A Very Daring Christmas (The Tavonesi Series Book 8)
Page 27
Matt shook his head. “They’re good for each other.”
“Perfect, really,” Alana added. “And I’m loving this place, Jake. But I do wish you’d let my landscape team come and help you.” She gestured toward the road. “Where does that lead?”
“To my parents’ house. My current dog sitters.”
Matt grinned. “You mean kid-sitters.”
“That too.”
Cameron slipped her hand into his. “We merged my shooting schedule with the team’s road schedule, and with Jake’s parents filling in, we’ve managed to create some semblance of order.”
“Order might be stretching the meaning of the word.” Jake chuckled. “Alana, I meant to tell you—thanks for agreeing to take Dylan when my parents head back to see my sister next month.”
“I heard we’re going to have a wedding,” Matt said with a wink. “Another success to chalk up to the meddlesome Tavonesi clan and their matchmaking abilities. Coco’s and Sabrina’s energies should be harnessed to power the planet.”
Cameron blushed.
“After the season,” Jake said quickly. It was true. Without the scheming of the Tavonesi women, he and Cameron might never have had the opportunity to fall in love. “We swore we’d wait until Parker returns from Greece. Although from what Alex told me yesterday, Parker might not be back for a while.”
“You haven’t met Juliet,” Alana said. “Trouble seems to stalk her. And Parker would rearrange the international boundary lines to help her. But if she toys with his heart, I might strangle her myself.”
Matt tugged Alana to him and planted a kiss to her cheek. “Fiercely loyal, this one.”
The hungry look in Matt’s eyes had the air crackling with sexual tension.
Cameron winked at Jake. Evidently she’d also seen the look that had passed between Matt and Alana. She turned to Matt. “So I get how precious a day off is during the season. How about Jake and I keep Sophie for the afternoon and bring her over to your place later? Give you guys some time alone. When should we bring her back?”
Matt nuzzled Alana. “How about ten days?”
Alana swatted him. “She has homework and an art project to finish.”
Jake didn’t have to be psychic to read Matt’s intentions for his wife. Hell, all Jake wanted right then was a room, a bed and Cameron. Maybe forget the room—just some time alone with her. “Maybe you could return the favor tonight and take the kids to a movie?” he asked.
Alana waved her hand in the air between them. “Homework, Jake.” She turned to Matt. “What’s with you two? Did they put aphrodisiacs in the Gatorade this week?”
Matt wrapped an arm around Alana’s waist. “Something like that.” He shifted a glance to Jake. “We’ll take you up on your offer. But bring Sophie back before six. Fatherly duties, homework police and all that. We’ll take kid duties from there.”
Alana turned to Cameron. “I meant to congratulate you. Matt said the meeting with the president went well.”
Cameron winced. “God, has it been that long since I’ve seen you?”
“Two months.”
“Parker wrangled a private meeting for us.” Cameron gestured into the distance where Sophie and Dylan were taking turns on the swing under a two-hundred-year-old oak. “And Dylan stole the day. He was so fascinated with the pens on the Oval Office desk. When the president invited him to sit in his chair, Dylan picked up the closest pen and told the story of the bateyes. He rattled off the facts so fast, no one could interrupt. UNICAN should tap him.”
“She’s marrying me for my kid,” Jake said with a laugh.
“Hey, that’s a time-honored tradition around here,” Matt said. “Alana fell for Sophie first.”
Alana wrinkled her nose. “Not true. Well... maybe a little. You were so guarded when I first met you.”
“You weren’t exactly easy to read.”
“I like to think of myself as an open book,” Alana said with a teasing grin.
“Fat chance.” Matt turned to Cameron. “Well, congratulations are in order. Alex told me you got the president to agree to look into earmarking some funding.”
Cameron shook her head. “It didn’t go as well as I’d hoped.”
“She’s too hard on herself,” Jake said. “The president said he’d help, and he meant it. Turns out that making sure people have clean water is one of the legacies he wants to leave when he exits the Oval Office. There’s a similar project the Department of Commerce has in the works in the Outer Banks in the Carolinas. Can you believe that in America we still need to get clean water to some people? It was a shocking revelation.”
Alana’s brows drew together. “That’s a big goal.”
“Yup. He said we need big goals. Otherwise, why bother?” Jake checked his watch. “You two had better head out.”
“Music to my ears,” Matt said. He tugged on Alana’s hand. “We have kid sitters. For four hours, my dear.”
Alana blushed.
Matt took Alana’s arm and turned her toward the Jeep. “I may break every speed limit on the way back to the ranch,” he said over his shoulder.
As they drove away, Jake couldn’t stand it any longer. He snatched Cameron to him. When his lips met hers, everything stopped. His rushing thoughts and worries, his anxiety about Dylan, his concerns about the property all melted away in the rush of heat and joy and want and—there was no other word for it—love. He’d kissed her at the airport, but Dylan had been with them, so he couldn’t lay on the kiss he’d dreamed of, fantasized about, for the five weeks she’d been in New Zealand.
“Mmmm...,” he murmured when they both came up for air. “Although I’m glad you like our new place, I have to admit that it isn’t a farmhouse, a ball field or a batting cage that’s home any longer. You’re my home. You’re everything that home is to me.”
“Jake...” She kissed him tenderly. “I love every little nook and cranny, every tree, everything about this place. But most of all, I love that it has you.” She smiled. “I can see us putting down roots and growing with this land. I can see us making a home and a family here.”
He ran his hand up her back and couldn’t resist gliding the other one to brush along the soft curve of her breast.
“Hey.” She pressed away. “Rain check. The kids are on their way back.”
“This is one rain check I am definitely cashing.”
“Look normal,” Cameron said as Sophie and Dylan made their way across the stone bridge.
“Impossible. Nothing’s been normal since I met you.” He straightened and adjusted the sweatshirt that he’d wrapped around his waist, hoping that it hid the evidence of how much he wanted her.
“Mmmm... I missed that scent,” she said as she straightened her blouse and did that thing with her hair that women do when they pull themselves together.
“What scent?”
“That shampoo your sister makes. The scent lingers on you—a spring breeze mixed with a whiff of exotic spices. I dreamed of it when I was in New Zealand. When I dreamed of you.”
“Her hobby keeps her from going crazy when the NASA big picture overwhelms her,” he said, trying to focus on anything but the fantasies Cameron was stirring in him. Waiting until the evening to have her in his arms was going to be pure torture.
“Well, her concoction leaves an impression. We could bottle it and sell it for a UNICAN fundraiser. Celebrity endorsement and all that.”
“Nope, I’m stopping with the White House and Nike. I have officially reached my public-exposure limit.”
He realized from her broad smile that she’d been kidding.
“But I’ll be sure to order several gallons next time she calls.” Although Sophie and Dylan had nearly reached them, Jake ran his fingers along the curves of her hips. “Maybe she should call her shampoo Third Date Forever?”
Cameron nipped a quick kiss to his cheek. “It’s time to test your rule-breaking limits.” She dragged her finger down his chest and hooked it in the buckle of his belt.
“And I have some delicious ideas for how to help you do just that.”
“Are you daring me, Miss Kelley?”
The sparkle in Cameron’s eyes was all the enticement he needed.
THE END
If you'd like to stay in touch and know when the next new release in The Tavonesi Series is coming out, please sign up for Pamela's New Release Newsletter by clicking here.
THANK YOU!
Thanks for reading A Very Daring Christmas. I hope you enjoyed it!
· Would you like to know when my next books are available? You can sign up for my new release newsletter at http://www.pamelaaares.com/newsletter-signup/.
· You’ve just read the eighth book in the Tavonesi Series. The other books in the series are:
Love Bats Last (Book #1, Alex and Jackie)
Thrown By Love (Book #2, Chloe and Scotty)
Fielder's Choice (Book #3, Alana and Matt)
Love on the Line (Book #4, Cara and Ryan)
Aim For Love (Book #5, Sabrina and Kaz)
The Heart of the Game (Book #6, Cody and Zoe)
Love in the Vineyard (Book #7, Adrian and Natasha)
A Very Daring Christmas (Book #8, Cameron and Jake)
No Stranger to Love (Book #9, Parker and Juliet)
· You, the reader, have the power to make or break a book’s reputation. Reviews help other readers find books they love. I appreciate reviews from all perspectives and would love to hear your opinion. If you have the time, please leave a review and let me know what you think about A Very Daring Christmas. And I’d love to have a copy of your review! You can email me at Pamela@PamelaAares.com if you’d like to share your review.
I write so that readers may enjoy the experience of reading my books. I hope you enjoy every one!
Thank you so much for reading and for spending time with me.
In gratitude,
Pamela Aares
And Don’t Miss…Other Books by Pamela
The Tavonesi Series:
Love Bats Last (Book #1, Alex and Jackie)
Thrown By Love (Book #2, Chloe and Scotty)
Fielder's Choice (Book #3, Alana and Matt)
Love on the Line (Book #4, Cara and Ryan)
Aim For Love (Book #5, Sabrina and Kaz)
The Heart of the Game (Book #6, Cody and Zoe)
Love in the Vineyard (Book #7, Adrian and Natasha)
A Very Daring Christmas (Book #8, Cameron and Jake)
No Stranger to Love (Book #9, Parker and Juliet)
also available:
Angels Among Us Series
Jane Austen and the Archangel (A Regency Love Story)
Book One in The Tavonesi Series
A stormy night changes their lives forever...
The baseball diamond isn’t the only field for all-star player Alex Tavonesi; he also runs his family’s prestigious vineyard. What he can’t seem to run is his love life. He’s closing in on the perfect vintage and the perfect game, but so far the perfect woman has eluded him.
Veterinarian Jackie Brandon is eluding her aristocratic past and memories of a soccer star who jilted her just before their wedding. She devotes herself to a marine mammal rescue center on the northern California coast, where hundreds of seals and sea lions are washing up dead.
A chance meeting in a midnight storm brings Alex and Jackie together to rescue a stranded whale. Watching her work, he realizes she’s the passionate, courageous woman he thought he’d never find--he just has to overcome her deep distrust of jocks. Jackie’s passion and courage lead her to discover what’s killing the sea mammals. The culprits want to silence her, and Alex is the only one standing in their way. What will he sacrifice to save the woman he loves?
Love Bats Last is available now at all online bookstores or can also be ordered from your favorite local bookstore.
Click here to buy Love Bats Last
Book Two in The Tavonesi Series
A kiss in a dark alcove triggers the greatest challenge of their lives...
Ace pitcher Scotty Donovan has been traded from his longtime team—and hates it. But to his surprise, he now finds himself in the sweetest game of his life: winning the heart of smart, sexy physics professor Chloe McNalley.
Chloe loves teaching, but she’s never fit into academia. When she falls for Scotty, she discovers his arms and heart are where she belongs. They share a passion for the game, a fascination for the mysteries of the universe and an increasing love for one another.
Then Chloe inherits Scotty’s new team. As player and team owner, they shouldn’t be dating. They try to hide their passion, until a blackmailer threatens them personally and professionally. Exposure could be the end of everything--Scotty’s career, Chloe’s team ownership, and their new love—unless they find a way to transcend the taboo standing between them.
Thrown By Love is available now at all online bookstores or can also be ordered from your favorite local bookstore.
Click here to buy Thrown By Love
Book Three in The Tavonesi Series
When love’s the game, you can’t play it safe…
All-Star shortstop Matt Darrington has more than a problem. His wife died, and now he’s juggling a too-smart-for-her-britches six-year-old and the grueling pace of professional baseball. Worse, his daughter is mom shopping. When they explore a local ranch, she decides the beautiful, free-spirited tour guide is premium mom material. Matt thinks the sexy guide looks like Grade-A trouble.
Alana Tavonesi loves her cosmopolitan life in Paris. But when she inherits the renowned Tavonesi Olive Ranch, she has to return to California and face obligations she never wanted. Selling the place is her first instinct, but life at the ranch begins to crack her open, exposing the dreams hidden inside her heart.
On a lark she leads a ranch tour, where she meets Matt Darrington. His physical power and a captivating sensual appeal fire her in a way no man ever has, but he has a kid—and being a stepmom is a responsibility Alana will never be ready for. Still... she can’t keep her mind or her hands off him.
When Matt’s daughter goes missing from a kid’s camp at the ranch, Alana organizes the search effort, knowing from experience the areas a bright child would be drawn to explore. As she and Matt work together to search for the little girl, Alana discovers that father and daughter have won her heart. Yet it may be too late for love…
Fielder’s Choice is available now at all online bookstores or can also be ordered from your favorite local bookstore.
Click here to buy Fielder's Choice
Book Four in The Tavonesi Series
Hiding her identity was a small price to pay for freedom...
Heiress Cara Barrington fled the opulent world of her rich and famous family to carve out an idyllic existence on the California Coast. In the sleepy town of Albion Bay, she’s embraced the simple way of living she’s always craved. No one knows her identity, and she’s free from the pressures of wealth... until her sexy new neighbor threatens the unpretentious world she’s worked so hard to build.
All-Star athlete Ryan Rea enjoys his high-profile status. He’s used to charming his way into the heart and bed of any woman he desires while keeping his own heart secure behind a steel wall. When he meets Cara, she throws him a curveball—she’s unlike any woman he’s ever met, and he has to have her.
Cara’s growing attraction to Ryan endangers her hard-won anonymity, and when she inherits the family business, she must choose between the world she left behind and her new life in the community she’s come to cherish. But facing up to her responsibilities could destroy her freedom and cost her the greatest love she’s ever known.
Love On The Line is available now at all online bookstores or can also be ordered from your favorite local bookstore.
Click here to buy Love on the Line
Book Five in the Tavonesi Series
Attacked at the premiere of her latest film and haunted in dreams by the character she played, Hollywood sensation Sabrina Tavonesi has only weeks to heal he
r injured shoulder and get over the her secret nightmares before filming begins on the sequel.
Pitching phenom Kaz Tokugawa is on the verge of reaching his dream to make the Major Leagues, but nothing is going right. Sacred family vows are holding him back. When the team captain asks for his help rehabbing his sister’s injured shoulder, Kaz can’t refuse. As Sabrina sneaks into his well-armored heart, he knows he’s made a mistake.
When Kaz is accused of murdering a drug lord threatening his family, only Sabrina knows the truth. But will the secrets they’re hiding destroy their lives as well as their love?
Aim for Love is available now at all online bookstores or can also be ordered from your favorite local bookstore.
Click here to buy Aim For Love
Book Six in the Tavonesi Series
From USA Today Bestselling Author Pamela Aares comes THE HEART OF THE GAME, the sixth book in the Tavonesi family series featuring passion, mystery, and well-won love!
Italian heiress Zoe Tavonesi’s idyllic life has been turned upside down. Her grief-stricken father has uprooted the entire family to the California wine country, shattering Zoe’s plans to open the art gallery her late mother always wanted. But when Cody Bond, the hot catcher for the Giants walks into her life and agrees to ride in her charity polo match, the intriguing American soon has Zoe reconsidering her plans and her dreams.