There had once been a time in her life when there were more important things than laundry and a broken dishwasher. A spark of eagerness drew a smile to her lips. Like an old but treasured friend, her desire began to resurface.
For many years the only question in her mind was about what she could do for everyone else in her life. She’d trained herself not to think about what she might be missing out on, or how she might prefer things to be. It didn’t matter what she wanted, as long as her husband and kids were happy.
That method hadn’t worked out very well. She’d sacrificed her needs, and in the end, her husband wasn’t happy. The family life that she’d expected to have had crumbled, no matter how hard she had tried to hold it together.
What was left was a lonely soul—long overdue for some real fun.
Chapter 2
Gavin Bell leaned forward in his chair so that his elbows rested on his desk while he spoke into the phone. “You’re not making sense to me, that’s all I’m saying. What I’m offering you here is a golden opportunity to launch your brand in a way that will get the attention of modern consumers. I understand that you promote tradition, and I assure you that we can create a mixture of tradition and modernization that will retain your current customer base as well as gain the attention of many other demographics. So what’s to lose?”
He pressed the phone closer to his ear and leaned back in his chair. As he listened to his client describe his apprehension, he smiled. He loved a challenge, and more than that, he loved creating solutions. Every time a client gave him a reason to turn down an offer, he enjoyed solving the problem.
“I hear you, I do. And that’s important to you too, isn’t it? If you agree to this deal, you have Gavin Bell on your side. I respect how passionate you are about your brand, which is why I intend to walk you through every step of the process. You will have a say in everything—before the posters go up, before the commercials get made, before the actors are even hired. This is your baby and I get that. All I want to do is dress it up a bit for you.”
He looked up at his computer screen for a quick review of the client’s information. He always kept personal notes about the clients on hand so that he could speak to them as friends rather than business associates.
“Great, Ted. You’re making a wonderful decision, which I can promise you won’t regret. Thanks for taking the time to talk with me. I’ll have my assistant fax you all of the paperwork by the end of the day. Give my best to Karen and the kids.”
He hung up the phone and pumped his other fist through the air in the same motion. The door to his office swung open and Lance Tavish stepped inside.
“How did you get here so fast to congratulate me?”
“I’m not here to congratulate you, Gavin.” Lance pushed the door shut.
Gavin arched an eyebrow.
Lance held his shoulders straight and his hands were tight at his sides.
“What’s wrong? I just landed Ted Bramley. We’ve been trying to get him to agree to a new campaign for over a year.”
“That’s great. It really is.” Lance narrowed his eyes. “But you’re not supposed to be here, are you?”
Gavin rolled his eyes up toward the ceiling and sighed. “I know, I know. But Ted was only in the country for a few days and I wanted to catch him while he’s here so he can sign all the paperwork.”
“There’s always an excuse, isn’t there, Gavin? I mean, there are people who would kill to have a boss that insisted they take a vacation.”
“And there are just as many bosses that would be thrilled to have an employee as skilled and dedicated as me.” Gavin rested his hands on his desk. “Why are you trying to force me to do something that isn’t necessary?”
“Because it is necessary. Because yes, you are my best asset, and I want to keep you for as long as I can. You’ve been going full tilt ever since you left Amy—”
“—This isn’t about Amy.”
“Yes, it is.” Lance grabbed a chair and pulled it up in front of Gavin’s desk. “I’ve watched you for the past five years. You’ve done nothing but work. You don’t even bring a date to the office party.”
“So what?” Gavin cleared his throat. “I tried it once, it didn’t work out. I don’t see why that’s a problem.”
“Because one of these days it’s going to catch up to you, Gavin. It’s going to hit you in the gut and knock you back. You’re not getting any younger, you know. You’re losing your hair and your trim waistline.”
“Hey, I’m not losing my hair.” Gavin reached up and touched the waves of thick brown hair that rested on the top of his head. “Am I?”
“Even if you’re not now, you will be soon. You’re forty-four, Gavin. You know what comes next?”
“Forty-five?” Gavin smirked.
“Seventy. That’s what comes next.”
“I think you’re a little off on your math there.”
“I’m serious. You know how much I care about you. You can’t live your whole life like this. What will you have when you retire?”
“Lance, give it a rest, alright?” Gavin looked back at his computer screen as another e-mail from a client came in. “I have work to do. I can’t take a vacation right now. Besides, all I’m going to do is work at home. What else would I do?”
“Gavin, we’ve been friends since high school. You have never prioritized your emotional needs.”
“I don’t have emotional needs.”
Lance leaned forward until he could meet Gavin’s eyes. “Everyone does, Gav. Everyone. You can ignore it for as long as you want, but there comes a time when it’s just too late to fix it.”
Gavin held his gaze for a moment, then looked away as his phone began to ring. “Duty calls.”
“Don’t answer it. We’re having a conversation here.”
“Is that my best friend talking or my boss?”
“Whichever one works to keep you from answering that phone. I’m worried about you. I want you to be happy—and you need a break, Gav.”
“I’ll be happy when you get out of my office.”
Gavin picked up the phone and met Lance’s eyes as he answered it. If there was one thing he was not accustomed to, it was taking orders. As Gavin continued his conversation with the client, Lance stood up from the chair. With tensed shoulders he turned and walked out the door.
Gavin had the feeling that Lance was not going to give up easily this time.
End of the preview.
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Please enjoy the following preview for
Lifeguards and Liars (Summer in Diamond Bay, Book 1)
Chapter 1
The rumble of the waves that crashed into the sand was punctuated by the laughter of children. Blu Parker took a deep breath of the salty air. She loved getting away from the busy city life to spend the summer at the beach house in Diamond Bay. It was one of the best perks of her current nanny job.
She watched Marley’s damp blonde curls bounce as she ran back and forth across the sand in front of her. Joey threatened her with a fist full of wet sand.
“Joey! No throwing sand!” Blu’s sharp voice shattered the otherwise peaceful beach.
Joey stuck out his tongue and puffed out his chest.
“Joey, put it down right this second!” Blu unwound herself from the comfortable position she’d settled into moments before and sprang to her feet.
Joey seemed to sense how thin her patience was as he dropped the mud. “She keeps trying to step on my castle! Make her stop!”
“I am not!” Marley stuck her hands on her hips.
“Here.” Blu used her big toe to draw a wide circle around Joey’s castle. “Marley, you’re not allowed to go inside of this circle. Understand?” She met the four-year-old’s bright blue eyes with her own.
“Okay.” Marley stuck the tips of her toes at the edge of the line.
“Stop it!” Joey stomped his foot.
“I’m not in the circle!” Marley stuck out her tongue.
Blu took another deep breath of the salty air. “Look at that, Marley—a little crab.” She pointed to the small creature that scuttled across the sand.
Marley chased after it, forgetting all about her brother’s castle.
Joey was seven, lanky, and on the verge of being a teenager—according to him. He didn’t have much patience for his little sister’s antics. Blu looked forward to the two spending a little time apart when Joey would be going back to school at the end of summer. But summer had just begun, and Blu had to find creative ways to keep the siblings from torturing one another.
She settled back down on the beach blanket and glanced over at the lifeguard tower. She always tried to arrive early at the beach to get a spot near the lifeguard. She chose to be close, because she felt it was safer for the kids. Other nannies fought to be near the tower because of the bronzed god that perched atop it.
The pristine sand was dotted with other young nannies all in perfect shape and unafraid to wear string bikinis, no matter how ridiculous they looked when they bounded after the toddlers they looked after. Blu, on the other hand, had never been able to wear anything other than a one-piece—she felt naked otherwise.
She dug her toenails into the sand to hide the paint job that Marley had done on her nails that morning. There was more polish on her toes than on her nails.
Marley ran by and whacked Blu’s brown ponytail. Blu laughed and caught the little girl around the waist. She pulled her close and tickled her belly. As Marley squealed and broke free Blu was reminded of what a good life she lived. Most of the time she was surrounded by luxury and she got to spend her summers at the beach.
“Blu, want to go for a swim?” Joey looked up at her with one of his rare bright smiles.
“Sure, Joey. Let me wrangle Marley.” She stood up and scooped up Marley before she could evade her. “Let’s cool off in the waves for a bit.”
“Careful now, there’s a strong riptide.”
His voice was as smooth as one of the waves that rolled in the distance. Blu squinted through the sunlight to smile at Sam, the lifeguard. “Thanks for the warning.”
He nodded and returned his eyes to the water.
She could feel the jealous stares of the other girls. That’s what they were to her—girls. At twenty-eight, Blu considered herself a nanny for life, while many of the others were just there for the summer—a way to help pay for college for many of them.
She shielded her green eyes and looked out at the other people in the water. It wasn’t too crowded. She could see one familiar face. “Maddie! Hey, Maddie!”
Maddie ducked a big splash that a ten-year-old girl sent flying in her direction. Her black hair was soaked and her already tanned skin was baked even darker by the sunlight.
“She’s trying to drown me, Blu!”
Sam stood up on the lifeguard stand. “Everything okay out there?”
For just a split second Maddie looked as if she might sink down into the water just to get his attention, but at the last moment she waved her hand to show that she was okay. Blu rolled her eyes. Maddie didn’t care that she was twenty-seven and far too old to be lusting after a man barely out of his teens. Blu, Joey, and Marley waded their way into the water.
“Chrissa, stop it!” Maddie splashed the ten-year-old back.
“My hair, Maddie! What are you thinking!” Chrissa touched her glossy brown hair. “Really, you know better.”
Blu cringed at the way Chrissa talked to Maddie. It wasn’t unusual for spoiled kids to boss their nannies around, but Chrissa could be especially difficult to deal with.
“Well, if you don’t want to get your hair wet, then maybe you shouldn’t be in the water.” Blu spoke in a polite but pointed tone to Chrissa.
“That’s not really any of your business, is it?” Chrissa fluffed her hair, then she dove right into the next wave with no concern for her hair.
“Wow, she’s in rare form today.” Maddie rolled her eyes.
“Don’t let it get to you, Maddie. Remember she’s going to push all your buttons. You have to be able to keep your cool.”
“I know, I know. I don’t know how you’ve done it for so long. I mean, I’m just getting my feet wet, so to speak, and what has it been? Almost ten years for you?”
“Eight. I started nannying while I was in college to help pay my tuition.”
“Right. I remember.” Maddie laughed. “While I was busy trying to get Glenn to marry me, you were busy trying to become a journalist.”
“You see how well that worked out for both of us.” Blu grinned.
“Watch it! The divorce is still fresh!” Maddie laughed. “You’re right, though. Who knew when we graduated high school that our lives would end up like this? I always thought we’d be the rich and the elite, not the ones raising their kids.”
Chapter 2
Blu looked over at Marley and Joey wistfully. “They have their whole lives ahead of them. I always wonder where they’ll end up.”
“Hey, our lives aren’t over! In fact, I have a date tonight with an investment banker.”
“Liar!”
“What?”
“They’re never investment bankers. Any guy that claims to be an investment banker is probably a teller or one of those fly-by-night stockbrokers.”
“Oh, kill my dream, why don’t you!” Maddie stuck out her tongue. “Doesn’t matter—he’s hot enough he could be a bus boy and I wouldn’t care.”
Blu rolled her eyes and splashed her friend. “I thought you were waiting for Sam?”
“Yes, well, Sam might be a bit young for me.”
“Now you see it?”
“I’m not even sure if he’s old enough to drink yet.”
As if summoned by their conversation, Sam leaped down from the lifeguard tower and charged into the water. Blu turned to look in the direction he was headed. She saw that a young boy—about Joey’s age—had been pulled past the waves.
“Maddie, watch Marley and Joey for me!”
“Sure. Why?”
Blu didn’t take time to answer. She dove in and took off swimming toward the boy. She was much closer and could reach him much faster than Sam. As her arms swung through the water she could see that his head had started to bob. He was losing his ability to stay above the water.
She swam harder and faster. Then she felt the smooth skin of his arm. She grabbed it and pulled him close. The boy clung to her a little too tight. In his panic, he pulled at her neck and shoulders. She fought to keep them both above water. Just when she thought she would go under, a strong arm wrapped around her waist.
“It’s alright, I’m here. You’re safe.”
Blu smiled with relief. Sam swam them back toward the shore with the boy tucked under his arm and Blu nestled against his side.
“I’m fine, I can swim from here.” She started to pull away, but he held her tight.
“Not until we’re on the sand.”
Blu tried to ignore the impact of being held by Sam. No, she wasn’t enamored with him, but she also wasn’t immune to the way the warmth of his muscular chest made her forget about what had almost happened.
Once they were on the beach, Maddie and the kids rushed out of the water after them.
The boy’s nanny ran toward him. “Joshua! I told you not to go out so far!”
“I’m sorry.” He started to cry.
“Thank you so much.” The young woman gushed at Sam. “You’re a hero.”
“I had some help.” Sam winked at Blu. “But you should be more careful. He could have drowned you.”
“I learned my lesson.” Blu smiled in return.
“Are you okay?” Maddie gave her a quick hug.
“I’m fine.”
As Sam walked away, Maddie leaned closer to her friend. “Oh, I bet yo
u’re more than fine. You got the royal treatment, hm?”
“Oh, Maddie!” Blu rolled her eyes.
“I’m bored. Can we go?” Chrissa flipped her hair over her shoulder, interrupting them.
“Sure, alright. Get your stuff.” Maddie waved to Blu as she walked away.
Blu played in the sand with Joey and Marley as the afternoon hours faded away. She played beach volleyball with them toward the end of the day.
One of her goals as a nanny was always to keep the kids as active as possible. She’d been very active as a child and believed it was a great way to stay healthy and happy.
Joey sent the beach ball flying across the sand. Blu chased after it. It enlivened her to run, as she’d spent her entire high school years on the track team. She fetched the beach ball and turned back to the kids.
As she walked back across the sand, the sunset drew her attention. It was a beautiful evening for a walk on the beach.
Marley tugged at her hand. “I’m starving, Blu. Please, I’m so hungry!”
“We’re going to go have dinner now. As soon as I find your brother’s shoe.” She shook out the beach blanket. In the sand she caught sight of the blue tip of a flip-flop. She reached down to dig it out of the sand. As she did, she heard a familiar voice.
She glanced up in time to see a woman beside the lifeguard tower. Her expensive dress had no place on the beach and she looked totally out of place. Though she wore a wide-brimmed black hat, Blu knew exactly who she was.
Penelope Ross—one of the wealthiest and high-powered female CEOs in America. But in that moment she seemed as enamored with Sam as Maddie was.
“Don’t look, Blu, it’s not your business.” She tried to focus on folding up the blanket. The kids kicked small fountains of sand up into the air as they waited for her.
Blu’s attention was split between them and Penelope. At first she assumed the banter between the man and woman was flirting, but as she gathered the last of the sand toys she heard their voices rise.
“Let’s go, kids.” She herded Marley and Joey toward the car. As she walked, she could hear them arguing, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying. She settled the kids in the backseat and stood up to look back at the beach.
Penelope stalked away from the lifeguard tower. Sam ran toward the water.
Sammy in Holland (Single Wide Female Travels #3) Page 11
