Excerpt & Giveaway: Meet Me at the Beach by V K Sykes
Meet
Me at the Beach
Seashell Bay # 1
Seashell Bay # 1
By:
V.K. Sykes
Releasing
February 24th,
2015
Grand
Central / Forever
Blurb
YOU
CAN’T STOP A RISING TIDE
When
Lily Doyle spots her high school crush Aiden Flynn on the inbound
ferry, she knows trouble is about to dock in Seashell Bay. And not
just because he’s more handsome than ever. If Aiden’s in town,
the rumors must be true about his family’s plan to sell their
coastal land to the highest bidder. But Lily will do whatever it
takes to convince the hottest guy on the beach to protect their
idyllic island home.
Gorgeous
Lily Doyle was the only thing Aiden missed after he escaped from his
hometown to play pro baseball. Now all Aiden wants is to wrap up the
business deal and get back to his life, not relive a past that still
haunts him. But as memories rush in about the night of passion he and
Lily shared long ago, everything else washes right out to
sea-everything except the desire that still burns between them.
Excerpt
Aiden
turned to face the five-foot-zero, one-hundredpounds-dripping-wet
dynamo who had more or less run Seashell Bay for as long as he could
remember. Annie Letellier was an eighty-three-year-old member by
marriage of the Doyle clan. And Lily’s grandmother.
“Good
evening, Miss Annie,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to see you
looking so well.”
In
khaki pants and a starched blue shirt, Miss Annie propped her hands
on her hips and tilted her head back to glare up at him. “Don’t
you try to sweet-talk me, Aiden Flynn. Your brother is acting like a
pure horse’s ass.”
Bram
made a garbled sound of protest that Aiden silenced with a sharp
elbow.
“I’m
sorry,” Aiden said politely. “You know better than anyone that
Bram was pretty much born that way.”
There
were a few snickers from the peanut gallery, and Miss Annie let out a
delicate snort. “You’ve got that right, son.”
Aiden
knew Miss Annie was actually fond of Bram. She’d often babysat both
brothers when they were snotty little runts, despite their father’s
objections about a Doyle looking after his sons. Aiden’s mother had
ignored his protests, because Miss Annie was her dear friend. Like
most of the women in the Flynn and Doyle families, they steered clear
of the feud that was carried on by the damn fool men.
“Can
I buy you a drink?” he asked, trying to defuse the tension.
Miss
Annie’s gaze coasted over the crowd that watched with undisguised
anticipation. Then her eagle-eyed gaze snapped back to him. “I’ll
not be drinking with any Flynn until I get my answer.”
What
the hell? When had Miss Annie started playing Hatfields and McCoys?
“What answer would that be, ma’am?”
She
jabbed a gnarly finger at Aiden. “I asked that brother of yours why
your father was spreading rumors about the car ferry. That’s when
you barged in on us.”
“They’re
not rumors,” Bram interjected hotly.
Aiden
glared at his brother. “Shut. Up.” Then he turned back to Miss
Annie. “Exactly what rumors?”
“Sean’s
been claiming that the developer won’t buy his land unless the town
builds a car ferry dock. And he says if the Doyles convince people to
vote against it, there’ll be no development at all.”
“Well,
I think that’s the case. If the town won’t build the dock, the
developer isn’t interested in going ahead with the project.”
Aiden glanced over his shoulder at Bram. “Don’t people know that
already?”
When
the onlookers started jabbering at once, Aiden had his answer.
Miss
Annie sidestepped him to resume her rant at Bram. “It’s pure
blackmail, if you ask me. Why are you and your father in bed with
those greedy mainlanders? Shame on you, Bram Flynn!”
Bram
loomed over the old woman, looking furious. “You can’t talk to me
like that, Miss Annie. Not even you!”
Swallowing
a curse, Aiden figured he’d better pull Bram out of the bar before
Miss Annie started whacking him upside the head. He grabbed his
brother’s arm again just as the door opened and the deputy sheriff
strode in.
Deputy
Micah Lancaster, Aiden’s sworn rival in high school and just what
he didn’t need right now.
When
his idiot brother tried to push him out of the way so he could
continue arguing with Miss Annie, Aiden grabbed him by the shoulders
to manhandle him out the door. But then a slender, feminine figure
popped out of the crowd and gently eased Miss Annie away from Bram.
Sweet
Mother of God, it was Lily Doyle, up close and personal.
The
tumult around him faded as Aiden drank her in, starting at her
pretty, gold-painted toenails showcased by matching sparkly
flip-flops, and then traveling all the way up to her gorgeous face.
She was wearing a denim skirt short enough to show off a fair amount
of spectacular leg and a slim-fitting, sleeveless, white polo shirt
that showcased her tan. Her auburn hair fell in soft waves around her
shoulders, and her emerald eyes sparkled with amusement. Her
Irish-fair complexion seemed devoid of makeup, and he could see the
freckles tossed lightly across the bridge of her nose and cheeks.
Yeah, he remembered kissing those freckles, and that luscious mouth
too. Lily was the embodiment of a sweet, all-American girl—a girl
who was as smart as a whip and a lobster boat captain who held her
own in a rugged man’s world. Not to mention she was also the
island’s reigning darts champion, which definitely meant something
in Seashell Bay.
She
was one hell of a sexy package, and she rocked Aiden right back on
his heels. A quizzical look pulled Lily’s eyebrows together and
made him realize he was gaping at her.
Author
Info
V.K.
Sykes is really two people – Vanessa Kelly and Randy Sykes, a
husband and wife team who write USA Today Bestselling contemporary
romance and also romantic suspense. Randy excels at plot and
characterization, but tends to fall down on the job when it comes to
that pesky old thing called emotion. That’s where Vanessa steps in.
She usually writes the sex scenes too, since Randy is a bit
uncomfortable when it comes to that sort of stuff. Vanessa also
writes award-winning Regency-set historical romance for Kensington
Zebra under her own name. You can check out Vanessa’s bestselling
historical romances at www.vanessakellyauthor.com
Author
Links
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