by Aurora Rey
The space wasn’t large, but it was right next door to Jane’s office. And it wasn’t like she had any employees. Well, local ones at least. She’d hired Anja to do all of her photography and a bit of graphic design. She knew better than to think Anja would settle in any one place for too long, but that didn’t bother her in the least. Especially since she and Charlotte still seemed unable to get enough of one another.
Cam threaded an arm around her waist and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Are you ready to open your doors, madam CEO?”
“You’re the CEO. I’m merely the mistress of my one-woman operation.”
Cam smiled and got that aw-shucks look on her face. She’d been running the show at Barrister’s since before Lauren met her, but only with the explosion of Carriage House had she taken on that title. The company had no plans to go public or anything, but funding an expansion of production had required someone to handle negotiations. And to be the public face of the company. What had started with Lauren’s marketing campaign had morphed into a much larger, and much more consuming, endeavor.
It was all great for the company, but it took a toll. They’d recently started talking about ways Cam could delegate more and get back into the blending room. As far as Lauren was concerned, that would be good for both the company and Cam’s state of mind.
“You’re doing it again, aren’t you?” Cam asked, her voice holding just a hint of accusation.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She did know, actually. Cam hated when she went into protective mode.
“Just because we’re engaged, you’ve taken it upon yourself to worry about me.”
Lauren angled her head. “It’s my prerogative to worry about you. Besides, it’s in my best interest that you and Barrister’s are happy and successful.”
“Your prerogative, huh?”
“Yes, it’s a truth universally acknowledged that a woman will worry about the health and happiness of her betrothed. Have you not been fretting over Wilspell on my behalf?”
Cam gave her a bland look.
“I mean, I know I’ve fretted enough for both of us, so let me rephrase. Have you been worrying more about me, especially since you proposed?”
Cam seemed to think it through. “I suppose my worry about your professional happiness has increased, but now that you’re wearing my grandmother’s ring, I worry about other stuff less.”
Lauren gave her a squeeze. “I guess I’ll take that.”
It had been a lovely proposal. Cam had conspired with Charlotte to close the pub a little early one night. She’d lit a fire and had candles all around, old time music piped in. They slow danced and had a light supper and Cam had gotten down on one knee. Lauren wouldn’t have called herself a hopeless romantic, but in that moment, she’d turned into an absolute puddle.
Charlotte, Anja, and even Mrs. Lucas had been lurking in the library, waiting for the all clear to come in and help them celebrate. It had been so sweet, she’d cried even harder than when Cam flew across the Atlantic to tell her she loved her.
And now they were running two businesses and planning a wedding. It was so much more than she’d ever imagined and yet so much less stress than had defined her life before moving to England. Somehow, this tiny village and its people had been exactly what she needed, even when she didn’t know what that was.
Like she did so often these days, she thought of Albert. The uncle she’d hardly known but whose decision had altered the course of her life, in the best possible way. Could he have possibly known how things would unfold? Surely not. Still, he’d seen something in her. She had to believe he had an inkling she’d do the right thing and love the inn as he had.
“He’d be proud of this, too, you know.”
How did Cam always seem to know what she was thinking? What she needed to hear? “Thank you.”
“I’m sure as hell proud.”
For all that Cam puffed up about being a traditionalist, she was fully supportive of Lauren’s ambitions. Even the conversations they’d started to have about kids hadn’t swayed her insistence that Lauren follow her dreams. It still left her a little bit in awe. “I love you.”
“And I love you.” Cam leaned in and kissed her. “I’ll let you get to work, now. I know you’re very busy, very important.”
“Says the busiest and most important woman in town. I’ll see you home for dinner?”
Cam raised a brow. “Are you cooking?”
“I am.” She’d been getting lessons. Tonight, she was planning a roast chicken with potatoes and vegetables. It might not be as good as Cam’s, but she was getting there.
“I can’t wait.”
Cam kissed her again and headed back to the distillery. Lauren watched her go, then took another minute to admire her sign. Then she headed inside to call a client and work on a new social media strategy for a line of boutique hotels in Ireland. She was, after all, open for business.
About the Author
Aurora Rey is a college dean by day and an award-winning lesbian romance author the rest of the time, except when she’s cooking, baking, riding the tractor, or pining for goats. She grew up in a small town in south Louisiana, daydreaming about New England. She keeps a special place in her heart for the South, especially the food and the ways women are raised to be strong, even if they’re taught not to show it. After a brief dalliance with biochemistry, she completed both a B.A. and an M.A. in English.
She is the author of the Cape End Romance series and several standalone contemporary lesbian romance novels and novellas. She has been a finalist for the Lambda Literary, RITA, and Golden Crown Literary Society awards, but loves reader feedback the most. She lives in Ithaca, New York, with her dogs and whatever wildlife has taken up residence in the pond.
Books Available from Bold Strokes Books
30 Dates in 30 Days by Elle Spencer. A busy lawyer tries to find love the fast way—thirty dates in thirty days. (978-1-63555-498-4)
Finding Sky by Cass Sellars. Skylar Addison’s search for a career intersects with her new boss’s search for butterflies, but Skylar can’t forgive Jess’s intrusion into her life. (978-1-63555-521-9)
Hammers, Strings, and Beautiful Things by Morgan Lee Miller. While on tour with the biggest pop star in the world, rising musician Blair Bennett falls in love for the first time while coping with loss and depression. (978-1-63555-538-7)
Heart of a Killer by Yolanda Wallace. Contract killer Santana Masters’s only interest is her next assignment—until a chance meeting with a beautiful stranger tempts her to change her ways. (978-1-63555-547-9)
Leading the Witness by Carsen Taite. When defense attorney Catherine Landauer reluctantly becomes the key witness in prosecutor Starr Rio’s latest criminal trial, their hearts, careers, and lives may be at risk. (978-1-63555-512-7)
No Experience Required by Kimberly Cooper Griffin. Izzy Treadway has resigned herself to a life without romance because of her bipolar illness but wonders what she’s gotten herself into when she agrees to write a book about love. (978-1-63555-561-5)
One Walk in Winter by Georgia Beers. Olivia Santini and Hayley Boyd Markham might be rivals at work, but they discover that lonely hearts often find company in the most unexpected of places. (978-1-63555-541-7)
The Inn at Netherfield Green by Aurora Rey. Advertising executive Lauren Montgomery and gin distiller Camden Crawley don’t agree on anything except saving the Rose & Crown, the old English pub that’s brought them together. (978-1-63555-445-8)
Top of Her Game by M. Ullrich. When it comes to life on the field and matters of the heart, losing isn’t an option for pro athletes Kenzie Shaw and Sutton Flores. (978-1-63555-500-4)
Vanished by Eden Darry. A storm is coming, and Ellery and Loveday must find the chosen one or humanity won’t survive it. (978-1-63555-437-3)
All She Wants by Larkin Rose. Marci Jones and Tessa Dalton get more than they bargained for when their plans for a one-night stand turn into an opportunity for love. (978-1-63555-476-2
)
Beautiful Accidents by Erin Zak. Stevie Adams and Bernadette Thompson discover that sometimes the best things in life happen purely by accident. (978-1-63555-497-7)
Before Now by Joy Argento. Can Delany and Jade overcome the betrayal that spans the centuries to reignite a love that can’t be broken? (978-1-63555-525-7)
Breathe by Cari Hunter. Paramedic Jemima Pardon’s chronic bad luck seems to be improving when she meets police officer Rosie Jones. But they face a battle to survive before they can find love. (978-1-63555-523-3)
Double-Crossed by Ali Vali. Hired thief and killer Reed Gable finds something in her scope that will change her life forever when she gets a contract to end casino accountant Brinley Myers’s life. (978-1-63555-302-4)
False Horizons by CJ Birch. Jordan and Ash struggle with different views on the alien agenda and must find their way back to each other before they’re swallowed up by a centuries-old war. (978-1-63555-519-6)
Legacy by Charlotte Greene. When five women hike to a remote cabin deep inside a national park, unsettling events suggest that they should have stayed home. (978-1-63555-490-8)
Royal Street Reveillon by Greg Herren. Someone is killing the stars of a reality show, and it’s up to Scotty Bradley and the boys to find out who. (978-1-63555-545-5)
Somewhere Along the Way by Kathleen Knowles. When Maxine Cooper moves to San Francisco during the summer of 1981, she learns that wherever you run, you cannot escape yourself. (978-1-63555-383-3)
Blood of the Pack by Jenny Frame. When Alpha of the Scottish pack Kenrick Wulver visits the Wolfgangs, she falls for Zaria Lupa, a wolf on the run. (978-1-63555-431-1)
Cause of Death by Sheri Lewis Wohl. Medical student Vi Akiak and K9 Search and Rescue officer Kate Renard must work together to find a killer before they end up the next targets. In the race for survival, they discover that love may be the biggest risk of all. (978-1-63555-441-0)
Chasing Sunset by Missouri Vaun. Hijinks and mishaps ensue as Iris and Finn set off on a road trip adventure, chasing the sunset, and falling in love along the way. (978-1-63555-454-0)
Double Down by MB Austin. When an unlikely friendship with Spanish pop star Erlea turns deeper, Celeste, in-house physician for the hotel hosting Erlea’s show, has a choice to make—run or double down on love. (978-1-63555-423-6)
Party of Three by Sandy Lowe. Three friends are in for a wild night at billionaire heiress Eleanor McGregor’s twenty-fifth birthday party. Love, lust, and doing the right thing, even when it hurts, turn the evening into one that will change their lives forever. (978-1-63555-246-1)
Sit. Stay. Love. by Karis Walsh. City girl Alana Brendt and country vet Tegan Evans both know they don’t belong together. Only problem is, they’re falling in love. (978-1-63555-439-7)
Where the Lies Hide by Renee Roman. As P.I. Camdyn Stark gets closer to solving the case, will her dark secrets and the lies she’s buried jeopardize her future with the quietly beautiful Sarah Peters? (978-1-63555-371-0)
Beautiful Dreamer by Melissa Brayden. With love on the line, can Devyn Winters find it in her heart to stay in the small town of Dreamer’s Bay, the one place she swore she’d never remain? (978-1-63555-305-5)
Create a Life to Love by Erin Zak. When sixteen-year-old Beth shows up at her birth mother’s door, three lives will change forever. (978-1-63555-425-0)
Deadeye by Meredith Doench. Stranded while hunting the serial predator Deadeye, Special Agent Luce Hansen fights for survival while her lover, forensic pathologist Harper Bennett, hunts for clues to Hansen’s disappearance along the killer’s trail. (978-1-63555-253-9)
Death Takes a Bow by David S. Pederson. Alan Keys takes part in a local stage production, but when the leading man is murdered, his partner Detective Heath Barrington is thrust into the limelight to find the killer. (978-1-63555-472-4)
Endangered by Michelle Larkin. Shapeshifters Officer Aspen Wolfe and Dr. Tora Madigan fight their growing attraction as they work together to destroy a secret government agency that exterminates their kind. (978-1-63555-377-2)
Incognito by VK Powell. The only thing Evan Spears is focused on is capturing a fleeing murder suspect until wild card Frankie Strong is added to her team and causes chaos on and off the job. (978-1-63555-389-5)
Insult to Injury by Gun Brooke. After losing everything, Gail Owen withdraws to her old farmhouse and finds a destitute young woman, Romi Shepherd, living in a secret room. (978-1-63555-323-9)
Just One Moment by Dena Blake. If you were given the chance to have the love of your life back, could you ignore everything that went wrong and start over again? (978-1-63555-387-1)
Scene of the Crime by MJ Williamz. Cullen Mathew finds herself caught between the woman she thinks she loves but can no longer trust and a beautiful detective she can’t stop thinking about who will stop at nothing to find the truth. (978-1-63555-405-2)
Accidental Prophet by Bud Gundy. Days after his grandmother dies, Drew Morten learns his true identity and finds himself racing against time to save civilization from the apocalypse. (978-1-63555-452-6)
Daughter of No One by Sam Ledel. When their worlds are threatened, a princess and a village outcast must overcome their differences and embrace a budding attraction if they want to survive. (978-1-63555-427-4)
Fear of Falling by Georgia Beers. Singer Sophie James is ready to shake up her career, but her new manager, the gorgeous Dana Landon, has other ideas. (978-1-63555-443-4)
In Case You Forgot by Fredrick Smith and Chaz Lamar. Zaire and Kenny, two newly single, Black, queer, and socially aware men, start again—in love, career, and life—in the West Hollywood neighborhood of LA. (978-1-63555-493-9)
Playing with Fire by Lesley Davis. When Takira Lathan and Dante Groves meet at Takira’s restaurant, love may find its way onto the menu. (978-1-63555-433-5)
Practice Makes Perfect by Carsen Taite. Meet law school friends Campbell, Abby, and Grace, law partners at Austin’s premier boutique legal firm for young, hip entrepreneurs. Legal Affairs: one law firm, three best friends, three chances to fall in love. (978-1-63555-357-4)
The Last Seduction by Ronica Black. When you allow true love to elude you once and you desperately regret it, are you brave enough to grab it when it comes around again? (978-1-63555-211-9)
Wavering Convictions by Erin Dutton. After a traumatic event, Maggie has vowed to regain her strength and independence. So how can Ally be both the woman who makes her feel safe and a constant reminder of the person who took her security away? (978-1-63555-403-8)
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