When she entered the shop, Katie was unpacking a shipment that had just come in of Fire and Ice roses. She closed the cooler door, and as she turned to face Zoe, Ariana came out from the back.
Her face was ashen, and there were tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea what was going on between them.”
Zoe rushed over to wrap her arms around Ari. “I know that. But how did you find out?” She looked over at Katie. “I thought you had your phone turned off.”
“I did. Maggie told me.”
Zoe let out a gasp.
“Tabby had kittens.” Ariana gave a choked, desperate laugh. “In my closet, so I called Maggie for help, and while she was at my house, the truth came out. She wouldn’t have told me, though, if I hadn’t pushed her. I saw her come home earlier with a Victoria’s Secret bag and knew she’d spent the night somewhere. I just didn’t know where and with whom.” Her gorgeous blue-gray eyes darkened with pain. “I thought she was my friend. How could she have done this?”
Zoe’s stomach knotted, and she tried to hide her inner misery from her friend. “I know you’re angry with Maggie, and so am I, but I blame Dan more. He was my boyfriend. He was the one who cheated, and he was the one who gave me the key to his apartment. Without that, I might not have discovered what was going on. A part of me can’t help but wonder if he didn’t subconsciously want this to happen—want me to find out about Maggie.”
Katie stared at her in bewilderment. “Why would he want that?”
Zoe dropped her arms to her sides and shrugged. “Apparently, I couldn’t give him what he wanted, and she could.”
“Meaning sex,” Ariana added bitterly.
She pressed her back up against the wall with her stomach still clenched tight. “I thought he was okay with waiting, but once he started bugging me to move in with him, I knew things were going in the wrong direction. There was that moment, though, at our party, when I thought he was going to propose. Instead, he gave me the key. Deep down, I knew then there was no hope for us. It was evident. He didn’t want to get married, but I wasn’t ready to accept that yet.”
Zoe drew in a deep cleansing breath, and when she let it out, her anger was replaced with sorrow. “Maybe what happened was for the best.” There was no mistaking Katie’s and Ari’s startled looks. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m really hurt, but he wasn’t the right guy for me. At least now, I’m not wasting any more time on him.” She forced a smile. “After all, I’m not getting any younger.”
“None of us are.” Ariana’s gaze settled on the engagement ring on Katie’s finger. “Looks like you’re the only one who’ll be married by twenty-five.”
Katie twirled the gleaming diamond ring. “Nonsense. You guys still have time to get one of these.”
Zoe groaned. “At this point, I can’t even think about dating, let alone marriage.”
“Me either,” Ariana chimed in.
“That’s understandable. You two have been through a lot. You need time to heal, but I guarantee in a month or so, if Mr. Right walks into your life, you’ll feel differently. Mark my words.”
Zoe made a face. “I don’t know about that.”
“I have a feeling, and I’ve never been wrong…” Katie said smugly.
“Here we go. Her intuition’s at work again.” Ariana grinned.
With hands planted on hips, Katie replied, “Laugh all you want, but despite all odds, love always wins. You just have to listen to your heart and your head.”
The bell over the door jingled as someone entered the shop, and the three of them turned to see who it was. Zoe’s heart thundered at the sight of a policeman. All she could think was, Oh, no, what now?
“How can we help you today, Officer?” Katie asked.
Tall, handsome, and with a powerful well-muscled body, it was obvious in the way he walked up to the counter that he prided himself on his good looks. “It’s my parent’s anniversary. What type of arrangement do you recommend?”
Zoe let out a breath of relief that he was here as a customer.
“Ariana will help you with that.” Katie nudged her forward.
“Yes, of course. We have some lovely arrangements over here.” The willowy blonde led the way to the cooler.
As she stood beside the officer, her fairness in sharp contrast to his dark hair and tanned skin, Katie said to Zoe, “Now that’s a gorgeous couple, wouldn’t you say?”
Zoe chuckled. “So what are you going to do now, play matchmaker?”
Katie headed toward the backroom. “No, I’ve got orders to fill. I’ll let fate handle that.”
As Zoe followed, she glanced over her shoulder at Ariana and had to admit, they did indeed make a gorgeous couple, and the way the officer was looking at her, he might well ask her out. They could start dating and wind up married with six kids, or he could leave with his flowers and never see Ariana again.
Who knew what the future had in store? But as her very wise friend had advised, Zoe planned to stay open to love. Always.
The End
A Note from the Author
Thank you for reading Chasing Happiness, book one of the Love Always series. I hope you enjoyed it. Please consider leaving a review at Amazon. It will help other people find the book.
Book two, Cherished Memories, will be released in October 2015.
Along with sweet small-town contemporary romance, I also write paranormal and Gothic romantic suspense. To receive information on all of my new releases, please sign up for my newsletter.
I love to hear from readers. You can write to me at [email protected], like my Facebook page, and follow me on Twitter.
Don’t forget to visit my website too!
—Raine English
Other Books by Raine English
Coming October 2015
Cherished Memories
Book 2: Love Always Series
A sweet small-town contemporary romance .
Zoe Goodwin must decide whether or not to sell her childhood home. Memories of the past are making her decision a difficult one, until she runs into an old classmate who wants to turn her quaint cul-de-sac into a high-rise apartment complex, displacing the elderly residents she’s known her entire life.
Ryan Cooper thinks buying up the properties on Blossom Court will be a piece of cake. After all, he’s prepared to offer above market value for the homes. What he never expects, though, is to fall in love with the woman who might thwart his plan and break his heart in the process.
* * *
Some Christmas Magic
A sweet small-town contemporary romance.
When Harper Malone’s boyfriend dumps her just before Christmas, leaving her with his gift—a nonrefundable holiday vacation for two at a Vermont ski lodge—her childhood crush steps in to take his place. But will memories of the past ruin the trip or will she rekindle a lost love?
No matter how many women he dates, Cole Underwood just can’t find the right girl. Because he’d found her in high school a decade ago and lost her there too. This Christmas he has a chance to win her back, but will he make another huge mistake that might drive her away for good?
* * *
Forever My Valentine
A sweet small-town contemporary romance.
Returning home after a disastrous job relocation, Miranda Kane is determined to avoid the man she left behind—and whose heart she broke. Until she finds a hidden treasure in a music box. An engagement ring engraved with a decades’ old date. And the only man who can help reunite the precious ring with its owner is the last man she wanted to see.
When Ian Anders sees Miranda come into his antique shop, his defenses go up. She walked away from him once without a backward glance. Since then he’s given up on love. But when their eyes meet and sparks fly, he wonders if maybe there’s a Valentine’s Day miracle in store for them.
A snowy night’s journey to bring the ring to its elderly owner turns into a second chance at romance for Miranda and Ian. But as the frost melts from ar
ound their hearts, it exposes old hurts and deceptions. This Valentine’s Day could be the start of something wonderful. Or the proof that their love was never meant to be.
* * *
Tin Angel
A contemporary holiday romance.
Alice Hart is a lonely old woman who believes true love happens only once in a lifetime. When the angel Christmas tree topper given to her by the fiancé she lost sixty years ago comes to life, Alice’s wish to be young again is granted, but she’s given only ten days to find true love or die unfulfilled. So she concocts a story that she’s Alice’s long lost niece, hoping to attract the attention of the handsome tenant renting her upstairs apartment.
Disillusioned by his experiences with high maintenance women, Jack Billings yearns to find an old-fashioned girl who is more interested in his heart than in material things. When his elderly landlady vanishes, her newly arrived niece, Ally, seems to hold the clues to her disappearance. Jack at first dismisses Ally as another material girl, but as he digs deeper into Alice’s mystery, he learns that Ally is more than what she seems and worries that the girl he’s coming to love might be a scam artist or worse.
* * *
Mistress of Raghery
A Gothic romantic suspense set in the Victorian era.
Sheeva Desmond always believed she’d marry for love. But when she’s left penniless after her parents’ deaths and her fiancé cancels their wedding, she’s convinced love is a fairy tale. Desperate to find a way to support herself, she takes a position as governess to a troubled mute boy. She never expects to lose her heart to the boy’s handsome father. Or to become entangled in a deadly mystery.
Ronan Quinn, Master of Rathlin Island, spent years in an unhappy marriage. When his faithless wife threatens to leave him and is later found dead, he blames himself for not keeping her safe. He’s left with a hardened heart and a devastated young son. The beautiful governess he hires may have the courage to help his son and to heal Ronan’s soul. But a murderer from his past haunts the shadows and threatens them all.
* * *
Surrender to Love
The Breakers Island Series: Book 1
A Gothic romantic suspense.
When Tara Spencer agrees to spend the summer caring for her ailing grandmother, she has no idea how her life will be changed by the handsome stranger next door. Will she have a second chance at love, or will his secrets put her life in jeopardy?
* * *
Surrender the Night
The Breakers Island Series: Book 2
A Gothic romantic suspense.
A murder at Tara Spencer’s newly inherited brewery makes her wonder if taking over her grandfather’s half of the business was a good idea. While searching for clues to the murderer’s identity, she questions her romance with brewery manager, Easton Douglas. Will their steamy relationship survive, or will she discover a truth that puts her—and their love—in danger?
* * *
Date with a Vampire
A paranormal romance.
Melody Johnson dreams of meeting a man as dashing and wonderful as the heroes in the books she reads. Being a realist, she knows that’s highly unlikely. Besides, men always leave her for someone more exciting—until she wins the lottery, that is. Pursued by scores of men happy to help spend her fortune, Melody longs to have her quiet life back. When a network executive offers a reality show, she seizes the opportunity to show the world she’s off the single’s market. Melody leaves her quaint hometown in New York for a sunny island in the Pacific where twenty gorgeous bachelors will vie for her heart and where she can stage a phony engagement. What she never expects, though, is to fall in love with a vampire.
Guystof LeBreque is a four-hundred-year-old Romanian vampire who hates the taste of blood. He’s roamed the earth for centuries, loathing the monster trapped inside him. After his mother’s death at the hands of vampire-hunting assassins, Guystof vows never to turn a woman into a vampire. But when his father gives him an ultimatum to marry a rich woman in sixty days or lose his legacy to his bloodthirsty brother, Guystof battles his conscience. Does he keep the promise he made to himself, or does he keep his brother from power? Guystof resorts to drastic measures. He becomes a bachelor on a hit reality show. What he doesn’t anticipate is losing his heart to the woman whose mortal life he must end.
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Raine English began her career as a journalist, but writing romance novels was her passion. Her stories have won many awards, including finalling in the Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® and winning the Daphne du Maurier Award.
When not behind her computer, you can find her reading, usually something involving the supernatural. She lives in New England with her family and her French bulldog, Bailey.
Visit her website at http://www.RaineEnglish.com for information on all her releases.
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