by KB Winters
Jack
The Elite
Book One
By KB Winters
Copyright © 2016 BookBoyfriends Publishing LLC
Published By: BookBoyfriends Publishing LLC
Copyright and Disclaimer
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 BookBoyfriends Publishing LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of the trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Contents
Jack Part One
Copyright and Disclaimer
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
More from KB Winters
Jack Part Two
Copyright and Disclaimer
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
More from KB Winters
Acknowledgements
About The Author
Chapter One
Holly
Even after six months, waking up to the sight of the Pacific Ocean rolling in was still enough to take my breath away. Then again, so was the mortgage payment check we had to write every month to pay for the beach side bungalow. I tried not to think about that part first thing in the morning. Those kinds of thoughts required copious amounts of coffee. Luckily, my fiancé, Jack McGuire, was an expert with the fancy espresso machine our mutual friend Carly had given us as an engagement present a few months back.
The sweet scent of freshly poured espresso wafted up the stairs and I smiled to myself, drinking in one last long look at the ocean before tightening the sash on my robe and heading downstairs. Hunter, my oversize chocolate lab and Princess, Jack’s golden retriever both raced to the stairs as I came down. They clamored over one another, begging for attention, before the sound of Jack filling their food dishes dragged them away.
“Morning, baby,” Jack said as I crossed the living room. The bungalow was older, but had undergone renovations the year before and had been adapted to fit modern design with a large, open living space so that the dining room, living room, and kitchen were all in one large room. Two columns stretched from either side of the kitchen island and provided a slight break in the space, but left the kitchen exposed. I took a seat at one of the copper bar stools at the island and ran my fingers over the cool granite. The grains in the stone reminded me of the sand that stretched for miles mere steps from the back door.
He set a white mug in front of me. Steam poured off the rich brown liquid and I breathed in deeply. “Mmm. My favorite way to wake up,” I said following a contented sigh.
Jack smiled at me and took a sip from his matching mug. “I can think of another of your favorites.”
My skin flushed at the suggestion. He was right. There was one other thing that made me even happier than fresh coffee in the morning. Sadly, I woke up alone more often than not the past few months. My smile fell as I looked up into his deep brown eyes that were etched with lines from years spent in the sun. “Yes, but in order for me to have that kind of a wake-up call, I’d need you to stick around for longer than two minutes after the alarm goes off.”
Jack was dressed in his normal morning running gear and his hair was damp with sweat. He was an avid runner and while I appreciated the magnificent things his habit did for his chiseled body, sometimes I wished his disciplined military mind would switch off for a few hours and stay in bed.
“You know I do my best work at night,” he responded, glossing over my lightly worded criticism with a smile.
I laughed softly and took a sip of the fresh hot coffee. “Speaking of, what are your plans tonight?”
Jack polished off the rest of his drink and deposited the mug in the sink. He sprayed some water and then turned back around. “Aaron wants me to go with him to an auction up in Modesto. So I won’t be home for dinner. We’ll probably grab something on the road.”
I pouted. “All right.”
“Come on, baby,” he said, his voice strained. “Don’t make me feel bad. I have to work. You know that.”
I pushed up from my place at the kitchen island. “It’s not that you have to work.” I whined. “It’s that we haven’t had dinner together in over a week.”
He groaned and raked his hands through his damp hair. “I know. Believe me, I know. I’ll do my best to make it home in time for dinner but if I can’t then you need to take it up with Player.”
“Oh, I will.” I went to the sink and rinsed my own mug. I spun around and stared at him. He looked so good it hurt. I wanted nothing more than to grab him and kiss him until the tension between us fell away but before I could make a move, he rounded the island and headed for the stairs. I sighed softly. “Or I’ll go over his head and go straight to Gemma. She’ll be on my side!”
Jack laughed. “Sounds like a plan. I’m gonna hit the shower and head out.” He paused at the base of the stairs and turned around. “You working here today?”
I nodded. “At least for a while. I’m having lunch with Carly.”
“All right. I’ll say goodbye before I leave then.”
Without waiting, he charged up the stairs and I heard his footsteps as he went to the master bedroom. I sighed and muttered to myself as I went to the fridge and yanked out a carton of eggs. “Sure, it’s fine. I don’t mind having takeout alone for the fourth night in a fucking row.” I sighed and stopped myself, my hand still on the fridge handle. I hated the bitchy tone in my voice and I knew Jack was tired of it too. “What is wrong with me?”
The answer didn’t immediately come to mind.
I mulled it over as I scrambled up a couple of eggs and threw a bagel in the toaster. By the time I had my breakfast ready, I’d decided that the culprit was stress. We’d been in Holiday Cove for six months after a lengthy stint overseas living on a navy base while Jack served a tour. We moved back during the summer and between moving stress, readjusting to life stateside, and our first holiday season back home, things were a little crazy. No wonder I was edgy.
It would all sort itself out. At least that’s what I told myself as I took my plate into the small den off the living room which I was using as an at-home office until I could justify the expense of renting something in town. I situa
ted myself at my chair and caught sight of the framed photo of Jack and I together on the edge of my desk. It was a photo of us at our big welcome home party in August. Jack had his arm around my waist and I was flashing my engagement ring for the camera. We were both wearing mile-wide smiles.
A twinge of sadness hit me as I looked at the picture, wondering when we would ever get back to being those people instead of the people who argued over dinner plans and conflicting work schedules. When would we be us again?
****
“I can’t believe it’s been seven months!” Carly exclaimed over lunch later that day. “Have you guys talked about setting a wedding date now that the holiday blitz is over?”
We were sitting in The Siren, Carly’s beachside coffee shop and cafe, plowing through a couple of her locally famous sandwiches. The soothing turquoise tones of the cozy cafe went a long way to soothing my frazzled nerves but her innocent question shot them right back up again. I frowned at the sandwich in my hands. “Not exactly.” Carly and I had become close friends over the years since we’d originally met when I’d come to Holiday Cove on a solo vacation. I didn’t need to play coy with her. She could handle the truth. “Jack doesn’t even want to talk about it.”
“Really?” Carly’s brow wrinkled.
“He’s been really busy working at the museum and has been going on a lot of out of town trips with Aaron.”
Carly flashed a knowing smile. “Yeah, Nick’s been bitching about that too. He said Aaron’s bringing in new planes faster than he can fix them up!”
“Has he been pulling a lot of late nights too?”
Carly shrugged. “Yes and no. I mean not late, late. And he’s pretty firm on the no weekends rule.”
“Oh.” Jack had worked more weekends than not since we’d arrived home.
“But it’s different with Nick and Aaron,” Carly rushed to add, her eyes wide. “They get along well enough but they’re not like Boomer and Aaron. They go way back. They probably just get carried away when they’re together.”
I tried to smile but it fell flat. Sure, Aaron and Jack were best friends and had worked side by side since their time in the Navy, but that didn’t mean they had to be glued to each other now that they were working together again. Did it?
“What about your business? How’s that been going?” Carly asked before taking a bite of her grilled sandwich.
I sighed. Another touchy topic. “I’ve got three clients so far, and one is you. How do you think it’s going? I think I need to expand my advertising or consider getting an office outside of Holiday Cove. Merle Hastings has things pretty well covered here and he’s been in business since the Stone Age so everyone is set with him. I’m finding it hard to break in.”
Carly smiled. “Merle would be hard to break up with.”
Merle was the town’s only CPA and ran the books for all of the local businesses. He was in his seventies but his mind was sharp as ever and he had his two sons on the payroll as well. The whole town loved them and trusted their finances to his small, family-run firm.
“I’m just not used to the way things work in a small town,” I replied. “When I started my business in Irvine it was a lot easier! I had to turn business away because I was so busy.”
Carly laughed. “I remember how frazzled you were when you first got here.”
I smiled at the memory. I’d barely survived tax season and had sought refuge in Holiday Cove to give my brain a much needed break. I hadn’t planned on staying past the two weeks but then Jack happened. My plans rapidly changed and hadn’t quite settled down again in the three years since.
“You’ll figure it out,” Carly said cheerfully. “Besides, I heard a new developer is coming into the area soon. He’s taking over that O’Keefe land outside of town…”
I groaned. “Ugh. Not the high-rise thing again.”
Carly shrugged. “I don’t know what he’s doing. I haven’t been to a town meeting in a while. But I heard he was rich and ready to start building. Maybe you’ll get lucky and they’ll open a bunch of commercial places. Then you and Merle can duke it out for territory.”
I nibbled on my sandwich and considered her point. As much as Holiday Cove resented the idea of a giant mall, resort hotel, or condo building to be plopped on the sand, it would increase revenue and therefore opportunity. If Jack and I were staying in Holiday Cove long term—which, by all accounts, we were—it certainly wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen.
“Maybe you could even rent out one of the spaces and open your own office like what you had in Irvine,” Carly said as she wiped her hands off on a paper napkin.
“True.” I smiled. “Although I have to say, there’s something wonderful about working in yoga pants!”
Carly laughed. “As long as you don’t mind the dog fur!”
“Dog fur is my constant accessory,” I teased. “I’ve learned to embrace it.”
Carly was still giggling as she made her way back to the front counter. I turned in my seat and saw that Margot, her newly minted full time employee was flagging her down. Margot had been holding down the fort while we noshed but apparently ran into trouble. I studied them for a moment as they leaned over the cash register. Margot was tall and curvy with long dark hair and was the complete opposite of Carly who was at least eight inches shorter—even in heels—with a bleached out pixie cut that was tipped with purple streaks at the moment. However, the two of them shared the same bubbly energy and the town was just as smitten with her as they were with Carly. The cash register rang out through the small shop and they both did a little victory dance before Carly rounded the counter and came back to our table.
“I should have you comb through my finances and figure out how the hell I can afford a new one of those,” she said, sinking back into her seat. “I swear it has a mind of its own sometimes.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I agreed with a smile. I glanced at the shining rock on her finger as she took a sip from her iced tea. “Speaking of wedding dates, what about you and Nick? Any movement there? You two have been engaged as long as me and Jack.”
Carly followed my gaze to her ring and rolled her hand so the light sparked off the diamond. A dreamy smile melted across her face. “We’re thinking the fall. I like September.”
I fought back a swell of jealousy. I’d been trying to get Jack to set a date for months, since we’d returned from Germany really, but it hadn’t gone very far. After buying the house, our collective savings was wiped out and Jack used that as an excuse anytime I busted out the bridal magazines.
“Excuse me, ladies.”
We both jumped at the smooth male voice and were met with a polite smile and a dazzling pair of blue eyes that put the morning tide to shame. The rest of him was just as impressive. A chiseled jaw, coated with at least two days’ worth of scruff, and ruffled, run-your-fingers-through-it kind of dark wavy hair. He was wearing a pair of dress slacks and a buttoned shirt that was rolled to the elbows and displayed impressive forearms. No tie.
“Hello?” Carly sputtered, appearing just as caught off guard as I felt by the mysterious stranger’s appearance at our table.
The man took a step closer and smiled at each of us before transferring his to-go cup from one hand to the other. He stuck out his hand to Carly and she shook it and then he offered it to me. “I don’t mean to be rude, but that lovely woman at the counter told me you’re the owner,” he said, returning his attention to Carly once our hands broke apart.
“That’s right. Carly Roberts. Who’s askin’?”
The man smiled. “Noah Scoville. I’m going to be hosting a conference later in the week and was hoping I could convince you to do a little catering for it.”
“Catering?” Carly shook her head. “I don’t really do full scale catering. But I could certainly make up some sandwiches and provide a coffee bar.”
“That sounds perfect. Tell you what, here’s my card,” he said, pausing to grab a leather wallet from his front pocket. He
fished out a shiny embossed business card and handed it to her with another hot as fuck smile. “Call me when you have a minute and we’ll work out the details.”
Carly returned his warm smile as she took the card and brushed a finger over the textured lettering. “I’ll do that, Mr. Scoville.”
“Please, call me Noah. And I appreciate it. I’ll let you get back to your lunch.”
I checked my watch. “You know, actually, I should be getting back to work anyway. If you two wanted to chat now. You can take my seat.” Noah started to object but I jumped up and cleared away my empty plate and glass. “No, really, I insist. I have to go figure out how to get this one a new cash register,” I teased, jutting my chin in Carly’s direction.
“Yes, please,” Carly said. “I need some of that creative accounting magic.”
I laughed. “On it!”
“You’re an accountant?” Noah asked as we shuffled around one another so he could take my empty seat at the table.
“That’s right.”
“Independent or do you work for a firm?”
My heart leapt. Was he looking for a CPA? I hadn’t clearly seen what business he was in, but if he was new in town and had enough business to hold catered conferences, he could be a handsome blessing from Heaven. “I have my own company but at the moment, it’s just me. I’ve just returned from overseas and getting reestablished, but I had a thriving business in Irvine. I’d be more than happy to discuss your needs if you’re in the market.”
Noah set his coffee down and retrieved another card from his wallet. “As a matter of fact, I am. I’ve just purchased some property on the edge of town and will be looking to build some commercial spaces with luxury condos above—”
“The O’Keefe property?” Carly interjected.
Noah glanced at her as he handed me a card. “That’s right.”
I took the card. Scoville Properties. Impressive. That land wasn’t cheap. Whoever this man was, he obviously had some money behind him. A client like him could kick-start my entire business. Hell, depending on what he was looking for, he could make up eighty percent of my roster all on his own.
