The Lost Groom by Taylor Hart is now Available!
Not only do I enjoy writing clean romance, but I love reading it too. It gives me great pleasure to recommend books that are well-written and entertaining.
My good friend Taylor Hart has a new book out. I beta read this one and loved it. I know you will too!
Luke Freestone ventured out on his boat to celebrate the deal of a lifetime, never expecting to run into the ex-girlfriend--the woman who had eloped with his best friend ten years ago. After apologizing for missing her husband’s funeral, she slaps him, and he kisses her -- revealing the sparks he'd long since hidden.
Savannah Loveless, matchmaker extraordinaire, ventured back to Park City to visit her family and save enough money to get to California. There was no room in her fresh start to deal with Luke Freestone or the secret she’d kept for ten years. As far as she was concerned, the past could just stay in the past.
But Luke wants closure, so she agrees to help him find a wife--she is a match maker after all and if she can't find a match for someone she loves--used to love--then she might as well walk away from the business. However, the more time she spends with Luke the harder it is to tell if the feelings she’s having are from the past…or from right now.
As things heat up, they have a choice to make—stay lost because of the past or let love find them once and for all.
Read more HERE
Excerpt:
My good friend Taylor Hart has a new book out. I beta read this one and loved it. I know you will too!
Luke Freestone ventured out on his boat to celebrate the deal of a lifetime, never expecting to run into the ex-girlfriend--the woman who had eloped with his best friend ten years ago. After apologizing for missing her husband’s funeral, she slaps him, and he kisses her -- revealing the sparks he'd long since hidden.
Savannah Loveless, matchmaker extraordinaire, ventured back to Park City to visit her family and save enough money to get to California. There was no room in her fresh start to deal with Luke Freestone or the secret she’d kept for ten years. As far as she was concerned, the past could just stay in the past.
But Luke wants closure, so she agrees to help him find a wife--she is a match maker after all and if she can't find a match for someone she loves--used to love--then she might as well walk away from the business. However, the more time she spends with Luke the harder it is to tell if the feelings she’s having are from the past…or from right now.
As things heat up, they have a choice to make—stay lost because of the past or let love find them once and for all.
Read more HERE
Excerpt:
The lake was like a good woman, Luke thought, captaining his
way across Jordanelle Reservoir right outside of Park City, Utah. Soft and easy
when she wanted to be, or treacherous and uncooperative if she felt like it.
Leaning back, he sucked in a long breath and grinned—today she was smooth and
easy.
Checking his phone, he saw there were no messages from his
brothers, who were late. Where were they? It was time to celebrate. He was a
day away from getting them the deal of their lives, a deal that would make him
a billionaire and his brothers millionaires.
Grinning, he thought of the luck he’d had two weeks ago when
Nathan Pennington, who’d recently married a girl from Midway, Utah, and
relocated, walked into his office. Nathan wanted Luke to broker a project, and
asked that he and his brothers’ company develop and build it. Bam! Just like
that.
Tomorrow he would meet with all the power players and hash
it all out.
Fate had smiled down on him. His mother would say it was
God. After she was taken by cancer when he was twelve, he hadn’t decided if he
believed in God or not.
Today, he put his water bottle up to the wind. “Okay, Mom,
today I’ll let you win the argument. God exists. If I get this deal, I’ll
believe He exists forever.” It was something he did, talk to his mother. She
was the only woman he really talked to about everything.
A face flashed into his mind. Savannah’s face.
“Fine, Mom, I used to talk to Savannah, but that was ten
years ago, okay? We’ve talked about this. I … she married Sean.”
He thought of being a little kid again, when he, Sean, and
Savannah all lived next door to each other and had been best friends. Luke’s
throat closed up with all the memories of Sean. It’d been a year today since
he’d died.
He blinked and shook his head. Man, why was he thinking
about this? “I don’t need this today, Mom. I know I did things but she messed
it up.” He insisted in his imaginary conversation.
The memories continued. He discovered over the past ten
years since they’d betrayed him and gotten married that once the memories
started, he had to let them come up for a little bit before stuffing them back
down into deep storage … or else they would refuse to leave him alone. So he
saw them, all of them—in the tree house, jumping on trampolines in the
backyard. The laughing. The bike riding up in the mining shafts, which they
secretly hoped they’d get dropped into. They would yell their heads off and
savor the adrenaline rush.
Even this boat had been part of it. He thought about his
father bringing all of them out here when he was young, before his mother died.
If Luke had to come up with the perfect memory from his childhood, it was being
on the lake with his best friends. The smell of pine. The clear blue calm of
the lake. The laughter as they splashed, and Savannah’s reluctance to jump into
the lake until he and Sean mercilessly splashed her to the point of soaking.
Then everything had happened, and now that memory had a
weird, bitter, dream-like quality. In a rush, he was back to the present.
Sean’s face still lingered. Luke had almost gone to the
funeral, but he knew Savannah wouldn’t have wanted him to. Could he blame her?
Today was the anniversary of Sean’s death.
His phone buzzed. He shook his head to clear it, then
pressed answer on his ear bud. “Where are you lame-os?”
“Busy,” Nick said. “Damon got stuck doing an extra shift at
the firehouse and I’ve been pulled in on a case.”
“Seriously? I’m about to make us all a ton of money and you
can’t show up to celebrate properly? C’mon!”
“Dude, we have jobs.”
“And I don’t have a job?”
“Important jobs.”
The barb stung. Yes, this had been the way Nick and Damon
always got Luke’s goat. “Whatever.” He didn’t need this today.
Nick laughed. “Kidding.”
Luke scowled. Even if Nick had been kidding, it felt like he
had thrown a personal attack.
“You’ve been edgy lately,” Nick said. “Why don’t you invite
one of your women out?”
“I don’t have a woman.”
“Yeah, about that. What’s been going on with that lately?
Where’s Vanessa been?”
“We split six months ago.” Luke felt defensive.
“Oh, wow. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“It wasn’t a big deal.” Luke replied, not wanting to think
about Vanessa or how she’d sent a text to let him know it was over.
Nick laughed. “So that’s what’s made you so touchy.”
Luke reflected he hadn’t thought about her much at all,
hadn’t even thought to tell his brothers. “I’m not touchy.” But his tone
sounded defensive, even to him.
“O-kay.” Nick said quietly.
“And when was your last date?” Luke demanded.
Nick sputtered. “Hey, everyone knows I’m married to my job,
but you … I don’t know, it’s like you’ve been a little lost or something.”
“Lost? Lost? You think I’m lost? Did you not get the memo
explaining how this deal will put me in the billion-dollar club?” Luke’s mood
darkened. “I gotta go.”
“Wait.”
“What?”
“Tomorrow night, after your final meeting, we’ll meet for
pizza at Antonio’s.” Nick said it like a peace offering. “And we’ll celebrate
it’s done.”
Deciding not to let his brother’s sense of responsibility
ruin his day, he rolled his eyes. The gas was low, so he turned for the Marina.
“Fine. Bye.”
“We’ll buy your pizza.”
Luke grunted. “Yeah, you will.” He ended the call and
circled to the dock.
It wouldn’t do to be mad at his brothers. Nick was right on
some level—their jobs were pretty important, as far as saving people’s lives. A
cop and a fireman. He snorted. It made the life of an attorney look …
attorney-ish. But Nick was totally off about him being lost. So he hadn’t had a
woman on his arm in a while. So what? Truth be told, lately he hadn’t felt like
dating.
He wouldn’t call himself lost.
No.
Just … in limbo.
Waiting for something.
Or someone.
Maybe it was the fact Damon would be getting married in less
then a week and he and Samantha were so annoyingly happy together. He let out a
breath, feeling guilty for even being a little bit jealous.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy for Damon, he was. He was
just … he pushed away those feelings and focused on the deal.
The deal!!! Tomorrow he would become a billionaire! That was
huge! He shoved his bottle of water into the air. “It’s still a good day, Mom.”
Docking the boat, he killed the engine and grabbed the gas
can. He’d put a couple more gallons in and grab a sandwich from the snack shop,
then bask in his own awesomeness … all by himself. Trudging to the marina, he
was kind of bugged at how the day had gone. It was supposed to be spent with
his brothers.
Forget his brothers. He didn’t need anyone to celebrate
with. Frankly, he couldn’t wait to blast the music, lay in the sun, clear his
head. It was better he got today by himself anyway.
Opening the door to the marina, he went right to the treat
aisle. Usually, he didn’t like a bunch of junk, but he picked up his favorite
candy bar, a Snickers, and then went and grabbed a bag of popcorn. Pity food.
Redeeming himself he grabbed some Smartwater and a sandwich.
“Look, this wasn’t the deal,” someone said in a loud,
somehow familiar voice.
“Well, baby, your sister said you’d be a lot more fun of a
date. That was the deal for me.”
Luke frowned at the tone the guy was using. He quickened his
steps to the front of the cashier.
The woman said, “I’m here to interview you, sir, but I don’t
think I want to represent you.”
“Well, maybe I don’t want your stupid company to find me a
woman anyway.”
“Ouch! Let go of me!”
Luke turned the corner and froze. As if plucked from his
mind, the vision of Savannah stood right in front of him. Her red hair had been
long before, but now a short A-line framed her face; otherwise, she looked
exactly the same.
He blinked and swallowed.
“Let go!” All her focus was on the guy holding on to her
bicep and trying to pull her out the door.
It seemed like time had frozen and Luke couldn’t find any
words. He looked at the cashier, who picked up his phone, likely to call the
cops.
Then time lurched back into motion. The gas can and everything
in his other hand dropped and he moved forward. “Let her go.” His voice didn’t
sound like his own. In fact, it felt like he was having some kind of
out-of-body experience. A million questions fell through his mind. How was she
here? Was it really her?
Savannah and the guy holding her arm stopped short and
turned to him. “Luke?” Savannah sounded as dumbfounded as he felt.
Luke was more focused on the fact that someone was
manhandling her. The guy wore a tank top, was tanned and muscle-y, and had an
earring in his left ear. Luke scowled. “Get your hand off of her.”
“Luke?” Savannah asked again.
Luke was locked in eye contact with the idiot holding her.
The guy frowned and yanked his hand back. “Who are you? Some
old boyfriend?”
Luke felt his hands flex into fists. “You wanna find out?”
Savannah gathered her composure. Her hand shot out to Luke
as if to say stop. “Wait.” She turned to the guy. “Todd, you better just go.”
Todd frowned and jabbed a finger at her face. “I told your
sister I would take you out on the lake today as a favor.” He shrugged.
“I guess that didn’t work out.”
Luke hadn’t felt the need to clock someone since Tommy had
fought Damon last year. Now, all he wanted was to feel this guy’s face crunch
against his fist. “Walk away, man.” Luke thought of a thousand other ways he
could throttle him.
The guy glared at him, then backed up, grimacing at
Savannah. “I guess you have your next client right there.” He gave Savannah a
mocking wink.
The door dinged as the guy left and Luke swerved his gaze to
Savannah, expecting to find answers. He found her staring right back at him.
Her skin paled for a second, and then she inhaled a long breath. “What are you
doing here?”
“I …” All words fell from his mind like a deck of cards
thrown into the air. He couldn’t quite figure out what he should say. He
couldn’t even believe the woman he’d thought about only minutes ago was right
in front of him. “What are you doing here?” he managed to ask.
Savannah pursed her lips together and moved for the door, yanking
it back. “Leaving.”
It was ridiculous at this moment, but he noticed some fruity
scent that washed over him. She wore a red halter-top swimsuit with jean shorts
that flattered her curves, not to mention the high
lace-up-around-her-calf-muscle red shoes. She looked good. More than good. He
shook his head and followed her, forgetting why he’d come in the store, only
focused on this woman and getting answers. “Savannah,” he called out, picking
up his pace to match hers.
She ignored him, keeping her pace brisk. “Go away, Luke.”
Resisting the urge to do exactly what he’d gotten mad at the
previous guy for doing to her, he jogged a couple of steps and barred her path.
“Wait, please.”
She simply walked around him.
That’s when he caught the tears on her cheeks. There was no
way he would be letting her get away. “Wait.” He stumbled through one of his
old football juke moves to cut her off again.
“Stop.” She pulled herself short to avoid bumping into him
and wiped beneath her eyes.
Pain flashed through his heart. She was beautiful. She was
here. She was crying. It all felt surreal, like it was happening ten years ago.
All the desperation rushed to the surface, and then he thought of Sean. His
dead friend, Sean.
Her husband.
Her eyes met his, and it was like they were on the same
wavelength. As kids, Sean had teased that they could read each other’s
thoughts, and it had felt that way. They would say the same things at the same
time, or he could just tell when she was feeling something.
She squeezed her eyes closed and hung her head. “He’s gone,
Luke.” With a sharp intake of breath, her eyes snapped back up at him in
defiance. “And you didn’t even come to the funeral.”
This time the pain turned raw, and his own eyes misted with
emotion. Before he knew what he was doing, he reached out and pulled her into
him. She only offered a half-hearted shove, then leaned her head into his chest.
“Shh.” He held her close, thinking of how many times he’d
thought about doing this exact thing. He’d second-guessed himself so many times
about the funeral and wondered if he should have gone to Texas for it. Sean’s
parents had moved away from Park City after Sean and Savannah had gotten
married. Luke knew Savannah had buried him in Texas.
Another round of sobbing had her gripping his T-shirt more
tightly. “I still can’t believe it. Today it’s been a year, and sometimes it
feels like it just happened yesterday.”
Every part of him had been reduced to nothing. “I know.” All
of his happiness or plans or anything in his life he’d aspired to felt like a
big fat zero at this moment.
Abruptly, she pulled back from him. “I …” She shook her
head, disoriented. “I need to go.” She headed toward the parking lot.
Without her in his arms, the loneliness was freezing.
“Wait.” He couldn’t let her go. He had to talk with her. He needed her. It was
something that had always been at the edges of his thoughts—how different his
life would have been with her. He’d forced himself to let it go, to have a
different life. What choice did he have?
Now, out of the blue, she was here.
His head felt detached from his body. “No.” He walked
faster, maneuvering his way in front of her again. “Just wait.”
She stopped and stared up at him with those ice-blue eyes
he’d thought of on his last fishing trip to Alaska. When he’d looked at a
glacier for the first time, he’d thought of her. Man, he always thought of her.
“What are you doing back in Utah?”
She challenged his stare, though he could see in her eyes
that she was scrambling to remember. “I’m here for a few weeks to see my
parents and my sister. That’s all. Then I’m leaving.”
Of course. Yes. He always did polite conversation anytime
he’d seen them, but they didn’t really run in the same social circles, so
needless to say he never really saw her sister or parents. Savannah’s parents
hated him. He didn’t blame them, but her mother was especially vigilant in
snubbing him whenever she had the opportunity. “Oh.”
They continued to stare at each other.
“Savannah,” he said eventually, “I … I’m so sorry about
Sean.”
She bit her bottom lip and tears came to her eyes, just as
he remembered her doing growing up when she was nervous or frustrated.
Taking a chance, he reached out to take her hand, but the
tightness of her face told him not to touch her. He dropped his hand back to
his side. His heart hammered inside his chest like a caged bird. There was a
lump in his throat and his mouth was dry. “Can we go somewhere and talk?
Please?”
Something in her eyes changed, and all the emotion
evaporated. “Talk? You want to talk, Luke Freestone?” She barked out a laugh.
“Actually, it doesn’t surprise me you want to hear yourself speak. You sure
told Sean what you thought he should do with his life, didn’t you? Enlist.
Become a soldier. And now he’s dead.”
Her words stabbed at his heart like cold metal.
“No, Luke, I don’t want to talk.” Eyes wild, she
stomped away.
He went after her, unable to let her go. Ten years of this
had left him desperate and wild and crazed himself. “Just listen!”
Spinning around, she slapped him—hard enough to rock him to
his very core. “That’s for everything else.”
Not even reaching up to touch the pain on his cheek, he
watched her walk toward the parking lot. More like stalk to the parking lot.
Once again, he found himself running after her. No. No. No.
She didn’t get to do this. This time when he maneuvered in front of her, he
wasn’t afraid of the gleaming hatred in her face. She stopped, and they were in
a standoff again.
“I told him to enlist because he took you away from me.” The
words sounded juvenile and stupid in his brain, but they were the truth.
Exactly how he’d felt. How he still felt. “He took everything away from
me.”
She glared at him, tears in her eyes. “Newsflash, you dumped
me, remember?”
His heart pounded loud enough to drown out all reason, and
he did something he’d never done before without asking her—he cupped her face
in his hands and pressed his lips to hers.
At first she tensed, and when she tried to pull back, he
slipped an arm around her midsection and held her to him. More forcefully, she
pushed against his chest, but he held on, partly because he’d dreamed of doing
this the last ten years and partly because he was angry.
Then he felt her give, and at once, it was passion and glory
and the first time they’d kissed after the Sadie Hawkins dance a hundred years
ago when they were seventeen. He was lost, completely unaware of anything or
anyone except this moment.
When he let go, she pulled her hand back to slap him again,
but this time he caught her hand in midair.
She looked confused and flushed and beautiful. “How dare
you!”
The confusion on her face mirrored the confusion that had
struck him like a lighting rod to the heart. Quickly, he flashed her a smile.
The cocky, arrogant smile he used to cover any kind of uncertainty. “I figure
if I take a slap, I may as well do something to deserve it.”
Fury raged into her eyes. “I hate you, Luke Freestone!” She
rushed away from him.
Watching her go, he turned back to the marina muttering,
“Fine, Mom, is that what you wanted? To show me I always mess it up?”
Get it HERE!