“Yes!” Wendy rolled onto her back and clenched both fists in victory. But then she rolled back to face Colin. “See? I took you away from helping kids in just that way.”
“You were the one who made the difference with Marcus. For me, now that I've set up The Dorms, think of how many people I can help in Los Angeles with projects like that.”
“But will your parents see it that way?”
Colin smiled and shook his head. “I think Charlotte knew long before I did that it had to be you.”
Wendy's brows shot up. “What makes you say that?”
“Wendy, you're part of the family now, so you may as well know. Charlotte Scott knows everything.”
Wendy laughed. “That I can believe.” She slid over until she was lying on top of Colin, looking right into his brilliant blue eyes. “You realize you married a woman who knows everything, too. Right? And then there's Lola. Colin, you are surrounded by incredibly smart, kick-ass women.”
He ran his hands up her back, pressing her closer. “And I couldn't be happier.”
* * * * *
Down below stairs, inimitable house manager Glynis Ferry strode into the kitchen. “How are the latest guests settling in?”
Pippa looked up from her phone and tried to stifle her giggling. “Honeymooners. They haven't come up for air since they got here this morning.”
“Pippa! Are you still looking at those pictures of him?”
She quickly dropped her phone into her apron pocket.
Maisy, who had purportedly been doing the invoices on the computer at the desk in the corner, shut the laptop quickly. And then she stood up, as if she had something to do.
“Maisy Potter-Prebys! Not you, too!”
“Busted,” she admitted with a blush.
“Glynis,” Pippa argued. “It's not like that. It's all really romantic, what he's done for her. You know, it's too bad they're only here for four days. Can you imagine how swoony it would be, having two such love birds here over Christmas?”
Just then, Mark swept into the kitchen and without missing a beat, he snaked an arm around Maisy's waist and kissed her cheek.
“Hey, you,” she said, kissing him back.
“It's our first Christmas here with Maisy,” he declared. “And the guests lined up seem delightful. Just you wait, Pippa. Christmas at Drakenfall is going to be magical this year.”
The End
A Drakenfall Christmas (Drakenfall #2)
You can meet Lisa and Jack in
Miss Adventure (In Love in the Limelight Book #1)
You can meet Lola and Arlen in
Queen of the Universe (In Love in the Limelight Book #2)
You can meet Maisy and Mark and the gang at Drakenfall in
Upstairs, Downstairs … and the Lift In Between (Drakenfall #1)
featured initially in the romantic comedy anthology Love in an Elevator
And now a peek at Chapter 1 of Miss Adventure (In Love in the Limelight Book #1) …
CHAPTER 1
Six months ago I woke up rich, famous, and thin. Every woman’s dream, right?
Believe me, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Not by a long shot. If it were, I wouldn’t be speed hiking up a mountain in what’s left of my Dolce and Gabbana power suit. Chasing a man I don’t know, no less.
I wish he would slow down! What was I thinking, following Jack Hawkins into the woods?
I'm charging after him through endless trees and shrubbery, clawing leaves and sticks out of my face as I go. What kind of hike is this, anyway? I didn’t bring a machete, let alone hiking boots. I am not prepared for this.
I should stop.
In fact, I should’ve stopped chasing Jack twenty minutes ago. That’s when he veered off the trail and disappeared into the forest. But I didn’t stop. I kept after Jack. I'd pulled into the lot just in time to see him lope off the path and vanish into the green mess of a mountain. Without stopping to consider for even a second, I put my car in park, popped the trunk, grabbed my workout bag, and jammed on my running shoes. Then I stripped off my jacket and followed Jack into the wild.
How could I have been so desperately impulsive? Into the Wild is the name of his company, for Pete's sake! Everyone at USC talks about how he spends half his life in the great outdoors testing his designs. It's like he's the king of the eco-MBA or something. And I thought I’d be able to keep up with him? Big surprise, ab workouts in front of my TV haven’t transformed me into a game mountaineer. My calves feel like pool balls and I’m huffing like an asthmatic Snuffleupagus. Jack must hear me following him. So why doesn’t he just let me catch up?
I hate him.
God, I wish I could be more like him. So capable, so focused, so in control. It’s like whatever he does is no big deal because he knows it’ll turn out awesome. I can barely stand to look at the guy.
Wait—where is he? All I can see is wilderness. And no Jack. But I need him!
I pump my legs harder, ignoring all the branches snagging at me. I have to find him. Jack Hawkins is the key to everything. It’s time to seize the moment. I can’t be scared anymore. I just can’t. I have to catch him and make him listen. Not to mention, I’ll never find my way back to the car without him.
I lurch forward so fast that I stumble. And there he is! Jack Hawkins, a few hundred feet ahead of me. I haven’t lost him. I’ll get the chance to tell him my plan.
He has to agree. He just has to. It makes perfect sense.
Doesn’t it?
Maybe not. But I got this feeling in class this morning that I had to talk to him. Talk to him right now, today, or I would lose my nerve forever.
Uh-oh. Uber-Hiker has slowed down to about the speed limit. But I’m not ready to see him yet. I pull back, keeping him in my sights through all the leaves and bark. He reaches under his windbreaker—he’s also wearing these windbreakery pants that look intensely comfortable—and takes something out of the pack strapped around his waist. He quickly bends up each leg at the knee and slips something onto each shoe. He looks at his watch, slips the things off, zips them back into his pack, and runs back toward me.
Oh! I duck, but he isn’t looking my way. He stops, turns, races back to the same spot, and repeats the entire process.
He came all the way up here to test some shoe-thing? Well, good. Now I'll have time to catch my breath and think about what to say to him.
How can I present my idea so that he can see how much sense it makes? Then again, maybe it makes sense only to me. I have been spending a lot of time alone since I got out of the hospital. Is it possible that my wits haven't fully recovered since the coma? Or maybe I just need to think before I crash ahead with an idea. But then again, I've been doing nothing but thinking for thirty-four years, and that's been no great shakes. No, it's definitely time for a new Lisa Flyte.
Oh, damn! He’s gone! Jack just disappeared before my very eyes! Wait … he must have crested a hill.
I dash forward, frantic not to lose him. My legs throb and my feet lose traction as I push up an incline, but I keep going. Up and up and—it’s not a hill. It’s a cliff!
A CLIFF!
I teeter on the brink like Wile E. Coyote. Then gravity yanks me over.
Miss Adventure (In Love in the Limelight Book #1)
Available on Amazon
Dear Reader,
Word-of-mouth is crucial for any book to succeed. If you've enjoyed Catch a Falling Star, please consider leaving a review on Amazon. A sentence or two would be wonderful. It would make all the difference, for it means that more readers will find out about this book and get a chance to enjoy it. Click here to scroll down and leave a review on Amazon. Thanks!
And please feel free to check out my daily posts on Facebook, where you can comment and chat. You can also reach me on Twitter and on my Website —I love to connect with readers!
Reading sure can be an adventure, and I hope it always brings you joy!
Sincerely,
Geralyn Corcillo
Geralyn Corcillo's In Love in the Limelight Series
Miss Adventure (In Love in the Limelight Book #1)
Queen of the Universe (In Love in the Limelight Book #2)
Catch a Falling Star (In Love in the Limelight Book #3)
And Geralyn Corcillo's romantic comedy series set in England:
The Drakenfall Series
Upstairs, Downstairs ... and the Lift in Between: A Novella (Drakenfall #1)
Initially featured in the romantic comedy anthology Love in an Elevator
A Drakenfall Christmas: A Novel (Drakenfall #2)
Those American Thighs (Drakenfall #3)
Spring 2017
And
4 in the Afternoon: Four Romantic Comedy Short Stories
About the Author:
When she was a kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Geralyn Vivian Ruane Corcillo dreamed of one day becoming the superhero Dyna Girl. So, she did her best and grew up to rescue animals and constantly pick up litter. At home, she loves to kick back by watching black & white movies, British mysteries, and the New York Giants. Corcillo lives in a drafty old house in Hollywood with her husband Ron, a guy who's even cooler than Kip Dynamite.
Acknowledgements
Thank you:
Shyrone Carey
Johnny Hall
Wendy and Pajama Nights at Cafe 50's
Everyone at the Kaiser Permanente Watts Counseling and Learning Center,
especially
Jean E. Virtue
Catch a Falling Star (In Love in the Limelight Book 3) Page 25