As soon as she got her rioting emotions under control.
To do that, she needed to get to the ship.
She tried to take a step toward the front door, but her feet refused to move that direction. So, she turned toward the grand stairs. Sunlight streaming through the stained glass seemed to dance about, beckoning her upward.
Giving in, she hurried up, panic nipping at her heels. She found the hall on the second floor as empty and went to the door to Marguerite’s old suite, the room where she’d stayed the first time she’d come to the inn as a guest. Trying the knob, she found it locked. Of course it was locked. The inn was full and she couldn’t just walk into any room she wanted. She turned in a circle and her gaze went to the door onto the balcony. Sunlight and sea air washed over her the instant she stepped outside, but neither warmed her. Shivering, she moved to the rail, and stared past the cove to the far horizon—out toward the open water. Where all her dream waited.
The thought of giving them up filled her with a sense of loss and longing so keen, her vision blurred with tears. It was the right thing to do, though. For Adrian and Taylor. For the family.
“Jackie?” Adrian called from behind her. “What on earth...?”
“Oh, Adrian, I’m so sorry.” She covered her face with her hands. “Forget I ever suggested we move to St. Thomas.”
“What?” An incredulous laugh escaped before he pulled her into his arms. “What’s this all about?”
“What was I thinking?” She burrowed into his chest, into the warmth and comfort of his arms. “I can’t believe how selfish I was being. I can’t take you away from your sisters. They love you. And you love them.”
“Yes, on both counts. But—”
“And Taylor!” She sniffed. “He should go to school with his cousins, not have his mother drag him off to the Caribbean just so she can help recover a shipwreck.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s totally selfish on your part,” he said dead pan. “Let’s hope Taylor doesn’t call Child Protective Services to report the abuse.”
“I’m being serious.” She raised her head to glare at him through her tears.
“Actually, you’re being crazy. And, to be honest, all of this—” he moved his hand in a circle to indicate both her and her outburst “—doesn’t even sound like you. I’m not sure it is you.”
“What?”
“Right up until we stepped inside the inn, we were both excited about our plans.”
“Until I saw you with your sisters and stopped thinking about myself long enough to realize how this would effect everyone. Even Marguerite is unhappy.”
“Exactly.” He nodded.
“Then you feel it too?”
“No. But I know you, and all this isn’t you talking.” He loosened his arms so they looped about her hips. “Remember when I told you that sometimes I could feel things here at the inn? Emotions I knew weren’t my own? I think that may be what’s happening to you. All this panic, this suddenly not wanting to leave Pearl Island, is Marguerite.”
“It’s not! It’s seeing you with your sisters. It’s wondering if I’m doing what’s right for my son. It’s—”
He pressed a finger to her lips. “Wondering what was best for her daughter had to be one of the obstacles that kept Marguerite from following her heart. She wanted desperately to sail away with Jack Kingsley, but taking her daughter away from everything familiar to live aboard a ship or in some wild port town in the Caribbean seemed selfish.”
“I thought it was fear of being hurt that held her back.”
“Do any of us ever have one clear-cut reason for the choices we make? I bet Marguerite had many complicated reasons for her choices. That, however, was her life. This is ours. So, I want you to do me a favor?” He turned her toward the cove, then wrapped his arms around her from behind. “I want you to look down there and tell me what you see.”
“I see my ship.” The knot inside her chest loosened at the sight of the Pirate’s Pleasure moored at the dock. The carved rail that lined the decks gleamed with a fresh coat of red and yellow paint. The masts rose majestically toward the bright blue sky with the sails neatly furled, but she could picture those billowing with wind. How many times had Adrian smiled down at her from the rigging as he helped the crew? “I see our ship.”
“And...?” Adrian looked as well, and saw Taylor racing with his cousins around the quarterdeck. Lauren rode on Ti’s back as he galloped about and Nicole clapped her hands. Their excited shrieks and laughter drifted up on the breeze.
“The children.”
“Does Taylor look happy?”
“Oh yes.” Her body relaxed against him. “Scott and Chance are right. Their boys are going to be so jealous when they hear Taylor gets to go sailing rather than attend regular school. Still, your sisters—”
“Will be okay. Rory will pout the most, but she and Alli have really full and happy lives.” He turned Jackie to face him. “The next few years will fly by for all of us.”
“You’re right.” On a sigh, the tension drained from her face. “I just, you know, had a moment.”
“Yeah, you did.” Laughing, he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
She warped her arms around him and rested her cheek against his chest. “I love this place, and your family so much. I think I’m going to miss them as much as they’ll miss you.”
“Us. They’ll miss you too. But, it’s not forever. It’s just for a while.” He cupped her face so he could smile into her eyes. “Do you realize how lucky we are? We have the chance to live our lives exactly how we want. Even if running a windjammer is a lot of hard work, I wouldn’t trade the past ten years for anything.”
“True.” A sparkle of happiness returned to her eyes. “Sometimes, I think the hard work is half the fun.”
“That isn’t the only thing that’s fun when it’s hard.” He wiggled his brows suggestively.
“Adrian!” She pulled away.
He pulled her right back and stopped her protest by covering her mouth with his. A purr of pleasure sounded in her throat as she leaned into him, returning the kiss. He ran a hand down her back to fit her body to his. When she wiggled even closer, his pulse skipped toward arousal.
Remembering his family waiting downstairs, he broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. “I think we need to save this for later.”
“You’re right.” She sighed. “Dang it.”
He chuckled at her disappointment. “You know what else I think?”
“What?” She smiled up at him.
“I think we’re doing exactly what Jack and Marguerite should have done. If they hadn’t let all their fears hold them back, they could have sailed off to the Caribbean to live out their lives.”
“You’re right.” She raised a hand to the pearl pendent, and gasped in delight when it warmed in her palm.
“What?”
“I think Marguerite agrees.”
“Really?” His eyes widened. “Let me see.”
She opened her hand so he could take the pendent. Their gazes met.
“You know what this means?” He smiled.
“What?”
“We owe it to them to go for it.”
“You mean sail off to the Caribbean and live happily ever after? I don’t know.” She feigned a frown. “That’s a pretty big sacrifice to make for the family ghosts.”
“Well, for them. For Carl, who is counting on you. For my sisters who’ll insist we go when they realize it’s what we want. And, for us.”
“When you put it that way, how can we not?”
“Exactly.” He lowered his mouth to hers for another kiss, this one filled with more tenderness than heat. She returned it measure for measure. He pulled away long enough to smile into her eyes. “Let’s go live happily ever after.”
She wrapped her hand around his, so the both held the pendant. “For Marguerite and Captain Jack.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Read on for excerpts of Dear Cupid
and
Dear Cupid
Reaching the front door, she took a deep breath and rang the bell. Through the beveled glass, she saw someone come toward her and she pasted on a friendly smile. The door opened—and her stomach dropped to her feet at the sight of the blond man wearing a bright Hawaiian shirt. “Oh, my God!”
“We meet again.” The man from L.A. grinned. He didn’t seem the least surprised to see her, while her head spun with memories of her embarrassing behavior and her body heated with renewed attraction.
“What are you doing here?” she squeaked.
“I live here.”
“I— What— How—” she stammered. He looked every inch as attractive as before, except the shirt sported neon shades of turquoise and yellow rather than blue and red.
“I’m glad to see you too.” His grin grew as he lounged against the doorjamb. “Kate.”
At the sound of her name, her breath rushed out of her lungs. “How did you find me?”
“Quite easily, actually.” He pulled a card from his shirt pocket and handed it to her. “You dropped this in the airport.”
As she took the card, her scattered thoughts came together with a snap. He was Michael Cameron. Her first client. “No. There’s been some sort of mistake.”
He gave her a teasing frown. “You mean you’re not the woman who dropped her purse on my feet?”
“No! I mean, yes I am, but—” She pressed her fingertips to her forehead. “Look, I apologize if I gave you the wrong impression. I’m usually not so ...” The word “loose” came to mind, but she swallowed it down. “Forward. Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
Panic kicked Mike into action the instant she turned to leave. “Wait a second.” He leapt forward to block her way up the drive. “Where are you going?”
“I told you, there’s been a mistake,” She glared at him with the same green eyes that had teased him in L.A. “I’m not, you know ... for hire.”
“What?” He frowned in confusion, then laughed. “I don’t want to hire you for that.” She looked relieved but still nervous, and he sighed. “Why don’t you come inside so we can talk?”
“I don’t think so.” She glanced toward her car.
“I promise, it’s perfectly safe,” he insisted. “And my job offer is legitimate.” Well, perhaps offering her a job hadn’t been his initial reason for calling the number on the card. While talking with the owner of Wife for Hire, he’d simply decided that hiring Kate was the easiest way to get to know her. After the way she’d run from him in the airport, he feared she’d turn him down flat if he asked her for a date. As for the rest of his plan, the name of her friend’s business had inspired that. “If you’ll come inside, I’ll tell you what I have in mind.”
“No funny stuff?” She narrowed her eyes.
“Not even mildly amusing stuff. Besides,” he said, “your friend Linda knows you’re over here, right? I’d have to be pretty stupid to try anything.”
She mulled that over a moment, then nodded. “All right. I’ll give you five minutes.”
“After you.” He waved an arm for her to precede him into the house. The moment she crossed the threshold, he breathed a sigh of relief. Five minutes wasn’t long, but it was better than nothing. He just prayed his plan worked.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Continue on for an excerpt from Almost Perfect
Almost Perfect
Maddy managed to control her excitement during the paperwork. It broke free, though, as she and Joe left the gallery.
“Can you believe that?” she asked the minute they stepped outside. “She likes the pastels!”
“I like them too.”
“Really? You mean that?”
“I do.” He smiled at her as if suppressing laughter at her enthusiasm.
She didn’t care if he did laugh. “She took all of them on consignment! And she wants to see more. Oh my God!” She did a little dance as they crossed the parking lot.
Joe did laugh at that. “Congratulations.”
“My work is in a gallery. In Santa Fe!” She twirled about, making the skirt of her dress flare, then wrap around her legs. “And not just any gallery, but Images of the West. An art publishing house. I can’t believe this! I can’t wait to tell Christine and Amy. This is so great!”
They’d reached the truck and Joe hit the remote to unlock the doors. Maddy climbed into the passenger seat as he slipped behind the wheel.
“Oh, Joe.” She crossed her hands over her heart and sighed. “This means so much to me. I can’t even tell you. Why didn’t you tell me this was a publishing house?”
“If I had, would you have gone in?”
“No way!” She laughed.
“Exactly. I picked this place because it looks so unassuming, I knew you wouldn’t chicken out.”
“You didn’t expect her to take me on, did you?”
“I knew it was a long shot—but you know what they say: Start at the top. And damn, Maddy, you nailed it.”
“I did.” Her body sagged as realization hit her. “Holy cow, I really did.” She looked at him, overcome, then threw her arms about his neck. “Thank you!”
He returned the hug without thinking. Then the feel of her in his arms slammed into his senses on one blinding wave. He closed his eyes as the impact sucked him under. Desire delivered a second blow, sending him into a roll.
Before he knew how it had happened, his hands were in her hair and his mouth was on hers. The taste of her made joy flood his veins. Her name beat in time with the pounding of his heart. After years of starving for her, he was holding Maddy, kissing Maddy.
He tipped his head and deepened the contact, thrilling to the feel of her kissing him back the way she always had—with an eagerness to match his own. His whole body came alive as their mouths opened and mated. He wanted to lift her over the gearshift and onto his lap, slip his hands under her dress and feel her warm skin. She moaned again, and arched toward him as if wanting the same thing.
Maddy! His heart sang. He was kissing Maddy!
Good God!
His brain kicked in and his body froze.
He was kissing Maddy!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
About the Author
Most authors will tell you they grew up reading and started writing because they loved books. Not Julie Ortolon. Born with dyslexia, she didn’t even learn how to read until her early twenties when she discovered romance novels were worth the effort. Not until she discovered that computers have spellcheck, however, was she able to turn her favorite hobby—daydreaming romantic stories—into a career. Having her first novel hit the USA Today bestseller list was a dream come true.
Since then, Julie’s novels have won many awards, including two Bookseller’s Best Awards, and a Bookbuyers Best. Almost Perfect, book one of the Perfect trilogy, was a finalist in Romance Writer’s of America’s prestigious Rita Awards and was picked as Best Single-Title Contemporary of the Year by the readers of Affaire de Coeur Magazine.
You can learn more about Julie, sign up for her newsletter, or send her an email at her Website (http://JulieOrtolon.com/). She loves to hear from readers and always answers email.
Table of Contents
Return to Pearl Island, Part One: Chance and Rory
Return to Pearl Island, Part Two: Scott and Allison
Return to Pearl Island, Part Three: Adrian and Jackie
Excerpt from Dear Cupid
Excerpt from Almost Perfect, book one of the Perfect trilogy
Author Bio
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