The tears sprang up in Amanda’s eyes again, but they didn’t fall. He could feel a slight tremble in her arm as he continued to hold her hand. “I’d decided that the stories, as pretty as they sounded, were all nonsense. Nothing like that truly happened in real life. But this, this seems more like a dream, Luke.”
“It’s your fairy tale, Amanda. You believed in love long before I did and you taught me what it meant. You deserve this.” He gestured at the crowd with his free hand. “And this.”
Luke leaned over and threaded his free hand in the waves of red hair at the top of Amanda’s neck. Then slowly, he lowered his head and touched his lips to Amanda’s.
A roar went up from the crowd. Hoots and screams rang off the rafters high in the ceiling. And the combustion that ignited between him and Amanda erupted into a flame.
They’d never hear the end of it from the students, but Luke didn’t care. When Amanda wrapped her arm around Luke’s shoulders and pulled herself closer, he knew she felt the same way.
“Look at that applause meter, Port Provident!” Ms. Langton had to shout into the microphone to be heard. “It’s off the charts! I think we have a winner.”
Luke pulled himself away from Amanda for just a moment. “I don’t think we’ll be needing the car, Ms. Langton, so you can choose another winner. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to see if you can get a replacement chaperone. I missed getting to take this lovely lady out to dinner tonight, and I’d like to make up for that.”
“Of course, Dr. Baker.”
With permission granted, Luke smiled down at Amanda. “What do you say, Miss Marsh?”
“You can just call me Juliet.”
Luke looked down at their hands, still locked together. He never wanted to let go. “Well, then, Juliet. Let’s see where Cupid’s wings fly us to next.”
Port Provident: Holiday Hearts
Come visit Port Provident, Texas—the home of Kristen’s best-selling coastal sweet escape romances—to celebrate finding love on some of the most special days of the year. The new Port Provident: Holiday Hearts series will take you back to your favorite Texas beachside town and introduce you to new characters and new stories filled with hope, heart, happily-ever-after…and holidays!
Lucky in Love is coming in March! Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, you’ll get to fall in love with Lisa Fleming’s story. Stay tuned!
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Read the Entire Port Provident: Holiday Hearts Series
Dance with Me, Valentine
New Year's Eve—January 2019
The Cupid Caper—February 2019
Lucky in Love—March 2019
Read the Entire Port Provident: Hurricane Hope Series
Moonlight and Memories
Shelter from the Storm
The Doctor’s Unexpected Family
His Texas Princess
Holiday of Hope
Other Books by Kristen
October Kiss from Hallmark Publishing
His Timeless Treasure, a Treasure Harbor series novella
Hitched in Hot Springs, a Road to Love series novella
About Kristen
Kristen Ethridge writes Sweet Escape Romance—stories with hope, heart and happily-ever-after—for Harlequin's Love Inspired line, Hallmark Publishing, and Laurel Lock Publishing. She’s a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award nominee and both an Amazon Christian Fiction and Inspirational Romance #1 Best-Selling Author.
You can find Kristen in her native habitat—a Texas patio—where she’s likely to be savoring the joy of a crispy taco, along with a glass of iced tea. Scents from her essential oil diffuser are also a must, since she’s a certified aromatherapist. She’s almost convinced her family that it’s normal to talk to imaginary people, as long it goes in a book.
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Acknowledgements
To the people in my life who don’t make fun of my tendency to stock up on Valentine’s chocolate so I can still eat those crazy chocolate-covered marshmallow hearts well into the summer. Thanks for being my people.
“Love goes by haps; Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps”
William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing—Act 3, Scene 2
The Cupid Caper Copyright © 2018 by Kristen Ethridge (2nd Edition)
The Cupid Caper Copyright © 2017 by Kristen Ethridge (1st Edition)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
Laurel Lock Publishing
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Much Ado about Nothing is quoted via The Norton Shakespeare, Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. W.W. Norton and Company, Inc. 1997.
Book Layout ©2013 BookDesignTemplates.com
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