Then He Kissed Me
Whispering Bay # 2
By: Maria Geraci
Releasing May 19, 2015
TKA Distribution
Then He Kissed Me
Whispering Bay Series
Lauren Donalan was once Whispering Bay’s golden girl—the rich, bubbly blonde cheerleader who married the high school football star. When her mediocre marriage falls apart, she returns home and starts a vintage clothing business, determined to prove she’s more than just a pretty face with a trust fund.
Nate Miller may have been a nerd in high school, but now he has a beautiful girlfriend and is set to take over Doc Morrison’s medical practice. Still, the good folks of Whispering Bay find his no-nonsense approach more than a little unsettling, leaving his future in town a great big question mark. And things go even further downhill when his well-intentioned marriage proposal goes awry.
Lauren doesn’t need a man to complete her, yet when she finds herself set up on a date with Nate, she can’t help but notice how sexy and confident he is. In fact, every time the former introvert kisses her, she sees fireworks. But, only a big love will make Lauren change her mind about commitment. As Nate attempts to win Lauren over, a real estate co-op threatens Lauren’s business—and Nate’s ex still has a thing or two to say about their previous relationship. Now Lauren has to decide to go big or go home, in business, as well as in love.
Nate
parked his car in front of Can Buy Me Love. It was almost
seven-thirty. Officially, the shop closed over an hour ago, but there
were still lights on in the store. There was also a black pickup
truck parked along the side of the shop. He recognized that truck. It
belonged to Tom Donalan.
His
gut clenched. An odd reaction, really. Lauren and her ex had a
friendly relationship. There was no reason Tom shouldn’t be here.
But, there was no reason he should
be here, either.
He
glanced at the single long stemmed red rose and the take out basket
from The Harbor House lying on the passenger seat of his car. He’d
ordered the same thing they’d had on their date—the salmon with
the house vegetables for her, and a surf and turf for him. He’d
also bought a bottle of the Pinot Noir, along with two big slabs of
cheesecake. He told the hostess the take out was for a special
occasion and she’d presented him with a wicker basket, complete
with top of the line disposable plates, silver ware, tablecloth and
even candles.
He
could keep it all in the car. He could walk into the shop and act
causal like he’d just stopped by to say hello. And if for some
reason things didn’t seem…right, he wouldn’t make an ass of
himself.
But
his gut kept telling him that Lanie was wrong. Lauren wouldn’t lie
to him. Of course, his gut had also told him that proposing to
Jessica was a good thing. But Lauren wasn’t Jessica.
The
hell with it. He scooped up the rose and the basket of food. As long
as there wasn’t someone around taping him for the benefit of
YouTube, he could survive whatever happened tonight.
He
opened the shop door. A bell above the entrance chimed. Laughter,
hers, mixed with a
deeper, masculine laugh, drifted from somewhere in the back of the
store. His ears began to buzz. He gripped the rose a little too
tightly, causing a thorn to nick his finger.
“Sorry!
We’re closed!” he heard Lauren shout. She walked out to the front
of the shop with a grin on her face and her cheeks flushed. She had
on a dress he’d seen her wear to work before, a short sleeved blue
thing that brought out the color of her eyes. But she had on flip
flops and her hair was pulled back in a headband, like she’d
dressed down to do physical work. There was a smudge of dirt on her
nose. She startled when she saw him. “Nate. What are you doing
here?”
“I
came to bring you dinner. And this.” He thrust the flower at her.
“Happy birthday.”
“Oh!”
She glanced inside the basket. “You brought all this for me? This
is incredible.”
She noticed the blood on his finger and grabbed a Kleenex from a box
she kept on the check-out counter, then pressed it against his finger
to staunch the trickle. She looked surprised, but happy. Nate had a
sudden urge to pick her up, lay her across the counter and—
“Hi,
Nate,” Henry said cheerfully. He and Tom came walking out of the
back storeroom. Both of them had dust in their hair, like they’d
been working, too. Henry took in the rose and the basket and his face
went blank.
Tom
shook his hand. “Hey, man. Good to see you.” Tom’s gaze was
more discreet than his son’s, but he, too, was checking out the
situation with the flower and the food.
Lauren
glanced between all three males, and smiled. “Tom and Henry came by
with some balloons for my birthday,” she explained to Nate.
“Unfortunately for them, I roped them into moving some stuff out of
the storeroom.”
“We
wanted to take her out for dinner, but Mom says she has too much work
to do to eat,” Henry said. It was subtly put, but a message,
nonetheless.
Lauren
put her arm around her son’s shoulder. “This guy already
surprised me this morning with breakfast. Pancakes, bacon, eggs,
fresh squeezed orange juice. All my favorites.”
“Ah.
Very nice,” Nate said.
“Do
you need me to walk Hector tomorrow morning?” Henry asked. “Because
I can if you do. I just need to do it early, on account of Dad and me
going fishing.”
“As
a matter of fact, I have Hector covered for the morning, so, no
worries.”
“Okay,
cool,” Henry said, his tone neither friendly nor unfriendly. He
pointed to the wicker basket. “What’s in there?”
“Just
some seafood. And cheesecake,” Nate said.
“Mom
likes key-lime pie better than cheesecake,” Henry said.
Lauren
and Tom exchanged a look. She gave Tom some kind of unspoken signal
with her eyebrows. He hesitated a moment, then went into action.
“Hey, son, why don’t we go grab that pizza we talked about and
let your mom get back to work?”
“On
her birthday?” Henry said.
Lauren
hugged her son. “Oh, baby, you’ve already done so much. And I
love my balloons. Go on with your dad. Remember, we’re officially
celebrating tomorrow with dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s.”
“Okay,”
Henry said reluctantly. “But don’t forget to bring your balloons
home.”
“I
won’t,” Lauren promised.
Henry
gave Nate a parting look that said the jury was still out on whether
or not he approved of them. Lauren waited till they were out the
door, then she locked it and flipped the sign to read CLOSED.
She
walked over and reached up to kiss him on the cheek. “I love my son
to pieces, but I thought they’d never leave.”
“So,
it’s okay that I came by? Or, should I leave, too?” Just because
she seemed happy to see him didn’t mean she wanted him to stay. He
knew how important this maternity clothing line was to her and how
much work she’d already put into it. Her display at the Spring
Into Summer
festival could be a big opportunity for her.
“Okay?
Let’s see,” she teased, “You just brought me a rose and dinner.
Yeah, I’d say that’s okay.”
“What
about Henry? I didn’t think you wanted him to know about us.”
“I
don’t think he’ll have to go to therapy just because you came by
with dinner. And a little break right now isn’t going to kill me.”
“I
could stay and help,” he offered. “Think of it as my present to
you.”
“My
present, huh?” She glanced at the locked door and Nate could have
sworn her cheeks went pink. “As a matter of fact, I was lying in
bed last night thinking of another present
you could give me.
But, you’ve already brought me so much. Dinner and a rose. I don’t
want you to think I’m being too…greedy.”
Flushed
skin, bright eyes, and a huskiness in her voice that hadn’t been
there before. All three signs added up to only one logical
conclusion. Lauren
wanted him.
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