It was supposed to be a
month in a cottage by the lake in Maine. For Peyton Gerard it was time to
recover from not one but three disastrous breakups and try to find her muse
again. A successful romance novelist needed to believe in romance to write
about it believably, and Peyton had lost her faith in it.
For Dixon “Dix” Amendola
it was supposed to be time to rehab his injured thigh from a SEALs mission that
fell apart, to mourn the two team members who were killed and to deal with his
guilt. Learning the mission had been compromised did nothing to ease the burden
of blame he carried.
The problem: the cottage
had been rented to both of them by accident.
Put two stubborn people
in close quarters—a hot SEAL and a an appealing author, add in moonlit nights
by the lake and suddenly they don’t mind sharing. But then reality intruded,
Dix returned to lead a repeat of the mission and all Peyton could do was pray
it was successful and that when he returned, he’d come
back to her.
Excerpt!
Copyright 2015, Desiree Holt. All rights reserved.
Eileen opened the folder
she carried. “I have both leases and both checks right here with me. Fortunately
we hadn’t made today’s deposit yet. Whichever one of you is willing to look at
some other fantastic places I’ve got available, I’ll tear up the contract and
rent you any place you want at the same rate.”
“That won’t be me,” Dix
said immediately.
“Nor me,” the redhead
said, her chin set in a stubborn line. She looked from one to the other. “My
family rented this cottage for years. I practically grew up here. I should get
first dibs.”
Under other circumstances
Dix might just have acquiesced. After all, one place was probably as good as
another. But he was mentally distraught, he’d just driven seven hours to get
here and he wanted nothing more than to unpack, unwind and get on with
rehabbing his body and his brain. Here. Right here.
He folded his arms, mimicking
her stance. “Well, see, that’s a problem, because I have no intention of
leaving.”
Eileen looked from one to
the other. “You have no idea how terrible I feel about this but we have to come
to some type of agreement here.”
Dix sighed. He just
wanted to unpack and go sit on the dock. He had the kernel of an absurd idea
taking root in his brain, one he was sure he’d go to hell for, but he wasn’t
about to start looking at other places. He was done for the day.
“Let’s take a look
inside,” he suggested.
“What good will that do?”
the redhead asked.
“I want to see it,” he
repeated stubbornly. “Maybe I want to see what I might be giving up.” As if.
“Fine.” She turned
around, unlocked he door and opened it. “Come on in then.”
Dix felt at home the
minute he walked inside. A feeling of peace he hadn’t felt in weeks stole
quietly over him. This was exactly what he was looking for. There was
absolutely no way he as giving this up. He walked through it slowly, taking in
every bit of it. Comfortable furniture, a lot of wood, lots of windows. The
porch had obviously been remodeled to serve as both a dining room and a
kitchen. A partially open door gave onto a bedroom. He noticed the redhead’s
clothes strewn on the bed. Immediately an image popped into his brain of her
without any clothes on at all, those lush curves so naked and tempting.
Shit, Dix. Stay out of trouble.
Another door opened to an
also obviously renovated bathroom. No tub but a large shower he was itching to
jump into. Certainly a cold one if he didn’t change the direction of his
thoughts and if his cock didn’t stop begging to have fun.
He pointed to the narrow
staircase along one wall. “Where does that lead?”
“To the second bedroom,”
Eileen told him. “It’s nice and big. Runs the entire length of the second
floor.” She looked from one to the other, calmer than when she first arrived.
“I can’t apologize enough for the mess. We’re usually much more organized than
this, I promise you.”
The redhead gave an
unladylike snort.
He was obviously crazy
because even that sounded sexy to him.
Dix walked to the big
eat-in kitchen at the front of the cottage and stood looking out the windows.
The lake was bathed in late afternoon sun, the golden light reflected on the
water. There was a smattering of boats out there, people paddling or rowing (people
still rowed?), a couple of boats with outboard motors further out. It was so
damn peaceful out here, exactly
the environment he was looking for.
He turned to look at
Eileen and the other woman.
I have to be crazy. Just fucking crazy. Someone shoot me. Please.
“We’ll both take it,” he
said.
“What?” the redhead
screeched. “Are you for real?” She gave her head a vehement shake. “No way,
Jose. Nuh uh. Nein. Not happening.”
“Well, it appears neither
of us is planning to leave so what else do you suggest? There’s plenty of
room.” He gestured around the space. “I’ll take the upstairs. You can have the
bedroom down since you’ve already appropriated it. We can have a schedule for
the bathroom.”
She stared at him. “Have
you lost your mind? I’m not staying here with you.”
“Okay, then. I guess you’re leaving, right?”
3 comments:
Thanks so much for hosting me today, Cerise. Hope everyone comes by for a hot, west "taste" of my SEAL.
This sounds like such an amazing book!!
This sounds like such an amazing book!!
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