Beach Reads Box Set

by Madden-Mills, Ilsa

  Afterward, we celebrated in the park outside. Our friends have never fessed up as to who did what, but there were mismatched tables and chairs, flowers and decorations, and more alcohol and food than necessary. Every restaurant in the town had donated something so in the end we didn’t have one meal, we had half a dozen: barbecue, hamburgers, pasta, sandwiches, and salad. We had three different wedding cakes from three different bakeries and Meredith enjoyed smashing a bit of every single one in my face while our guests applauded a little too loudly.

  Edith tells me Meredith has softened my image, says because she believed I was good and decent, everyone else started coming around to the idea too. Maybe it’s true; I don’t know. We’ve been married seven months and my ranch hands are still pretty scared of me.

  “Can you believe this crowd?” Edith asks as I loop my truck onto Main Street and the Blue Stone Yoga sign comes into view.

  “I don’t think I’ll be able to find parking.”

  “Check around back, see if there’s a spot behind the studio.”

  I end up having to block Meredith in, but it shouldn’t matter. She won’t be leaving the yoga studio any time soon anyway. It’s packed when we walk in. Everyone we know is here, even the guys who’ve never attempted yoga a day in their life. Sheriff Pete, Chris, Daniel—they’re all here to support Meredith. She’s turned the grand opening into an all-day event. There’re yoga classes in the back studio, free smoothies and snacks circulate around the lobby, and a bounce-house is set up outside for the kids and kids at heart. Edith bee-lines straight for it.

  “Tell Meredith I’ll be inside later!”

  It takes me too long to make my way back to Meredith. I get pulled in a million different directions, greeting everyone I pass. Finally, finally, I see her chatting with Helen, Dotty, and Leanna behind the front desk.

  They’re all oohing and aahing over her baby bump. I think I was happier than she was when it really became noticeable. Every morning for the last six months, she would turn sideways and ask me point blank, “If you didn’t know me, would you think I look pregnant?” and every day until recently, I would lie and exaggerate. “Oh yeah, definitely—watch where you point that big ol’ belly.”

  She spots me approaching and her face lights up. She excuses herself from the group and meets me halfway, where I press my hand to her stomach and lean down to kiss her.

  “How’s he doing?”

  She beams. “Good. Moving like crazy! If you leave your hand there for a little while, you’ll feel him. I think he’s as excited about today as I am.”

  I smile, and sure enough, a second later, I feel a little thump against my palm.

  “There! He just did it again,” she says, eyes alight with wonder.

  “He was giving his pop a high five.”

  She laughs and tips up on her toes to kiss my cheek. “Are you staying for a while?”

  I had some things I needed to do on the ranch earlier, which is why I’m arriving a little late. “Until you leave.”

  She eyes my workout clothes. “Does that mean you’re going to take a class?”

  I nod. Admittedly, yoga wasn’t my thing when Meredith and I first started dating, but she’s convinced me to come around. I still get my down dogs confused with my up dogs, but I’m a hell of a lot closer to touching my toes than I was a year ago.

  “Are you teaching soon?”

  She’s my favorite teacher, and not just because she’s my wife.

  She checks the clock mounted on the wall behind the desk. “I have a pre-natal class in forty-five minutes.”

  “All right, I’ll man the desk for that one.”

  She grins. “Don’t worry, I’m teaching a flow class right after.”

  We’re interrupted soon after that. Everyone wants to say hello and feel her bump and congratulate her on the grand opening. Cedar Creek has really shown up to support her. Every class is full and Meredith is shocked by the turnout, though she shouldn’t be.

  The next few months are going to be tough for us. She’ll have to take time off when Noah is born, but Edith and Helen have already volunteered to take shifts at the studio helping out as much as possible. On top of that, Meredith has trained a manager and four additional yoga instructors. She’ll be able to tackle a lot of the day-to-day operations from home, and I’m not worried. I’ll be taking time off too, and I can handle baby duty when she needs to come into the studio—I don’t expect her to put her dreams on hold to raise our son. I fully expect that he’ll end up growing up inside this studio. His first steps will probably take place on a mat somewhere in this lobby, and I’m okay with that. In fact, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  It feels like we’re right in the middle of the good part of life, the part you usually don’t realize you’re in until it’s over. We have so much to look forward to that I keep wanting to jump ahead. I can’t wait to be a father. I can’t wait to raise Noah with Meredith. I can’t wait to take him down to the creek and teach him how to do a backflip off the rope swing. I can’t wait to see Meredith pregnant with our second child, and possibly a third if I can convince her it’s a good idea. If I brought it up to her now while she’s still pregnant with this first one, she’d probably sock me square in the jaw.

  I’m not worried though. Wherever our path takes us, I know we’ll always have each other. After all, I made that promise to her way back when she first came to the ranch. I told her if she wanted us, if she wanted to make a deal, Edith and I could be her people.

  Even though I’ve been described as a devil by more than a few people, the name does have one redeeming quality: when you make a deal with me, you know I’ll keep my word, forever.

  About the Author

  R.S. Grey is the USA Today bestselling author of over twenty novels, including seven #1 bestselling romantic comedies. She lives in Texas with her husband, daughter, and dog. Visit her at RSGrey.com or on Instagram: @authorrsgrey.

  Broken Miles

  Claire Kingsley

  Single-minded drive earned Roland Miles success—and cost him his first love. When his marriage to Zoe ended, he did the only thing he knew. He dove into work to put his heartbreak behind him.

  Zoe Sutton’s life hasn’t exactly gone to plan. She certainly didn’t plan on losing Roland or moving home to work for his family’s winery. Four years after their divorce, she wonders if her chance at happily ever after is behind her.

  After discovering his family might lose their land, Roland comes home to help sort out the mess. But between his brothers’ antics, a baby sister who’s all grown up, and a father keeping secrets, complicated isn’t even the half of it.

  And then there’s Zoe.

  He didn’t come home looking for a second chance with her. But the more time they spend together, the more he realizes what they lost. What they could have again.

  Because the truth is, they broke each other’s hearts. And maybe they’re the only ones who can put them back together.

  Author’s note: A stoic hero who’s soft on the inside. A sassy heroine who doesn’t take any sh*t. Messy family. Lots of shenanigans. Mattress burning bonfires. And a second chance at love with a big HEA.

  1

  Roland

  All your shit’s gone, and I’m just trying to figure out what the hell happened.

  ~Text from Roland, four years ago

  They wanted a damn miracle. I looked over the email again, already formulating a strategy. What my boss was asking for was tough. But, as the saying went, that was why they paid me the big bucks. I was the youngest CFO in Dimension, Inc.’s history for a reason.

  I was a goddamn miracle worker.

  Glancing at the time, I had to do a double take. It was already after nine. I hadn’t realized it was so late. But I worked late most nights, and it wasn’t like there was anyone around to bitch at me about it. I didn’t have plans with Farrah tonight; she was out of town. And even when we did have plans, she got it. She worked as much as I did, and she understood what i
t took to make it at this level. I never had to worry about that with her.

  My cell buzzed, vibrating on the desk next to my laptop. Looking down, I winced. My parents’ number. Their business number, to be specific. Which meant it could be either one of them calling. I didn’t particularly want to take the call, but if I didn’t answer, I’d have to call them back. Better to get it over with.

  I picked up the phone and answered. “Yeah.”

  “Hey, it’s Leo.”

  That was odd. My younger brother never called. An occasional text, maybe, but it wasn’t like we were close. This probably meant bad news.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “You need to come out here.”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “Mom and Dad are on the verge of losing the winery,” he said. “It’s a mess.”

  I sat back in my chair and pinched the bridge of my nose. You’ve got to be kidding me. “What do you mean, lose the winery?”

  “The business is in debt up to its eyeballs,” he said. “Dad’s been hiding shit. It’s bad.”

  “What do you expect me to do about it?”

  “Don’t be an asshole,” Leo said. “Do you think I would have called you if it wasn’t a big deal? This is serious. You need to come home.”

  Fuck. Home? That was the last place I wanted to go.

  “Now?” I asked. “I can’t just drop everything. I’m sure Dad will figure it out.”

  “Roland,” Leo said, his tone sharp. “Dad’s the one who fucked everything up. He’s not going to fix it. We need you out here, man. If this is about Zoe…”

  “It’s not about Zoe.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose again. Just thinking about Zoe gave me a headache. Why my mom had hired my ex-wife to work at the family winery was beyond me. Although, normally I didn’t give a shit. I was in San Francisco, almost a thousand miles from my hometown in central Washington. It’s not like it had any impact on my life if she worked there.

  “Because we can, I don’t know, find ways to keep some distance between you two or whatever,” he said.

  “I already said it isn’t about her. I’m an adult, I can be in the same room with Zoe.”

  “Good,” he said. “Then get your ass home.”

  “Leo—” I stopped because I heard the click of the call ending. I tossed my phone back onto my desk. “Fuck. Fuck you, Leo. And fuck you, Dad.”

  I checked my calendar. Tomorrow was out, but if I flew out early on Thursday, I could get to the winery and finish up my day from there. I sent my assistant, Danielle, a text, telling her to book me a flight to Seattle and reserve a rental car.

  My concentration was shot to shit. I wasn’t going to get any more work done tonight. But it was late anyway. I closed my laptop, grabbed my things, and went home.

  * * *

  I’d bought my condo for the view. During the day, I could see all the way to the water. At night, the lights of the city twinkled in the darkness. It had cost me a shit-ton of money, but every night when I stood looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows, I knew it had been worth it.

  I went to the kitchen and took a bottle of Glenlivit out of the liquor cabinet. Poured a glass and took a long swallow. It burned going down, spreading warmth through my chest.

  Danielle texted me back with my flight details for Thursday. I blew out a long breath and took another drink of Scotch.

  Home. I’d grown up in Echo Creek, a small town in the Cascade Mountains. Growing up on a winery sounded idyllic, but I’d been glad to leave it behind.

  How long had it been since I’d been there? Eighteen months? More? That didn’t sound right. But I hadn’t gone back for the holidays last year. It probably had been that long.

  I felt a twinge of guilt at that. It wasn’t that I disliked my family. True, my dad and I butted heads, and my siblings liked to give me crap for having moved away. But I knew my mom would like it if I came home more often.

  I was just so damn busy. It was hard to carve out the time for a trip that wasn’t business related. And I’d have to endure the inevitable guilt trips. Why don’t you visit more often? Can’t you stay longer? Don’t you want to come back and join your brothers in the family business?

  No, I fucking didn’t. But none of them had ever understood why I hadn’t fallen in line. Why I hadn’t taken up my proper place at the winery.

  I was made for bigger things than running a goddamn wine business in a small town out in central nowhere. There was no challenge to it. No risk. And the potential rewards—particularly financially—were much too low for me. Money wasn’t everything, but honestly, it was most things. And I was good at making money. Great, even. I’d made my company a hell of a lot of money in the last several years.

  I was respected here. People deferred to me. Trusted me with millions of dollars. I had my own office, an assistant, a penthouse condo with a priceless view. Enough money that I could have more or less anything I wanted.

  I was living my dream, and I didn’t understand why my family couldn’t just be fucking happy for me. Why they had to harp on the fact that I wasn’t there all the time. My brothers had stayed. My sister would probably wind up back home after college. They even had my ex-wife. What the hell did they need me for?

  I took another sip of Scotch and wandered over to the window, wondering what my dad had done that had Leo so riled up. Leo and I rarely saw eye to eye. He wouldn’t have called me over nothing. The big question was, did my dad know he’d done it? Were they expecting me to ride in with my MBA and save the day? Or was Leo going behind their backs to drag me into their mess?

  I guess I was about to find out.

  Thinking of home brought my thoughts back to Zoe. I went into the bedroom and set my drink down. With a glance over my shoulder—as if half-afraid someone would catch me—I pulled a small box down off a shelf in the closet.

  There was only one thing inside. Zoe’s wedding ring.

  I’d found it sitting on the kitchen counter of our old apartment the day she’d left me. The rest of her things had been gone. Her side of the closet, empty. Her drawers in the bathroom, cleaned out. She hadn’t taken much that had been ours—the things we’d accumulated together. I’d brought some of it to her later—the things I’d thought she’d want to keep—and given away the rest. But not her ring.

  Keeping it was the stupidest thing. I didn’t know why I still had it. It wasn’t even very nice. We’d eloped when we were twenty—just a couple of poor college students. I’d saved for months to get it, and at the time, I’d been pretty damn proud of myself. Looking at it now, it was rather pathetic. Just a plain gold band with a tiny excuse for a diamond. Zoe had loved it when I’d given it to her—said she hadn’t expected a ring at all.

  But we’d been different people, then. Young. Rebellious and wild. Idiots, really. We’d thought teenage hormones had been the real thing. Maybe they had, in their own way. But that hadn’t been enough.

  It hurt to look at it, and I wondered why I did this to myself. I didn’t pull it out very often. Once when I’d randomly remembered it was her birthday. Another time on what had been our anniversary. Occasionally, thoughts of her would creep into my mind and refuse to let go, and I’d find myself right here. Nursing a glass of Scotch and staring at the cheap piece of shit I couldn’t bring myself to throw away.

  I closed the box and put it back on the shelf. Maybe I’d get rid of it for good someday. A colleague of mine had proudly flushed his ex-wife’s ring down a public toilet. Another guy I knew had taken his ring off and dropped it in a garbage can in a park near his office.

  I didn’t have my ring anymore. I’d lost it a few years after we’d gotten married. Zoe and I had been visiting my family for Christmas, and it had snowed. We’d been outside, embroiled in an impromptu snowball fight with my brothers. None of us had been dressed for the cold—no coats, hats, or gloves. Just a bunch of dumbass kids tossing snow at each other until our bare hands hurt. Back inside, I’d realiz
ed my ring had come off. We’d looked, but never found it.

  It had been prophetic, in a way.

  But I was past that now. Zoe and I hadn’t worked out. She hadn’t been happy, so she’d left. Moved back to Echo Creek. Started working for my parents. She was fine, and so was I.

  In fact, I was more than fine. I was at the top of my game. Whether or not my family could appreciate it, my life was pretty fucking good.

  I would do what I had to do. Spend a few days at home, look at their books, probably find a few errors. Argue with my dad. Talk shit with my brothers. Let my mom fuss over me a little. Then I’d be right back here, where I belonged.

  2

  Zoe

  The stack of shit on my desk never seemed to get any smaller. I’d been downstairs for most of the morning, hauling out decorations for a wedding tomorrow. It was going to be indoors, which was good. Spring in the foothills was beautiful, but chilly. It was early April, and not very warm, even though the sun was out.

  The couple I was working with were fucking adorable. Both in their sixties, both on second marriages. They’d waited a long time before deciding to marry again, and to see them look at each other, I knew they had a shot at forever.