Savannah glanced up and their eyes caught. Her scowl morphed into a warm smile as she scrambled onto the roof of the limo.
Treat pushed away from the fence and headed in full protective mode toward his sister. She might be mouthy, but she could be easily injured by those media animals as they pushed their way forward.
“Treat!” Savannah called.
Treat moved into the crowd, parting the media like flies. His six-foot-six frame naturally commanded more space, and one look up usually sent smaller men scrambling away. The ones who remained, he gently persuaded with a cold, domineering stare—a stare he hadn’t needed to rely upon since Savannah was a teenager, when he and his brothers had spent countless hours keeping the horny boys away from their precious sister.
Treat reached up and caught Savannah as she jumped down. He spun her around and, as he set her on her feet, his eyes landed on a woman standing on a car in front of the limousine. His breath caught in his throat. Max.
“OKAY, THE SHOW is over.” Max ran her eyes over the crowd as her voice boomed into the raging crowd.
“Let’s give Mr. Dean some space to continue driving through. He’ll be signing autographs and answering questions after his appearance.” Max’s gaze landed on the handsome man towering above the crowd, with a gorgeous woman in his arms and a smile on his lips. She froze as he spun the woman to the side and his face came into view. Oh God. Her pulse soared, and—damn it—the butterflies in her stomach that she thought she’d annihilated six months earlier roared to life with a vengeance. She stumbled backward, and one of the security guards was quick to grab her until she found her footing.
“Max! You okay?”
The security guard's voice wrenched her back to the chaos. She tore her eyes from Treat and whomever the woman was that he was holding as if she meant everything in the world to him, and she blinked away the unexpected tears that threatened her steely reserve.
“Clear a path or you’ll be removed from the premises for the rest of the festival.” Even she could hear the difference in her voice, the weakness. Damn it. Her eyes darted back to Treat, who was staring at her with an incredulous look on his face. Suddenly painfully aware of her jeans and T-shirt, the ponytail in her hair, and—oh God—how she must look like a crazy woman standing on top of the car, she clambered down to the ground as the crowd surprisingly obeyed her orders and began to dissipate. Threats of eviction usually worked.
She turned off the intercom and fumbled for her keys. Treat was heading her way. She wouldn’t be caught dead speaking to him after the way he’d blown her off six months earlier. The woman he was with now was stunning, and obviously well connected, and it was abundantly clear by the way Treat looked at her that she was exactly what he wanted.
“Max,” he called.
His smooth, deep voice was enough to send her heart aflutter. She cursed under her breath as she started the car and navigated around the crowd. She glanced in her rearview mirror, grasping the steering wheel with trembling hands. Damn him for having this effect on her. Treat stood alone in his dark suit, watching Max’s car, while his beautiful companion looked on with a confused expression on her face.
(End of Sneak Peek)
To continue reading, be sure to pick up
LOVERS AT HEART, The Bradens, Book One
Full LOVE IN BLOOM SERIES order
Love in Bloom books may be read as stand alones. For more enjoyment, read them in series order. Characters from each series carry forward to the next.
SNOW SISTERS
Sisters in Love (Book 1)
Sisters in Bloom (Book 2)
Sisters in White (Book 3)
THE BRADENS
Lovers at Heart (Book 4)
Destined for Love (Book 5)
Friendship on Fire (Book 6)
Sea of Love (Book 7)
Bursting with Love (Book 8)
Hearts at Play (Book 9)
THE REMINGTONS
Game of Love (Book 10)
Stroke of Love (Book 11)
Flames of Love (Book 12)
Slope of Love (Book 13)
Read, Write, Love (Book 14)
THE BRADENS
Taken by Love (Book 15)
Fated for Love (Book 16)
Romancing my Love (Book 17)
Flirting with Love (Book 18)
Dreaming of Love (Book 19)
Crashing into Love (Book 20)
SEASIDE SUMMERS (coming soon)
Seaside Dreams
Seaside Hearts
Seaside Sunsets
Seaside Secrets
THE RYDERS (coming soon)
Seized by Love
Claimed by Love
Swept into Love
Chased by Love
Rescued by Love
*Please note: The Bradens (II) and Seaside Summers are releasing in an alternating pattern (Fated for Love, then Seaside Dreams, then Romancing My Love, then Seaside Hearts, etc.)
More Books by Melissa
Chasing Amanda (mystery/suspense)
Have No Shame (historical fiction/romance)
Love, Lies & Mystery (3-book bundle)
Megan’s Way (literary fiction)
Traces of Kara (psychological thriller)
Where Petals Fall (suspense)
Watermelon Jam
1 three-pound seedless watermelon*
2 1.75-ounce packages of powdered pectin
8 cups white cane sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Before starting the jam, boil the jars and lids in large saucepan so when you fill them they won’t break from the heat of the jam. Scoop out three pounds of seedless watermelon and place in blender. Finely chop the watermelon so that there are still small chunks. Place the watermelon in an 8-quart saucepan and bring to a boil; then add the pectin slowly. Keep stirring so that nothing sticks to the bottom. Bring it back to a boil and add the sugar very slowly so that you don’t drop the temperature of the mix too fast. Bring back to a boil for 1 minute and then fill your (already hot) jars. After filling the jars, turn them upside down for 5 minutes and then back upright. This will seal the jars. This recipe will fill 10 eight-ounce mason jars.
It might take a large watermelon to get three pounds of fruit, so look for the largest one you can find.
AVAILABLE from www.AlsBackwoodsBerrie.com, Amazon, and other retailers.
Acknowledgments
Spending summers on the Cape for what seems like forever has brought a whole new level of enjoyment when writing. With each book, I get to revisit my favorite place on earth and bring it to life for you. I hope you enjoy the antics of the Seaside crew, and to answer many readers’ questions, the Seaside community is a fictional one. Any similarities between the Seaside community in the series and real Cape communities are coincidental.
I’d like to thank Charles “Bud” Dougherty for helping me with all things boat related. Thank you for sharing your insurmountable knowledge and your excitement for nautical life. As always, you are a joy to chat with. I have taken fictional liberties in my story. Any and all errors are my own.
Tremendous gratitude to my editorial team: Kristen Weber, Penina Lopez, Jenna Bagnini, Juliette Hill, Marlene Engel, and my last set of eyes, Lynn Mullan. You are patient, funny, kind, and a pleasure to work with. Thank you, Natasha Brown, for creating the perfect covers for the Seaside Series and bringing my imagery to life, and thank you, Clare Ayala, for your endless patience and expertise when formatting my material.
And a special thanks goes to Al Chisholm of Al’s Backwoods Berries, my partner in the creation of Luscious Leanna’s Sweet Treats and the best damn jam maker around. If you’re in Wellfleet during the summer, you can find Al and Luscious Leanna’s Sweet Treats at the flea market, or visit his website noted on the recipe page in this book. Luscious Leanna’s Sweet Treats are also available on Amazon.
Last but never least, thank you to my supportive husband and family, who encourage me in every way and make my writing possible.<
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Melissa Foster is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the World Literary Café, and when she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success. Melissa also hosts Aspiring Authors contests for children and has painted and donated several murals to the Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC.
Visit Melissa on her website or chat with her on social media. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups and welcomes an invitation to your event.
Melissa’s books are available through most online retailers in paperback and digital formats.
Seaside Hearts (Love in Bloom: Seaside Summers, Book 2) Contemporary Romance Page 26