BOOK INFORMATION
Summer at
the Shore
Seashell Bay # 2
Seashell Bay # 2
By: V.K. Sykes
Releasing June 30, 2015
Grand Central: Forever
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BOOK SUMMARY
JUST A
SUMMER FLING?
Morgan
Merrifield sacrificed her teaching career to try to save her family's
bed-and-breakfast and care for her younger sister. She can't let herself get
distracted by Ryan Butler. After all, the rugged ex-Special Forces soldier is
only in Seashell Bay for the summer. But her longtime crush soon flares into
real desire-and with one irresistible kiss, she's swept away.
Ryan
values his freedom. As much as he wants Morgan, he's not ready to settle down
with anyone, much less in sleepy Seashell Bay. But his code of honor doesn't
allow him to leave a woman in distress-and she's in desperate need of help to
fix the inn. It only takes one day working under the same roof and Ryan is
already hoping for a lifetime of hot summer nights . . .
TBR/BUY LINKS
EXCERPT
Ryan followed her up the porch stairs and
into the center hallway. If Morgan didn’t miss her guess, his gaze was probably
glued to her butt. A few minutes ago, that same gaze had made a slow perusal of
her entire body, which had sent the blood rushing from her head directly to
points south. He was clearly appreciating her outfit. Or more likely, what he
imagined was underneath it.
Then again, she’d made a little more effort
today, unlike her usual and decidedly more casual early morning routine. Her
top was kind of tight and showcased her cleavage without being trashy, while
her capris were a snug fit. A little understated makeup had been in order too.
She kept telling herself that she was simply making up for her sweaty,
harassed, and rumpled appearance on the boat yesterday. After all, she didn’t
want Ryan to think she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown or anything.
Ha, ha. Nice try, Merrifield.
Besides, how could she object to him giving
her a few once-overs when she’d been doing exactly the same thing to him? When
he got out of the golf cart, it had hit her all over again that Ryan was truly
a prime piece of rampant masculinity—more so every time she saw him. His soft,
form-fitting Red Sox T-shirt and cargo shorts displayed a fabulous expanse of
carved, tanned muscle, enough to make her start mentally fanning herself. Add
in ruggedly handsome features and a dark, mysterious gaze, and everything about
him screamed hot, powerful male, a guy who knew exactly what he wanted and how
to take it.
And it looked like he might just want to
take her.
Morgan knew her self-control was in for a
very rocky time. Keep him busy all summer? Yeah, her suddenly filthy mind could
pull up about a thousand ways to do that—some of them probably illegal and all
of them insanely stupid, at least when it came to protecting herself from hurt.
But she knew the wild ride would be worth
it.
Almost.
Passing the
parlor and dining room on the left and the
sitting room/library on the right, she led Ryan back to the junction between
the house and the annex. Only when she reached the door to the kitchen did she
realize he’d stopped and crouched, carefully inspecting an electrical outlet.
He made a note, then rose and strode down the hall to join her.
“Morgan, just how old is the wiring in
here?”
Her lovely Ryan fantasies crumbled under the
onslaught of reality. “All I know is that everything passed inspection when Dad
bought it.”
“Getting through a home inspection doesn’t
necessarily mean that much, and that was years ago anyway,” he said in a somber
voice. “If the rest of the house is like this, you need to fully upgrade as
soon as possible.”
Morgan stifled a pathetic whimper. “That
would cost a fortune.”
“It would cost a lot more if the place went
up in smoke.”
Crap. She couldn’t possibly afford new
wiring now, but she’d build it into her already awful calculations of what
she’d have to spend at some point to keep her increasingly bloated whale
afloat.
After a quick nod of acknowledgment, she
headed into the kitchen, where her sister was working at the center island,
cutting up vegetables for a country-style soup. Ever deliberate, Sabrina would
probably take a good half hour or more to work her way through the carrots,
beans, onions, turnips, butternut squash, and celery. Though Morgan always
offered to help, her sister tended to push her away more often than not. Cooking
was one of the few things Sabrina felt comfortable doing, and it gave her a
much-needed measure of pride.
“Sweetie, say hello to Ryan,” Morgan said
with an encouraging smile.
Her sister wore a white chef’s apron that
covered her from her chest almost down to her knees. Underneath was a blue
T-shirt, faded jeans, and black Converse running shoes with purple trim.
“Hi, Ryan,” Sabrina said without looking up.
He extended his hand across the island
countertop. “It’s really good to see you again, Sabrina.”
Sabrina wiped her right hand on her apron.
Morgan had little doubt her sister’s palm was damp since all through breakfast
she’d been as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. After some
hesitation, during which Ryan patiently waited, Sabrina extended her hand for a
tentative shake. Thank God he’d remembered Sabrina’s aversion to
hugging—hugging men anyway—and hadn’t tried to embrace her.
“Uh, thanks for helping us out,” Sabrina
said.
“Those are great shoes,” he said, glancing
at her feet. “That purple trim is totally cool.”
Sabrina looked down, then managed a shy
grin. “Thanks.”
Morgan started to relax a little now that
the ice had been broken. She crossed the kitchen and reached down into a
cupboard for an iron skillet. “Bacon, sausage, and eggs okay, Ryan? How do you
like your eggs?”
Ryan moved around the island to stand next
to Sabrina. “Any way is fine.”
“Coming right up.” Morgan grabbed her pink
apron from a hook on the back of the pantry door.
“Sabrina, how about I give you a hand with
those veggies?” Ryan said.
Sabrina glanced over at Morgan, looking
uncertain.
“If he insists, I say we put the man to
work,” Morgan said.
Sabrina extracted a wide-bladed knife from a
butcher block on the counter and handed it to Ryan, who carefully ran his thumb
along the edge. Then she reached down and pulled out another cutting board.
“Would you mind doing the onions? They burn my eyes something fierce.”
Ryan grabbed the pair of big red onions.
“When you cut into an onion, it releases a gas that combines with the water in
your eyes to form an acid. People have come up with a lot of ideas to avoid
burning tears. I’ve only found a couple of things that help though.”
Morgan stared at him. He was the last guy on
Earth she thought would be talking about cooking tricks.
CAT'S REVIEW
"Summer at the Shore" by V.K. Sykes is a true romance - it's a feel good story that has little outside angst. The heart of the story are the characters themselves - Ryan and Morgan. They are old friends that fight the spark between them. Ryan, a true hero that is all alpha and sexy, doesn't believe he can settle down. He fights his feelings for Morgan as she does for him too. Morgan is an honorable person that is also full of life, yet life has a way of stomping on people and Morgan is definitely feeling a bit overwhelmed. Of course, this is where our hero steps in to save the day! I loved the sleepy summer town and the residents that live there. Ms. Sykes had done a commendable job of bringing the reader into the story by her descriptions, both of the Island and the characters' thoughts. I always enjoy "reading" the inner thoughts of the characters and what leads them to believe and act on their feelings. This is the second book of the series yet a reader can easily follow along if they haven't read the first one yet. This book was perfect for a nice, easy read that had romance and love and that feeling of small town family. Another terrific read just in time for beach season. (received copy from NetGalley for honest review)
★★★★
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
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