Sparks Like Ours
Gia Malone wants one thing and one thing only: to be the best surfer in the world. Her biggest obstacle is the annoyingly perky Elle Britton. Not only is Elle number one in the rankings, she’s also a fan favorite. But there’s a lot about Elle that Gia never noticed, like her surprising sense of humor and picture-perfect mouth.
Elle Britton is tired. After tournaments, fan meet-ups, and nonstop media requests, all she wants in the world is a little peace and quiet. But with Gia Malone closing in on her ranking, she has to surf her best. When the media picks up the story of their neck and neck status, Elle finds herself forced further into the spotlight, this time alongside Gia, the knockout with the killer shred and sexy smile.
It’s not long before there’s no denying the chemistry on and off the beach. But only one can win…
Reviewers Love Melissa Brayden
“Melissa Brayden has become one of the most popular novelists of the genre, writing hit after hit of funny, relatable, and very sexy stories for women who love women.”—Afterellen.com
Eyes Like Those
“Brayden’s writing is just getting better and better. The story is well done, full of well-honed wit and humour, and the characters are complex and interesting.”—Lesbian Reading Room
“Melissa Brayden knocks it out of the park once again with this fantastic and beautifully written novel.”—Les Reveur
“Pure Melissa Brayden at her best…Another great read that won’t disappoint Brayden’s fans. Can’t wait for the rest of the series.”—Lez Review Books
Strawberry Summer
“The characters were a joy to read and get to know. Maggie’s family is loving, supportive, and charming. They’re the family we all wish we had, through good times and bad.”—C-Spot Reviews
“The tragedy is real, the angst well done without being over the top, and the character development palpable in both the main characters and their friends.”—Lesbian Reading Room
“Strawberry Summer is a tribute to first love and soulmates and growing into the person you’re meant to be. I feel like I say this each time I read a new Melissa Brayden offering, but I loved this book so much that I cannot wait to see what she delivers next.”—Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
“Strawberry Summer will suck you in, rip out your heart, and put all the pieces back together by the end, maybe even a little better than they were before.”—The Lesbian Review
First Position
“Brayden aptly develops the growing relationship between Ana and Natalie, making the emotional payoff that much sweeter. This ably plotted, moving offering will earn its place deep in readers’ hearts.”—Publishers Weekly
“First Position is romance at its finest with an opposites attract theme that kept me engaged the whole way through.”—The Lesbian Review
“This book is thoughtful and compassionate, serious yet entertaining, and altogether extremely well done. It takes a lot to stand out, but this is definitely one of the best Traditional Romances of the year.”—Lesbian Reading Room
“You go about your days reading books, thinking oh, yes this one is good, that one over there is so good, and then a Melissa Brayden comes along making everything else seem…well, just less than.”—The Romantic Reader
How Sweet It Is
“‘Sweet’ is definitely the keyword for this well-written, character-driven lesbian romance novel. It is ultimately a love letter to small town America, and the lesson to remain open to whatever opportunities and happiness comes into your life.”—Bob Lind, Echo Magazine
“Oh boy! The events were perfectly plausible, but the collection and the threading of all the stories, main and sub plots, were just fantastic. I completely and wholeheartedly recommend this book. So touching, so heartwarming and all-out beautiful.”—Rainbow Book Reviews
Heart Block
“The story is enchanting with conflicts and issues to be overcome that will keep the reader turning the pages. The relationship between Sarah and Emory is achingly beautiful and skillfully portrayed. This second offering by Melissa Brayden is a perfect package of love—and life to be lived to the fullest. So grab a beverage and snuggle up with a comfy throw to read this classic story of overcoming obstacles and finding enduring love.”—Lambda Literary Review
“Although this book doesn’t beat you over the head with wit, the interactions are almost always humorous, making both characters really quite loveable. Overall a very enjoyable read.”—C-Spot Reviews
Waiting in the Wings
“This was an engaging book with believable characters and story development. It’s always a pleasure to read a book set in a world like theater / film that gets it right…a thoroughly enjoyable read.”—Lez Books
“This is Brayden’s first novel, but we wouldn’t notice if she hadn’t told us. The book is well put together and more complex than most authors’ second or third books. The characters have chemistry; you want them to get together in the end. The book is light, frothy, and fun to read. And the sex is hot without being too explicit—not an easy trick to pull off.”—Liberty Press
“Sexy, funny, and all-around enjoyable.”—Afterellen.com
Praise for the Soho Loft Series
“The trilogy was enjoyable and definitely worth a read if you’re looking for solid romance or interconnected stories about a group of friends.”—The Lesbrary
Kiss the Girl
“There are romances and there are romances…Melissa Brayden can be relied on to write consistently very sweet, pure romances and delivers again with her newest book Kiss the Girl…There are scenes suffused with the sweetest love, some with great sadness or even anger—a whole gamut of emotions that take readers on a gentle roller coaster with a consistent upbeat tone. And at the heart of this book is a hymn to true friendship and human decency.” —C-Spot Reviews
“An adorable romance in which two flawed but well-written characters defy the odds and fall into the arms of the other.”—She Read
“Brayden does romance so very well. She provides us with engaging characters, a plausible setup with understandable and realistic conflict, and ridiculously fantastic dialogue.”—Frivolous Views
Just Three Words
“I can sum up my reading experience with Just Three Words in exactly that: I. LOVED. IT.”—Bookaholics-Not-So-Anonymous
“A beautiful and downright hilarious tale about two very relatable women looking for love.”—Sharing Is Caring Book Reviews
Ready or Not
“The third book was the best of the series. Melissa Brayden has some work cut out for her when writing a book after this one.”—Fantastic Book Reviews
Sparks Like Ours
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Sparks Like Ours
© 2018 By Melissa Brayden. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13:978-1-63555-015-3
This Electronic Book is published by
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, NY 12185
First Edition: June 2018
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editors: Lynda Sandoval an
d Stacia Seaman
Production Design: Stacia Seaman
Cover Design by Jeanine Henning
By the Author
Waiting in the Wings
Heart Block
How Sweet It Is
First Position
Strawberry Summer
Soho Loft Romances:
Kiss the Girl
Just Three Words
Ready or Not
Seven Shores Romances:
Eyes Like Those
Hearts Like Hers
Sparks Like Ours
Acknowledgments
Professional surfers in their skill, agility, timing, and athleticism have always amazed me, bringing me to these particular characters and their drive to be the best. But it’s the love of the sport itself that keeps them coming back. In my opinion, there’s a certain beauty to that, ranking right up there with the sun setting above the waterline, the tide ebbing and receding, and the mystery of the water itself. What a fun and intriguing backdrop it all was to write.
My editor and partner in crime on this series is Lynda Sandoval, who may know these characters even better than I do. I’m always grateful for her insight, humor, and guiding hand as we traverse the Venice landscape and cast of characters together. She gets me and she gets them.
Thank you to Bold Strokes Books for continuing to publish me, humor me, and support my creative zigzags along the way. I feel like I have a true family among you and am so thankful for the ongoing partnership.
My writing pals, friends, and family who support my work are what keep me going. They also provide donuts along the way. Bonus points forever.
To the loyal readers who have followed me to Broadway, strawberry farms, ad agencies, and beyond, I hope you’ll stick around for what’s next for Seven Shores and after. Hearing from you makes it all worthwhile.
For the Wave Chasers
Chapter One
Nothing kicked off Gia Malone’s Monday more than charging waves the size of buildings. As she stood on the boat just off the tiny little island in the South Pacific, her heart pounded with the thrum, thrum, thrum of adrenaline-laced anticipation. Those were world-class waves out there and she had a major crush on them. She paused a moment to drink in the gorgeous view, fourteen footers at least, rising and breaking left like visual poetry.
This was why she loved to surf.
Even though she was ready to lose herself in those barrels, she made a point to slow down and keep her head calm. A decent breeze crept in and tossed her long, dark hair around, into her eyes and out again. Mostly, she surfed with her hair down. The feel of it whipping against her face and back was part of her process. Rituals were important to Gia. They kept her steady and alert in the face of pressure.
She’d arrived in Tavarua, the heart-shaped island resort in Fiji, two days before the Outerknown Fiji Women’s Pro was set to begin. With the extra time, she’d been able to reacquaint herself with the conditions at Cloudbreak, one of the resort’s seven surf breaks, and get her head in the game before the tournament. Jumping off a plane and onto a surfboard to compete at the world’s highest level was a thing of the past. Rookie mistake. Arriving early before a competition was now another ritual.
She’d taken a few waves on the head during practice the day before, but overall, she was stoked with the conditions in Fiji. The colors were brilliant and the energy that came with this particular tournament was palpable. It was the fourth of a total of ten tournaments on the Women’s Championship Tour, in which the top seventeen female surfers in the world battled it out throughout nine months of the year, jockeying for position, prize money, and more importantly, the claim that they were the top female surfer in the world. For Gia, that number one spot was everything, and she was so close.
No time for daydreaming.
She grabbed her board, hopped off the boat that had carried her to the surf break, and paddled out a distance to where she’d encounter the bigger waves. Next came the waiting, when that pent-up energy gathered like a tight little ball in her stomach. This was the calm before the euphoria. Nothing good ever happened in her comfort zone, which made high-level surfing the coolest drug she’d ever experienced. The seconds ticked by as she waited for her wave. Not that one. Nope, too squirrelly. Not that one either. It would fizzle early. Then she found some size heading her way. Okay, yeah. She felt good about this one, its speed, the way it moved. She and that wave were bonding. She zeroed in and made the call. This was it. Paddling for all she had in her, she set off, charging the wave, studying its swell, its breadth, the way it shifted. Once she’d found her position, she pushed herself up on the board to a standing position and started to glide, savoring the feeling of floating on air. Perfection. This was what it felt like to be on top of the world, and there was no greater joy. She took the briefest of moments to relish the power of the wave pushing through her board, propelling her onward. She checked her balance, crouched low, rode the turn. The breaking wave opened up, hollow and glorious, allowing entry to the barrel. While she’d love nothing more than to lose herself in the surreal experience, any loss of focus when the stakes were so high could result in her coming right off the board. A balancing act in more ways than one.
For Gia, this was a form of church. She honored the waves with the respect they deserved.
After a solid workout, she trudged to the shoreline from the boat, out of breath, muscles on fire, and on the kind of high she only encountered from waves in this part of the world. She spotted a couple of the tour’s regular reporters watching her approach, most likely having assessed her session. The core grouping of press tended to be courteous enough when it came to practice time, giving her space, but now she’d be forced to walk past them on her way to change and shower at the resort. Part of the gig she hated most: trying to sound like a human in front of those guys. She didn’t do the whole public speaking thing well. Sucked at it, actually. The few years since she’d been boosted from the Qualifying Tour to the Championship Tour, she’d gotten a little better. But, God, not much.
“You ready for tomorrow, Gia?”
She pushed her hair out of her eyes and squinted at Shoshana, a staff writer from Surfline.com. Short in stature, spiky red hair, and tiny glasses she couldn’t possibly see anything out of. They did look cool, though, which was probably the point. That was Shoshana. “Never felt better.” She continued walking because she felt awkward and out of her element, but the comment didn’t seem to be enough. Shoshana scurried after her, doing double-time due to their height difference. “You’re looking a little cautious out there. More so than usual. Any particular reason?”
She forced a smile. “You gotta save something for the competition, right?”
The guy who’d been standing with Shoshana whose name Gia didn’t know walked with them. “Gia. Charlie Kip from SurfTastic. Quick question for ya. You’ve had a great season so far, currently number three in the world. With number four Alia Foz injured, what do you think your chances are to take the whole thing this week?”
“It could happen.”
“Do you think Elle Britton would agree with you?”
She suppressed an eye roll at the mention of the leaderboard’s current number one. It was a provocative question, and she wasn’t going to take the bait and speculate. “Hey, I just want to surf my best, you know? That’s what I’m planning to do. The rest is out of my control.” She knew it was the boring answer. Luckily, the reporters caught sight of Elle Britton and her signature blond ponytail through the glass in the lobby and raced her way like bees to their queen. Elle always gave them fantastic stuff, sparkling quotes laced with wit and charm and humor. She was born to play the part of media It girl. If Gia didn’t loathe the woman so much, she might be impressed. As she entered the lobby of the resort herself, she watched as Elle burst into a smile and pulled Shoshana into a hug and squeal combo. A squeal? Really? And just look at her. She was pretty sure Elle had spent some time in the mirror, just to be ready for the attention she�
��d pull in the lobby. The peppy, fresh-faced look was why she landed gum commercials and late-night talk shows. Elle was not only the number one ranked female surfer in the world, she was the darling of the tour. Well, to everyone who didn’t know any better. Underneath it all, Elle was plastic, opportunistic, and on her way to losing that ranking, if Gia had anything to say about it. Perky ponytail or not.
Elle caught her eye as she passed through the lobby. “Hey, Gia.” She beamed. All part of the show Gia knew all too well.
“Elle,” she said back evenly.
“Best of luck this week. You’re gonna kill it, I know.”
Shoshana and SurfTastic guy beamed at her. What a fantastic sport she was! What support she showed! Three cheers for the marvelous Elle Britton!
“I do, too,” Gia said, and breezed by them with a nod. She closed her eyes briefly and glanced back to the surprised looks on the writers’ faces. Not her best moment, but she couldn’t resist. She didn’t do fake. She wouldn’t. And with Elle, that’s all there was. Had the reporters not been there, she probably wouldn’t have said a word to Gia. Maybe there would have been a smile, but it would have been just as plastic as she was.
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