Seduction on the Sand (The Billionaires of Barefoot Bay #2)(46)

“Partner?” he asked.

“Not only that,” she said with a smile, lifting her hand to slide on a baseball cap with a stylized N.

“I qualify to play on your team.”

He reached to hug her, but Nate gave his shoulder a slam. “No kissing. We gotta win this game.”

“He hates to lose,” Elliott told her. “So we’ll kiss later.”

“Damn right we will, Becker.”

“Frankie! You did it!” A beautiful young woman sidled up to Frankie, her arms outstretched. “I’m so happy for you!”

Frankie hugged her, laughing. “Thanks for breaking the rules, Liza.” She turned to Elliott. “You remember Liza Lemanski, the great unraveler of red tape.”

In a flash, Nate was next to him, his focus on the beautiful blue-eyed brunette. “I like a woman who can unravel.”

Liza didn’t giggle or flush or toss her hair like most women when Nate Ivory zeroed in on them.

Instead, she pinned him with a dead-serious look. “Good,” she said. “Because I’ve come to do a little unraveling.”

Elliott looked skyward and finally got his arm around Frankie, pulling her into him and taking her down to the beach. “What changed your mind?” he whispered when they were finally alone on the sand.

“Nonno.”

“You think he would have liked the idea?”

“I know he does.” She smiled up at him. “He told me.”



“He did?” Elliott raised his brows. “What else did he say?”

She turned, the sunset behind her a golden glow, her dark hair falling over one eye under the ball cap, her smile lit up from deep in her heart. “You’re the real deal.”

He let out a sigh and pulled her into his chest. “I been trying to tell you that.”

“I had to figure it out for myself.” She kissed him long and hard, and rested her head on his shoulder. “You really want to be a goatherd, Becker?”

“You really want to spend your life with a billionaire, Francesca?”

She smiled up at him. “Yeah. Come on, let’s play.”

Arm in arm, they walked together toward home base.

Coming Soon...

One more negative headline will cost Nate Ivory everything, so he’s made a vow to stay out of trouble, no matter how difficult that can be for “Naughty Nate.” But Liza Lemanski has some news that’s not only scandalous...it is about to rock his entire world. Turn the page for an excerpt of SCANDAL ON THE SAND, the third novella in the Billionaires of Barefoot Bay trilogy.

And did you miss...

SECRETS ON THE SAND, the first novella in the Billionaires of Barefoot Bay trilogy?

Get Secrets on the Sand here!



Excerpt of Scandal on the Sand

It was the eyes. As soon as Nate caught a glimpse of the arresting color, somehow both impossibly ocean blue and bottle green, he had to talk to the woman who’d approached the platform, listening carefully as she was introduced to one of his friends.

“You remember Liza Lemanski, the great unraveler of red tape.”

Nate didn’t waste a nanosecond getting closer. “I like a woman who can unravel.”

“Good.” Her turquoise gaze held no hint of playfulness. “Because I’ve come to do a little unraveling.”

His friend made some kind of parting jab, reminding Nate that he was up third in the exhibition softball game that was about to start, but Nate’s focus was on the woman in front of him. “So, who’s getting unraveled, blue eyes?” he asked.

“You.”

Nice. “And I like a woman who doesn’t mess around.”

“That’s not what I hear.” She still wasn’t smiling, making him wonder if the comment was a flirt or not. “We need to talk, Nate.”

That would be... not. Did he know her and forget those gorgeous eyes? Anything was possible, of course. With him, everything was possible. Or used to be.

How long would his past mistakes haunt him? Was he about to get an earful of how he’d made promises he’d never kept or taken phone numbers he’d never used or...worse? It could always be worse. Instantly, he felt his protective privacy walls rise like titanium barriers as he automatically reached for the sunglasses in his pocket.

“Sure, sure, let’s talk after the game.” Slipping them on, he took all the humor out of his tone and a step in the other direction.

She came with him. “Let’s talk now.”

“It’ll only be three innings and then we’re having cocktails on my yacht. We can unravel anything you want, blue eyes.” He lifted his hand in a half-hearted wave goodbye.

“Now.” No room for argument with that single syllable.

Damn. He glanced around the large deck where he had just finished the press conference announcing the plan to launch a minor-league baseball team in Barefoot Bay. No one came to his rescue. The media and his business partners were already headed toward the beach for the exhibition softball game they’d put together to cap off the event. “I can’t now. I’m batting cleanup.”

“Yes, you are. Right this minute. With me.”

Pushy little thing, wasn’t she? Protected by reflective lenses, he let his gaze drift over her, taking his time on the generous cleavage that peeked out of a V-neck T-shirt and the nice curves under her jeans. She couldn’t be five-four and a hundred and ten soaking wet.