Sunset Waves
Sunset Beach Romance
Book 3
Jennifer Conner
Excerpt from Sunset Waves
He spotted the glowing light on a computer in the next room. Cupping his hands, he gazed through the window at the person with his back to them. The person had the resort’s website on the screen. “I changed my mind,” Mateo said. “I’ve decided I want to kick his ass.”
“But what about the ‘not getting shot for me’ plan?” she whispered.
“I don’t really plan on getting shot. But, I guess if this might be my last few minutes, I’m going to make the best of it.” Mateo grabbed Kyra and pulled her to him. She let out a tiny gasp of surprise as he lowered his head and kissed her. He wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment kind of guy. He’d said earlier it wasn’t the right time, but there was no time like the present.
He expected her to push him away, but instead she softened and molded against him. Damn, she felt so good and tasted like sunshine. Mateo quickly broke the kiss.
Her cheeks were flushed a rosy shade and her lips were a deep, tantalizing shade of pink.
“I’m not really sure why I did that, except it’s kind of expected if I’m James and you’re a Bond girl.”
“I didn’t mind.”
Sunset Waves
A Books to Go Now Publication
Copyright © Jennifer Conner 2015
Books to Go Now
For information on the cover illustration and design, contact [email protected]
First eBook Edition July 2015
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.
Dedication
Many thanks to Chad Haight and Nate Murphy
and also Percision Electronics for your help
with my crazy writer ‘s questions regarding computer hacking.
If you are interested in purchasing more works of this nature, please stop by
www.bookstogonow.com
Novels
Shot in the Dark
Kilt by Love
Coming Soon - Sleep Fall
Please look for Jennifer Conner’s other short stories
Sweet Romances
Love on the Airwaves
Love Uncorked
Christmas Dog Tails
Christmas at Central Bark
Christmas Gift that Keeps Wagging
Dog Tags for Christmas
Love Comes for Valentine’s Day
Love Comes for Saint Patrick’s Day
Love Comes for the 4th of July
Love Comes for Halloween
I Hear Angels
Brewing up Some Love
Valentine Surprise
Cupcakes and Cupids
Christmas Chaos
The Christmas Horse
All I Want for Christmas is You
All I Want for Christmas is You
Weddings First Chance
Sexy Romances
Bad Boy’s Second Chance
Cinderela Had it Easy
Love Potion Number 10
Ten Minutes for Christmas
In Love With Santa
The Music of Christmas
Make Me Burn
Winner Takes All
Valentine Encounter
New Year Resolution
Christmas with Carol
Auld Lang Sigh
Rush of Love
Fields of Gold
The Music of Christmas
Historical
The Duke and the Lost Night
The Wounded Nobleman
The Reluctant Heir
Redemption for a Rogue
Time Travel
I’ll be Seeing You Through Time
Walk with me Through Time
Anthologies
Handmade for Christmas Series
The Love List Series
The Pancake Club Collection
A Christmas Kiss is on the List Anthology
Love in TIme for Christmas Anthology
Christmas Romance (Best of Christmas Romances 2013) Anthology
Love Under the Christmas Tree Anthology
The Mobile Mistletoe Boxed Set
The Regimental Heroes Boxed Set
Yours for Christmas Anthology
Valentine’s Say I Love You
Chapter One
Mateo Medina fought to keep his eyes open. He hadn’t slept well for a while. Hell, who was he trying to kid? He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep for the last few years. He was only in his late twenties, but on most days the lack of sleep made him feel like an old man.
His job was taking a toll on him body and soul.
A few years ago his career was everything and now he had everything he wanted…didn’t he? Being from a first generation Latino family, his parents taught him that hard work brought happiness. They worked, but seemed to still have time to laugh and be with family. What was he doing wrong?
He gunned his convertible BMW M-3 hoping a hit of the cold sea air in his face would jolt him awake. His eyes began to droop and he knew for his own safety, he’d best stop. Seeing a wide spot on the road, he pulled over and turned off the engine.
Mateo opened the driver’s door and pulled his muscular frame out of the car. He walked -onto the shoulder, grasped the railing, and looked out over the water. He tried to draw in a full breath and attempted to ignore the tremors in his hands. He’d been experiencing these uncontrollable anxiety attacks for the last few months. It would all be fine. He needed to man up. All his body needed was a little break. He’d told his boss that he needed a week off and then he’d be back on top of things like he’d always been.
If he relaxed and got some rest, everything would be normal.
Normal and back to his perfect life.
Once his head cleared, he jumped back in the car and restarted the engine. The sun was setting over Sunset Beach. He never seemed to notice the sunsets in the city. Maybe, it was because he always had his head buried in work. On most days he arrived at his job in the dark and left when it was dark.
Following the GPS on the dashboard, he took the last few curves until he pulled up in front of a large blue house. Gravel crunched under the tires as he steered into a space.
“You have arrived at your destination,” the navigation voice stated.
“Huh…” Mateo said as he looked around. He figured the place would be booked solid this time of year and surprised to see that his was the only car in the parking lot.
Mateo popped the trunk and removed his duffle bag. He’d packed light. He had no intention of doing anything other than putting his feet up on a beach lounge and drinking a few—okay, many―beers and then sleep like the dead.
He yawned. Lately, he always felt tired. He prided himself in bei
ng a non-stop kind of guy but for that you needed sleep and also a grip on your sanity.
Mateo took the front porch steps two at a time and walked through the front door of The Sunset Beach Spa and Resort. There was no one at the front desk and he didn’t hear anyone in the back room. There was no bell on the desk to ring.
“Hello?” he called.
Silence.
“This isn’t good,” he muttered to himself. He dropped his bag and went through the French doors that led to the pool and deck overlooking the water. The sun was low in the sky and made the water shades of deep purple and pink.
Mateo came in and shut the door behind himself. “Well there has to be someone here.” The floorboards above him creaked. He ascended the stairs and followed in the same direction where he’d heard someone singing. He knocked on one of the hallway’s doors and when he didn’t get an answer, - pushed the door open with his foot. “Hello?” he called out, as he entered the room.
A woman stood with her back to him and bopped her head to the music through her ear jacks. She lifted fabric swatches and one by one held them next to wallpaper samples - taped to the wall. Her dark brown ponytail bounced to the beat along with her cute rear end. He was going to stop her, but enjoyed the view way too much. He grinned when she did a little impromptu dance move.
Just then, she turned around, screamed, and dropped everything in her hands onto the floor. She whipped the buds out of her ears.
“Sorry,” Mateo said as he held up a hand. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Well…you did.” The woman still clutched her chest. “I thought I was here by myself. Can I help you with something?”
“Do you work here? Can you tell me where I can find the person at the front desk so I can check in?” he asked.
“What?” Her eyes widened slightly. “You must be in the wrong place. We’re not open for business yet.” She picked the samples off the floor and laid them back on to the table.
“I’m not sure what’s going on here. I booked and paid for a room last week.”
“That’s impossible.” She shook her head. “You must have the wrong place.”
“Listen,” he tried to keep his voice even. “I’ve had a bad week. I’ve had a really bad week. I booked a room at The Sunset Beach Resort and Spa. That’s what the sign on the door said and my GPS told me I was here. Is the manager around?”
“I am one of the managers. There are four of us who own the place.”
“Okay, can you get a hold of the person who took my reservation? Can I talk to them? There must be a mix up somewhere.”
She pointed to the door. “Let’s go downstairs and we can try and sort this all out.”
Back in the lobby, the woman pulled out her cell phone, dialed, and then said, “Alivia, can you come over to the resort? We seem to have a problem.”
Mateo and the woman stood awkwardly until the other woman arrived less than ten minutes later and introduced herself.
“Can I see your reservation form?” Alivia asked.
Mateo sighed, unzipped the front of his duffle bag, and pulled the form out. Traveling -taught him to always print off his travel agenda. Screw-ups happened all the time. “Here you go.”
The two women looked at the paper. “This isn’t our form. How can this be?” the brunette asked.
Alivia handed back the paper. “As Kyra said, the place isn’t open yet for business. You need to find somewhere else to stay.”
“Wait a minute.” He tried not to sound as irritated as he was. “Someone has my money, and it’s not me. The reservation printed off here in my hand confirms I have a room at The Sunset Resort. Is there another place in town with the same name?”
“No,” Kyra said. “But, we don’t have your reservation or your money!” She threw her hands up in the air.
“If you’re not open, can you at least call another hotel in town and get me in there?” he asked.
The women exchanged glances before Kyra said, “It’s a small town, Mr. Medina. We’re one of the few place in town. There’s a convention in town. I heard everything is booked, but I can check. But if not…”
“And you’re not open.” He blew out a breath. “You’ve got to be kidding me. I just drove for five hours to take the first vacation I’ve had in years. I’m exhausted. I can’t drive to the next town. I’ll fall asleep, drive off a cliff, and my death will be on your conscience.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
Kyra looked at Alivia and said, “There’s the honeymoon suite. I finished decorating it this afternoon. It’s the only completed room. The bed’s been delivered and there’s a set of sheets and a comforter.”
“Is there a beer around somewhere too? I’ve been dreaming of a cold beer all day. I’ll live with this for now and then tomorrow we can figure out what happened,” Mateo said.
“I’ll get you a beer, and Kyra can make up your room.” Alivia disappeared into the back room.
“I hope I didn’t come across too gruff. It sounds like there’s something fishy going on. Thanks for accommodating me.” He tried to smile. “That’s kind of sad the first person to stay in your honeymoon suite is a solo act. I’m not going to curse it or anything, am I?”
Kyra retuned his smile. “I doubt it. You can let us know if the springs squeak before it’s put to the real test.” She winked. “We are really sorry about however this happened. It’s really weird. But I swear, we never saw a reservation.”
“Since you found me a bed, all is forgiven,” he said as Alivia returned and handed him a beer. He took a swig and tipped the bottle toward them. “Let me help you with the room,” he offered to Kyra.
“No. I can’t ask our first guest to work,” she protested.
“I don’t think I’m officially a ‘guest’ so you can put me to work if you want.”
She shrugged and looked embarrassed. He followed her up the stairs and down the hall to the end where she opened the door to the spacious suite. “It still smells like fresh paint. It was just painted last week.”
“It’s fine.” He walked over, pushed back the drapes and looked out over the water. “It is beautiful here.”
She moved beside him. “I know. That’s why I bought the place. Not just me, but I went in with Alivia, Summer, and Fiona. We’re all from here. We moved away to the city…but, it wasn’t working out. There’s a lot less stress here.”
“Yes, I can imagine,” Mateo said as he watched Kyra’s profile. For a second he tried to imagine what his life would be like living in a small town with a beautiful woman. The last threads of daylight coming through the window illuminated her pale skin making it almost glow. Even with her paint-splattered T-shirt and jean shorts, she was one stunning woman. She wore little to no makeup, but didn’t need it. She was a pleasant variance from the girls in the city he knew who were always finished off to flawless perfection.
Kyra looked up and caught him staring at her. He cleared his throat and motioned to the linen chest at the end of the bed. “Are the sheets in there?” he asked. “Let’s get them out before I fall face first onto the bed with or without sheets. As I said, it’s been a long week.”
Afterwards, he helped her make the bed. She looked around the room one more time and bit her lip. “I feel really terrible about this. We want all of our guests to feel special, not thrown into a room because of a mistake.”
“The room looks great. What are you worried about?”
“Well…you’re our first guest and we’re new at this.”
“Then I’m honored no matter what the circumstances are.” He grinned and moved his duffle bag to the chest.
Kyra took out a scrap of wallpaper she’d stuffed in her pocket and wrote on the back of it. “This is my cell phone number. I guess I could sleep downstairs if you need anything…but, this is the only bed.
Anyway, my place is just a few minutes from here. Please call me if the room’s missing anything.”
Mateo took the scrap of paper and eyed the phone number. “Will I see you tomorrow?” He realized that he hoped she would say yes.
Kyra nodded and pulled the door closed behind her.
He opened the window and then stripped off his shirt and jeans. Mateo stretched out on the bed and listened to the sounds of the sea in the distance. Feeling the tremors start in his hands, he growled and rolled off the bed. He grabbed the bottle of sleeping pills out of his bag and dry swallowed two.
He wasn’t still at work, so why was the anxiety still haunting him? He grabbed his hand and squeezed, trying to force it to stop shaking. He flopped back on the bed. After an hour, the drugs finally took hold and Mateo fell into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter Two
“How do we know the guy staying here is the only reservation that’s been hacked?” Summer looked glum as she stabbed at her fried egg. “There could be more.”
“I know,” Kyra said, as she added the oranges she’d just sliced into a bowl with cut apples and melon cubes. “Our reputation could be ruined.”
“What if this guy writes us a bad review on the resort before we’re even open?”
“I don’t think he’s like that.” Kyra shook her head.
“How do you know?” Summer asked with a raised brow.
“I don’t, but he seemed to understand something was going on here out of our control.”
“I guess you’d better make sure he doesn’t then.”
“Me?” Kyra protested. “Why me?”
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