“Wait,” I said into his neck, “didn’t you leave town on vacation?”
“I couldn’t leave.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because, Betty was sitting in front of my hotel.”
I smiled then pulled back so we were looking in each other’s eyes. He leaned in, lips parted, and placed his warm mouth on mine. If the current I felt after our hands touched on the bench was electricity, then the voltage through me at his kiss was enough to kill me where I stood. Instead of melting into a puddle of goo, I parted my lips and kissed him back. For the first time in almost a decade I felt like I was at home.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Oh my lord, you are the slowest packer on the planet,” I said to Adam’s back. He turned around and I realized how much I enjoyed the way he looked standing in my kitchen.
“I don’t want to break anything.”
“You could throw all of those dishes in the trash and I wouldn’t give them another thought.”
“Easy to say now, what will you use for your dinner tomorrow?”
“I assume I’ll be eating most of my meals at Cooper’s Diner. The cheeseburgers are famous, I hear,” I said and wrapped my arms around his waist from behind his back.
“You think you can just eat at my restaurant for free?”
“Hey, in the last eight weeks that marketing plan we implemented brought tourism up by almost twenty percent in your lovely town. A little appreciation in the form of biscuits and gravy never hurt anyone.”
He laughed and put the last of the newspaper wrapped bowls in the last of the kitchen boxes. With a yank of clear tape, the box was sealed and my packing complete.
“Fair enough, and speaking of which, Mrs. Yandell had to hire Chloe’s younger sister to help with Sunday mornings now that I’m spending all my time at the hotel.”
I released the death grip I had around his waist and took a small step backward as he spun around to face me. He pulled me into a tight hug.
“I know,” I said, “Chloe told me.”
He looked around and loosened his arms so his hands came to rest on my hips. We smiled simultaneously and took a tiny step away from each other, ready to get the last few boxes into the truck. In mere hours I would be an official resident of Cedar Falls.
“Well that’s the last of it,” he said and picked up the box he had just packed marked ‘heavy’, “I guess it’s time to get you moved. You ready?”
“I’ve never been so ready in my whole life.”
Thank you…
From the clichéd bottom of my heart, I would like to thank you for reading this book. I wrote it for you to enjoy because everyone deserves a happily ever after.
If you enjoyed the book I’d be most appreciative of a review and rating on Amazon. Also, please feel free to purchase any or all of my other books using these links:
Shaw McLeary Mystery Series (also in paperback)
Reckless Abandon (book 1)
Reckless Hearts (book 2)
Reckless Mind (book 3)
Reckless Shot (book 4, coming 2018)
California Dreamin’ Series
Carol + Chad 4-eva! (book 1)
Alternate Plans (book 2)
Makeup Your Mind (book 3, coming fall 2017)
Title TBD (book 4, coming 2018)
Reference Titles
Creative Writing Kickstart Vol. 1
Creative Writing Kickstart Vol. 2
Title TBD (hint: survive NaNo and win, coming fall 2017)
My People…
Speaking of thanking people, there are a number of folks who helped birth this book. Whether you directly helped shape and inspire the finished book like my editors, beta readers, and cover designer, or are just a person that lets me observe them in their natural habitat so I can craft more realistic characters, thank you. I love you all.
Wendy, Ginger, Sharon, and Matt. You four ah-mazing people saved my (literal?) ass with this book. If it weren’t for your feedback, advice, suggestions, editing and proofing prowess no chance it would have come together so seamlessly. Your honesty and critique never fails to help me smooth the layers until the finished product is 100% a more polished book. Like waxed Venetian plaster. You are all the llama’s top hat for sure!
Stefanie Fontecha at Beetiful Book Covers - you rule! This cover is everything I wanted.
Other maniacs (who stand by my side through thick and, sometimes, my thinning nerves) include:
Mum, dad, Sue, Dean, Dianna, Dave, Ricardo, Ken, Brad, Shayna, Marc, Barbara, Todd, John, Robert, Jen, Mike, Linda, Pamela, Dave, Ellen, Sean, Erin, Brien, Melissa, Owen, Will, Teddy, Margaret, Lisa, Dale, Lucas, Bob, Brian, Sam, Sahler, Margaret, and if I forgot to mention anyone specifically that doesn’t mean I forgot you. It just means my brain is mushy after all these words.
The members of the Scottsdale Society of Women Writers, A.L.W.A.Y.S., and the Arizona Author’s Association, particularly Patricia, Ann, and Lisa who (respectively) run those organizations with a love for seeing writers get their very best work down and into the world. Thanks for your support and encouragement!
And, the aforementioned, Matt. My first reader, rock star chef, and putter-upper of my crappy attitude when I’m in the throes of labor ona book. The fact you are in my life is a miracle I still can’t put a finger on how I was lucky enough to have happen to me. And you deal with my terrible grammar because you know what I’m trying to say. I love you♥
About the Author
Jenn Flynn-Shon is an author, blogger, and micro-press owner. She struggles to avoid cliché in her life because long walks on the beach at sunset are high on her list of favorite things. Jenn and her husband live in Phoenix, AZ but travel to California as often as they can, because those are some kick-ass sunsets.
Yes, those are her Glamor Shots from the mid 1990’s.
Alternate Plans (California Dreamin' Series Book 2) Page 10