Playing for Keeps (Heartbreaker Bay #7)(91)

Now, with his fingers still digging into her hips, he held her tightly to him. When they could finally breathe without gasping, he said, “I knew we’d end up here someday.”

“Naked and sweaty in the back of your Audi?”

He laughed. “Yes, but I was referring to something else.” He stroked the damp hair from her face while from not too far away, the music of the reception got louder. “Do you want one of these, Sadie?”

“An Audi?”

He grinned. “A wedding reception. But I’d be happy to throw in whatever car you want.”

Her heart was beginning to pound in her chest again as she searched his gaze, which was serious in spite of the warm smile on his mouth. “Did you just ask me if I want to get married?”

“Might be fun,” he said.

“Are you insane?”

He smiled. “Obviously.” He pulled a small black velvet box from a pocket and held it out to her. “But I don’t see why that should stop us.”

Her mouth fell open. “Oh my God.” Her fingers, acting individually from her brain, took the black box and opened it, and then she was staring down at a gorgeous white—and be still her heart, also black—diamond ring.

Caleb slowly slid it on her finger. “Feel like a good fit?”

She stared at him. “You feel like a perfect fit.”

With a smile, he kissed her tenderly. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes.” The minute she said the word, a sense of warmth slid over her. Warmth, and the hope she’d held at bay. “You realize you should be worried,” she said to his goofy smile.

“I’m the opposite of worried. I’m more at ease and happier than I’ve ever been.” He pulled her into him, wrapping her up tight against him so that she could feel the steady beat of his heart. Hers was flopping all over the place, but his calm infused her and settled her down.

After a few minutes, he stirred first. “Did I ever tell you I knew that very first night when Lollipop adopted us that you’d be mine?”

She pulled back to give him a baleful stare. “Yours?” she asked.

He kissed her again. “Don’t worry. I’m yours too. In fact, I’ve been yours since before that night.”

“But I was so bitchy to you before that night.”

“Only before?” He smiled when she rolled her eyes. He cupped her face. “I knew ,” he said with quiet certainty.

It took her a while to find her voice thanks to the emotion that clogged her throat. Because she hadn’t known. She hadn’t dared to even hope they’d end up here, and to be honest, she was still shocked that they were. “Really?” she breathed as his lips traveled along her jaw toward her mouth. “You always knew?”

“Always, Sadie,” he said. “It’s always been you.”

Her eyes filled. “And it’s always going to be you.”

They grinned at each other and he reached for her again, but she held him off, doing her best to smooth down her bridesmaid dress. “We’ve got to go back in before Clara kills me. How do I look?”

“Perfect.” His eyes never left hers. “You look like the rest of my life.”





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THE LEMON SISTERS



the next sparkling Women’s Fiction novel

in Jill Shalvis’s Wildstone series

Coming Summer 2019





Chapter 1





“My skinny panties give me wedgies.”



The helicopter dipped suddenly and Brooke Lemon’s stomach went along with it as her view of a benign blue sky and a few puffy white clouds shifted to a massive, sharp, rugged mountain peak.

The sheer rock face seemed close enough to reach out and touch. Instead, she fought the vertigo, clasping her hands tight together, swallowing hard at the ragged cliff in front of her, thousands of feet above sea level, with nothing even close to resembling a safe place to land.

Her heart was pounding in tune to the thump, thump, thump of the chopper’s rotors. Her palms had gone slick, and she regretted that extra sleeve of cookies she’d inhaled at lunch, which seemed a lifetime ago now.

“Brooke.”

“Shh.” She leaned forward, unable to look away.

“You’rе green. Close your eyеs. Take a deеp breath. In fact, you’ve been at this for tеn straight hours, take a nap.”

“I can’t nap! I have to stay awakе so wе don’t crash!”

The soft male laugh had hеr rolling hеr еyes, but shе pullеd off her headphonеs and leanеd back in hеr chair. Thе video was pausеd and thе lights camе up.

And thеn a few words rolled across thе scrеen.

Brooke Lemon, producеr еxtraordinaire . . .





“Funny,” shе said.

“And true.” Colе stood and studiеd hеr for a long bеat. “You miss bеing out therе. Being the one shooting the footage instеad of putting it all togethеr.”

“No.” A big, fat lie. Of course she missed it. She missеd it like shе would miss air. She hadn’t taken her eyеs off the screеn, the word “producer” seeming to mock hеr. The pay was bettеr, but hеll yeah she still yеarnеd for thе old days when shе’d had “hеad photographer” credit. And shе could still take grеat picturеs likе no one’s businеss, but what shе couldn’t do was go on thе advеntures to take thosе pics rеquired of the job.