Rugged(94)

“Funny you mention Charlotte. She consulted me on this.” He grins.

“Well, now I’m dying to know.” I try to guess. “We’re going to Atlantic City. No, Hartford. No, Utah.”

“Your sense of direction is terrible. We’ve been heading straight east,” Flint laughs. “All right, it’s the ocean. You don’t spend much time by the Atlantic. I wondered what you’d think of it,” he says. I lean my head back against the headrest and smile.

“I get the feeling I’ll love it.” I love most things these days. Sunshine. Trees. Adorable babies. Quarterly taxes. All right, maybe not the last one.

Soon, we’re driving down the highway with the ocean to our right, and I’m gazing out at the most beautiful, crisp blue water imaginable. The California coast is steep and mountainous, very grand and majestic, but this coast is full of white sand and wispy sea grass, crooked wooden fences and docks leading out onto the water. It feels gentler, more like home would.

“It’s beautiful,” I say, breathing in the salt air.

“Good. I want your opinion on something.” Flint signals right, and we turn off the highway onto a long, beachy stretch of land. We park the truck near the edge of a rocky ledge, which looks out at the ocean. After we get out, we walk to the drop point, hand in hand, and I see it’s not too far down to the beach. God, what a view.

“Did you get a contract to build here?” I ask.

“I got the land. Construction starts in a month. Should take no time at all.” He pulls me against him and kisses me. Even with the chilly ocean air, I’m instantly warm.

“Who’s the lucky owner?” I smile.

“You, as a matter of fact. And me.” He looks out over the astonishing view. “We’ve got your place in LA, my place in Northampton. I figured this could be our getaway, a vacation from everything. What do you think? Is it okay?”

I’m not the bursting into happy fits of tears type of person, but I am the ‘need a moment to collect myself so I don’t make a sobbing, squeaky noise’ type.

“I think you’ve got yourself a fellow vacationer.” I throw my arms around Flint and attack his mouth with mine, trailing one naughty hand down the front of his pants.

“Easy, there,” he says, breathless as we break apart. “I’m adventurous, but I’m not sure I want to take off my clothes and christen the new place just yet.”

I’m almost tempted to change his mind, but…no. Too many perverted seagulls around.

“Soon though,” he says, kissing me again. “We don’t have to rush. I think we’ve got a while,” he whispers in my ear.

“A long while,” I say. Maybe forever?

Yeah.

Forever sounds good.



THE END.



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It's been a year since I first published The Billionaire Bargain, practically on a lark. It's been an unexpectedly satisfying and creative period for me.



Thank you Roxy Sloane for your friendship and encouraging me on this path.



Thank you Rose, Liz C, Donna, Jennifer, Shely, Peggy Lee, Amanda, Cat, and so many more who show enthusiasm for my work and share their enthusiasm with the reading community and me.



Thank you blogs, big and small, for giving me a platform to connect with readers. In particular these blogs who have allowed me to "take over" their pages and whose cheerleading is seemingly endless: The Bookalicious Babes Blog, The Literary Gossip, Dirty Laundry Review, Afterdark Book Lovers, and Obsessed With MyShelf.



Much appreciation to Cynthia Y., contractor extraordinaire and femme fatale in a tool belt. I know you'll never look at a torque wrench the same again.



Keep reading for a sneak peak of a new release by Bella Cruise!





TASTY by Bella Cruise

A sexy stand-alone novel from Bella Cruise.

She wants a taste - but he’s off-limits. Cupcake queen Jules Rockwell has sworn off men. All men. Because heartbreak is a bitch. But when sexy chef Cal McKenzie shows up in town - with a soft as butter Scottish accent and abs you could like frosting off - she wonders if maybe a no-strings fling is exactly what she needs.

Then she finds out the truth: he’s opening up his own rival bakery, right down the street from her store. Her sexy fling is now her #1 competition - and Jules never backs down from a fight.

Cal McKenzie doesn’t play by the rules. His sex appeal and chocolate eclairs are a deadly combination, and he’s got his eye on worldwide pastry domination - but he didn’t reckon on Jules. Full of wit and spice, she's more than just a sexy hook-up. But as their chemistry heats up, so does their rivalry. With her heart and her career on the line, Jules isn't sure she can risk it all again.

She’s been burned before. Will this fling satisfy both their cravings?





Chapter One


My grandmother always said, “Men are like cupcakes. You have to lick a lot of icing to find one worth finishing off.” I think Grams knew plenty about variety (the spice of life!) but f*ck-all about love. She was especially no help when it came to staying in a relationship. She had six husbands, and was engaged to be married to a seventh when she passed away at the ripe old age of ninety-two. God bless her. I got her recipe cards and first edition Joy of Cooking when she died. But I have to admit, sometimes I wish she’d passed down the secret of real, honest-to-goodness love, too. Maybe if she had, I wouldn’t be leaning over my laptop on a slow day at my bakery, trying to come up with a dirty metaphor for buttercream.