by Elena Aitken
“Jade?”
She snapped back to the present and the two people sitting across from her, currently staring at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“Are you okay?” Gwen slid a glass of water across the table. “You look a little flushed.”
Jade took a controlled and practiced breath. She could feel her body temperature return to normal. She’d worked hard on her composure. It wasn’t often she let it slip. Especially in a meeting. To buy herself another minute, she took the offered water and had a sip, letting the cool liquid soothe her from the inside. Mitch definitely had an effect on her; there was no denying that.
“I’m fine, thank you,” she said after a moment. “I think all these good-looking men are starting to blend into one another. How about we take a break?”
Ian groaned. “Can we just get this done? It’s the Fourth of July, Jade. The picnic starts soon. I don’t know why we had to have a meeting today anyway.”
Gwen patted his arm and gave it a squeeze. Jade tried not to feel the twinge of jealousy at their happy coupling. Gwen had turned from client to friend, and although their friendship was still developing, Jade really was happy for them both. And not just because their relationship was the entire reason she currently found herself in Cedar Springs with a huge career opportunity. Although, it didn’t hurt.
“Okay,” Jade conceded. “We can wrap it up. But I really would like to at least narrow down some of the candidates for the lead roles.” She gathered up the pile of photos in front of her and flipped through them again. “There’s just no one here who really strikes me as a McCormick.”
“What about an actual McCormick?”
Pictures forgotten, Jade’s head shot up. She stared at Ian, who grinned at her. “No.” He waved his hand. “Not me. There’s no way you’ll get me in front of the camera. But what about my little brother, Cal?”
“Cal’s an actor?” Gwen obviously didn’t know anything about this idea either. “I thought he was a super famous model in Australia.”
“He isn’t,” Ian said. “And he is.”
Jade blinked and tried to focus as Ian handed her a picture of a very good-looking, very McCormick man.
“He is a model in Australia,” Ian clarified. “And he hasn’t done any real acting work yet. Well, not beyond a few commercials. But he was looking to get into it and come home for a visit. It seems like a perfect opportunity.”
He didn’t have any experience? Jade’s immediate response was to say no. After all, taking a risk on an unproven actor could be risky. Then again, they were all new and unproven. None of them had ever written, produced, or even been involved with a television production before. So really, it probably couldn’t hurt to give him a chance.
Especially if he was willing to work on their budget. Which wasn’t much to speak of.
“He’d be willing to cut his teeth on this project? It’s not a very big—”
“He knows all about the project,” Ian said. “Including the lack of budget. It would be a pay cut from his modeling gigs, but he seems to be okay with that. Besides, it might be just the break he’s looking for. After all, Mr. Summer is going to be the next big thing, right?” He looked to the ladies, and Gwen giggled.
But Jade was too busy letting the idea percolate. It could be a very clever marketing angle to have the actual brother of Mr. Summer playing him. And there was definitely a family resemblance.
In fact, the more Jade thought about it, the more she liked the idea.
“When can he get here?”
“Given that I just found out about it myself, I have no idea.” Gwen shrugged. “But I’m willing to bet, Ian already told him to get on a plane.” She looked at her fiancé. “Am I wrong?”
He grinned. It was the only answer they needed. “But I did tell him he’d still have to go through the screen test and script read and all that stuff. But I really do think he’s a good fit.”
If it meant not having to sift through any more head shots, Jade was game to give it a try. “Now we need to come up with a female lead.”
Ian tipped his beer bottle back and swallowed the last of his drink before sliding out of the booth. “I’ll leave that to the ladies. I really need to check on a few things with the fireworks barge.” He kissed Gwen on the forehead, which Jade knew was only for her benefit. If she hadn’t been sitting there under some semblance of a business meeting, it likely would have turned into a heavy make-out session between the two of them. She felt that twinge of envy again, but quickly dismissed it.
The second Ian was out the door, Gwen’s hands shot out and grabbed Jade’s. She squeezed them tight, her eyes lit up with excitement. “Okay,” she said. “Spill.”
“What are you talking about?” Jade laughed nervously, because she was fairly sure she did know what Gwen was talking about, and she wasn’t about to get into it.
“Oh, come on.” She squeezed Jade’s hands one more time before she dropped them. “You and Mitch. What’s going on? Talk. I want to know everything.”
She swallowed hard. She wanted this; she wanted a girlfriend to confide things in. To share the giggles and secrets that good friends had. She couldn’t remember ever having a close friend. She’d been too busy building her career; friendships were like relationships, just a liability on the path to success.
Gwen was the closest thing Jade had ever had for a real friend. It was sad really, because Gwen was a client. She was a client. Now they were colleagues. Now they could be friends. She looked across the table at the other woman, who was waiting for Jade to share some piece of information with her. Something that girlfriends would share.
“I don’t really have—”
“Oh, come on.” Gwen narrowed her eyes playfully. “I’m not blind. I saw the way the two of you looked at each other at the festival and pretty much every time you were in the room together before and since. The heat between the two of you is crazy. So, are you two dating or something? Mitch has been totally tight-lipped about it.”
“He has?”
“Of course. ’Cause he’s a man. And he’s practically my brother-in-law, and…well, we’re still working on our relationship.”
Jade nodded thoughtfully. She knew all about the relationship between Gwen and Ian’s younger brother. It hadn’t been the most positive one when they were kids, and it was Mitch who’d recognized Gwen when he came to town and more or less outed her to Ian, which had caused all kinds of drama, only a few weeks earlier. All that seemed like a million years ago though because now everyone had made up and everything had worked out.
“Of course,” Jade said. “But you’re not kids anymore. I’m sure you guys will find your common ground soon.”
“For sure we will.” Gwen brushed it off. “And right now, I think that common ground is you.”
Jade would have blushed if she were the blushing type. But she most certainly was not. She also was not the type to kiss and tell. Under normal circumstances, she would have kept her mouth shut about what had happened between her and Mitch at the festival.
But this wasn’t normal.
This could quite possibly be the start of a real, genuine friendship.
“Okay, okay.” Jade squeezed her eyes shut momentarily. “But you can’t tell anyone.”
“Ohh, this sounds good.”
She could not believe she was doing this. Never in her whole life had she ever discussed a man with anyone. Not ever. She took a deep breath. “We kissed.”
Gwen sat back in the booth as if she’d been smacked. Her mouth fell open. “You kissed?”
Jade nodded.
“And?”
“And what?” She didn’t understand. Wasn’t that exactly what Gwen wanted to hear? “We did.”
“I’m sure you did.” Gwen rolled her eyes. “And that’s it?”
“Well…”
“Ah-ha!” Gwen shouted and pointed a finger at her gleefully. “I knew there was more. You guys totally hooked up, didn’t you?”
Was t
his really happening? The last thing Jade needed was everyone in town knowing her business. She glanced around to see whether anyone was paying attention, but the few people who were in the bar all minded their own business and were in no way concerned with what the two women in the booth were talking about.
“Keep your voice down.” Jade grabbed Gwen’s hands and pressed them to the table. “I don’t want everyone knowing!”
“So you did?” Gwen’s voice really was way too loud.
“Gwen!”
“Sorry.” The woman self-corrected and although her voice was lower, she practically bounced in her seat. “And? Was it amazing? I bet it was. You two clearly have chemistry. Anyone can see it. I knew the first time I saw you together, the two of you had sparks. Major sparks.”
Was it amazing? Was it ever. Just remembering the way Mitch touched her body, his fingers leaving a streak of heat on her skin. The way his lips moved against her neck, her breasts, her— Oh yes, it had been amazing, all right. It was almost too bad it wouldn’t happen again.
And she told her new friend as much. “It was a one-time thing.”
“No way.”
“Yes way.”
“Well, that’s just ridiculous.” Gwen slapped both palms against the table and pushed up from the table. “I can see in your face that you don’t believe that. And even if you do, I don’t. But I have to run. I’ll see you later at the picnic?”
“Of course.” Jade smiled. Not because she was excited about a small-town picnic, but because she had been looking forward to the possibility of seeing Mitch again. Because Gwen was right: she kept telling herself that whatever happened between her and Mitch was a one-time thing, but she wasn’t so sure anymore that she wanted it to be.
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Promised Gifts
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You’re invited back to Castle Mountain Lodge!
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For as long as she could remember, Marissa Duncan had been completely and totally in love with her older brother’s best friend. She spent her teenage years secretly crushing on Nick Slater until one day—sure he felt the same way— she got up the courage to tell him how she felt.
But instead of reciprocating her affection, the boy she’d fallen in love with had laughed in her face and sent her away broken hearted.
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It’s been five years since Nick has seen Marissa Duncan. Five years that he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about her and what could have been if he’d followed his heart the night she’d confessed her love to him. But the timing hadn’t been right, and there was a code between friends. He couldn’t date his best friends little sister. No matter what.
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For five years, Marissa has managed to avoid Nick, but there will be no way to avoid him at her brother’s wedding at Castle Mountain Lodge, the most romantic location in the Rockies. Especially since Nick’s the best man, and she’s agreed to be the maid of honor. She has no reason to be nervous, after all, she’s no longer the awkward, uncertain teenager she once was. Besides, what she felt for Nick was only a childhood crush.
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Things have changed.
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Haven’t they?
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A sweet contemporary romance
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Author’s note: While Promised Gifts can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone novel, check out the rest of the Castle Mountain Lodge Series for more mountain romance!
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Unexpected Gifts—(Colin & Andi)
Hidden Gifts—(Bo & Morgan)
Mistaken Gifts—(Jeff & Eva)
Secret Gifts—(Gage & Megan)
Goodbye Gifts—(Dylan & Carmen)
Tempting Gifts—(Jason & Lisa)
Holiday Gifts—(Ryan & Julie)
Promised Gifts — (Nick & Marissa)
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Copyright © 2016 by Elena Aitken
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.
ISBN: 978-1-927968-54-3