Love Me if You Dare

by Toni Blake

  “Actually, no,” she said, sounding far more hopeful than he’d felt in days. “Now that the mayor has a firm understanding of the situation, he and the town council are prepared to back you up. As luck would have it, one member of the council is the manager of the Sand Dollar Resort and was very on board, for obvious reasons, with preventing Windchime from coming here. The mayor has proposed a zoning law for this stretch of Coral Street—no buildings over two stories. They’re voting on it tomorrow morning and he expects it to pass easily. And after that, Windchime won’t even be a possibility here.”

  “That—that’s incredible,” he said. Because it really was. Damn, a zoning change. Why the hell had it never occurred to him to be more pro-active about this in bigger ways? He’d just sat here digging in his heels since all this had started, hoping they’d give up and go away—and what Cami had done made so much sense. He shook his head. “I should have thought of that.”

  “Not necessarily,” she reassured him. “You run a motel—not the whole town. This kind of stuff is my business—I’m trained to think of it.”

  He narrowed his gaze on her. “But you’re thinking of it for me now, and not Vanderhook? Really?”

  She nodded, looking as sweet and earnest as he’d ever seen her. “I never meant to hurt you, Reece, I promise. I told my boss about that ordinance before we ever went out on the Lisa Renee, and even then I did only because he was pressuring me and I’d just run across it. And that was before I realized I didn’t want to take the Crab from you anymore, that I didn’t want to take anyone’s property from them anymore if they weren’t willing to part with it gladly.”

  Despite himself, Reece was still afraid to believe. Believing had felt so simple on the boat. And he’d ended up feeling so foolish and hurt for his easy trust. “Are you saying you no longer work for Vanderhook?” he asked, needing more information.

  “I haven’t quit yet,” she told him. “Because I want to throw them off the trail and not give them time to do anything sneaky before that zoning law is passed. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing they really could do at this point now that the town is on your side, but still, I’m learning that it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

  He nodded. And found himself wanting to believe in her again.

  Because he was crazy in love with her.

  But he wasn’t sure how. How do you wipe out pain and distrust? It had taken him so long to open up and feel that way for anyone. And she’d made it seem like such a big mistake.

  “There’s more,” she volunteered, “if you’d like to hear it.”

  “Sure,” he replied. “Go ahead.”

  “I’ve talked with the mayor a lot over the last few days—I’ve shared with him my preliminary ideas for ways to reshape Coral Cove in the coming years to revitalize the older part of town, to increase the flow of business here while maintaining its charm. And . . . I’m not sure how you’ll feel about this, but . . . he’s offered me a job and I’ve accepted it.

  “It’s on a trial basis for now—I’ll present a more detailed plan to the town council, and if they’re on board, I’m Coral Cove’s first town planner and I’ll head up a planning commission. It doesn’t pay much, but I’ve come to realize I don’t need much—at least not as much as I thought I did for a while. So . . . I’ll be staying on here, as long as the job becomes permanent. And I’m sure I’ll be working with you some, so I hope that’s not a problem.”

  Reece just blinked. It was a lot to take in.

  She was staying. In Coral Cove. He’d be seeing her—maybe a lot. It changed things.

  In one way, it made him unbelievably happy—because despite himself, just seeing her right now was filling his soul with something incredibly good, something he’d definitely been missing ever since he’d sent her away.

  But in another way . . . was he ready for this? What would they be to each other? Could he really have faith in her? Everything about this conversation said yes. But after the blows of the other day . . . how could he be sure?

  “It’s not a problem,” he finally said, exercising some caution. “And the idea of fixing up this part of town is . . . great. I’ve wished for a long time something like that would happen, but I wouldn’t know how to begin.”

  She flashed a slightly self-deprecating smile. “Then I guess it’s lucky I came along. In a roundabout way, I mean.”

  “In . . . other ways, too, Tink,” he said gently.

  “Reece,” she said then, seeming at once a little bolder but also brimming with emotion, “I just need to tell you that . . . you made me a better person. Something about you, and this place, made me . . . different than I was when I got here. And I know it probably makes no difference after what happened the other day, but . . . I really do love you. In a way that I’m not sure I’ve ever loved a man before. And I can’t believe I managed to screw it up.” Her eyes fell briefly shut.

  Reece said nothing. Part of him wanted to tell her it was all okay, that they’d find a way to work things out, that he’d figure out how to trust her again. But another part of him feared that was too big right now, too big a promise to make to her—or to himself. He just wasn’t good at that—trusting. And now he wasn’t sure it was the right road for him to take, the life he wanted to live. Because it was huge, that kind of faith. And he just wasn’t sure he had it in him anymore.

  And she must have sensed all that, because she seemed unable to meet his gaze then, and she sounded much more subdued when she said, “Anyway, I just wanted you to know that. I’ll be looking for a place to live in the next few days, and after that, I’ll be heading back to Atlanta to part ways with Vanderhook, put my townhouse on the market, and start packing.”

  “That’ll be hard for you,” he acknowledged, remembering how dear she’d held her job.

  “Yeah,” she said softly. “But . . . it’s time.” She still didn’t meet his eyes as she added, “I’ll get Tiger Lily as soon as I can, and I hope you and Riley won’t mind looking out for her until then. And please thank him for me.”

  “Sure,” he said shortly.

  Then watched as she headed toward the office door.

  He let her walk out. Let the door close behind her. Felt his chest tighten.

  He glanced down at Fifi. He could have sworn she gave him a critical look.

  “Stop taking her side,” he scolded the iguana. “Even if . . . it seems like she’s done about everything humanly possible to make things better here.”

  Uncertain, he walked to the plate glass door and looked out, saw her getting in her car.

  And then his heart rose to his throat.

  And he pushed through the door.

  “Cami!”

  She was inside the car but hadn’t closed the door yet. Now she stopped, looked up, got back out.

  “I . . . I know a place you could live,” he told her.

  Her voice sounded nervous, too high-pitched, as she said, “Oh?”

  “My cottage. On Sea Shell Lane. It’s small but nice. Beach access. And you’d already know your neighbors.”

  “That’s . . . amazingly generous,” she said. “But . . . I know you’ve always kept it the way it was before—”

  “It’s time for some changes,” he said, feeling suddenly like maybe it really was time to move on from the past once and for all. “And I’m sure any changes you’d make would be good for the place.”

  “Well . . . if . . . if you’re sure, that would be great. I’d really love that.”

  “I am,” he said.

  And she looked hopeful but maybe a little confused, which he could understand. She wanted more from him.

  And . . . he wanted more from him, too.

  “Tink,” he said.

  “Yeah?”

  “Maybe . . . maybe after we see how things go for a little while, maybe . . . we can start to . . . work our way back to where we were, back to how things were out on the boat.”

  Her eyes went wide, her mouth forming the shape of an “o.” Sh
e pressed her palm, fingers splayed, to her chest. “Really? Are you saying . . . ?” She shook her head. “Can you possibly forgive me, Reece?”

  “I’m . . . starting to,” he said. “Because . . . I love you. And because I guess I’m just starting to see . . . how much you’ve sacrificed for me. And . . . how many people do that? How many people would give up their whole lives, their careers, for somebody else?” He stepped toward her. “That’s pretty amazing.”

  She tilted her head, and though her eyes brimmed with emotion, he also thought he saw just a hint of the saucy Tinkerbell he’d first fallen for. “You know,” she said cautiously, “I didn’t want to say anything, but you’re right—I did kind of sacrifice everything for you.”

  “How can I thank you, Tink?” he asked with an indulgent grin.

  And she said, “Kissing me would be a good place to start.”

  So Reece complied, kissing her beneath the late day neon glow of the large smiling red crab sign. And all was well at the Happy Crab Motel once again.

  “ . . . and he found her, and they lived

  happily ever after.”

  J. M. Barrie, Peter and Wendy

  Epilogue

  6 months later

  CAMI FLOATED on a blow-up raft in the pool behind the Happy Crab, late day sun warming her skin. There wasn’t much time for floating in pools these days, or many occasions when the pool was empty and quiet like this, for that matter. But autumn had fallen over Coral Cove, bringing an end to high tourist season, and that suited her fine because there were a lot of plans to implement over the winter.

  Of course, there’d already been a lot of wonderful changes. It hadn’t taken long before Reece had moved in to the cottage on Sea Shell Lane with her, along with Tiger Lily, who Reece had soon admitted was an extremely easy cat to live with once he got over the fact that she shed a little. Fifi had stayed on at the Crab because the cottage was just too small for a “dinosaur,” and she was well-acclimated to her home at the motel. Reece had experienced a little separation anxiety at first, but he saw her every day and it turned out fine.

  Now Riley lived in Reece’s old apartment, happy to be gainfully employed as the “assistant manager, maintenance expert, and head iguana caretaker” at the Happy Crab. Much of the vintage 1950s furniture had been moved to the cottage—simply because Reece and Cami both liked it—and into the motel’s apartment they’d moved Reece’s family’s furniture from the house. Reece had embraced the spirit of change, finding ways to simultaneously let go of certain things even while holding on to them a little bit, too.

  Cami had promptly quit her job at Vanderhook, and though Phil’s nasty and dismissive attitude had hurt, she’d gotten through it by focusing on the future and on all her new friends in Coral Cove. Leaving Atlanta behind so easily had shown her how little of substance she’d really had there—and she knew in her heart that fate had led her to where she was meant to be.

  She loved her new multi-faceted job of revitalizing Coral Cove. Some days it meant putting on her old business suits and wooing investors she knew from her association with Vanderhook, or working to get state or federal funding, or arranging advertising to draw people back to the older part of Coral Cove. Most days, though, it was denim shorts and flip-flops while she worked to revive the town, one inch at a time.

  Just last month an island of soil, grass, and shrubbery had been dug and planted in between the Crab and the Hungry Fisherman, breaking up the sea of asphalt that had stretched between them. It was little touches, little bits of warmth and beautification, that would bring back Coral Cove’s quaint appeal. The Beachside Bakery was getting a new façade next week, and she almost had Jack DuVall talked into investing in a miniature golf course she hoped to put on an empty lot beyond Gino’s Pizzeria. A lot of her work these days was talking small business owners into spending a little money to spruce things up, and in the cases where they simply couldn’t, finding other ways to get the needed funds.

  And she was further gratified to feel it all becoming a mass labor of love for the community. Fletcher donated time on a regular basis to whatever project someone needed help with. Even Tamra had finally gotten friendly with Cami once she and Reece had worked out their troubles. And as Tamra was an avid gardener in addition to being an artist, she had volunteered when it was time to do some planting in front of the Happy Crab a few weeks back, and seemed eager to help out on any occasion she could.

  Business had returned to the Happy Crab when Windchime’s sign had come down in the adjoining lot, and Cami had gone so far as to buy the little chunk of land herself. She planned to convert the old snowcone shack into a mini-tourist center and was already talking to the local businesses about investing in flyers and coupons to distribute.

  Reece had gotten on board with her idea to make better use of the boats, and he now advertised a free snorkeling trip or sunset cruise with a three night stay at the Happy Crab, and also sold tickets for the same cruises independent of that. Cami had ideas about building additional dock space behind the Crab, stretching up behind her tourist-center-to-be and was working on attracting additional boating businesses to the area. She was also in talks with the local marina about space for larger tourist-based boats she hoped to draw in.

  She’d told Reece over a picnic dinner on the beach last night that she almost had her first daytrip fishing boat “hooked.”

  And he’d said, “That’s very punny, honey.”

  Just now, a light touch at her ankle made her draw in her breath and open her eyes—to find the handsome man she lived with standing next to her in the pool, grazing his hand up her thigh.

  “You’re very quiet and sneaky,” she said, tingling from the touch in all the right places.

  “I learned it from my dinosaur,” he told her.

  And then he came closer, leaning down to give her a scintillating kiss she felt all the way to her toes. The best part of her life in Coral Cove was that every time Reece kissed her, she forgot about everything else. Rebuilding the town, giant iguanas, Tiger Lily, the rocky road they’d taken to get here—it all faded to the background when Reece pressed his mouth to hers. Or to anyplace else on her body as well, for that matter.

  A moment later, she abandoned the raft and soon stood making out with her sexy beach bum in the pool. And when certain delicious sensations began to occur below, she couldn’t resist smiling into his eyes to ask, “Is that—”

  But he read her mind and cut her off. “Nope, it’s still not sunscreen, Tinkerbell.”

  And she said, “I’m glad you’re still happy to see me, Reecie Cup.”

  About the Author

  USA Today bestselling author TONI BLAKE’s love of writing began when she won an essay contest in the fifth grade. Soon after, she penned her first novel—nineteen notebook pages long. Since then, Toni has become a RITA®-nominated author of more than twenty contemporary romance novels, her books have received the National Readers Choice Award and the Bookseller’s Best Award, and her work has been excerpted in Cosmo. Toni lives in the Midwest and enjoys traveling, crafts, and spending time outdoors. Learn more about Toni and her books at www.toniblake.com.

  www.avonromance.com

  www.facebook.com/avonromance

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

  By Toni Blake

  LOVE ME IF YOU DARE

  ALL I WANT IS YOU

  HALF MOON HILL

  WILLOW SPRINGS

  HOLLY LANE

  WHISPER FALLS

  SUGAR CREEK

  ONE RECKLESS SUMMER

  LETTERS TO A SECRET LOVER

  TEMPT ME TONIGHT

  SWEPT AWAY

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  LOVE ME IF YOU
DARE. Copyright © 2015 by Toni Herzog. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  EPub Edition JANUARY 2015 ISBN: 9780062229502

  Print Edition ISBN: 9780062229533

  FIRST EDITION

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  About the Publisher

  Australia

  HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.

  Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street

  Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

  www.harpercollins.com.au

  Canada

  HarperCollins Canada

  2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor

  Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada

  www.harpercollins.ca

  New Zealand

  HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand

  Unit D, 63 Apollo Drive

  Rosedale 0632

  Auckland, New Zealand

  www.harpercollins.co.nz

  United Kingdom

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

  77-85 Fulham Palace Road

  London, W6 8JB, UK

  www.harpercollins.co.uk

  United States

  HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

  195 Broadway

  New York, NY 10007