Blurb:
Isabella
Colby has always yearned for normalcy. Now that she’s settled in LA, she
finally has it. Good friends, a pretty home, and her thriving career as the
Palisades’ top skincare specialist are a dream come true. Bella is content
until she meets her hunky new neighbor, but her attraction to the blue-eyed
cutie is the least of her worries when contacting her long-lost father
threatens to destroy her happy life.
Reed
McKinley is more than ready to forget the past. His seven-year stint as an NYPD
detective nearly got him killed. His wounds have healed and he’s starting over
as Ethan Cooke Security’s latest recruit. With sixty-hour workweeks and little
time to himself, the last thing on his mind is a relationship. Then he bumps
into the gorgeous woman next door.
Reed
and Bella become fast friends. Before long, Reed discovers that Bella is
keeping dangerous secrets. Bella may have the answers to decades-old questions
he’s been searching for. Reed will risk it all to uncover the truth, but he
soon realizes that the deeper he digs, the direr the consequences.
*NOTE:
While reading the series in order is recommended, it is not necessary. Each
story is a stand alone title featuring new primary characters with limited
overlapping secondary characters.*
Excerpt:
Bella
drew a heart on the back of a pale pink envelope while she sat at the small
table tucked in the corner of her room. Smiling, she set down her lilac crayon,
pleased that the shape of this heart hardly looked wobbly at all. She studied the
assortment of stickers Mommy had given her to decorate her invitations with and
picked the glittery fuchsia ones for the corners. Locking her ankles, she
kicked her legs back and forth and hummed along with the music on the CD
player, trying to ignore her parents shouting in the living room. “Here is my
handle, here is my spout,” she muttered, sealing the envelope closed with a
puffy star sticker. “Tip me over and pour me out.”
The
yelling suddenly stopped, and footsteps stormed down the hall. Bella jumped
when Mommy and Daddy’s bedroom door slammed shut. Pausing, she listened to the
quiet, then picked up the next envelope and smiled again when she recognized
the letter ‘M.’ “Mary Rose.” She snatched up the sheet of silly smiley faces
and put one right below Mommy’s pretty handwriting, certain her best friend
would love it.
“Bella
Boop,” Daddy called, giving a quick knock on her door.
“I’m
in here.”
The
knob turned and Daddy walked in dressed in jeans and one of the grease smeared
white T-shirts he always wore to work.
Bella
picked up a sky-blue crayon. She paused as she met Daddy’s gaze and realized
his brown eyes were red, the way hers looked when she scraped her knees or got
shots at the doctor’s office and cried. “Are you and Mommy mad at each other?”
Daddy
sat on the bed, wrinkling her Hello Kitty comforter with his weight. “No. We’re
not mad at each other.”
“Mommy
yelled at you. Did you leave the toilet seat up again?” She frowned,
remembering the cold water she’d fallen into the other morning. “I don’t want
my tushy to get wet again when I sit down.”
He
closed his eyes as he laughed, but it wasn’t his regular laugh that always made
her giggle.
“No,
I didn’t leave the seat up.”
“Good,”
she said with a decisive nod and got back to work.
“What
are you doing in here?” he asked.
“Coloring
my invitations. Mommy said we can bring them with us to school in the morning.
Everybody gets to have one—even the boys—so we don’t hurt anyone’s feelings.”
“That’s
my girl.” He winked.
She
handed over one of the envelopes in her finished pile for Daddy to admire.
“This one is for Clara. See how it has a letter ‘C’? That’s how I know.”
“What’s
this?” Daddy pointed to the next letter in Clara’s name.
“An
‘L.’”
“Smarty-pants.”
She
grinned, always loving it when he called her that. “Clara’s going to be five
too. Her mommy’s bringing brownies to school next week when it’s her
birthday—just like you brought in the cupcakes for me to share yesterday.
Everyone liked them. Pink frosting is the best kind.”
“With
purple sprinkles, right?”
“Right.”
She took the invitation back and continued decorating Mary Rose’s.
“I
can’t believe my girl’s almost five. You’re not a baby anymore.”
“I’m
a beautiful young lady now, right?”
He
sighed. “Somehow you are. Not all that long ago, I was rocking you to sleep.”
“Beautiful
young ladies have pierced ears and paint their nails.” She beamed at him,
thrilled that she had both after a trip to the mall and a visit to the nail
painter woman Mommy knew. “And young ladies go to kindergarten when the leaves
fall off the trees, right after the summer is over.”
“I
guess they do.” He blew out another breath. “Will you come sit with me for a
couple of minutes?”
She
hesitated as she glanced from the stickers to Daddy’s sad eyes. “Okay.”
He
grabbed her under the armpits of her favorite Hello Kitty pajamas and boosted
her up, settling her on his thigh. “Here we go.” He wrapped his arms around her
and hugged her tight.
She
returned his embrace, breathing in the familiar oil smell of the garage where
he fixed cars. “Is your tummy sick?”
“No,
baby.” He played his hand through the curls Mommy had made at the end of her
long ponytail this morning.
“Did
you get a boo-boo at work?” She picked up his stained black fingers, checking
for a cut.
“No,
honey.” He clenched his jaw. “I have to go on a trip.”
She
gasped her excitement and clapped. Daddy always took her on the best
adventures. “Can I come?”
He
shook his head. “Not this time.”
“We
could get ice cream at the Dairy Stop,” she said in a singsong voice, hoping
that would convince him to change his mind.
“I
wish we could, Bella. I have to go on this trip by myself.”
She
pressed her cheek to his chest. “I don’t want you to go unless I get to come
too. I always come too, Daddy.”
His
fingers moved through her hair again. “I know.”
“You
can stay right here with me.” She leaned forward and picked up her favorite
book from the pile on the nightstand. “We can read instead.”
He
nuzzled his chin on top of her head, keeping her close.
She
clung to him as her stomach started to hurt. Daddy never went away. He and
Mommy always read her books together and took turns bringing her to school
after breakfast. “Will you come back soon?”
He
shook his head. “Not for a long time. Not till you’re an even bigger young
lady.”
Her
lips trembled as her eyes filled. “But I’ll miss you so much.”
“I’ll
miss you too. I’ll think of you every day.”
“Daddy.”
She sniffled. “I want you to stay.”
“I
have something for you.” He grabbed something from behind his back she hadn’t
noticed when he walked in and held up a small snow globe.
She
took the delicate glass and studied the pretty two-story house surrounded by
pine trees in the center—much bigger than the home she lived in now. “It’s so
nice.”
“When
you look at it, you can think of me.”
“You’ll
live in there?”
He
looked at the ceiling as he swallowed. “Something like that.”
She
stared at the lights on in the cheerful home as the snow fell to the ground.
“Will you come out for my party in a couple of days and sing ‘Happy Birthday’?”
“I
can’t.”
Her
shoulders sagged. “But you can come out at night and read to me and tuck me in?”
He
shook his head.
Her
lips trembled again, and she blinked as tears fell.
“Don’t
cry, Bella.” He wiped her cheeks with his thumbs, like he always did. “If there
was any other way… If I could be sure you and your mom would be safe, I’d take
you with me.”
“We
could call the policemans. They’ll make us safe.”
“That’s
an idea.” He swiped another tear away. “How about I tuck you in and we’ll
read?”
She
nodded. “Can I sleep with this?” She gestured to the globe.
“How
about we put it right next to you on the table? I don’t want it to break and
cut you.”
“All
right.” She leaned over and set it next to her lamp. “There.”
Daddy
stood, lifting her with him, and pulled back her covers, then settled her in
bed. “Here we go.” He tucked the blankets around her and read the story she and
Mommy had picked out at the library.
She
giggled when the silly puppy got into mischief and yawned, struggling to keep
her eyes open as Daddy turned to the last page.
“The
end.”
“That’s
a good one.” She yawned again. “Maybe we can get a doggy like the girl in the
book.”
“Someday.”
“I
love doggies.”
“I
know you do.”
She
rubbed her tired eyes. “Let’s read it some more.”
“You
need to get some rest.” Daddy stood from his chair. “Snuggle up.”
She
rolled on her side and nestled her cheek on the pillow. “Night-night, Daddy. I
love you.”
“I
love you too.” He knelt down and hugged her tight, his breath shuddering in and
out next to her ear. “I love you, Bella.” Clearing his throat, he eased back
and smiled. “I love you.”
She
smiled too. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
He
shut his eyes, swallowing several times. “Okay.” Standing again, he turned off
her light. “Bye, baby.”
Author
Bio and Links:
International
bestselling author Cate Beauman is known for her full-length, action-packed
romantic suspense series, The Bodyguards of L.A. County. Her novels have been
nominated for the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, National Indie
Excellence Award, Golden Quill Award, Writers Touch Award, and have been named
Readers Favorite Five Star books. In 2015, JUSTICE FOR ABBY was selected as the
Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Gold Medalist, while SAVING SOPHIE
took the Silver Medal. SAVING SOPHIE was also selected as the 2015 Readers
Crown Award winner for Romantic Suspense and FALLING FOR SARAH received the
silver medal for the 2014 Readers’ Favorite Awards.
Cate
makes her home in North Carolina with her husband, two boys, and their St.
Bernards, Bear and Jack. Currently Cate is working on Deceiving Bella, the
eleventh novel in her popular Bodyguards series.
For
information on Cate’s new releases, monthly giveaways, and upcoming events,
sign up for her newsletter.
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ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt, thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Emily!
ReplyDelete