“How sweet.” Danielle glanced around the empty parking lot. There were no other cars around. Where were the two lovebirds?
A skier broke off from the formation. He skied faster than the rest, racing to the bottom. It was something Luke would do.
Her heart stuttered.
The skier resembled Luke. He had the same graceful moves, and wore the same ski clothes Luke owned. He crashed toward them, as if he was going to hit the car. The skier swished to a stop, sending a flurry of snow at the windshield.
Luke.
Her stuttering heart zoomed ahead of her mind. She needed to think, to process. Her quivering left hand reached for the door handle.
The car’s headlights spotlighted Luke like he was on stage. He snapped off his skis and got down on one knee in the snow. He pulled out a small box from his jacket pocket and held it up. He snapped open the lid.
A glint from a diamond sparkled.
Or was the sparkle from the tears in her eyes?
Her heart pounded with the answer to his silent question. Her pulse points throbbed. Air stuck in her lungs. She couldn’t move.
“Mom, go.” Bri pushed her.
Danielle stumbled out the car door. She wanted to run to Luke, to be in his arms. Her trembling knees wouldn’t move fast enough.
Luke’s gaze shone with love. His cheeks were red from skiing down the slope. He kept his injured knee on the ground.
She didn’t need the dramatic gesture. She only needed him. “Get up. You’re going to re-injure your knee.”
“Dani, I’ve loved you since you were fifteen. The hardest part of pursuing my career was leaving you.” His voice cracked and her heart squeezed.
“We had a wonderful past and the last few weeks being with you again have been amazing, reminding me of what we had. But what I’m looking forward to the most is the future.” His eyes glittered with tears. “A future together.”
When their bare hands touched and her fingers slipped between his, a connection zinged between them. A solid connection. She knew they were perfect for each other and would be together forever.
“I want to be with you and Bri.” Need filled his voice.
Danielle wanted that, too. A tiny flake of doubt froze the warmth in her heart. “What about your career?”
“I’ve worked out deals with my current sponsors and I’ve accepted the ski team coaching position. I want us to be a family and stay in Castle Ridge.” His voice choked with emotion.
His emotion soothed and warmed her soul.
It didn’t matter they were standing on cold snow in freezing temperatures. It didn’t matter they didn’t wear gloves. The only thing that mattered was they were together. And in love.
“Dani, will you marry me? Will you and Bri be my family? My home?” Luke’s intense green eyes beamed with the light of his love.
Danielle’s heart sparked. “Yes, always.”
She plunged into his arms and they toppled to the ground together. Neither noticed the cold snow on their backs. Their lips touched and promised. Their hearts soared.
“It’s a Christmas Match!” Bri’s joyous shout echoed off the mountaintops.
“Merry Christmas, Dani.” Luke kissed her soundly. “And love to all.”
They were in love. They were united. They were a family.
They were home. Home for Christmas.
Read on for an excerpt of THE FLIRTATION GAME, the third book in the Castle Ridge series.
Excerpt from
The Flirtation Game
A Castle Ridge Small Town Romance
Book 3
by Allie Burton
Love isn’t all that’s cooking.
After a scandal in Hollywood, celebrity chef Michael Marstrand accepts a position to be head chef at Castle Ridge Lodge and star in a television program about re-opening a five-star restaurant. He believes returning to his hometown to help the struggling restaurant will earn him public relations points and help an old friend. What he doesn’t know is the sous chef expected to be named head chef and the television series is a reality show called Kitchen Catastrophe.
Sous Chef Isabel O’Donnell returned from vacation to discover the restaurant kitchen remodeled and a new head chef. With contracts already signed, she has no choice but to work for Chef Michael, a man she’d had a crush on since middle school. A man who’d stolen her job.
With the hidden cameras rolling, Michael tries to make the day-to-day routine boring so Kitchen Catastrophe will never be shown, but an interfering producer introduces a bridezilla and an employee who causes trouble. Add the simmering attraction between Michael and Isabel and the reality show has everything: drama, fights, and sex.
In this best friend’s brother conflict, will a fake flirtation produce the perfect recipe or enflame desire?
Excerpt:
Michael stepped away from Danielle and straightened his shirt. A shirt she hadn’t even realized she’d messed.
She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to pull herself together. She was going to be head chef; she couldn’t be caught making out in the kitchen. Not only was it unsanitary, it was unprofessional.
Parker, the lodge owner, observed the two of them, a glint of confusion on his face. His perfectly-coiffed hair appeared tame compared to the man she just kissed.
“What do you need?” Michael’s voice sounded normal. He obviously had more control over his libido.
Her skin cooled. Maybe he wasn’t as attracted to her.
“Good. You two are getting reacquainted.” Parker wrung his hands together. He seemed more together than on New Year’s Eve, but still jumpy.
Why would he be nervous of either one of them? In high school, Michael and Parker had been best friends. Now, they acted like strangers.
Michael’s face was a complete mask. What was he hiding?
“I’m glad you’re going to be okay with this decision, Isabel.” Parker’s shoulders relaxed.
She tilted her head, trying to figure his puzzling words out. “What decision?”
“Now that Chef Françoise has retired, I’ll be announcing the new head chef.”
Her chest pounded. She stood straighter, and pulled back her shoulders. This was it. Parker was going to tell her the head chef position belonged to her.
He waved his hand in a vague fashion. “The press release with head shots will go out today.”
Air caught in her lungs. “I didn’t take new photos.”
Michael jerked beside her. He gaped at her with raised eyebrows and tightened facial muscles. “What?”
“No need for the sous chef to take head shots.” Parker avoided her gaze like a guilty man.
“But…but.” The catch in her chest morphed into a fissure, a fissure cracking and widening with each of her panicked thoughts. “I’m the new head chef.”
Michael’s shoulders hunched, and he took a step back, as if he’d taken a punch to his midsection. Except she was the one who’d taken the punch, because something was wrong. Parker acted nervous. Michael shocked.
She sucked in a sharp, jagged breath, ignoring the pain. “Chef Françoise promised me the position.”
Michael’s skin had gone white as a chef’s coat. His round eyes had dimmed of color. “What?”
Parker’s expression softened, except for his pinched mouth. “I’m sorry, Isabel. I thought Michael told you. I thought that’s why you two were talking in the kitchen together.”
Her breath spasmed, sending alarms throughout her body. Her gaze switched back and forth, between Michael and Parker. “Told me? Told me what?”
Parker touched her arm. “The new head chef at the Castle Ridge Lodge is celebrity chef Michael Marstrand.”
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Did you miss THE ROMANCE DANCE, the first book in the Castle Ridge series?
Excerpt from
The Romance Dance
A Castle Ridge Small Town Romanc
e
Book 1
by Allie Burton
A slow sashay to desire.
After being abandoned by his fiancée and his fans because of a disfiguring accident, former classical pianist Reed O’Donnell returns home to hide. He’s pieced his life back together becoming a landlord and remodel construction specialist, but shies away from a social life.
Ex-ballerina Quinn Petrov moved to Castle Ridge and invested her money to start a dance studio with plans to put down roots. She wants to get involved in the community to promote her business and make real friends, not the acquaintances she’d made in New York. When she meets her secretive and sexy landlord, she’s intrigued but he always seems to be hiding behind a mask.
Reed can’t stop the attraction he feels toward his new tenant, but she’s beautiful and outgoing, while he is not. When his younger brother begs him to help impress Quinn, Reed can’t say no. Using the musical language of love, he woos Quinn for his brother, but when his own mask slips will he reveal his secrets?
In this modern take of Cyrano de Bergerac meets Beauty and the Beast, Quinn and Reed dance their way into each other’s hearts.
Excerpt:
Quinn lay on her back and scooted farther under the sink. The warmth from her body slid along his skin, sending tingles of attraction to his loins. Her long leg lay next to his damaged one. Perfection next to destruction. Reed was a grotesque monster next to her doll-like body.
“What do you need me to do?” The soft lilt at the end of her question sent a shiver up his spine.
“Point the light at this joint.” He handed her the flashlight and the beam swung around. He’d have to show her the joint. Reluctantly, he took her hand and guided it into position. Locked together, her delicate hand hid the scars on his. He didn’t appear so hideous.
“Is this good?” Again, the sexy lilt playing to his lust.
“That’s what she said.” His brother Dax chimed in, and pounded on the top of the sink. “Ba-dum-bum.”
Fever flushed through Reed at his brother’s lame joke. He hadn’t heard his brother come in. He dropped the wrench again.
The tool fell and smacked Quinn on the forehead.
“Ouch.” She held her other hand at the spot.
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry. Are you okay?” He stroked her forehead where the angry bruise formed. “Dax! What’re you doing messing around? I wanted your help, not a comedian.”
“I’m fine.” Lifting her arm, she rubbed her forehead. Her upper arm smashed against her breasts, making them jiggle and pushing them up higher in the low-cut camisole.
His cock noticed, hardening into a bigger shaft. He tightened his muscles, trying to control the anger surging inside him. As well as other things. He didn’t want this attraction, and he certainly didn’t deserve a woman so beautiful. And he’d hurt her. “I’m sorry. My idiot brother surprised me.”
“You asked me to come. What’s going on down there?” His brother peered under the sink. “Is this a new, kinky way to—”
“Dax, dammit.” Reed shoved himself out from underneath the sink. Reaching back around, he held his hands out for Quinn. She placed her slim hands in his. Like a monster, his ugly, scarred hand swallowed her tiny one. The earlier image of her hand making his look better slipped away. He had too much ugliness to cover up.
He helped Quinn out. “Thanks.”
“You called me.” Dax took her elbows and helped her to her feet. A knight helping an injured princess being held captive by a monster. His sexy smirk enhanced his handsome face. “Who is this beautiful—” His gaze traveled the length of her body. “—and wet woman?”
Reed stiffened and clenched his hands into fists. His little brother shouldn’t be ogling her. Not with her perky breasts sticking out of the soft silk material, not with the way the wet cloth clung to her slight curves and hugged her hips. He grabbed Quinn’s wet robe and held it in front, covering most of her. “Here.”
Her relaxed, answering grin showed she wasn’t concerned with how much of her body was displayed. As a dancer, she was probably used to people staring at her. “I’m Quinn Petrov.”
His brother’s charm was already working. Annoyance pulsed at Reed’s temples.
Besides their green eyes, it was hard to tell Dax was his brother. Dax had longer, blond hair while Reed’s was dark and curly. Dax’s lanky and able body was the opposite of Reed’s thick trunk exterior and his limp. Dax’s fun attitude toward life contrasted with Reed’s darker views.
“Bro, why didn’t you tell me about your new woman?” His brother gave an exaggerated wink, trying to embarrass Reed.
If Dax stayed in town longer than his ski patrol shift, he’d know who Quinn was. “She’s not my woman.” He sounded grouchy and short, and he hated himself for it. This woman didn’t matter to him. Not what skimpy clothes she wore, or who she dated. “She’s my tenant.”
“Interesting.” His brother’s eyebrows rose and lowered in a more-than-interested action.
“I should get changed.” Quinn’s soft smile had his insides twisting. “Nice meeting you, Dax.”
“I’ll be seeing you around.” The suggestiveness said more than his words.
The twisting inside Reed’s gut pulled tighter, watching Quinn’s wet backside sway out of the bathroom. He couldn’t pull his gaze away from the mesmerizing move.
“Getting out of bed was worth it for the view.” His brother’s face took on a wolfish expression. “I want to be a landlord, if I can have hot tenants like her.”
“Stick to blowing avalanches up.” He wanted to blow up. At his brother, at Quinn, at the situation. He never should’ve called Dax. “Help me finish fixing the leak.”
Dax crouched down by the sink and picked up the flashlight. “So what’s going on between you two?”
“Nothing.” Reed climbed back under the sink, with a caulk gun in hand.
Why would his brother think he’d have anything going on with a woman as beautiful as Quinn? He hadn’t dated anyone since his fiancée. He only socialized with his family, rarely talked to anyone else except his construction clients.
“It’s the middle of the night.” Using a suggestive tone, his brother pointed the light at the pipe connection. “You’re dressed in only shorts. She’s in a sexy nightie.”
He strangled the caulk gun like he wanted to strangle his brother. “Shut up, Dax. Nothing is going on between Quinn and I.”
Dax wiggled his eyebrows. “Then, you won’t mind if I ask her out.”
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COMING SOON IN THE CASTLE RIDGE SERIES!
The Playboy Switch
The Marriage Merger
If you love young adult romance with fantasy and adventure, try Allie Burton’s two young adult series FREE!
Excerpt from
Atlantis Riptide
Lost Daughters of Atlantis
Book 1
by Allie Burton
When a girl runs away from the circus…
For all her sixteen years, Pearl Poseidon has been a fish out of water. A freak on display for her adoptive parents’ profit. Running away from her horrible life, she craves one thing—anonymity. But when she saves a small boy from drowning she exposes herself and her mutant abilities to Chase, a budding investigative reporter.
Now, he has questions. And so do the police.
Once Pearl discovers her secret identity, she learns she’s part of a larger war between battling Atlanteans. A battle that will decide who rules the oceans. A battle raging between evil and her true family. Will she find a way to use her powers in time to save a kingdom she never knew existed?
This is the start of a young adult fantasy action adventure novel series. “Free sweet summer young adult paranormal with death-defying underwater rescues.” Reviewer
Excerpt:
The sea otter twirled around behind me. His cold snout bumped me on the back.
“Are you trying to tell me something?” The question sounded so stupid leaving my tongue. I’m mean, come on, talking to an animal?
He swam back in front and nodded his head up and down. Yes.
I reeled back and caught my breath. I was talking to a sea otter.
The otter ducked under and swam around me in a circle. Then, he lay on his back and used his paw in a “come here” motion.
I ducked under and swam in a circle around him. He circled again, and so did I. We were swimming in a constant figure-eight pattern under the water.
Unbelievable. I was playing with a sea otter. My spirits soared. My smile widened. Like being a five-year-old at a playground, I’d made my first real friend.
Not that the otter was a human friend, but it counted. Didn’t it?
Following for a bit, I stopped when I realized he headed to shore. “I don’t want to go back yet.” I wasn’t ready to leave the comfort of the water and return to my lonely tent.
The sea otter shook his head fast in an agitated motion. Even his furry face appeared upset.
“Can’t we play longer?” I remembered reading about sea otters and how they played. Slipping and sliding and diving. Turning and twisting underwater, kind of like I’d done earlier.
The Christmas Match: Castle Ridge Small Town Romance Page 20