An
d she’d had no idea he wasn’t physically attracted to her. No idea he played for the other team. Not that there was anything wrong with that. That thought made her laugh out loud right before she burst into tears.

  “Well, maybe I would have liked to have been with somebody who was hell-bent on getting me into bed at the end of the night. Lord, am I an idiot? I had…” she sputtered, “…I literally had no idea.”

  “Sugar Belle-”

  “How could I not have known?”

  “Well, hell. How would you know unless I told you?”

  “I don’t know. I think a girl should be able to sense these things. But you-you were handsy. You kissed my neck all the darn time.” Her temper subsided into anguish. “You were sweet and so much fun, and I just thought I was lucky to have a gentleman like you interested in me. Giving me space to do my work and showing up for me on the big nights.” She breathed a long, steady intake, hiccuped, and then let her breath out.

  “I never intended to hurt you, Sugar Belle. I’m crazy about you and I enjoyed being invited to your events. Maybe from your point of view it looks like I used you, but that wasn’t my intention. I like being with you. You know that. We always had a great time together. I guess I figured what’s the harm?”

  “The harm is that I thought you were romantically interested in me for a long-term relationship. The harm is that I planned on us spending more time as a couple now that we’re graduating. The harm is that I’ll never be able to trust my instincts about men or anything else ever again!” She shouted that last bit and stood up, pointing a finger at her…her…buddy.

  Oh, God. I’m losing it.

  Vivi reined herself in right there in the middle of campus on a beautiful late spring day. She didn’t want to cause a scene. She didn’t want to say something she’d later regret. She needed to go process this news by herself. Give herself time to mourn what she thought she had.

  “I’m gonna go,” she told Kevin. “I’ll…I’ll go to the beach with the girls, and maybe if I’ve wrapped my head around this by the time I get back, we’ll be able to have a civil conversation. But right now, I’m really pissed off at you.”

  Kevin grabbed her finger. “If I had told you I was gay when we first met, would you have hung out with me?”

  “What?”

  “If you knew, when we met? Would you have treated me differently?”

  “I wouldn’t have asked you out, and I certainly wouldn’t have made out with you, or put my hand down your pants, or let you touch me,” she said, feeling herself blush with mortification.

  Oh, God.

  “Really Kevin. This is all so unfair. I’m…I’m…I gotta go. I’ll talk to you at graduation.”

  Chapter Two

  “You see those girls over there?”

  Lane Kettering followed his cousin’s thumb as it pointed over Trevor’s shoulder. Yeah, he’d seen those girls. There wasn’t a group of guys on this beach a mile north or a mile south who hadn’t seen those girls.

  “Your mission, should you choose to accept it-and let me just clarify that any of my beer you plan to drink this weekend hinges on your ability to accept it and git ‘r done-is to go over there and get them to join our party.”

  “Our party?”

  “Yeah. Our party. Our, you know,” he circled his hands indicating their surroundings, “party.”

  “We’re sitting here on the beach.”

  “Exactly. And they’re sitting on the beach. But chances are it’d become a party if we were all sitting on the beach together.”

  “But they just got all set up over there, with their girly umbrella, and chairs, and coolers, and shit.”

  “Dude. You play football. How hard is it going to be for you to help move all that shit over here?”

  “What if they don’t want to move over here?”

  “I’m sending you in to convince them they do indeed want to move over here. And I’m motivating you with beer. You need to earn your keep this weekend, and you’re gonna start by doing this.” Trevor started poking him in his chest. “Use all of that bulging-bicep charm of yours and woo them over here.”

  “Woo them?” he said with a raised eyebrow.

  “Woo them,” Trevor replied.

  “Come on. This is a bachelor party,” Lane protested. “I thought it was supposed to be a long weekend with the guys. Beach, beer, and golf. My brother’s getting married in a month. We don’t need girls.”

  “Oh, we need girls. That’s what a bachelor party is all about. The girls. I mean, yeah, your brother is all hooked up tight-and I’m happy for him and everything-but the rest of us, we need girls.”

  “Lindsey is not going to like this.”

  “Which is why Lindsey and her bridesmaids are having their bachelorette party in New York City instead of Myrtle Beach. They’re going to have their own good time while we have ours. And whatever happens here, stays here. No one is the wiser. Got me?”

  “Got you. Still, mind if I ask Tray if he’s down with this?”

  Trevor moved in and started poking Lane in the chest again. “He’s fine with this. Trust me. I’m running the show. Just go over there and give it your best shot.”

  “Hey, Tray,” Lane yelled, his eyes not leaving Trevor’s. “Mind if Trevor and I ask those girls over there to join us?”

  There was a moment of silence. Lane guessed his brother was checking out the girls. “Not if y’all can keep your mouth shut the next time you see Lindsey. She’s freaking out enough that I’m spending the next four days with you yahoos.”

  “I hear ya,” he said loudly, watching Trevor’s mouth form into a broad, I-told-you-so smile. Lane lowered his voice. “Look, Trev. I’m happy to be here, I really am. But I am not interested in watching my brother be set up to cheat on his fiancée.”

  “Hey,” Trevor said, holding up his hands. “One lap dance. That’s all we’re allowing the poor boy. I like Lindsey, too,” he said, smacking Lane on his bicep. “Best thing that ever happened to him. But like I said, the rest of us are footloose and fancy free. You included.”

  Lane wanted to roll his eyes. Yeah, he was footloose and fancy free. Of course he was. But he’d been invited to this shindig solely because he was related. To the groom. And it was becoming clear that all the other graduating law students, like his brother, along with his two cousins were planning to treat Lane as their lackey. Which he was actually okay with. If nothing else, he figured they were bound to make his birthday entertaining.

  *****

  “Caroline, will you please stop ogling those guys. They’re starting to stare back at us like we’re stalkers or something.”

  “I’m not ogling unnecessarily. I’m trying to read their Tshirts. One says Game Cocks, but I think a couple others say Carolina Law. I’d love to go over and find out if they’re law students. See if they have any advice for when I start in September.”

  “We are here to relax after four long years of college. Please don’t bring up grad school,” Heather said.

  “Or jobs,” Hayden moaned. “I’m sort of freaking out about not having a job.”

  “Or final exams, since I’m not sure I’ve passed them all.” Jody’s voice escalated, “What if I didn’t pass them all?”

  “No freaking.” Kate said. “There will be no freaking on the beach. We’ve already had enough freaking out on the long car ride down here.”

  All eyes shifted toward Vivi.

  “As if I don’t have a reason to freak,” she started. “Kevin is gaaaaay.” Once she saw them all roll their eyes, she held up her hand and said, “Fine. I get it. You’ve heard enough.” She got out of her beach chair and flung her towel out away from the rest of them. “I’ll just lie over here in the sand quietly and contemplate how much money I spent on my first Brazilian bikini wax for a guy who isn’t interested in me below the waist.”

  “Shhh, one of the Tshirts is coming this way,” Liz said, hushing her up. “Caroline, here’s your chance.”

  Vivi just groane
d into the sand. “He’s probably gay,” she muttered as she turned her head away from her girlfriends who were tired of hearing her woes. Away from any approaching Carolina Law students.

  She was cranky, crazy tired, and unfit for company. She knew it and didn’t blame the girls for shutting her up. She’d like to shut herself up, too. Shut her mind off from reviewing every date she’d had with Kevin over the last couple of years. They amounted to about ten, which was actually enlightening now that she added them up. Ten dates. Not really the long-term relationship she’d conjured up in her brain. She and Kevin were never a couple. They escorted each other to various social events. They had fun. They’d made out, which now just seemed weird, and she’d mistaken all of it. Especially mistaken him.

  Wow.

  The smart girl in the class sure looked dumb now. She shuddered, imagining delivering her speech at graduation while the rumor floated among the graduates and their parents that the valedictorian might be book smart, but just plain naive when it came to personal relationships. That she’d spent too much time trying to be an A student, graduate early, double major, and impress her favorite professors, all while maintaining a fingerhold on a social life.

  Well, that had sure backfired.

  She felt her body give in a little bit to its fatigue. Felt the sun coaxing her into a nap. Felt her brain zoning out to the quiet timbre of a male voice.

  “Hey, y’all go to Wake Forest?” she heard him say. “Y’all’ve got a great baseball season going right now, don’tcha?” She liked the voice. It wasn’t loud or brash; it was pleasantly lulling her into a relaxed state. Soothing her tired, frantic brain. “Smart girls…come on over…law students…” the voice went on, lulling her into a much needed rest. “… Yeah, Carolina…good party…I’ll help…” the voice went on until she eased out of her conscious mind and drifted off to sleep.

  *****

  “Where’s Vivi?” the one nicknamed Southie asked after all the introductions had been made and the girls’ chairs strategically placed to be straight on with the sun. Lane was still working on their umbrella. Not ever having been a beach bum, he was finding it trickier than it looked. Jody, the one in the teeny-weeny bikini, jumped up to show him how it was done.