Her words mentally took the lawyer in Spencer to a courtroom. It was as though the defense just got the prosecution’s star witness to admit some hole that blew the whole case wide open.
Spencer had been exposed.
He didn’t particularly like the feeling. It was…unusual.
But after tonight, he’d never see Eve again. He had what he came for, cool and slick in his hand. He fingered the stone. It felt as solid as the hardball Eve was playing right this second.
He’d never see her again. She’d been pushed out of his brother’s life, and once he got in the car and drove back down Provident Island’s main highway, Eve Larson would be out of Spencer’s life as well. So, it wouldn’t hurt to give her the answer she wanted. He’d already taken so much from her anyway.
“I was looking at your smile.” Spencer threw it out there, matter-of-factly, just to see what she’d do with the truth.
“My smile?” As he’d suspected, she didn’t see the truth coming. She probably expected some veiled sarcasm. That’s what Mark would have dished out.
“It’s the truth.”
Eve fiddled with a lock of her hair, self-confidence creeping in and stripping some of that sassiness that had filled her face only moments ago.
“The truth.” The short syllables came out soberly.
“Yes, the truth, Eve. You’re pretty when you smile. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that before?” Spencer could feel the crack and waver of her self-confidence, like the watery landscape outside after one of the lightning strikes made contact from the sky.
Eve didn’t know what to do with the compliment from him, that much was clear.
He couldn’t turn off the analytical side of his brain.
Couldn’t stop himself from going down a rabbit trail of wondering why.
Couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to still the movement as she tried to shake her head no, to help her understand he was right and her hesitance was misplaced.
Spencer’s hands fell on the gentle curve of Eve’s shoulders. His right hand connected with the simple cotton of her striped shirt. His left hand, still holding the diamond, landed on the soft skin exposed by the wide boatneck-style collar.
He’d known Eve for years. He’d shaken her hands in greeting, given her brotherly hugs goodbye at the end of dinner parties, and probably come in contact with her in a hundred other small, casual ways. But never had he touched her bare skin and lingered.
Never had he felt the softness of her pale, creamy skin under his fingers.
Never had he wanted more.
Eve raised her gaze to Spencer’s. She wasn’t smiling now.
Her lips parted, a hesitant breath floating between them.
“Do you need anything else?” Her words were barely louder than the steady pounding of the rain on the cottage roof and windows.
Yes, he did.
But how did Spencer tell her he needed her to understand that though he shared genetics and office space with his brother, he wasn’t cut from the same cloth as Mark—that her assumptions were wrong?
It seemed simple, and to want her to understand was probably silly.
But it was as real to him as the measured movements of his finger touching her collarbone, as her chest expanded and retreated with each inhale and exhale.
He thought about the diamond between them, clear and flawless. Fit for royalty.
And what was he?
Only fit to do his brother’s dirty work, according to the woman in front of him.
He needed to leave, before he tried to convince her otherwise in a way they’d both regret. His heightened awareness showed no signs of slowing down. He couldn’t hurt Eve any more than she’d already been hurt by another Canley brother.
So there was only one way to answer her softly-spoken question—did he need anything else?
“No. I don’t.”
Spencer slid his hands off Eve’s shoulders, allowing himself a few more undeserved seconds of silk and diamonds under his fingertips.
“Then I guess you’d better go.” Eve looked at Spencer with unsure eyes. Clearly, she didn’t know what to make of the touch, of the moment, either. “You have everything you need.”
He had the Kiss of Kiev, the diamond he needed.
But looking at Eve, remembering his touch on her skin and the slight sigh on her lips, he knew one thing for certain.
He didn’t have everything he wanted.
LOVE WAS A RESOLUTION THEY DIDN’T PLAN ON MAKING…
All Eve Larson wants is to be alone. Still reeling after a broken engagement and the death of her mother in the past year, she’s arranged to mark the turning of the new year by herself on the beach in Port Provident so she can make a fresh start on January 1.
Spencer Canley has lived in the shadow of his brother for far too long and he’s ready to cast it off as soon as he checks one last box—delivering a letter to his brother’s former fiancée, Eve.
As he turns over the letter, Spencer quickly learns that one action doesn’t break him free of the gray world his ruthless brother operates in. Eve finds that the start of a new year may be nothing more than a date on a calendar—she may never be free of the hurt the Canley brothers have brought into her life. When circumstances keep Spencer and Eve together for New Year’s, they’re each given a chance to see the other in a new light—and to see all that could be in the year to come. But first, they’ll have to find the truth behind the lies of years past and risk everything—home, health and family—to move forward. As Spencer makes a decision that changes everything about his future, he realizes he doesn't want to repeat his brother’s mistake of pushing Eve away. A year ago, the changing of the calendar brought news that changed Eve’s whole life. Could this new year bring love back?
PORT PROVIDENT: HOLIDAY HEARTS – HEARTWARMING STORIES OF FINDING LOVE ON THE MOST SPECIAL DAYS OF THE YEAR
If you enjoyed this sample chapter of New Year’s Eve, you can buy it soon on Amazon! Plus, don’t forget to click the yellow “follow” button on my Amazon page so you’ll be notified when my next books are released!
FIRST KISS FIREWORKS
Sneak Peek: Text on the Beach
The perfect place to enjoy fireworks is on the beach. It’s also the perfect place to create some for yourself. Enjoy this sneak-peek first scene from my upcoming Port Provident: Holiday Hearts novella, Text on the Beach, which will be featured in the First Kiss Fireworks collection.
“Don’t forget to text that hot scuba guy, Mom!”
Cassie Cook looked over the top of her phone and smiled. Her daughter Darby waved as she shouted, standing at the water’s edge with a group of friends. They were all being silly and generally doing things teenagers did.
Cassie blamed the Caribbean saltwater in front of her for the saltwater that lined her lower eyelid, but of course that couldn’t have been farther from the truth.
How had eighteen years passed so quickly? That was her baby out there, all five-foot-eight and dirty blonde hair spilling in beach-kissed waves over her shoulders. When Darby was born, Cassie was three weeks shy of her own eighteenth birthday. She had been just a baby herself.
Over the next almost two decades, Cassie had grown up in her own way right alongside Darby. She’d walked the stage at graduation, earned a college degree, finished nursing school, and today provided love and care to babies in the Provident Medical Center Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
And now, here they were, celebrating Darby’s own trip across the stage at Port Provident High School. In fewer than ten weeks, Cassie’s baby would be heading off to college. It didn’t seem possible. For just a moment, she tried to wrap herself in the memories of the years, just like she’d once wrapped Darby tight in her Winnie the Pooh-themed receiving blanket the day that she came home from the hospital.
What would she do when her beautiful, smart daughter was out of the nest and on to the rest of her life? At thirty-six years old, she didn’t feel old enough to be an empty-nester, but
Cassie gave herself a reality check.
Forget bringing back a fancy souvenir like one of San Petro’s famous Petroberyl emeralds. Her subscription to a magazine from AARP would probably be waiting for her in the mailbox when they got home.
The phone vibrated in her hand.
She looked down at the screen.
My afternoon group cancelled. Your daughter said you wanted to snorkel. If you’re available now, I’ll take you for half price. –Ben at Corona Scuba
Cassie looked up again and frowned at her daughter. Darby and the girls had set up a lesson to learn how to scuba dive tomorrow. She and her friends came back from the dive shop full of giggles about “hot scuba guy.”
What Darby had forgotten to mention, apparently, was that she’d given her mother’s phone number to the dive master.
The frown stayed on Cassie’s face as she wondered how much that text had cost her. She’d only gotten international coverage for this trip so her mother could reach her in case something happened to her father, who was battling stage three cancer.
She certainly hadn’t gotten the upgrade package for scuba instructors, hot or otherwise.
At that moment, Darby looked up from the group. Cassie took advantage of the brief slice of her daughter’s attention and crooked one finger in the classic parenting gesture for “get over here right now.”
Surprisingly, Darby ran across the soft white sand without hesitation.
It had been a while since Cassie had seen her teenager comply with anything as soon as she was asked to do so.
“Yeah, Mom? You know they’ll bring you more guacamole if you ask. All you have to do is ask one of the waiters.”
“The status of my chips and dips is fine.” Cassie picked up the phone and shook it for emphasis. “Did you give my number to the scuba guy?”
“Hot scuba guy, Mom.” Darby’s smile outshone the Caribbean sun overhead.
“Not scuba guy, Darby Elise. You know better than to give my number out to strangers. What on earth were you thinking?”
“Ben isn’t a stranger, Mom. He was super nice. And besides, you said you wanted to see some fish and stuff.”
Cassie loosened the clip from her hair and gathered all the loose strands back into a ponytail and retwisted it into a don’t-really-care version of a chignon. “I can just rent a snorkel from here at the resort. There’s some reef right off that dock over there. I was just going to do that while you girls went for your lesson. I don’t need anything fancy or expensive. College isn’t going to pay for itself, Darby.”
HE’S MAY, SHE’S DECEMBER…AND THE SPARKS ARE GOING TO FLY IN JULY!
Cassie Cook brought her daughter Darby from their home in Port Provident to the Caribbean island of San Petro for one last vacation before her baby leaves for college. Barely a baby herself when Darby was born, Cassie has become keenly aware that she’s only weeks away from being a thirty-six-year-old empty-nester. She hasn’t made her peace with what that seems to imply, so since she hasn’t dated in almost two decades, she decides to use her two weeks on the beach to forget about anything on the horizon.
Ben Miguel likes his low-key life. He’s carefully planned things so he can stay off the radar of others. Owning his dive shop allows him to spend his days in nature and to act to improve the natural resources of San Petro, his true passion. He knows that as long as he keeps to himself, no one will suspect who he really is and no cameras will be up in his business.
Cassie has no intention of taking the series of scuba lessons Darby has signed her up for, but when it’s clear that her daughter would rather spend her days on the beach with her friends instead of her mother, Cassie decides that it’s time to start her second act a little early. Besides, Ben Miguel is easy on the eyes. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to pick up on the carefree youth she’d left behind when she became a teenage mother.
But when Ben gets pulled into an issue that threatens San Petro’s entire tourism industry—the primary driver of the small island’s economy—Cassie finds herself swept up in a riptide of politics, priorities, and princes. It’s certainly not the no-strings-attached vacation she signed herself up for.
Will Ben be forced to turn his back on the life he created for himself, or will he be forced to turn away from the one woman who loved him not for who he was, but for who he always wanted to be?
Port Provident: Holiday Hearts
Stories that Celebrate Finding True Love on the Most Special Days of the Year
If you enjoyed this sneak peek first scene of Text on the Beach, look for it soon in the First Kiss Fireworks collection on Amazon! Plus, don’t forget to click the yellow “follow” button on my Amazon page so you’ll be notified when the next books from Port Provident are released!
GET TO KNOW KRISTEN
About the Author
The writing bug bit Kristen Ethridge around the time she first held a pencil. A 2012 Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart Award® Finalist, Kristen was discovered by Harlequin through their 2012 So You Think You Can Write contest.
She is the award-nominated author of the best-selling Port Provident series with Harlequin’s Love Inspired line and Laurel Lock Publishing. The first two books in the Port Provident: Hurricane Hope series, Shelter from the Storm and The Doctor’s Unexpected Family, each reached No. 1 on the Amazon Hispanic-American literature chart.
Her favorite stories are filled with love, laughter, and happily ever after--and her favorite happily ever after is the story of God's love. Although she has fun creating characters, Kristen's favorite people are her family. She lives in Texas with her husband, children and a self-important poodle. Keep up with Kristen by joining her newsletter list and her author pages on Amazon and Facebook. You can also visit her online at any of the places below:
www.kristenethridge.com
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Port Provident: Sweet and Wholesome Inspirational Romance Set in a Texas Beachside Town You’ll Want to Call Home
His Timeless Treasure (Treasure Harbor Book 5) Page 11