all roads lead to you
Page 31
She laughed and playfully punched his arm.
Kyle groaned. “You need to read my books, Aidan. Your lines are terrible.”
“Well, we’re all going to see your movie at the premiere,” Ethan said, looking distinguished in his custom tuxedo. “When is A Brand New Ending coming out?”
“A few months. Presley Cabot at LWW is a godsend. Besides handling all the publicity shit, she’s already got me producer credit after years of me begging to no avail.”
“Sounds good. Maybe Aidan can gain some pointers.”
“You need them, too, dude. A little romance goes a long way.”
Ethan snorted, pressing a kiss to Mia’s mouth. “I’m the king of romance. Plus, I’m an alpha. You’ve always been the beta in this relationship.”
Kyle glared. “I’m not a beta,” he retorted. “I’m as alpha as they come.”
“When you were doing the best man toast, you cried.”
His glare darkened. “I was not crying, just trying to show some emotion to get the crowd engaged in the story.”
Ophelia shared a laughing glance with Mia, and they both grabbed their spouses’ hands. “Let’s go dance. Battle it out on the floor!” Mia yelled.
“Is that Prince? Oh my God, I love this song!” Ophelia shrieked.
Ethan and Kyle looked scared but allowed themselves to be flung into the center of the action.
Aidan looked at Harper and lifted a brow. “Don’t even think about it.”
“I hate dancing. I only like the slow songs.”
“And that is why you’re the love of my life,” he said simply.
“You are so getting lucky,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to his lips. “Oh, look, there’s Owen! I haven’t talked to him yet.” She waved at him over Aidan’s shoulder, and the boy strolled up with a grin.
“Hi, Harper, Aidan. How are you?”
“Great, I’m so glad you could make it to the wedding,” Harper said, taking in his sleek black suit, crisp shirt, and yellow tie. He’d cut his hair—the bouncy surfer curls were gone. With his shorter hair, his face became more defined, and his blue eyes sparkled with an engaging light. “You look so handsome.”
A slight blush colored his cheeks. “Thanks. How’s Phoenix? Flower? And the Captain?”
“Thriving. Make sure you visit us. Flower always looks forward to seeing you, and we just got a new little mare named Bambi.”
“I’ll come by next week. I’ve been working at the bookstore in town. Grandpa Bennett gave me his wedding card. He’s sorry he couldn’t make it, but he’s out of town—”
“Harper!” a female voice interrupted. “Dad won’t dance with me, and it’s Prince and—oh, Owen! Wow. You look . . . great.”
Harper bit back a smile as Chloe took in the new, improved Owen.
The boy lit up under her scrutiny, but this time, he didn’t babble. He just nodded and smiled. “Thanks. It was time to cut the locks. You look beautiful. How’s your summer going?”
“Fun, but I took on some volunteer work at a local law firm. I thought I’d learn a lot, but I’m really just fetching coffee and doing crappy errands.”
Owen laughed. “Gotta pay the dues first, right? Eventually, they’ll learn how smart you are and let you start doing stuff.”
“Yeah, maybe. Thanks.” Harper noticed Chloe hadn’t once glanced at her or Aidan, her focus completely on Owen. “Do you like Prince?”
“He’s a guitar genius. How could I not?”
“Want to dance?”
“Definitely.” He took her hand and headed to the dance floor.
Aidan whistled. “The boy got some moves,” he said. “Maybe there is romance in the air tonight.”
“Anything can happen,” she said, stepping into his embrace and entwining her arms around his shoulders. “Want to dance?”
“To Prince?”
“We can make up our own tune. A slow one.”
He grinned and held her tight, his hips swaying to hers, locked in a circle of intimacy just for them.
She closed her eyes, pressed her ear against his beating heart, and looked forward to the winding, ever-surprising road ahead.
Together.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
A shout-out to the rescue organization Goats of Anarchy, who inspired the character of Captain Hoof. You can find this amazing nonprofit on Instagram at @goatsofanarchy. Give them a follow and a donation!
And thank you to Devon Hensley, who helped me make sure I was using all the horse terminology correctly. Thanks to Michelle Mcloughney for helping me with Irish terminology and to avoid the trap of using lass for everything—LOL! Any errors I made are all my fault.
Any mistakes made with the road to the Derby and racehorse training are truly mine and mine alone.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My dear readers, this book was so different from any other.
Let’s just say I was surprised at how many rescue animals popped up along the way with a demand that their story be told. This was truly a labor of love and a tale that has been burning in my mind from the moment I wrote The Start of Something Good and dreamed of telling Phoenix’s journey as powerfully as Harper’s.
Thank you so much for going on this path with me.
I want to give special thanks to Maria Gomez and the entire savvy team at Montlake for all they do. My developmental editor, Kristi Yanta, who helped me polish this book to perfection—during the holidays no less, LOL! A hug to my agent, Kevan Lyons, who is a cherished guide and support in my writing career.
Finally, a special shout-out to my amazing family. If my husband didn’t cook every night, and my two boys didn’t understand the seriousness of the word deadline, I wouldn’t be writing these acknowledgments! Love you guys to pieces.
I can’t wait to see what comes next.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2012 Matt Simpkins
Jennifer Probst is the New York Times bestselling author of the Billionaire Builders series; the Searching For series; the Marriage series; the Steele Brothers series; and in the Stay series, The Start of Something Good and A Brand New Ending. Like some of her characters, Probst, along with her husband and two sons, calls New York’s Hudson Valley home. When she isn’t traveling to meet readers, she enjoys reading, watching “shameful reality television,” and visiting a local Hudson Valley animal shelter. Follow her at www.jenniferprobst.com.