Love and Danger
Page 1
Contents
Cover Page
Copyright
Books by Jean Oram
Muskoka
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Awesome Author Newsletter
Acknowledgements
The Summer Sisters
Blueberry Springs
Book Club Discussion Guide
Invitation to Become a Jeanster
About the Author
Love and Danger
A Beach Reads Billionaire Bodyguard Contemporary Romance (Book Club Edition)
Book 4 in The Summer Sisters Tame the Billionaires series
By New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jean Oram
One hippie. One ex-military hero. Two very different life philosophies. And one situation that will alter the path of destiny.
Daphne Summer has always believed in the power of love and destiny. But she figures fate must have a wicked streak for sending Evander de la Fosse into her life. The steely-eyed, former military hunk of manhood won’t leave her side after her ex-boyfriend utters what Daphne believes are idle threats when her sisters block his development across from their family cottage. She knows the man, the father of her five-year-old daughter, would never hurt her. But try convincing Evander.
Evander de la Fosse knows going to war broke him. Now he’s good for one thing and one thing only—stopping bullets meant for others. But as he shadows the single mother, Daphne, who always sees life as a bright and positive thing despite the odds against her, he finds himself wishing for the one thing the war took from him—real life.
Will these two opposites find a way to see eye-to-eye so Evander can help keep Daphne safe? Or will the culmination of the Summer sisters battle against Rubicore Developments finally come to a fatal head in Canada’s Muskokas during the fourth book in the contemporary romance series?
But most importantly, will Daphne and Evander be able to see each other’s true side before it becomes too late to claim their chance at true love?
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Love and Danger
A Beach Reads Billionaire Bodyguard Contemporary Romance (Book Club Edition)
Book 4 in The Summer Sisters Tame the Billionaires series
By Jean Oram
Copyright 2015 Jean Oram
ISBN: 978-1-928198-05-5
First Smashwords Book Club Edition
Contact Jean Oram by email at jeanorambooks@gmail.com
Thank you for downloading this ebook. Although in electronic form, it remains the copyrighted property of the author, and it cannot be reproduced, modified, copied and/or distributed by any means for commercial or non-commercial purposes whether the work is attributed or not, unless written permission has been granted by the author, with the exception of brief quotations for use in a review of this work. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite online vendor where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support. Keep reading!
This is a work of fiction and all characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents appearing in this novel are products of the author’s active imagination or are used in a fictitious manner—unless stated in the book’s front matter. Any resemblance to actual people, alive or dead, as well as any resemblance to events or locales is coincidental (unless noted) and, truly, a little bit cool.
Cover created by Jean Oram
Books by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jean Oram
The Summer Sisters Tame the Billionaires
Love and Rumors (Book 1)
Love and Dreams (Book 2)
Love and Trust (Book 3)
Love and Danger (Book 4)
Audiobooks
Love and Rumors—coming Spring 2015!
The Blueberry Springs series
*Champagne and Lemon Drops (Book 1)
Whiskey and Gumdrops (Book 2)
Rum and Raindrops (Book 3)
Eggnog and Candy Canes (Book 4)
**Sweet Treats (Book 5)
Vodka and Chocolate Drops (Book 6: Coming Summer 2015)
Audiobooks
*GOT THE FREE EBOOK of Champagne and Lemon Drops? Get the audiobook (narrated by Cris Dukehart) and listen along as Blueberry Springs comes alive! Click here.
**Want the latest news and the book Sweet Treats for FREE? Sign up for my free newsletter at www.jeanoram.com/FREEBOOK
A Note on Muskoka
Muskoka is a real place in Ontario, Canada, however, I have taken artistic license with the area. While the issues presented in this series (such as water shed, endangered animals, heritage preservation, shoreline erosion, taxation, etc.) as well as the towns are real, to my knowledge, there is no Baby Horseshoe Island nor is there a Nymph Island, or even a company called Rubicore Developments. The people and businesses are fictional unless otherwise noted.
Muskoka is a wonderful area where movie stars, celebrities, billionaires, and regular Joes do vacation. Yet, having spent many summers in the area during my youth and adulthood (me being a regular Joe), I have yet to see a single celebrity—though a man I presume to be Kurt Browning’s (a famous Canadian figure skating Olympian) father did offer to help me when the outboard fritzed out on me once. Damn outboard.
You can discover more about Muskoka online at www.discovermuskoka.ca/
CHAPTER 1
Daphne Summer pulled her minivan down an unmarked, dead-end residential street in Port Carling, Ontario. She performed a quick U-turn and waited for the vehicle that had been following her while she did errands to come around the corner. Sure enough, the truck turned down the tree-lined road a moment later, slowing ever so slightly as its driver realized his error. As the Chevy rumbled past Daphne’s van, she made eye contact with the man behind the wheel.
She knew that face. Evander de la Fosse.
Turning the steering wheel, she blocked the road’s exit with her van. She got out, arms crossed, and waited for him to reach the end of the cul-de-sac and turn around. Grateful her five-year-old daughter was at a playdate with a friend, and not with her, Daphne prepared to give the man a piece of her mind.
The truck stopped and Evander cut its engine. He rolled down his window and licked his lower lip, resting one of his strong arms on the door as he leaned out to watch her.
Not a word.
The strong silent type, eh? Well, she had plenty of words to fill the silence. A bird whistled to her from an evergreen and the August breeze ruffled her cotton dress as she stomped up to the truck, feeling incredibly short as she gazed up to where the man was sitting.
She put her hands on her hips, well aware she was anything but threatening to the ex-marine looking down at her with mild interest.
“Evander de la Fosse, I presume?”
She caught the minuscule flicker of surprise on his usually stoic features. “At your service,” he said with a brisk nod.
“Funny, I don’t remember hiring you to tail me, and seeing as money’s rather tight at the moment, I’m confident I’d recall ordering a shadow as I run about to grab the mail and a few groceries.” Especially a man who represented everything she stood against.
He said nothing.
“So? At my service, huh?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Don’t call me ma’am.”
“Yes, Ms. Summer.”
“My name is Daphne.”
He was starting to look uncomfortable, which she figured was good.
“So, being at my service would imply you are here to help?” She looked at him with big doe eyes.
“Yes.”
“Good.” Her voice turned firm. “Kindly take a hike.”
“A bit warm for that today,” he said, his eyes lifting to meet hers. He was so serious. Not even a hint of a smile, and his dark eyes held a hint of pain she figured must always be there.
“Don’t get smart with me.” Five years as a single mother had reduced her patience for sass to somewhere near nonexistent.
Evander’s lips twisted slightly as though he was fighting the urge to smile.
“I know my meddling sisters and their billionaire hero boyfriends think I can’t take care of myself. Poor little Daphne. The clueless wonder who feels instead of thinks. But I can take care of myself. I don’t need you tailing me and freaking out my daughter.”
He studied her, his plump lower lip disappearing under a row of perfect white teeth. Nope, not perfect. The front tooth had a triangle-shaped chip and scarring ran down from his right ear to his chin, partially hidden by five o’clock shadow. He was not a man best described by light and love. He was large, capable and everything manly stuffed into one muscular package of testosterone-driven sexiness.
No, not sexiness. How could he be sexy? He was nowhere near her type. Then again, Daphne was used to men who claimed their lack of personal hygiene was a statement about their environmental beliefs rather than laziness. But this man right here knew his way around a washing machine and iron. His button-down shirt was as crisp as well-cooked bacon, and looked just as yummy fitted over his build.
What was she thinking?
She needed to get a grip. She was a mom. She didn’t have time for drooling over a man who would be nothing more than a thorn in her side. And Evander was definitely a thorn. A thorn who was returning her heat and interest in his own gaze. It was as though his eyes were refracting the scorching summer sun onto her skin.
“What? What are you staring at?” she asked, shifting uncomfortably, wishing she could hide.
Again he said nothing.
“I know your type,” she said, trying to be angry with him and failing. “I will not feel ‘less than’ just because you think we’re in a staring contest.”
“Okay.”
She took a deep, cleansing breath and tried to channel joy and understanding for this man, who had obviously been broken during a battle somewhere.
“Take the day off,” she said gently. “I don’t need an ex-marine as my stalker.”
“I’m not ex-marine. I’m Canadian.”
She frowned, thinking through past conversations, her internal mother-detects-a-fib early warning system blinking. “You tell everyone you’re an ex-marine—or so my sister Hailey told me.”
“It’s easier.”
“Than?”
“Canadians don’t know what JTF 2 is.”
“Right.” That was a good point, seeing as Daphne had no clue herself.
“Joint Task Force 2?”
She gave a shrug and he sent her a frustrated look, as though she should know this.
“It’s like Britain’s SAS,” he prompted, and she shrugged again. “Special Ops. Always get the incredibly evil bad guys?” She gave another indifferent lift of her shoulder, enjoying how connected the movement seemed to be to his frustration level. “Coolest weapons? Top secret missions?”
“So you’re a soldier?” she said simply.
“Formerly.”
“Great. Well, you can go. I don’t need a soldier following me.”
“You’ve received threats,” he growled from his position in the truck, evidently at the end of his rope.
“Not this again,” she grumbled. “My sisters totally overreacted.”
Ever since Mistral Johnson, her daughter’s father, had popped out of the woodwork everything had kind of gone to heck and back. Sure, he’d said unkind things to her sister Melanie yesterday, but her sister had just served the man with legal action and had put several massive blockades between him and his company’s planned resort. Of course he was going to blow his top. Who wouldn’t?
But that didn’t mean Mistral was a monster. Daphne wouldn’t have spent an entire summer with him six years ago if he was. He was simply caught in a materialistic world, with unreal expectations placed on him by his father, and it was ripping him apart. She could help him, but acting afraid and having this brick wall of manhood standing between her and her life wasn’t going to help anything or anyone.
“They did not overreact,” he said, his brows pinching down over his eyes.
“Do you know Mistral?” When Evander didn’t answer, Daphne demanded, “Do you?”
“No, ma’am,” he said, his tone brisk, as though he was addressing a commander. “Not personally.”
“Well, I do. And it’s not ma’am. It’s Daphne.”
“Yes, Daphne.”
Speaking to this man was like trying to train a cat. Or herd a five-year-old who was scattered and lively and utterly exhausting. Daphne needed him to go away and stop following her. It had to be bad energy, having him shadow her because he thought something bad was going to happen. She shivered, hugging herself through her thin summer dress.
“Mistral’s my ex, and believe it or not, he is a kind and gentle man. He’d never do anything to hurt me.”
“Isn’t he trying to take your daughter away?”
Daphne gave the ex-soldier a look. “My, you are a real snoop, aren’t you?”
“It’s in the papers.”
Right. She felt the familiar tightening in her chest. Her world was, quite simply, being upended like an unzipped purse, and given a shake to see what would fall out. She just needed to hang tight, think positively and let things unfold as they were destined to. The universe had a plan. She’d be okay.
“Mistral is under pressure. I’ll talk to him soon.”
“Soon?” Evander’s body tensed and she could feel the air around them turn electric. Wow. That man had some serious energy going on.
She wanted to poke at him to get him to lighten up, but didn’t kid herself. The truck’s metal door between them was not protection; he could have that thing open and be out at her side, pulling her body against that tight, broad muscular build of his, in no time flat. Not that she wanted that. She might be hard up for a man, but she’d never be that desperate.
“We’re going to discuss visitation.”
“For Kim?” Evander’s voice was so low and gravelly it sent tremors down Daphne’s spine and between her legs in a way no other man’s ever had.
“Yes. But everyone calls her Tigger.”
“You should get a restraining order.”
“Funny. Look at me laugh.”
Daphne shook her head at herself. Sarcasm was not positive and it wasn’t who she wanted to be.
“Is she safe?” he asked.
“Who? My daughter?” Realizing she was flapping her hands, Daphne stilled them. “I can take care of Tigger,” she said quietly. “And her dad would never hurt her.”
“Tristen said Mistral Johnson tried to take her during a picnic.”
Not this misunderstanding again. Daphne sighed, her heart hitching, throat closing as she spotted the worry in Evander’s eyes. She didn’t know if her reaction was due to him, a stranger, looking so concerned over her daughter’s welfare, or because she was letting the panic and fear of the situation slip into her mind.
“She’s fine.” Daphne struggled to keep her voice level.
“Abductions are more common than you think.”
“I never pegged you as a man who would play the fear card to get what he wanted.”
“It’s my job. I look for what bad things could occur, then e
nsure they don’t.”
No wonder he had that crazy energy about him. Who wouldn’t be affected by a job like that? It was impacting Daphne and she was only talking to him.
Running her hands up and down her sides, she breathed deeply, focusing on aligning her chi. It wasn’t working. There was something about Evander’s dark blue eyes that was causing interference and static with her energy field. His presence was making her heart hitch and her legs want to step closer to his truck. Her throat had turned dry, as though she was sucking desert air, and she tried again to steady herself.
“You have some strong energy, Evander de la Fosse. You need yoga. And Reiki.”
His lips twisted in confusion. Right. She was being a hippie flake. She tried hard not to be like that around people who didn’t “get it.”
She closed her eyes, struggling to focus on the last things he’d said. Tigger. Abductions.
How dare he try to strike fear into her like that? Daphne didn’t need him, and he was not going to scare her into changing her mind.
“Evander, sweetie…” she pushed patience into her voice “…children are more likely to be killed in a car crash than be abducted. We simply think abductions are more common than they are because we hear about every single one in the news. Reporters try to make it sound as though it was the kid next door, when it actually happened on a whole different continent. Tigger is safe. Thank you for trying to scare me, but it’s not working.”
“A man like Mistral—”
“Watch what you say.” Daphne pointed a finger at Evander. “He’s my daughter’s father and you didn’t see the caring side I did all those summers ago. I know him. He’s scared, but he’s gentle and kind. He’s lost, but I can help him. I will help him.”