The Romance Dance: Castle Ridge Small Town Romance

by Burton, Allie

  Everyone else in the room ceased to exist. It was only him and her. Him declaring his love for her with his music.

  * * *

  The champagne popped in celebration of the dance studio opening, and Reed celebrated their love. Izzy and Dax hugged him, both happy Reed was out of his shell and could play music in front of people again. Danielle and Brianna congratulated him.

  Quinn worked the crowd, signing up people for paid classes. She was going to do great in Castle Ridge.

  Her friend, the music executive, shook his hand. “I loved the song on paper and I loved it more hearing it live. I want to buy the song from you, and talk about other songs in the future.”

  “I don’t want to perform. I only want to compose.” Reed didn’t want to leave Castle Ridge, or Quinn. He could continue his remodel business and write. With her by his side.

  She sidled up next to him. “Wonderful news. How does it feel to be a composer again?”

  “It’s good.” He could write at his leisure, putting the music in his head on paper. He could play his piano and Quinn would listen. He’d be happy living a whole life.

  Sara tugged on his pant leg. “You didn’t dance Mr. O’Donnell.” She sounded disappointed.

  He bent to her level. “I’m sorry. I needed to play the music.”

  “Dance now.” The girl crossed her arms and glared.

  “Um, there’s no music, sweetie.” Quinn tried to appease.

  “I’ll sing.” Dax showed his support for Reed and Quinn’s relationship.

  “Me, too.” Izzy raised her hand.

  “And me.” Both Danielle and Brianna joined the chorus.

  A few other people joined in with the humming.

  Reed’s chest swelled with love for his family and friends. With his love for this woman. “Can I have this dance, Quinn-tessential?”

  Quinn placed her hand in his. “For the rest of my life.”

  Read on for excerpts from The Christmas Match and The Flirtation Game, the second and third books in the Castle Ridge series.

  Excerpt from

  The Christmas Match

  A Castle Ridge Small Town Romance

  Book 2

  by Allie Burton

  The season for second chances.

  After heartache at a young age, single mother Danielle Marstrand has finally found her place in her hometown. A good job, a good home, a great daughter—nothing can sway her from her course until Luke Logan returns to their small Colorado mountain ski town.

  Champion skier Luke Logan is ready to return home to Castle Ridge, even if he’s not quite sure the town’s ready to welcome him. Especially his high school sweetheart Danielle. Nursing an injury that nearly ended his career, Luke’s struggling to get back more than his range of motion…he’s hoping returning to where his career began might help reignite the passion he’s lost. But instead of discovering his passion for skiing he discovered the daughter he never knew he had.

  Hurt that Danielle never told him about Brianna, Luke is determined to know his child. Danielle’s reluctant to allow Luke in, fearing he’ll just leave again, but she’s willing to compromise when Luke suggests fake dating with Brianna tagging along. Why then, does a kiss for show feel oh so real?

  In this classic reunion story, love finds a second chance.

  Excerpt:

  “You’re single. I’m single. You’ve changed. I’ve changed. You asked to meet me.” His voice rose in accusation. “Nothing smarmy about that.”

  Her eyebrows rose. “Every time a woman asks you to meet does it mean having sex?”

  “Pretty much.” His cockiness caused the wine to burn in her chest.

  Disgust made it travel the wrong direction. “Not with me.”

  His eyes blinked. For a second she thought she’d seen hurt on his expression, but then the suave-macho guy she’d seen in interviews on TV made his reappearance. “Then what do I owe this…pleasure?”

  His hesitation told her he meant the opposite of pleasure, but again the imagined images of the two of them together burned. Her entire body felt as if she sat in the fire, not next to the fireplace. She blew out a breath and focused on what she came to do.

  Tell Luke. Tell Luke. Tell Luke.

  The room seemed to close in on them. The few people in the dining area were normal people having normal conversations. They weren’t about to change someone’s life. They weren’t about to alter their own reality. And their daughter’s.

  The fire roared louder. The flames spurted higher, taunting. Other people’s laughter spiked through her head. The clanging dishes echoed and burst in her brain.

  She blew out a slow breath, knowing she just needed to spit it out. “I need to tell you something and I want a promise you won’t yell or make a scene.”

  “I promise.” His snippiness set the wrong tone.

  Nerves scraped in her stomach making the wine go sour. Nausea rumbled and burned up her chest. She felt as if she was going to heave on the table. She pinched her lips together and then forced her mouth to open. To speak.

  Nothing came out.

  “I haven’t seen you in thirteen years. There’s nothing you could say that would make me angry.” He grabbed his mug and took a long pull.

  She froze at his statement and his casual action. He didn’t believe anything she said mattered? Her iced body cracked and heated. Fissures formed with her fury. He didn’t think she mattered? Her brain popped and her veins burst in a torrent. He probably wouldn’t think their daughter mattered either. Her hands curled into cold claws. She wanted to scrape the annoying expression off his handsome face.

  Instead, she scooped up her coat and lunged out of the booth. “Oh!”

  To hell with him.

  “Well?” His impatient tone yanked her to a stop, goaded her.

  Her heart thumped once. Deviousness had her swirling back around. So, he didn’t think anything she said would affect him, did he? She was going to give him the shock of his life.

  She took a step forward, leaned toward him, and whispered, “Brianna is your daughter.”

  Buy The Christmas Match

  Excerpt from

  The Flirtation Game

  A Castle Ridge Small Town Romance

  Book 3

  by Allie Burton

  Love isn’t all that’s cooking.

  After a scandal in Hollywood, celebrity chef Michael Marstrand accepts a position to be head chef at Castle Ridge Lodge and star in a television program about re-opening a five-star restaurant. He believes returning to his hometown to help the struggling restaurant will earn him public relations points and help an old friend. What he doesn’t know is the sous chef expected to be named head chef and the television series is a reality show called Kitchen Catastrophe.

  Sous Chef Isabel O’Donnell returned from vacation to discover the restaurant kitchen remodeled and a new head chef. With contracts already signed, she has no choice but to work for Chef Michael, a man she’d had a crush on since middle school. A man who’d stolen her job.

  With the hidden cameras rolling, Michael tries to make the day-to-day routine boring so Kitchen Catastrophe will never be shown, but an interfering producer introduces a bridezilla and an employee who causes trouble. Add the simmering attraction between Michael and Isabel and the reality show has everything: drama, fights, and sex.

  In this best friend’s brother conflict, will a fake flirtation produce the perfect recipe or enflame desire?

  Excerpt:

  Michael stepped away from Danielle and straightened his shirt. A shirt she hadn’t even realized she’d messed.

  She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to pull herself together. She was going to be head chef; she couldn’t be caught making out in the kitchen. Not only was it unsanitary, it was unprofessional.

  Parker, the lodge owner, observed the two of them, a glint of confusion on his face. His perfectly-coiffed hair appeared tame compared to the man she just kissed.

  “What do you need?” Mi
chael’s voice sounded normal. He obviously had more control over his libido.

  Her skin cooled. Maybe he wasn’t as attracted to her.

  “Good. You two are getting reacquainted.” Parker wrung his hands together. He seemed more together than on New Year’s Eve, but still jumpy.

  Why would he be nervous of either one of them? In high school, Michael and Parker had been best friends. Now, they acted like strangers.

  Michael’s face was a complete mask. What was he hiding?

  “I’m glad you’re going to be okay with this decision, Isabel.” Parker’s shoulders relaxed.

  She tilted her head, trying to figure his puzzling words out. “What decision?”

  “Now that Chef Françoise has retired, I’ll be announcing the new head chef.”

  Her chest pounded. She stood straighter, and pulled back her shoulders. This was it. Parker was going to tell her the head chef position belonged to her.

  He waved his hand in a vague fashion. “The press release with head shots will go out today.”

  Air caught in her lungs. “I didn’t take new photos.”

  Michael jerked beside her. He gaped at her with raised eyebrows and tightened facial muscles. “What?”

  “No need for the sous chef to take head shots.” Parker avoided her gaze like a guilty man.

  “But…but.” The catch in her chest morphed into a fissure, a fissure cracking and widening with each of her panicked thoughts. “I’m the new head chef.”

  Michael’s shoulders hunched, and he took a step back, as if he’d taken a punch to his midsection. Except she was the one who’d taken the punch, because something was wrong. Parker acted nervous. Michael shocked.

  She sucked in a sharp, jagged breath, ignoring the pain. “Chef Françoise promised me the position.”

  Michael’s skin had gone white as a chef’s coat. His round eyes had dimmed of color. “What?”

  Parker’s expression softened, except for his pinched mouth. “I’m sorry, Isabel. I thought Michael told you. I thought that’s why you two were talking in the kitchen together.”

  Her breath spasmed, sending alarms throughout her body. Her gaze switched back and forth, between Michael and Parker. “Told me? Told me what?”

  Parker touched her arm. “The new head chef at the Castle Ridge Lodge is celebrity chef Michael Marstrand.”

  Buy The Flirtation Game

  COMING SOON IN THE CASTLE RIDGE SERIES!

  The Playboy Switch

  The Marriage Merger

  If you love young adult romance with fantasy and adventure, try Allie Burton’s two young adult series FREE!

  Excerpt from

  Atlantis Riptide

  Lost Daughters of Atlantis

  Book 1

  by Allie Burton

  When a girl runs away from the circus…

  For all her sixteen years, Pearl Poseidon has been a fish out of water. A freak on display for her adoptive parents’ profit. Running away from her horrible life, she craves one thing—anonymity. But when she saves a small boy from drowning she exposes herself and her mutant abilities to Chase, a budding investigative reporter.

  Now, he has questions. And so do the police.

  Once Pearl discovers her secret identity, she learns she’s part of a larger war between battling Atlanteans. A battle that will decide who rules the oceans. A battle raging between evil and her true family. Will she find a way to use her powers in time to save a kingdom she never knew existed?

  This is the start of a young adult fantasy action adventure novel series. “Free sweet summer young adult paranormal with death-defying underwater rescues.” Reviewer

  Excerpt:

  The sea otter twirled around behind me. His cold snout bumped me on the back.

  “Are you trying to tell me something?” The question sounded so stupid leaving my tongue. I’m mean, come on, talking to an animal?

  He swam back in front and nodded his head up and down. Yes.

  I reeled back and caught my breath. I was talking to a sea otter.

  The otter ducked under and swam around me in a circle. Then, he lay on his back and used his paw in a “come here” motion.

  I ducked under and swam in a circle around him. He circled again, and so did I. We were swimming in a constant figure-eight pattern under the water.

  Unbelievable. I was playing with a sea otter. My spirits soared. My smile widened. Like being a five-year-old at a playground, I’d made my first real friend.

  Not that the otter was a human friend, but it counted. Didn’t it?

  Following for a bit, I stopped when I realized he headed to shore. “I don’t want to go back yet.” I wasn’t ready to leave the comfort of the water and return to my lonely tent.

  The sea otter shook his head fast in an agitated motion. Even his furry face appeared upset.

  “Can’t we play longer?” I remembered reading about sea otters and how they played. Slipping and sliding and diving. Turning and twisting underwater, kind of like I’d done earlier.

  He did the “follow me” motion again. Then his eyes grew wide and his whiskers twitched.

  I twisted around, but saw nothing. The fog had rolled closer to shore, but the stars and the moon still gave off a little light. A small motor boat sounded in the distance.

  I faced him again. “What’s wrong?”

  The sea otter was gone. My furry friend had left me.

  Alone, again.

  An ache tore through my chest and I sniffed. “That’s okay. I’m used to being by myself.”

  The water around me swirled. Waves gathered in a big circle, expanding out in further and further concentric loops. The pattern repeated with more strength and velocity. Like a toilet being flushed, the water pooled into a vortex.

  My body caught in the current. I couldn’t move out of the circle, surrounded by a ring of water. My tummy churned with the motion. My gaze glazed over watching the water go round and round like a hypnotist’s trick.

  A strange sensation sucked at my toes. The feeling continued up my legs to my hips. I kicked and clawed but the water tugged like a ginormous vacuum at the bottom of the ocean.

  Panic spurted through me, exploding in my flaying arms and legs. I kicked. I stroked. I screamed. Nothing helped. My super strength wasn’t helping at all. I couldn’t fight this weird force.

  I knew about the dangers of swimming alone. Knew about dangerous ocean currents. Knew the rules.

  But they didn’t apply to me. I was different.

  And so was this force that had me in its grip.

  My heart began a pointless race against disaster. None of my other limbs could move. I couldn’t get free.

  As I went down, I remembered dreams of being dragged under the ocean. The people in my dreams looked normal, nice. Not a faceless, evil suction. Terror froze every one of my muscles. I couldn’t struggle, couldn’t swim, couldn’t even think.

  Could this be a deadly riptide, or something even more ominous? Irony struck. How could I drown when I could breathe underwater?

  Buy Atlantis Riptide

  Excerpt from

  SOUL SLAM

  Soul Warriors

  Book 1

  by Allie Burton

  An ancient Egyptian amulet.

  A pharaoh’s soul inside demanding she obey.

  A double cross that ends with a curse.

  On her first heist to steal an ancient Egyptian amulet, sixteen-year-old Olivia inadvertently receives the soul of King Tut…and the deadly curse that comes with it. And Olivia’s not alone at the museum.

  A member of a secret society, Xander believes it’s his place to inherit King Tut’s soul and justly rule. He knows nothing about the society’s evil plan to control the world or the curse. Now, he must deal with the female thief who stole the amulet.

  When the two teens find themselves up against the secret society, they reluctantly join forces and must figure out how to end the curse before it turns deadly. On the run and unable to touch b
ecause of the curse, Olivia and Xander develop a connection during their quest.

  As the mystery surrounding the amulet unfolds, Olivia and Xander fall for each other. But is love enough to save them and the world from destruction?

  “If you are a fan of Rick Riordan books about a quest with love and history thrown in…this is for you!” – Hooked In A Book Review

  Excerpt:

  Crawling ninja-style out of the sarcophagus, my black gym shoes hit the ground without a sound. But inside, a screech built up in my lungs and released on a heavy exhale, the scream so loud it sounded like an alarm. “Aiyeeeeee!”

  Xander and the old man froze.

  I lunged at the case, swooped in, and grabbed the amulet.

  A jolt rocked my body. Pain rocketed up my spine, but I held tight to the prize. Clutching the piece in both hands, I hit the concrete floor like a football player making a catch, and kept rolling.

  “A girl.” Xander’s surprised voice rose on a high note. “What the…Tut.”