by Elena Aitken
Only for a Moment
Elena Aitken
Ink Blot Communications
Contents
Free Books
The Springs on Sale this Summer
Only for a Moment
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 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Also by Elena Aitken
The Springs on Sale this Summer
Promised Gifts
About the Author
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The Springs Complete Collection - Books 1-10
Only for a Moment
Men are nothing but trouble!
From Jade Johnson's experience, the only thing they've ever been good for is holding her back from achieving her dreams. But when work takes her to the small town of Cedar Springs, Jade comes face to face with a man who sets her world on fire and immediately challenges her beliefs.
Mitch McCormick is finally ready to put his playboy ways behind him and settle down, but the type of women he's been dating are definitely not the marrying type. That's why he needs a nice girl. An easy going, sweet, small town girl.
But if Mitch is so determined to date a nice small town girl, then why can't he stop thinking about the feisty, sharp tongued talent agent who's in town to film a television show? Jade challenges him and excites him in a way he's never experienced and can't stop thinking about. But she's made it clear that settling down isn't something she wants, not with him - not with anyone.
Coming Soon...meet the rest of the McCormicks with:
Book Three- One More Moment: Cal's Story
Book Four- In This Moment: Declan's Story
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Chapter One
The boat cut through the gentle waves of the lake, smooth and easy. Mitch McCormick grinned and pressed down on the accelerator, urging the boat to move faster still. He knew he was pushing it. The engine was brand-new and his brother had given him explicit instructions to “warm up the boat gently.”
“Screw gently.”
He pushed further and with a satisfying roar of the engine, the boat surged forward. The wind blew his hair back from his face. He tilted his head up to the sun and let out a yell. It was these moments, when he could steal away from Dockside—his brother’s brand-new marina—to enjoy the fresh mountain air on his own, that he truly felt free.
Mitch hadn’t even been back in Cedar Springs a full month, but it didn’t matter. He was home. It was funny how the tiny town in the middle of the mountains where he’d spent his summers as a kid had always been more home than any other. Maybe it was because they had so many great memories there as a family. Maybe it was because those summers had been when he’d really grown up. But maybe it was just because there was no place quite as wild and open to possibility as the middle of a mountain lake on a hot summer day.
Not that it mattered. It was only the beginning of July, and even if Mitch did have to return to the city and the pretentious private school where he worked, he was at least going to have the summer to enjoy himself.
He was about to push the throttle even further when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket.
Ian.
He laughed and shook his head before he slowed the boat and answered the call. “You have a tracker on me?”
“Should I?”
“No.” He stifled his laughter. “Not at all. What’s up?”
Mitch knew exactly what was up. The Fourth of July celebration was that night and Ian was going crazy with his share of the preparations. As the new business owner in town, and the first summer of the Dockside being open, it was important that they do a good job with their assigned duties. Which, as far as Mitch could tell, only involved helping to haul the barge out into the lake, where the fireworks would be set off.
“When were you planning on getting back here with my new investment?”
Ahh. It wasn’t about the celebrations at all, but Ian’s precious new boat. Not that Mitch could blame him. His big brother had sunk a lot of money into the Dockside, an investment that seemed to be paying off as the town became a bigger tourist attraction than it had ever been. But still, there must be stress associated with it all.
Not that Mitch had any idea. He was simply a schoolteacher on a break from his life.
“Simmer down. I’m on my way back.” Just so he wasn’t lying, Mitch steered the boat around and started to head back, very slowly, in the direction of the marina. “I’ll take good care of your baby. What’s the hurry, anyway?”
“I need to get to a meeting.”
There it was. The real reason for the call.
“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in five. Three if you let me open ’er up.”
“Five is fine.” Mitch could almost see Ian rolling his eyes. “Drive easy. It’s a new engine. You have to warm it up.”
“Leave it to me, brother. I got this.” Mitch disconnected the call and put the boat into gear.
Ever since Ian and his fiancée Gwen had signed the contract to have Gwen’s blog, and subsequently, their love story, turned into a television show, there’d been a never ending stream of meetings, phone calls, emails, and all types of distractions for Ian, which left Mitch to take care of the main operations of Dockside for the last few weeks. Not that he minded. It gave him something to do to distract him from everything he’d left back in the city. Or mainly, whom he’d left in the city. Not that she was worth too much of his mental energy.
Especially considering there had been other distractions, too. Mitch’s lips curled up into a smile, thinking about what that particular distraction had been. And damn, it was definitely worth smiling about.
Jade Johnson.
Just thinking about the tall, sexy brunette made his dick twitch. Damn. From the moment Gwen’s agent had showed up in town, Mitch couldn’t take his eyes off the woman. And although there’d definitely been a few perks to that, primarily the night of the summer solstice festival—a night he wasn’t going to soon forget—there was also one major problem with Jade.
She was a stiletto-wearing, designer bag-toting, full-fledged, first-class, high-maintenance city girl.
The exact type of woman Mitch usually avoided. No, scratch that; he usually ran screaming in the opposite direction. In his experience, and he’d certainly had his share, that type of woman was nothing but trouble. High maintenance, full on, drama type of trouble. Not only did they want to be wined and dined where only the best would do, they wanted it all the time. He knew that type. His bank account knew that type. And he’d emptied his wallet one too many times to fall for it again.
It wasn’t just the money either. He’d never be able to take a city girl out in the boat, let the wind blast through her hair and the sun kiss her sk
in before having a picnic on the beach where they’d eat a healthy dose of sand with their lunch before making love with the waves of the lake licking their toes.
No. A “makeup just right, not a hair out of place” type of girl would definitely not go for that type of thing. And dammit, that’s what he wanted.
It was a feeling that had surprised him, too. His brothers used to refer to Mitch as a player, never with the same girl longer than a week. And for a long time, it was a title he’d deserved. For his entire adult life, the very last thing Mitch wanted was to be tied down.
Until Bethany.
Maybe it was because she’d been his longest relationship. Maybe it was because she used to whisper to him about the future. Maybe it was because she’d wanted him just as much as he’d wanted her.
Whatever it was, Bethany had changed his view on commitment and settling down. He’d really thought she might be the one. At least until she’d slept with the principal at the school they both taught at.
That was definitely a game changer.
His experience with Bethany had absolutely changed the way Mitch felt about her. But to his surprise, it hadn’t changed how he now felt about commitment.
Seeing his big brother so happy with his own love had only fueled the want.
“Shit.” He cursed under his breath. The boat ride was supposed to have cleared his head. The idea was to forget Bethany and women altogether, and strip his mind from any stress. Like a form of meditation. And most of the time it worked. But as he approached the shore and the marina appeared, the only thing Mitch could do was curse.
His mind was definitely not clear.
He guided the boat into a stall, hopped out and easily tied it securely to a cleat before he jogged down the dock to the main office. Maybe busying himself with some work would help.
“Hey.”
“Mitch!” Gwen pulled him into a tight hug before she leaned in to his ear. “It’s about time you got back. Your brother is a total stress case about this meeting.”
“Not to worry.” He kissed his sister-in-law to-be on the cheek and slid out of her grasp. Mitch genuinely liked Gwen, and he was thankful she’d forgiven him the transgressions of his youth, which mostly involved calling her Giant Gigi when they were teenagers. Not that it was any kind of excuse, but ten years ago, Gwen didn’t look anything like the stunning woman she’d grown into. After a massive weight loss, a new haircut, and some contact lenses, she was a totally different person.
Which was what she’d based her blog on. The blog had become a huge hit earlier in the summer when Gwen exploited her past feelings for Ian and tricked him into a relationship. It was all pretty messed up, really, but when the truth came out, love won the day, and Mitch couldn’t be happier for both of them.
“Get out of here,” he said to Ian, who was frantically typing into the laptop. “I can handle anything you have for the rest of the day. What needs to be done?”
Mitch only half listened while Ian gave him the rundown on what needed to be done around the Dockside. Finally his big brother was satisfied and ready to leave.
“Come on, Ian.” Gwen tugged his arm. “I told Jade we’d be there five minutes ago.”
“Jade?”
Gwen turned and raised an eyebrow in his direction.
“Jade’s going to be there?” He was vaguely aware that he probably sounded like a moron, but damn, Jade was worth sounding at least a little foolish for. Especially if it meant the possibility of a repeat night like the one they’d shared only a few weeks ago.
“Of course she’s going to be there.” Gwen winked at him. “She’s working on this with us, remember?”
As if he’d forgotten.
“Maybe I’ll see her later.” He shrugged and turned back to the laptop in an effort to play it cool. For a man who didn’t want anything to do with a designer label chick, he sure wasn’t doing a good job convincing anyone. Especially himself.
They’d been looking at head shots and resumes all morning, and Jade Johnson was more than ready for a break. Not that she didn’t enjoy spending her time looking at pictures of hot men; she did. But there was only so much one woman could take before she started getting a little hot under the collar herself. But it wasn’t any of the men in the photos who were making her squirm in her seat in the vinyl booth at the Grizzly Paw.
It was one man.
One man who had only been one time and that’s all it could ever be. One night.
Mitch McCormick was not the type of man Jade needed in her life. Even if he was smoking hot in a strong, confident, just a little rough around the edges type of way.
Damn.
No. She mentally chastised herself. Mitch was a one-time thing only. She didn’t need to get involved with his type. Or any type, for that matter. Just like her mother had always told her: “A man is good for one thing, and one thing only. Beyond that, if you want to make something of yourself, don’t get attached. Never get attached.”
And she did want to make something of herself. Now with Gwen and Ian’s show taking off, things were finally starting to happen. She loved being an agent, and she wasn’t giving that up, especially considering her clients were largely authors and didn’t require a ton of hands-on work. But working on Mr. Summer was a huge opportunity. Not to mention, it would be fun and exciting. A man—especially a man like Mitch McCormick—would be nothing but an unnecessary distraction.
Besides that, she’d done pretty well in her life up until now with her mother’s advice. Men may be good for one thing only, but some of those men were definitely better at that thing than others.
Jade felt her face flush at the memory of the way Mitch had slid his hands down her skin to cup her breasts and tease her nipples into hard points before pushing her up against the wall of the Dockside gift shop and—
“Jade?”
She snapped back to the present and the two people sitting across from her, currently staring at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“Are you okay?” Gwen slid a glass of water across the table. “You look a little flushed.”
Jade took a controlled and practiced breath. She could feel her body temperature return to normal. She’d worked hard on her composure. It wasn’t often she let it slip. Especially in a meeting. To buy herself another minute, she took the offered water and had a sip, letting the cool liquid soothe her from the inside. Mitch definitely had an effect on her; there was no denying that.
“I’m fine, thank you,” she said after a moment. “I think all these good-looking men are starting to blend into one another. How about we take a break?”
Ian groaned. “Can we just get this done? It’s the Fourth of July, Jade. The picnic starts soon. I don’t know why we had to have a meeting today anyway.”
Gwen patted his arm and gave it a squeeze. Jade tried not to feel the twinge of jealousy at their happy coupling. Gwen had turned from client to friend, and although their friendship was still developing, Jade really was happy for them both. And not just because their relationship was the entire reason she currently found herself in Cedar Springs with a huge career opportunity. Although, it didn’t hurt.
“Okay,” Jade conceded. “We can wrap it up. But I really would like to at least narrow down some of the candidates for the lead roles.” She gathered up the pile of photos in front of her and flipped through them again. “There’s just no one here who really strikes me as a McCormick.”
“What about an actual McCormick?”
Pictures forgotten, Jade’s head shot up. She stared at Ian, who grinned at her. “No.” He waved his hand. “Not me. There’s no way you’ll get me in front of the camera. But what about my little brother, Cal?”
“Cal’s an actor?” Gwen obviously didn’t know anything about this idea either. “I thought he was a super famous model in Australia.”
“He isn’t,” Ian said. “And he is.”
Jade blinked and tried to focus as Ian handed her a picture of a very good-looking, very McCormick m
an.
“He is a model in Australia,” Ian clarified. “And he hasn’t done any real acting work yet. Well, not beyond a few commercials. But he was looking to get into it and come home for a visit. It seems like a perfect opportunity.”
He didn’t have any experience? Jade’s immediate response was to say no. After all, taking a risk on an unproven actor could be risky. Then again, they were all new and unproven. None of them had ever written, produced, or even been involved with a television production before. So really, it probably couldn’t hurt to give him a chance.
Especially if he was willing to work on their budget. Which wasn’t much to speak of.
“He’d be willing to cut his teeth on this project? It’s not a very big—”
“He knows all about the project,” Ian said. “Including the lack of budget. It would be a pay cut from his modeling gigs, but he seems to be okay with that. Besides, it might be just the break he’s looking for. After all, Mr. Summer is going to be the next big thing, right?” He looked to the ladies, and Gwen giggled.
But Jade was too busy letting the idea percolate. It could be a very clever marketing angle to have the actual brother of Mr. Summer playing him. And there was definitely a family resemblance.
In fact, the more Jade thought about it, the more she liked the idea.
“When can he get here?”