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The Sapphire Cay series, with Meredith Russell

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-M50YPW5Ad6UahBeEG4BlSQYZ6llQOd7IT_EIuqNlgim22ropOb2zZj1lTzO6sYZRxyA2Wvzy0hFJdGhso5-g1vZrTA1ElKEkGDkrC9ELKzOPzf8fLML_LTY6dbJZqF7lvrN7wf4DJo/s1600/SC_all.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-M50YPW5Ad6UahBeEG4BlSQYZ6llQOd7IT_EIuqNlgim22ropOb2zZj1lTzO6sYZRxyA2Wvzy0hFJdGhso5-g1vZrTA1ElKEkGDkrC9ELKzOPzf8fLML_LTY6dbJZqF7lvrN7wf4DJo/s1600/SC_all.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> Sapphire Cay is a small island in the Bahamas. The stunning setting sits about an hour's boat ride from Marsh Harbor. Long golden beaches, fresh water springs, and a hotel that specialises in romantic weddings and island getaways for the rich and famous. This is the backdrop for a series of romance stories featuring strong men and always with a happy ever after. Follow The Sun <a href="http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/follow-sun-with-meredith-russell-wip.html">Buy links, reviews and excerpts here</a> Dylan is a free spirit running from a life he doesn't want, Lucas is a businessman killing himself slowly with long days and seven day weeks at work. When the workaholic meets the beach bum how can they see eye to eye, let alone fall in love? <div><div style="text-align: center;">Sapphire Cay - such a romantic setting</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>Under The Sun </div><div><a href="http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/under-sun-with-meredith-russell.html">Buy links, reviews and excerpts here</a> When the over the top wedding planner Edward shows up and practically has an aneurysm, Jamie will either kill him or fall for him. How could anyone not love a slightly OCD, flamboyant wedding planner, who carries his diary near and dear to his heart and a hot stud of an ex-Marine? <div style="text-align: center;">Who can resist a hot marine and a sexy wedding planner finding love in a romantic settings?</div> Chase The Sun <a href="http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/chase-sun-sapphire-cay-3.html">Buy links, reviews and excerpts here</a> Six years ago, Adam broke Scott's heart, but now he's back in Scott's life and Scott is rightly suspicious. Is it a case of second chances? Or will history repeat itself? <div style="text-align: center;">The first step to loving Adam is to forgive him.</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div></div>

The Sapphire Cay series, with Meredith Russell

Sapphire Cay is a small island in the Bahamas. The stunning setting sits about an hour's boat ride from Marsh Harbor. Long golden beache...

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Under The Sun - with Meredith Russell

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBbDA68NsOkuiE4hAKn8D88go7o7CJ5eB_nRJFZ78TzeangStaMFmMOVtpP04NX1p8fH1f_SAYflL7rf_dDBk2FOsKeODfEyWmewpxG-VftXI1393ltwFwpzCsWCV9mpDbiUjlua1r74/s1600/UTS-600x900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBbDA68NsOkuiE4hAKn8D88go7o7CJ5eB_nRJFZ78TzeangStaMFmMOVtpP04NX1p8fH1f_SAYflL7rf_dDBk2FOsKeODfEyWmewpxG-VftXI1393ltwFwpzCsWCV9mpDbiUjlua1r74/s640/UTS-600x900.jpg" width="425" /></a> <div style="text-align: left;">The Sapphire Cay series Written with Meredith Russell</div><div> Book 1 - <a href="http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/follow-sun-with-meredith-russell-wip.html">Follow The Sun</a> Book 2 - Under The Sun Book 3 - <a href="http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/chase-sun-sapphire-cay-3.html">Chase The Sun</a></div><div></div> The Book <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPY9vd5bUqaW9zBx9AqgwRXFhw0rXW53B5SaBYmhfnP9RtZi3_ZaojFIRNpXrdUHDuSwywx0OnkSVMjCegQ0jvlhnZzpeuhG93G50UE9fpYJHqDtBvpBrgyn0OJFnpHrTquVBZE3PIEUs/s1600/64246_434678613281893_1653726542_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPY9vd5bUqaW9zBx9AqgwRXFhw0rXW53B5SaBYmhfnP9RtZi3_ZaojFIRNpXrdUHDuSwywx0OnkSVMjCegQ0jvlhnZzpeuhG93G50UE9fpYJHqDtBvpBrgyn0OJFnpHrTquVBZE3PIEUs/s1600/64246_434678613281893_1653726542_n.jpg" /></a> Opposites Attract on a sun drenched Cay  Edward McAllister, wedding planner extraordinaire arrives at Sapphire Cay for a wedding. He has four days to go until the big day and his plans are smashed when he spots the stage he was setting is destroyed. Doesn't matter that the guy pulling down the old gazebo and digging trenches is hot - he is messing with Edward's OCD and Edward isn't afraid to let the other man know exactly how he feels. Jamie Durand is an ex marine and son of the former owners of Sapphire Cay. He is on the island to get his head around his new life after leaving the forces due to injury. When Edward arrives in his space he is bemused at the instant dislike the uptight man is showing towards him. Not an auspicious start. But just you wait when Edward relaxes and Jamie opens up. Then you will see fireworks. Buy Links - eBook <a href="https://www.lovelanebooks.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14&products_id=31" target="_blank">Love Lane Books</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C28QEKI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00C28QEKI&linkCode=as2&tag=rjsc-20" target="_blank">Amazon (US)</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00C28QEKI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B00C28QEKI&linkCode=as2&tag=rjsc-21" target="_blank">Amazon (UK)</a> | <a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-underthesun-1148928-145.html" target="_blank">All Romance</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/under-the-sun-rj-scott/1114971307?ean=2940044407237" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> | <a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Books/under-the-sun-5" target="_blank">Kobo</a> | <a href="https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/rj-scott/under-the-sun/_/R-400000000000000992659" target="_blank">Sony</a> | <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/300122" target="_blank">Smashwords</a> Buy Links - Print Book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1483955230/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1483955230&linkCode=as2&tag=rjsc-20" target="_blank">Amazon (US)</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1483955230/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=1483955230&linkCode=as2&tag=rjsc-21" target="_blank">Amazon (UK)</a> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>Reviews <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhKsf9zzvXf7ZsEVT3m7JWE7CQClsBfk_dM0LIZD4HvhL8GdKdWRJdFWUXgK89ltykoAROv-XWmY80D1khEyszki35WapguXGYolCd-gUrvucjJbuLtFsccNtr01FJmveNyGD_Kr2Eo4/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhKsf9zzvXf7ZsEVT3m7JWE7CQClsBfk_dM0LIZD4HvhL8GdKdWRJdFWUXgK89ltykoAROv-XWmY80D1khEyszki35WapguXGYolCd-gUrvucjJbuLtFsccNtr01FJmveNyGD_Kr2Eo4/s320/Capture.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/568688776" target="_blank">MM Good Book Reviews -  4/5 </a>- "The sexual connection between them was very hot, sparks fly and the shower scene *wow, fans face* is not to be missed. This story is well written and pulls two characters together that normally you would think would clash, but it’s what’s beneath the surface that draws them to each other ... I have to recommend this to those who love opposites attract, hot marines, sexy wedding planners, finding love, romantic settings and a great ending." <a href="http://heartsonfirereviews.com/?p=19199" target="_blank">Hearts On Fire Reviews - 4/5</a> - I loved this opposites attract story. The story read seamlessly and quickly for having two authors. The background for the island was already established in Follow The Sun so I was pulled right into the real story. Jamie and Edward were both terrific and very well thought out characters. Each were fairly intense but with a soft, gentle hidden side that endeared them to me even more. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUon0pYPTxhgl3AvzwiL_AaqBHjknsa2hw8OWy3GC8mdx7jx-umT5LnubOEiB0qLc0GY2QJPOkONaFvp-rioOT0wITi1w5851LMFKW5j_2bXUhjpNRu45SaR5DujjXfmCQZVBzVT5SDmQ/s1600/atruegemaward20-300x300.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUon0pYPTxhgl3AvzwiL_AaqBHjknsa2hw8OWy3GC8mdx7jx-umT5LnubOEiB0qLc0GY2QJPOkONaFvp-rioOT0wITi1w5851LMFKW5j_2bXUhjpNRu45SaR5DujjXfmCQZVBzVT5SDmQ/s200/atruegemaward20-300x300.png" width="200" /></a><a href="http://sexyforreview.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/under-sun-stories-from-sapphire-cay-2.html?zx=5a5a3d941555e9e" target="_blank">Sexy for Review 5/5 handcuffs</a> - I adored the portrayal of both Edward and Jamie. Scott and Russell allowed them to grow individually so that they could eventually learn to grow together as a committed couple. Under the Sun demonstrated that life is not always cookie cutter in how we think it should be. Sometimes chance is actually scripted and you have to take the leap of faith in order to find true happiness. Scott and Russell masterfully wrote that leap in the joining of Edward and Jamie. <a href="http://networkedblogs.com/PdMQO" target="_blank">Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews 4.5/5</a> - This was an easy story to love, the characters were entertaining to say the least, the setting is one we all dream of, and they relationship was steamy, sexy, and very satisfying. Under The Sun is a great addition to this series and I can’t wait to see what happens next at Sapphire Cay! Excerpt - Chapters 1 & 2 Chapter 1 “How long’s it been since you’ve visited the Cay?” Jamie Durand lifted his head as the thirty-minute silence was finally broken, and he turned his attention to the tall, tanned man steering the Lady Liberty. Not even a lick of paint disguised the old and tired boat that had belonged to his parents, the previous owners of Sapphire Cay. He pressed his lips together thoughtfully. How long had it been? It felt like a lifetime. His parents had sold just over fifteen months ago and he had been deployed to Afghanistan four months before the sale. “Four years, more maybe,” he said. Lowering his eyes, he returned to watching the ocean. The fresh October breeze whipped around him as the boat broke through the water’s surface. Foam betrayed their path from Marsh Harbor and he looked back through his shades as they traveled parallel to the coast, circling the point as they headed for Sapphire Cay. <a name="more"></a> “Name’s Scott by the way,” the man said and grinned over his shoulder. He had no clear accent but that didn’t really surprise Jamie. Another waif or stray adopted by the Cay, he figured. His parents had had a habit of taking in strangers, offering them a place to stay, and giving them employment. Scott seemed friendly enough—dark hair, a deep tan, muscular, sexy, but totally not what Jamie needed. Scott met Jamie’s eyes through his shades and flashed a confident smile—not his type at all. In a figure-hugging white A-shirt and low-hanging cargo shorts, Scott struck him as a player, a man who probably spent more time in front of a mirror than being an attentive, giving lover. Lover? Was that really where his mind was at? More likely, he just needed a release from the low ache in his chest and the memories that had him waking in a cold sweat and dry heaving in the toilet bowl. Closing his eyes, he savored the refreshing feel of the salty mist. He was judging a guy he didn’t even know and it irritated him he could do it so quickly. That wasn’t like him. “So,” he said. Conversation might help ease his mind. The man had been nothing but polite since they met on the quayside. “What do you do out here?” Sapphire Cay had up to twenty staff at any one time he recalled—some permanent, some seasonal, and some on their own schedules. He had never come across the new owner, Dylan Gray, though he had heard good things. His parents loved the man and had been happy and relieved when he had decided to take on the island. They seemed to think Dylan was the perfect fit for what they had created during their thirty years out there. “Captain of this fine vessel, excursions and tours, and general help-where-help’s-needed kind of guy,” Scott said and flashed his teeth in a wide smile. So Scott was someone who got stuck in and took to any role, not just the overconfident asshole Jamie had thought. He really needed to work on his people skills. Never the social butterfly, he felt even more inept than usual. “Have you been here long? I don’t remember you. Sorry if we’ve met,” he said above the sound of the boat’s engine. “No. We haven’t met,” Scott assured him. “I came out here for the first time two years back with Dylan. We met in Thailand while traveling. He was heading out this way for a few months so I joined him. Luckily, your folks had work for me.” “And now?” Jamie asked. Dylan owned the island. There was no more moving on to the next place every month or two. “He’s been running this place for a full year. He must miss it, the traveling.” “I guess a little. But he’s settled and doing a damn good job.” Scott raised his voice as the boat lurched forward, riding through a wave as it loudly hit the front of the boat. “And you?” Scott shrugged. “Let’s just say Dylan’s flexible, as is my contract. There’s a job for as long as I want it.” He pointed, directing Jamie’s attention beyond the front of the boat. “There she is,” he said. “She’s something, right? I can see how Dylan fell in love with her so easily.” Jamie carefully got to his feet and stepped over his bag to stand beside Scott. He never thought seeing Sapphire Cay would make him feel the way it did. Familiarity and memories flooded through him and almost knocked him off his feet. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea. The Cay had been his home, a place of warmth and security. Schooled on the mainland, he always looked forward to rejoining his parents when the semester ended. His mom would always have the chef whip up a batch of his peanut butter caramel cookies. They would be sitting on the kitchen table when he and his sister had gotten home. What waited for him on the island now? “Is Dominiq still there?” The chef had worked on the island since before he remembered. He was as constant as the tide and just as soothing. With an accent that dripped comfort and home, Dominiq was the epitome of relaxed, chilled, and taking it easy. Jamie was sure if he Googled any of those, he’d find an image of Dominiq smiling back at him. The man was a true Bahamian—dark skin, dark hair, the deepest brown eyes, and an easy smile. He never did figure out exactly how old the man was. For all the years Jamie had known him Dominiq had looked exactly the same, and only in his last few visits had Jamie noticed the whispers of gray creeping through his tight, black curls. “Yeah,” Scott said, bringing Jamie back to the present. “He’s been baking all morning.” Scott shrugged. “He’s suddenly got this freaky cookie fetish going on. There were trays of the things cooling all over the kitchen.” Jamie couldn’t help but smile. Things might not be so different after all. “Must be strange coming back now that your parents have left. They’re in Miami, right?” “They are,” he said as he took his seat. His parents, now in their sixties, had talked about moving back to the mainland for years to be closer to family, especially their grandchildren. Jamie and his sister had their own lives, and though the island would always hold a special place in both their hearts, it just wasn’t what they wanted to do. They weren’t their parents. Sue was a doctor with a husband and two kids. She was happy and settled. Jamie had joined the Marine Corps at twenty-two, straight from college. His squad had become his family for the next three years and he was proud to have served his President and his country. He knew his parents had asked Dylan to write in a proviso, entertaining the possibility of him returning to the island and doing some work out there. It must have seemed a strange request and yet, when Dylan agreed, Jamie kind of took to the idea of having somewhere to return to once his active tour ended. He just hadn’t planned on it being so soon. Instinctively, he rubbed at his chest and felt the raised line beneath his T-shirt. Seven months and the ghost of pain still clawed at his insides. Why wasn’t it getting any easier? He stared at the growing outline of Sapphire Cay. Maybe on the island it finally would. He was here to get healthy, rediscover the man he used to be, and hopefully find a little peace. God love his mother, but he couldn’t take a moment more of her fussing around him and everyone he knew treating him with kid gloves. He wasn’t going to break. He wasn’t that guy. Yes, something terrible had happened, but he hadn’t been under any illusions when he enlisted. Bad stuff had happened to plenty of other people, and in some ways, he had been one of the lucky ones. Okay, so shrapnel from an IED ripping through his chest and shredding his right lung wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, but he’d survived. Light flashing in Jamie’s eyes made him look up, and he was met by a curious expression from Scott. Damn, his mind had wandered again. He couldn’t wait to get to the hotel and help with the repairs and renovations. He needed a distraction from his own mind. Scott didn’t voice the question that curled his lips into a thoughtful curve, but instead simply stated, “We won’t be long now.” Nodding, Jamie returned to watching the ocean and the ripple of movement on the starboard side of the boat. A school of fish swam just beneath the surface, their scales shimmering in the sunlight and creating a kaleidoscope of color and shapes as they fed. He smiled to himself as he relaxed and watched the fish. It was good to be home in Sapphire Cay. The familiar feel of sand beneath the soles of his sneakers and the view of the hotel set back among the trees pushed from Jamie’s mind any of the doubts he had about returning to the island. Spending time here, under the sun, would do him good. It was a chance to add some much-needed color to his skin and give him the opportunity to think. There were jobs for him in Miami if he wanted to stay local, engineering roles at the bottom of the ladder that would give him a chance to build on his degree and create a career away from the military. Spending time on Sapphire Cay gave him the opportunity to think if Miami was what he wanted or whether it was time to move away. “Dylan’s put you in one of the staff cabins,” Scott said as he dropped down from the small pier to join Jamie on the beach. Jamie nodded and held out his hand to take his large bag from Scott. Scott lifted the pack off his shoulder and passed it over to Jamie with a smile. “You’re in the cabin at the end. Hutia.” The name of the cabin made Jamie smile. He remembered the year his parents refurbished the staff accommodations and spent several evenings selecting names for each of the updated buildings. Animal and plant species indigenous to the Bahamas had been agreed on. The Bahamian hutia was like a large rodent. Cute, Jamie figured, if you liked that kind of thing. “You need me to show you?” Shaking his head, Jamie said, “I can find it.” He looked up at the hotel. It hardly seemed real, and as clichéd as it sounded, it really did feel like only yesterday that he was last standing here looking up at the building. Everything looked the same, and he inhaled, imagining the smell of his mom fixing breakfast. “Housekeeping was in this morning, but if you find you need anything Agnes will be around until after lunch.” Agnes. He didn’t remember an Agnes. “Thanks,” he said, squinting against light reflecting off the white-painted building. “Are you hanging around?” Scott shook his head. “I have to head back to Marsh Harbor for supplies. We have a wedding in six days, so lots to do.” With a short wave, Scott hopped back up onto the pier. “Later,” he said and flashed a bright smile before heading back to the boat. With a sigh, Jamie stared up the beach. No point putting off introducing himself. Lifting his bag higher on his shoulder, he made his way up toward the hotel. The path was as he remembered, if not a little overgrown. The foliage was lush and green and overhung the edge of the roped-off route. Ridged wooden boards were half buried in sand and formed shallow steps for his trek upward. As he reached the top of the short walk, he stopped and looked over the place he’d once called home. It now belonged to this Dylan and his partner. He just hoped they were taking good care of his parents’ beloved past. “Jamie?” The creak of the entrance door hinge drew Jamie’s attention, and he was greeted by a man wearing an open white shirt and board shorts. “Jamie Durand?” Jamie nodded and waited as the man made his way down the wooden steps to join him. “Lucas,” the man said and held out his hand. “Dylan’s—” Lucas stopped and pressed his mouth in a line as he seemed to consider what to call himself. “Boyfriend,” Jamie said and shook Lucas’s hand. He knew the couple were gay and together but kind of appreciated Lucas’s attempt to not be utterly out. It was a trait he’d adopted as a Marine. Don’t be obvious. Lucas smiled. “Fiancé.” “Oh,” Jamie said. “Congratulations.” Lucas’s eyes were a beautiful shade of hazel and amber and they seemed to shine in the sunlight. “Thank you,” Lucas said and ran a hand back through his blond hair. He looked embarrassed as he turned away and glanced up at the hotel. “Dylan will be back in a half hour or so. He had some work to do down at the honeymoon cabin.” Lucas turned back to Jamie and smiled. “He’s actually been looking forward to you getting here. I’m kind of useless with a hammer so it’s just him and Scott most of the time.” “Is there much that needs doing?” Lucas gave a slow nod. “Bits and pieces. The usual before we open for guests.” Jamie remembered as a teenager following his father around the island from cabin to cabin, checking roofs and gutters and clearing fallen debris. One year, maybe eight years ago now, a tree had blown down and come crashing through the window of the hotel’s dining room. “We lay money aside for this and I’m sure among the three of you this place will be back to perfect in no time.” “Scott said you had a wedding. Six days, is it?” “Yeah.” Lucas rolled his eyes upward as he seemed to try to recall information about the booking. “The guests arrive on the twentieth, wedding on the twenty-first, two-week break, honeymoon, whatever, and they’re gone by the fifth.” He grinned. “And then we have about three weeks before the next party arrives.” “Another wedding?” Sapphire Cay accommodated for any occasion. Weddings, birthdays, straightforward vacations, there was even this one time some movie studio hired the island for a month. Extras in Speedos was definitely one of the times Jamie made an exception to his usual discretion. Shame none of the crew did. Though he hadn’t realized it, his eyes had drifted down to settle on Lucas’s exposed tanned chest. Only when Lucas pulled his shirt closed and fastened the few buttons down the front of his stomach did Jamie quickly avert his eyes. Lucas stepped past Jamie. “Yes. We have three before Christmas.” He quickly looked Jamie up and down. “Do you have any other bags?” Shaking his head, Jamie tightened his hold on the strap of his bag. “Just this.” “Okay,” Lucas said. “But if you need anything, just ask.” There was something in Lucas’s eyes and Jamie didn’t want it to be what he had seen in so many people’s eyes already. Pity. He didn’t want anybody’s sympathy or their sorrys. It was what it was and he needed to move on. He needed people to let him. “Thanks,” Jamie said. “Sure. I’ll take you to your cabin. See you settled in.” “You don’t have to,” Jamie said quickly. He was fine. He didn’t need settling in. Lucas smiled and started down the path leading around the hotel. “What kind of host would I be if I let you just wander off by yourself?” He held out his arms, indicating for Jamie to follow him. “And before you think it, I’m not trying to patronize you. I’m sure you know this place a hell of a lot better than me. I’d just like to make sure you have everything you need.” He met Jamie’s eyes and the something Jamie had seen was still there. To Jamie’s relief it wasn’t pity or sympathy or anything like that, it was more like anxiety. Lucas, it seemed, was nervous about Jamie being there. “Okay,” Jamie agreed. He figured Lucas just wanted everything to go smoothly during his stay at Sapphire Cay. Jamie was, after all, the son of the previous owners and probably someone Lucas and Dylan wanted to impress. “Lead the way.” The short walk to the staff cabins was filled with idle chatter. Lucas seemed an okay guy. He was friendly and open and seemed to have a charm about him that had Jamie wondering what his fiancé, Dylan, must be like. The way he had heard it, it was Dylan who was the more carefree and laidback of the two, and if this was Lucas—happy, talkative, and easygoing—Dylan must be damn near horizontal most of the time. “Here we go,” Lucas said as he stopped outside the rodent-named cabin. The door was already unlocked, and Lucas entered the cabin first. “You have spare bedding and clean towels. Agnes will call in once a week to neaten things up. But if you need anything before that, she’s around every morning and then again in the evenings.” Lucas picked the room key up off the dresser. “I don’t think much has changed. You’re pretty much self-contained. But there’s still the shared laundry area and we ask you don’t use the main pool and things while we have guests. Otherwise, treat the island like your home. Well, like you used to, I guess, as it was your home.” Lucas seemed to decide he was rambling and stopped. “I’ll let you get unpacked.” He handed Jamie the key and went to leave. Halting in the doorway, he turned back and looked at Jamie. “Come up to the hotel when you’re done. Dominiq is making lunch.” And with that, Lucas was gone. Jamie let out a heavy sigh and looked around the open-plan living area. At the front of the cabin was the small kitchen consisting of an oven, refrigerator, sink, and two cupboards. There was a small couch, TV, and coffee table in the middle of the room, and then behind him a double bed, dresser, closet, and open door leading into the bathroom. Taking the few steps toward the bed, he dropped his bag to the floor and sat down on the end of the bed. Being here again after all this time felt strange, and the reason for his return unsettled him. He reached inside his T-shirt and pulled out the silver chain he wore around his neck. Sadly, he held the chain in front of him and stared at the tags threaded on the end. Light through the cabin window bounced off the metal tags as they swayed from side to side and Jamie caught them in his free hand. Squeezing his palm shut around the solid metal, he closed his eyes and reminded himself he was one of the lucky ones. He was home. Chapter 2 “The order said pink. Not lilac.” Edward stopped by Marylou-Beth’s desk and couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was it possible that yet again the suppliers had sent over the wrong thing? Jeez. This wasn’t the first, fifth, or even tenth time and his patience just about ran out when he took in the frown on his assistant’s face. Gesturing for the phone, he waited until she said she was passing the phone over. Edward took the handset and counted back from five. “I ask for twelve pink long-stemmed roses,” he started. “You are not the biggest, best, or even closest supplier to me and when I order pink I expect pink. I don’t run my business on near colors, and I don’t want or need lilac. I expect a box of twelve pink roses to be delivered to my office by eleven am or I will take my business elsewhere. Consider this your last chance.” He disconnected the call even as the supplier was blustering on about inclement weather and deliveries and transport and all the things that Edward shouldn’t have to worry about. “What if they don’t send them?” Marylou-Beth said. She was chewing on a hangnail, which Edward found unsettling. Marylou-Beth didn’t do that kind of thing. The action indicated something else was going on and he dreaded to think what other drama she was attempting to shield him from. Running a mental list through his head, he searched for potential problems. He had the Osborne wedding on Sapphire Cay and a civil ceremony at City Hall, but other than those there was no major crises that could cause his normally unflappable assistant to bite her perfectly manicured nails. “What’s wrong, babe?” he asked carefully. “They sent the wrong color,” Marylou-Beth wailed and then promptly burst into tears. Hell. He hated dealing with any woman crying, regardless of his huge affection for his assistant of two years. A transplant from her native Georgia after a failed romance, she was good at her job and kept him from being too anal about details. She had a good handle on his OCD tendencies and never ever thought it was okay to go through and amend anything in his diary. He clutched said diary harder. It never really left his side, was photocopied daily, and there was an electronic backup in three separate places. Nope. She never touched it, which was the perfect relationship between boss and assistant in his mind. He wasn’t entirely sure what to do with the tears so he hovered uncertainly. Perhaps he should try and talk her down? “It’s fine, they’re sending over the correct color—” “What if they don’t?” Edward clutched his diary even closer. What the hell was going on? The only time he’d ever seen her this irrationally tearful was at the end of the last season of America’s Top Model when the US lost out to Britain. Of course Edward had been quietly proud but didn’t have time to gloat as the waterworks kind of drowned out the end. They’d watched it with sushi and authentic sake and she had just broken up with Tom; she’d sobbed this way for a good half hour. Which only meant… Shit. “Did you break up with Tom again?” Edward asked carefully. They broke up at least every other month with some drama or another. And they said gay men were dramatic. “He said—he—said—I was too tall—” She hiccupped the last. Edward’s heart sank. So yes, she was a shade under six foot and Tom was only five nine, but they’d seemed so perfect for each other. He knew Tom, couldn’t believe the man had actually said that the woman he called the love of his life was too tall. “I’m sorry,” Edward said. That was the right thing to say and he wondered how long the drama would last. He was leaving for the Cay in two days and the office was hers. The last thing he needed was for prospective clients high on the need to get married to be greeted by a decidedly unattractive snotty nose and blotchy face. Then guilt swamped him. Hell, they’d been picking wedding themes yesterday and now Tom had broken Marylou-Beth’s heart. Channeling his inner sensitivity, he scooted around her side of the desk and pulled her into a hug. Of course, that meant he was going to have deposits of shiny silver eye shadow on his black Forzieri button-down, but he could deal with it. He had a spare in the office closet. Patting the top of her head with his free hand, he resolved to get Tom on the phone immediately to sort this out. “Go out for a walk, sweetie,” he said. “Get coffee, take ten, hell, take the rest of the day.” She pulled back and looked up at him; her violet eyes were watery and her lip trembled. “I thought he loved me,” she said. “Of course he does. But don’t you know, sweetie, all men are idiots.” “Except you. You’re so sensitive and kind and sweet and you understand me.” Edward sighed inwardly but smiled outwardly. He was far from what she labeled sweet or kind. Sensitive yes, but he was of the belief that all men had the necessary skills to be sensitive—they just didn’t use them. She buried her face against his shirt and sniffed dramatically. “And you always smell so nice.” Her voice had taken on a wistful tone, which was Edward’s cue to back off. “Thank you. Now go on, take a walk. A few minutes in the sunshine and you’ll feel much better.” She scooped up her purse and headed to the door. “I’ll never be all right again,” she said dramatically, then left. Edward immediately grabbed the handset and dialed Tom, who answered almost instantly. “Edward, is Marylou-Beth okay?” “What did you say to her?” Edward wasn’t messing around with this; he had maybe ten minutes to sort this out. “She had these heels on… all I said was that I liked them but that she made me feel a bit short.” Edward couldn’t believe how bewildered Tom sounded. Did he have no idea of how his fiancée felt about her height? “Okay. Here is how you play this. Red roses—no chocolates since she’s on a diet. Buy a tub of blueberry frozen yogurt instead, add a sparkler, and for goodness sake, spray some cologne before you come up. You have an hour.” “Got it. Roses. Yogurt. But cologne? Edward, I’m straight; you know I don’t like that kind of thing—” “Do it or lose Marylou-Beth forever,” Edward said. Then he ended the call and shut himself in his office. Changing his shirt was the first order of the day and he spent a good ten minutes making sure his shirt was tucked just so, his silk tie knotted perfectly, and his hair still frozen in its volumized style. Adjusting his black-framed Prada glasses, he peered at his reflection. They finished off the geek-chic look perfectly and he looked damn good, if he said so himself. As the owner and chief contact at Blush Pink Weddings, Edward McAllister had a public face and he loved it. The best designer clothes, hours at a salon for his thick, wavy dark hair, manicures, facials, everything he did made him the gay guy that potential brides loved and that potential grooms trusted with said brides. Blush Pink had grown year over year and he earned enough now to have Marylou-Beth as a permanent assistant and to run this office out of Coral Gables in one of the better areas of Miami. The phone rang again and a cursory glance revealed Marylou-Beth wasn’t at her desk. He answered on the third ring. “Blush Pink, Edward speaking, how can we help you?” “Edward. How’s my wedding planner?” “Fine,” Edward said. “What’s the problem?” He just knew something was wrong from the fact Dylan had phoned and not Lucas. “Small problem with next week.” Dylan Gray’s voice was low and calm. Hell, he could afford to be calm, it wasn’t him that would be fixing last-minute adjustments in the wedding at Sapphire Cay. Edward liked Dylan a lot, but he wished it were Lucas he was talking to. Dylan had the grand ideas but it was Lucas who had the real business head. Dylan and Lucas were his biggest customers. Dylan even claimed Edward as ‘my wedding planner’. It seemed that in the last few years, with the previous owners and now Dylan, he was spending more and more time on the Cay with weddings. “What’s up?” “We have to do some structural work on the gazebo. Problem is that the electrical cable…” Edward listened to the details and opened his diary to the page dedicated to the Osborne wedding. So. Probably no electricity to the gazebo. Which meant adjusting a few small details. Thoughtfully, he tapped a pen on the book as Dylan was explaining that they hoped to have it fixed but he couldn’t promise anything. Checking his calendar Edward mapped out the six days remaining to the wedding. He could work something that would be just as good. “Edward? Are you still there?” “It’s fine,” Edward said. “I can work around this. I’ll take a look when I get there.” “Scott is booked to be at Marsh Harbor for you.” Edward raised his eyebrows. Edward used to love seeing Dylan waiting at the harbor, but since Dylan had hooked up with Lucas—sorry, fallen in love with Lucas—and was now off the menu, Scott would do as eye candy. Scott may not be the man of Edward’s dreams but he was built like sin and was easy on the eyes. Shame he was a player. Shame he wasn’t Edward’s type. Of course, you could always look at the menu even if you don’t plan to eat from it. He chuckled at his thoughts. Scott would leap a mile if he had any idea of the things Edward imagined when he watched the man steer them from Marsh Harbor to Sapphire Cay. “I’ll see you in two days, and meanwhile I’ll email a plan B for what I want. Or at least I’ll get Lucas to do it.” Dylan added the last with a laugh and it made Edward smile. Dylan and Lucas were so good for each other and clearly in love. Seeing them together called to Edward’s romantic heart. “See you in two days.” Edward closed his diary and leaned back in his chair. The bride had wanted thousands of twinkling fairy lights around the gazebo, which was now unlikely to happen. Okay, so what else could he do? Images came to him of the gazebo with the sea as the backdrop, and he remembered the storm lanterns from previous weddings. The glow of candles in the half dark would be stunning and not nearly as intrusive as the brighter glow of the strings of lights and if he had the candles reflecting through colored glass… Settled on what he needed to say to his picky bride, he dialed her number. He was in the zone doing what he loved best. * * * * * Scott helped him off of the boat. It wasn’t that he couldn’t manage but he wasn’t going to argue with the help of a strong man. Brushing off the stray sand that decorated the ass of his suit pants, he cast a critical gaze around the landing area. This was the first point that the couple and their parties would see and it had to be perfect. Satisfied at the look of the old yet sturdy jetty and the wide-open expanse of perfect beach, he began the short trek up to the main hotel. The utter beauty that stood in front of him never failed to take his breath away. Low and wide, the hotel was wood and brick and solid in amongst trees. Bypassing reception, he knew he had to see the gazebo and work out where everything was. He had photos but if there really was a problem with wiring that spread any farther then he needed to see it now and not later. He had a vague impression of what would work. The gazebo itself was a study in metal and wood and had weathered many a storm, and it would look stunning when he finished with it. He was in creation mode, the I-can-deal-with-anything frame of mind. And then he rounded the corner and was faced with chaos. Half the gazebo was missing. Literally gone. There was a hole in the middle where the wooden deck had been. A trench ran from the gazebo to the side of the hotel. It was utterly decimated. “Four days,” he blurted out. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye, a man walking backward, slightly doubled over and dragging an iron pillar that used to be part of the gazebo. Edward pushed away the instant appreciation of a fine, tight ass, powerful thighs covered in holey jeans, and the flex of muscles in strong arms. This wasn’t some ten o’clock Coke break for him to ogle the laborers. This man was destroying his canvas. Edward couldn’t form a sentence as panic knifed through him. He couldn’t have the chaos in front of him now. He didn’t have time. “I’m sorry?” the man with the iron said. He turned to face Edward and Edward catalogued sweaty skin and a very young but serious face. “Four days,” Edward repeated. “What the bloody hell did you do?” The man reached out a dirty, muddied hand with a smile on his face. “You must be the Brit. Dylan and Lucas warned me you’d be arriving this morning. I’m Jamie,” he said. Edward looked at the extended hand and couldn’t help the horror inside him from slashing angrily on his expression. What was Jamie doing here in the gazebo? Where was the gazebo? “What have you done?” He gestured at the mess and was almost incoherent with shock. The last time he’d been faced with this was a garden party at his aunt’s house when he had nothing more than paperclips to hold up banners. He’d been ten at the time and he was still traumatized by the stress of it. Four days to make something beautiful of this construction site? He could cover up… no… there was nothing… he couldn’t hide this… no flower was big enough, no candlelight soft enough to cover the scar. “You need to breathe,” the other man was saying. He was patting Edward on the shoulder, those muddy worker’s hands all over his Armani shirt, and Edward backed away. Disorder was in his head where he needed order. “I am bloody breathing,” he snapped. “Who did this here? Why is this happening in this wedding? Dylan never said…” Jamie, the worker with the hands, was frowning and casting looks toward the hotel. “I’ll get Dylan—” “Did they authorize this? Did anyone actually authorize what you are doing? Who the bloody hell do you think you are destroying the centerpiece of the whole wedding?” “I work here,” Jamie said. Like that was the whole defense for what he had done? Edward snapped at the deliberately obscure reply. “Not for much longer you’re not if you cause this much destruction.” Twisting hands in his hair, he stared helplessly at the mess for a few more seconds, and then giving Jamie-the-worker not a second glance, he stalked away to find Dylan. It was only as he passed a wall mirror inside the door that he saw what he’d done. He’d literally pulled his hair to the point there was no style left in it at all. Jesus. He was already fighting sand and water and now he had to add dealing with stress to his haircare regime. Breathe. Deep breath in. Out. In. Out. There had to be an alternative. Another way to make this wedding beautiful. “Edward?” Lucas was suddenly there. He must have arrived while Edward was near hyperventilating. He was concerned and had that patented Lucas-look-of-worry on his face. Worker-man was hovering behind him and he also looked alarmed. “Jamie says you aren’t well?” “I’m fine,” he snapped. “Well I was until the kid here decided to play at building and ripped down the centerpiece of the entire wedding.” “Not a kid,” Jamie said quickly. “Do you realize this wedding is huge? Did you know the Osbornes went to five different planners before hiring me and this island? This could ruin my reputation. Why did no one tell me?” “Calm down, Edward,” Lucas encouraged. “We were working on the electricity but there was subsidence and the whole thing started to shift. It was dangerous.” Lucas said all this with his hands held out, palms upward in a placating stance. “It only happened last night. Jamie, Dylan, and I have been up all night dealing with clearing what’s left. I’m sorry.” Lucas hesitated and Edward could see the exhaustion bracketing his friend’s face. “I don’t know what we are going to do,” Lucas added. Seeing Lucas worrying pushed Edward out of panic mode and into his normal take-charge default. Okay. First things first. Construction. He’d need dark-and-handsome-yet-hot-and-sweaty for that one. “You,” Edward said and pointed at Jamie. “Can it be rebuilt in three days?” Jamie looked startled and then an expression crossed his face that Edward couldn’t understand. A flash of fear or reluctance? It disappeared too quickly for Edward to get a real lock on it. “I can do it,” Jamie said. He crossed his arms over his chest and the movement revealed the impression of dog tags under his sleeveless T-shirt. God. Dog tags as a design accessory was so nineties. Edward shook the random thought from his head. Focus. “You have two days to get me to a yes or no position. The Osborne party arrives in three days and I must have ideas of an alternative if the gazebo is a no-go.” As Edward summarized his position Lucas was regarding him with a very odd expression on his face. The man had never really seen Edward in full-flight damage limitation before. Marylou-Beth said it was a sight to behold and scared the shit out of everyone in its path. Jamie disappeared out the back door without saying anything and Edward caught sight of that gorgeous ass again. Pity it belonged to the guy who was ruining his business. Great. There came his drama gene again.

Under The Sun - with Meredith Russell

The Sapphire Cay series Written with Meredith Russell Book 1 - Follow The Sun Book 2 - Under The Sun Book 3 - Chase The Sun The Book Opposi...

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Follow The Sun (with Meredith Russell)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zlYFmWFw0Q8/UGtJWxCPDRI/AAAAAAAAEE0/AV9emHWsSMg/s1600/FTS400.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zlYFmWFw0Q8/UGtJWxCPDRI/AAAAAAAAEE0/AV9emHWsSMg/s400/FTS400.png" width="266" /></a></div>Self Published through Love Lane Books <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16059133-follow-the-sun" target="_blank">Add to Goodreads</a> The first in a series of books set on Sapphire Cay. Romance and drama on a Cay in the Bahamas. Book 1 - Follow the Sun Lucas Madison is in the Bahamas for his sister's wedding on the beautiful and idyllic island of Sapphire Cay. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders. With the stress of his job, the loss of his friend, and faced with his own medical crisis, Lucas arrives on the white sands of Sapphire Cay ill and exhausted. His only thought is to see his sister married and happy. Dylan Gray is a free-spirited traveller who literally follows the sun. Never settling in one place for long, he earns his way from state to state and continent to continent. But there's something about Sapphire Cay that draws him back over and over. A feeling of home. When these two men meet, both have decisions to make and directions to choose. And maybe together, they can make the right ones and follow not only the sun, but also their hearts. This is the story of Lucas and Dylan, set against the stunning landscape of Sapphire Cay. Coming to an e-reader near you 20 October 2012

Follow The Sun (with Meredith Russell)

Self Published through Love Lane Books Add to Goodreads The first in a series of books set on Sapphire Cay. Romance and drama on a Cay in th...

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Follow The Sun (with Meredith Russell)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtwNJq5hx_FiDOCAs24Kk5cE6inqRn6h7E1aBxTbZ6mhEhwkwe33QyBGoQSR8bj40Ad4cbwxQX3gAlcCz2F8GzSsqj_BrRhB1ZvywPLrp5McuuEi7xIlcnguD1dByXzGFFukoDPVxpio/s1600/FTS400x600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtwNJq5hx_FiDOCAs24Kk5cE6inqRn6h7E1aBxTbZ6mhEhwkwe33QyBGoQSR8bj40Ad4cbwxQX3gAlcCz2F8GzSsqj_BrRhB1ZvywPLrp5McuuEi7xIlcnguD1dByXzGFFukoDPVxpio/s640/FTS400x600.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>The Sapphire Cay series Written with Meredith Russell <div> Book 1 - Follow The Sun Book 2 - <a href="http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/under-sun-with-meredith-russell.html">Under The Sun</a> Book 3 - <a href="http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/chase-sun-sapphire-cay-3.html">Chase The Sun</a></div> The Book <div> Lucas Madison is in the Bahamas for his sister's wedding on the beautiful and idyllic island of Sapphire Cay. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders. With the stress of his job, the loss of his friend, and faced with his own medical crisis, Lucas arrives on the white sands of Sapphire Cay gray and exhausted. His only thought is to see his sister married and happy. Dylan Gray is a free-spirited traveler who literally follows the sun. Never settling in one place for long, he earns his way from state to state and continent to continent. But there's something about Sapphire Cay that draws him back over and over. A feeling of home. When these two men meet, both have decisions to make and directions to choose. And maybe together, they can make the right ones and follow not only the sun, but also their hearts. This is the story of Lucas and Dylan, set against the stunning landscape of Sapphire Cay. Buy Links - eBook <a href="https://www.lovelanebooks.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=19" target="_blank">Love Lane Books</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009RMYTLS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B009RMYTLS&linkCode=as2&tag=rjsc-20" target="_blank">Amazon (US)</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009RMYTLS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B009RMYTLS&linkCode=as2&tag=rjsc-21" target="_blank">Amazon (UK)</a> | <a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-followthesun-975634-145.html" target="_blank">All Romance</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/follow-the-sun-rj-scott/1113779415?ean=2940045053600" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> | <a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Books/follow-the-sun-2" target="_blank">Kobo </a>| <a href="https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/rj-scott/follow-the-sun/_/R-400000000000000860281" target="_blank">Sony</a> | <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/246564" target="_blank">Smashwords</a> Buy Links - Print Book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1483942716/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1483942716&linkCode=as2&tag=rjsc-20" target="_blank">Amazon (US)</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Follow-Sun-Stories-Sapphire-Cay/dp/1483942716/ref=sr_1_2_bnp_1_pap?ie=UTF8&qid=1379408751&sr=8-2&keywords=follow+the+sun" target="_blank">Amazon (UK)</a> Reviews <a href="http://heartsonfirereviews.com/?p=15877" target="_blank">Hearts on Fire Reviews</a> - 4/5 - "....I recommend this story to anyone looking for a slow burn romance.  Ms Scott and Ms Russell have proven that they can write a good romance as a team.  I’m looking forward to book two in this easy going series...."</div> Excerpt - Chapters 1 & 2 <div> Chapter 1 “We want you in place by the fourth of next month and no later.” Oscar Morgan was not beating around the bush. His words were brusque, final, and brooked no argument. Lucas Madison swallowed the sudden feelings of claustrophobia and panic—quickly calculating how much time that gave him. Two weeks on the island, and then he would need to return straight to the office. He closed his eyes against the bright sun and shifted in the waiting room seat until his five-ten frame was finally in a comfortable position. That wasn’t enough time to get his head straight. “That’s a bit tight,” he said. Choosing his words carefully was his stock in trade these days. React too aggressively and Oscar would see he wasn’t as committed as he used to be. Lucas had to toe the company line and stay focused despite the fact his head was at direct odds with his heart, which was telling him to just walk away. <a name="more"></a>Oscar tutted. What? Why the tutting? Did he think there was any other response Lucas could give? The deadline was tight—what did Oscar want him to do? Magically prepare contracts and negotiate terms? Lucas bit his tongue and began to count back from ten. “Johnson not being here to cover you is hard enough,” Oscar began. Lucas closed his eyes. The grief over losing his friend was still fresh. Oscar mentioning Alan’s name as if dying at fifty-three was an inconvenience served to do nothing except cut the wound open again. His boss was still talking and Lucas forced himself to listen. “I’m not entirely convinced the new rep, Patterson, can handle the west coast as much as we had hoped. You need to get in there before he does more damage than you can fix.” A mix of emotions washed over him at the words ‘West Coast’. Ever since Alan Johnson, Lucas’s friend and mentor and the existing West Coast manager, had keeled over in the parking lot after his youngest boy’s ball game, the general consensus was that Lucas would be the new manager on that side of the US. Alan had two kids in college, so much to look forward to, and at fifty-three, he was too young to have died. They said he had a stroke and that his body just gave up but Lucas knew better; Morgan Municipal had killed his friend. Lucas hadn’t known where to turn since Alan was gone. The company had insisted, in some kind of corporate panic following Alan’s death, that all employees get physicals at their own expense—just to make sure no one else died on their books. Lucas hadn’t been worried about his physical. He’d passed his first one for the company at twenty-two with flying colors and this time would surely be no different. He was thirty-two, not sixty-two, and he was fit. Not a gym rat by any stretch of the imagination, but he was healthy. The news he had been given had been enough to knock everything into perspective. He may well have investments, a nearly mortgage-free house, and a growing pension, but he also had eighteen-hour work days. All the plans for the future paled next to what he had been told. If he didn’t stop, he was dead. Simple. Ulcers and high blood pressure were slowly killing him. “I’ll be there on the fourth,” Lucas said carefully. He’d be there to negotiate fewer hours and more support. The constant nagging tension in his chest spiked in a sharp pain. Friends warned him that working eighteen-hour days six, sometimes seven days a week was going to end up killing him. They didn’t need to warn him anymore; doctors had done a very good job of cutting short the future laid before him. Glancing over at his sister, he caught her glaring back at him. He didn’t blame her for her reaction. After all, she didn’t know what was wrong, and why would he tell her? This was her wedding and he had spent ten years caring for his sister and shielding her from the bad things in life. He wasn’t about to stop now. He had promised her he wouldn’t be on his phone every hour God sent, but receiving this call from Morgan himself wasn’t something he could ignore. This last job would bring in enough money to tide him over for a year. He wouldn’t need to touch his extensive savings and investments. Just one more job and then he’d take some time off. Tasha was still staring, but there was a new expression on her face. A thoughtful, lost look of sadness that he had put there. Oscar’s voice was still in his ear. “This contract needs negotiations; Patterson has already messed up on most of it. You need to go in there, negotiate with the partners, make them an offer, and stick by it.” “Is he getting any backup?” Patterson had been headhunted into Morgan Municipal as a bright young thing. A small sense of satisfaction washed over Lucas when he heard Patterson was fucking things up, but then he felt immediately guilty. Patterson was a nice man and reminded Lucas of what he had been like ten years ago: full of enthusiasm for his career and aiming for a bright future. “He’s a liability,” Morgan said. “Can’t even negotiate a decent contract in our favor. He’s too damn nice for his own good. Between you and me, I’m considering having his papers drawn up this morning to let him go as soon as you’re back on US soil. You’ll be flying straight from Miami to Sea-Tac. I’ll have Anna arrange the flights. I’m emailing you the files for the negotiation that Patterson fucked up; I’ll need them back in ten days to pass through the steering group.” So casually, the boss decided that Patterson was a liability. Patterson had been good for Lucas, lessening the time he was needed in the office. Yes, he was new and somewhat inexperienced, but his input had made a work-life balance possible for Lucas. And now his boss was removing that crutch entirely? One more thing to tip the balance for Lucas to just up and leave. Ten days. Lucas thought about what the next week and a half held for him. A wedding rehearsal and meal, the wedding itself. That left the rest of what he was supposed to be calling a vacation. He could clear the contract files left for him if he could just get a solid ten-hour day in somewhere. One more contract finished and he could ride the bonus on it for a year. Get some rest. Get well. Tasha would have to understand without him explaining fully what he was doing. As long as he was there next to her when she walked down the aisle, or whatever people did on beach weddings, then he was sure she would be fine. He would have done his brotherly duties and seen Tasha marry. Maybe then he could slip in a bit of work. She’d be preoccupied with Liam and being all loved up. “Send it over,” Lucas agreed softly. Casually, he glanced up and over at his sister. She wasn’t watching him but he could tell she was listening. He knew her too well and braced himself for the tongue lashing that accompanied him disappointing her. She simply looked his way briefly. There was no censure on her expression; instead her eyes held that same incredible sadness. Lucas bristled but then just as quickly deflated. Great. He was in for one of his sister’s pity talks. She had to see that not everyone was going to be lucky enough to be part of a ‘married with kids, settled for life’ scenario; hell, he was gay, as he liked to remind her. It wasn’t part of the hand he’d been dealt. The whole family thing certainly hadn’t worked out for Alan, nor was it looking so hot for Patterson. “Lucas? You still there?” Lucas snapped back to concentrating on the person at the other end of the phone. “Sorry. Bad line.” His boss tutted his disapproval again. “Damned inconvenient, you leaving on a vacation at this point.” His sister’s wedding wasn’t really a vacation and he couldn’t and wouldn’t let Tasha down. His sister was the only family he had since he became her guardian at twenty-two when she had just turned seventeen. She wanted two full weeks on an island retreat to get married, and she wanted her brother to stop his life just for those two weeks. He would do anything for her. She’d always wanted a big wedding, but Lucas had always imagined a white dress and a church somewhere in their home city of Seattle. Setting the wedding on Sapphire Cay in the Bahamas, only accessible by boat and as far away from civilization as it was possible to get, was a shock. As far as he remembered, she was always dressing her Barbies in white and making churches out of cardboard boxes. He even recalled the day he announced Ken was actually gay, which had sent Tasha into a tailspin of temper. His mom had calmed them down, but when he was fourteen and Tasha was nine, he already knew devious ways of bypassing his mom’s talks. He wasn’t even entirely sure at that point that he had known what gay was. Nope, that revelation hit him in the face with enough force to send him to his knees when he turned fifteen. Being appreciative on gym days of his friends’ bodies and being entirely not interested in the blooming of boobs had kind of been the nail in the proverbial coffin. He was gay. He wasn’t going to get married and have two kids and a dog and a freaking minivan. He was going to find his success and fulfillment in a different way. “My sister is getting married,” Lucas explained. There was another huff and then his boss simply confirmed the files had been mailed and ended the call. Lucas pocketed his phone and casually looked around for some kind of sign that proclaimed internet access. He couldn’t see anything in the immediate area and he stood and stretched tall. “What are you doing?” Tasha asked suspiciously. He had been sure she was looking the other way; she had eyes in the back of her head that one. “Going to look for the bathroom,” Lucas said evenly. With a smile, he sauntered away from her and her fiancé and the rest of his sister’s friends. He didn’t really know any of them but guessed they were here as support. That and a vacation. He passed the welcome desk and checked the arrival time for their water taxi from Marsh Harbor to Sapphire Cay. According to the schedule, he had another forty minutes. Plenty of time to find a computer, locate the email, and print off the supposed clusterfuck that Patterson had created. Then he could maybe look at it on the boat and slip it out as and when he had time. Paperwork downloaded and printed—all forty-seven pages—and with a smile of thanks from the administrator who was now holding eighty dollars in his hands, Lucas pushed the papers into his flight bag and made his way back to his sister. “You’ve been gone half an hour,” she said with a sigh. “Was exploring. Killing time,” he lied again. He was getting good at this lying thing. “Why did you take your bag?” “I didn’t want you to worry about it.” “You’re working aren’t you?” She stood up with frustration in her eyes. “I’m not.” “Lucas, I can see right through you.” This time the frustration was tinged with sadness and resignation. “Leave it, Tasha. Okay?” Stress built inside him. It was his hard work that had put her through college so she could get a decent job, and it was his money helping her to hire a freaking island to get married on, so she should hold off on commenting on his life. Or lack of it. Jeez. Where had that thought come from? She was his sister and just worried about him. He was the one fucking everything up. She’d been the first person to be there when Alan died, the only one outside of Alan’s family who knew just how much the man meant to him. Alan’s kids called him Uncle, and Rosemary, Alan’s wife of over thirty years, knew all his favorite dinners. “We need to move to the quayside. The boat will be ready to go in ten,” Liam interrupted the brother-sister face-off diplomatically. His sister’s fiancé was good at that. Lucas could feel Tasha’s guests staring at them, and embarrassment crawled inside him. Carefully, he turned away and grabbed the handle of his rolling suitcase. With that and his flight bag, he was ready to go and the discussion was diverted. Tasha was distracted by getting her bags and the argument was shelved. Lucas doubted it would be forgotten. Finally, they were all standing at the quayside after locating the mooring for the Sapphire Cay boat, curiously called Lady Liberty. “Come aboard.” A man was waiting for them and holding out his hand to help each person onto the wide-open and frankly flimsy-looking boat. When it was Lucas’s turn, he first passed on his luggage and the captain placed it with the other bags. Concentrating on seeing his bag was placed in the right area, he stumbled as he climbed in, and the guy had to use some of the muscles he was showing in a cutoff tee and board shorts to steady Lucas. Irritated that he needed help at all, he turned his back to the slightly taller man and focused on finding a seat to the side of the small boat. Finally, he was seated just in front of a redhead, who kept talking about the kids she had left with her mom, and her partner, who nodded at everything she said. He was sitting at an angle to his sister, who grasped Liam’s hand like she was never letting go. He liked Liam. Liked him a lot. That was the protective big brother inside him who wanted his sister happy and settled with a good man. Liam was a good man with a solid career in marketing and his own agency. “Okay. Y’all ready to go?” Tall-guy’s voice was melodious, and if Lucas wasn’t mistaken there was a hint of the south in the drawled vowels. As everyone else said their yeses, Lucas took the time to appreciate the view. And he didn’t mean the crystal blue sea or the vastness of the azure sky. He was focusing on every little detail of their captain, or whatever he called himself. “Welcome aboard. My name is Dylan.” Well that answers that question. “I’ll be taking you over to the Cay. Just a few things. The trip to Sapphire Cay should take us about fifty minutes. Please no leaning over the side and no jumping off the boat until we’re in deeper waters. Just to warn you, we often have heavy rain that lasts for a few minutes and then clears just as quickly, but there are umbrellas in the storage bin at the back.” Dylan moved past the guests to the back of the boat and started the small outboard motor. He slipped the rope and soon they were heading away from Marsh Harbor and out into the expanse of ocean. From his seat, Lucas had a good look at the man who was competently guiding them to the island for the wedding. He was probably an inch or so above his own five ten, and he had the fit, lean body of a swimmer. Lean and muscled and with skin burnished gold by the Bahamian sun, he was a sight for sore eyes. Lucas couldn’t remember the last time he had the space to stare at a good-looking guy just for the sake of it. Dylan’s hair was a fascinating shade of dark brown shot through with sun-bleached blond strands that hung in soft, shaggy waves around his face. With brightly colored board shorts and a faded pink tee, he was the epitome of beach bum. Lucas spent a good amount of time imagining the color of Dylan’s eyes since dark shades hid them. He pictured them the same cornflower blue as the sky or maybe an emerald green like the shallow sea. He was just relieved he could stare from behind his own shades. Dylan wouldn’t know. The fifty minutes passed against the background of chattering and lots of oohing and aahing from various passengers. Dylan pointed out schools of blue and green parrot fish. Even Lucas admitted they were stunning as they darted this way and that around the boat, and the shimmer of color was fascinating to see. They caught their first glimpse of Sapphire Cay as little more than a smudge on the horizon. The smile on Tasha’s face as they drew nearer was one of wonder, and a small part of Lucas melted as he watched her expression. Whatever he had to do while he was here, none of it was as important as seeing his sister happy. He picked at his shirt, pulling it away from his skin and moving it so air hit him. Sweat was pooling at the back of his neck and the base of his spine. Maybe slacks and a shirt were not the most practical of clothing for a boat trip in the Bahamas. “So, you didn’t bring anyone with you?” the redhead with the kids asked him. Clearly, she had run out of stories about toddling and talking and diapers and had turned her attention to her next victim. “Huh?” “You’re here alone? Is your boyfriend coming over later?” “I am currently boyfriendless,” Lucas responded. Like it was actually possible to have any kind of relationship right now. There was just so much else going on. It wouldn’t be fair to him or anyone. Although, why it was any of her business he didn’t know. Clearly though, she knew enough about him to feel comfortable with her questions. “You never know, there may be some cute young thing on the island for you.” Lucas doubted it. Sapphire Cay had about twenty staff, including the owners, and the rest of the population was made up of the guests sitting in the boat and the few others that arrived tomorrow. It didn’t make the pool of prospective gay suitors all that big. “I have too much work to do to look for men,” he said. He regretted the statement when his sister piped up with her usual anti-work refrain. “Luc is happier taking his work to bed,” she said cheekily. Lucas buried his head to stop anyone from seeing the blush of temper at his sister bandying around his personal life. He was a private person and he didn’t know these people from Adam. He mumbled something appropriate. “If you look to your left, you’ll see the dock and the hotel now,” Dylan interrupted. Lucas was never happier to hear the captain’s voice and he looked up to see Dylan looking back at him. There was a curious expression on his face. Puzzlement? Inquiry? A frown? Lucas looked away quickly. He wasn’t dealing with what a stranger thought about what he had heard any more than he could be bothered to deal with the rest of the people on the boat. The hotel was wide, low, and painted white. The building was nestled in amongst greenery, and wide steps led up from the beach. A welcoming party waited on the beach, and with bags off of the boat and his five-hundred dollar shoes sinking in the sand, Lucas followed the rest of the party up the stairs and to the hotel foyer. Crisp and clean and cool, it was a welcome after the sun on his back for so long. He just wanted a shower and a drink, most definitely in that order. The captain didn’t follow them up into the hotel and Lucas was left to wonder how the man filled his time. Did he stay here on the island between trips or return to the mainland? Probably the latter. Shame. Lucas would have liked to have stared some more. Chapter 2 Christ, he needed a drink. He hadn’t officially started on any medication yet, happy to put it off until after the weekend. With that in mind, he planned to make the most of it. This could possibly be the last occasion that he and alcohol were joined at the hip. Lucas held the empty champagne flute in his hand and gently tapped his fingers against its rim. The redhead, now formally introduced as Kate, chief and only bridesmaid for his sister, had made it her duty to get to know every detail of his life. He was, after all, father, mother, and brother of the bride all rolled into one. He smiled politely as Kate reeled off another fun fact about his sister. Apparently, she and Tasha went to Vegas last year. “And there was this man in drag and he was…” She grinned and leaned in close. “Well, I don’t need to tell you. I bet you see all kinds of crazy things.” “Crazy things?” He probably shouldn’t have asked. “Well,” she said and then lowered her voice as if to tell a secret, “you’re gay.” Lucas raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Yes, I am,” he said slowly, not entirely sure how that had anything to do with seeing so-called ‘crazy things’. Kate winked and, seemingly content with Lucas’s answer, turned back to talk to her husband. This was going to be a long night. Clearing his throat, Lucas waved a hand in the air. He really needed that drink. He smiled as he met the eyes of the pretty blonde who had been serving the table all night, and she was quickly at his side, filling his glass with champagne. He eyed the back of Kate’s head. He’d never met the woman in his life and tried to recall what her connection was to his sister. He remembered there had been a Kate at university—Tasha’s second-year roommate. That must be it. To be honest, he knew very few of Tasha’s friends. He had always been working, and then a couple of years ago she had moved in with Liam. “Are you okay?” Tasha asked as she rested her hand over Lucas’s. He smiled as her warm fingers circled around his. “I’m so sorry if she’s bothering you.” She smirked as she leaned forward and looked at Kate. “It’s fine,” Lucas lied. The woman was annoying but she had a big heart. She loved her husband, her children, and from the sound of it, she loved Tasha like a sister. “And no, you’re not sorry.” She’d have done it on purpose. It was her way of making him suffer for even daring to think about working while he was out here. It was a vacation, she had told him several times. A well-deserved one. Tasha grinned. “She’s an acquired taste,” she said with a laugh and tucked a strand of her dark blonde hair behind her ear. She seemed to have relaxed since that morning. Stress and nerves had been creeping in over the last few days, but now that she, her husband-to-be, their closest family and friends, and, most importantly, her dress had all arrived safely on the island, she was finally looking forward to her big day. Christ, how was it his baby sister was getting married tomorrow? He had been responsible for her for almost ten years and had proudly watched as she had grown from an annoying seventeen-year-old brat into a fine, dedicated young woman. Lucas smiled and met his sister’s eyes. “So long as she’s your taste, I really don’t mind.” He pressed his lips to her temple in a warm kiss. All he wanted was for this weekend to go off without a hitch. Tasha deserved to be happy. He chewed thoughtfully on his lip, and his smile grew wider. It was time to play his part. Getting to his feet, Lucas picked up his glass and fork, chiming them together as he called for attention. “What are you doing?” Tasha asked in a hushed voice. This was something she hadn’t planned on. “My duty,” he said. Taking a deep breath, he looked around the large, circular table and at the eight expectant faces staring back up at him. If this was a meeting for Municipal, he’d have his tablet, projector, PowerPoint presentations filled with charts and data, and his performance would be spot on. Every single thing would be perfect. Pushing his hand into his pants pocket, he did his best to relax. “Hi,” he started, kind of wishing his opening had had a little more impact. “As most of you know, my baby sister is getting married tomorrow.” Kate whooped and everyone laughed. “First, I want to thank the staff for a beautiful evening.” He nodded toward the row of staff lined up against the far wall. “I expect you’ll make tomorrow just as amazing.” He turned back to Tasha and her guests. “And I want to welcome you all to Sapphire Cay on behalf of Natasha and Liam.” He glanced down at his sister, relieved to find a smile on her face and Liam’s arm around her shoulder. “Obviously, we’ve a few guests missing right now so I’ll save my best lines for tomorrow for maximum embarrassment on Tasha’s part.” He grinned as Liam laughed. Turning to Tasha, he raised his glass. “I just want to wish you all the best for tomorrow. I know Mom and Dad would have been incredibly proud.” He smiled and held his glass out toward Tasha. “To Tasha and Liam.” “To Tasha and Liam,” the guests repeated. Lucas smiled as he sipped his drink. Tasha wrapped her hand around his and pulled him down into his seat. “Thank you,” she said, and there was a twinge in Lucas’s chest when he found tears glazing her hazel eyes. Had it really been ten years? He remembered the day like it was yesterday—Officers Jenkins and Tabor standing in his parents’ living room with their hats in their hands and offering their condolences. Tenderly, he cupped her cheek and then slid his hand through her blonde hair so like his own. Leaning over, he kissed her cheek. “Don’t go ruining your makeup,” he whispered. Tasha laughed and his heart swelled with pride and warmth. They hadn’t done so bad since their parents had been cruelly taken from them. Tasha was a beautiful and successful young woman, and she was going to be an equally amazing wife and mother. Whether he was part of her life or not, she was going to do just fine. “Ladies and gentlemen, would you like to move the party outside to the pool area. We have much to set up for tomorrow,” the wedding coordinator announced with his clipped British accent. The suited and booted cliché-gay was a little too sure of himself for Lucas’s liking, but he was to the point and beyond efficient, if not slightly regimental. Seriously, at one point, Lucas felt like they were preparing for battle, not a wedding. “Help yourselves to another glass of champagne as you leave. The bar will open shortly.” “Isn’t Edward amazing? He’s gay you know. Well, I don’t know for sure but he probably is,” Kate slurred from Lucas’s right. She leaned forward and Lucas feared he was about to see far more of Kate than he really needed to. “It’s going to be so beautiful tomorrow. Do you think he has a boyfriend? I mean, you could totally be his boyfriend, right?” At that point her husband wrapped his hands around her wrist and gently guided her back to him. Lucas couldn’t have been more grateful. Sure the wedding coordinator was kind of cute in a straight-laced, up-his-own-ass kind of way, but totally not his type and definitely not what he needed right now. Edward edged towards a bit too obvious and colorful for Lucas to feel entirely comfortable. What he had to do now was high-maintenance enough without having a partner like that demanding his time and energy. Lucas rested his elbow on the table and watched the flurry of movement as everyone excitedly followed his sister and her fiancé to the exit. He smiled as he watched his sister’s friend, Kate, being guided around the furniture and toward the door. He couldn’t remember seeing her without a drink all evening, and it seemed alcohol and the heat had finally taken their toll. Downing what was left of his glass of champagne, Lucas got to his feet. Kate wasn’t the only one flagging. The day had been a continuous parade of ‘doing’—the flight, the boat ride, checking in, unpacking, showering, changing, the rehearsal, drinks, and the meal. And somehow he’d managed to grab an hour to skim through the first several pages of the contract, and already he regretted it. Patterson had certainly screwed the pooch this time. Municipal wouldn’t be happy with the offer he’d made, and it was going to take some serious backpedaling to get this thing fixed and calm the waters. What Patterson had done was beneficial to workers and owners alike but it cut Municipal’s percentage to under six percent. To Lucas’s mind this was a good deal and the kind of thing he wished Municipal negotiated every time. Municipal knew Lucas was good. Lucas knew he was good. But this good? Somehow he needed to redo the contract, raise Municipal’s percentage, and all the while not screw over staff and owners of the respective companies, or, indeed, Patterson. With a sigh, Lucas slid his glass onto the table and made his way outside. He closed his eyes as he was greeted with cooler air mixed in with the humidity. Thank God. Since arriving on the island he’d had a constant layer of sticky sweat between him and his clothes. Even in the lightweight chinos and casual, short-sleeved shirt, Lucas had felt overwhelmed with the heat. But finally the promised cooler evening had arrived, and it was very much appreciated. A high-pitched squeal suddenly erupted from among the guests and Lucas opened his eyes in time to see Kate’s husband lift her from the ground. She squealed and kicked her legs, losing one of her expensive sandals as she was tossed through the air and came down with an almighty splash in the pool. What was it about alcohol that had grown adults behaving like children? He couldn’t help but laugh as Kate stood up in the pool and smacked her hands against the surface of the water. She looked like she was about to have a full-on tantrum. Angrily, she pulled her wet hair back from her face and screeched at her husband, claiming he was a dead man. Lucas smiled as the guests burst into laughter and the one sober and sensible head of the group, Vanessa, Liam’s mom, began shooing them from the poolside. His smile turned to a smirk as Vanessa held out her hands to Kate. A risky move for the prim and proper sixty-year-old. He half expected—and in a small way kind of wanted—Kate to grab the woman’s hand and pull Vanessa in alongside her. Fortunately, that didn’t happen, and instead, Kate emerged from the water drenched and dripping and glaring at her husband. Lucas should really have listened to his name when Kate introduced them. He would like to shake that guy’s hand and applaud his bravery, because from the look on Kate’s face, he was totally in for it when she got him alone. Leaving the rest of the guests to their games, Lucas wandered idly across the decking and down the single step to the small bar. Wooden in structure, it mixed the modern, classy smooth edges and neutral colors of a city cocktail bar with a whimsical tropical feel with its grass roof, lanterns, and chains of fake orchids and various other brightly colored flowers. He stopped as he reached the bar and rested against the solid edge. Leaning his head to one side, he admired the view. Now this was something he could appreciate. He stared at the ass of the figure behind the counter. The bartender was distracted, crouched down in front of one of the coolers and arranging bottles of drink so their labels faced outward. Lucas slid onto one of the barstools and continued to watch. The bartender was wearing tight, black jeans that accentuated the curve of his ass, and a sliver of tanned skin was on show as he bent over and his white shirt rode up his back. “What can I get ya?” sexy-assed bartender said as he got to his feet. Lucas sat up straight, surprised the bartender knew he was there. “Erm…” What the hell did he want? The bartender turned around and Lucas was pretty sure his jaw hit the bar as he stared up at the same man who had brought them over on the boat. “Oh, hi,” he managed and quickly averted his gaze and glanced over to where Tasha and Liam were locked in an embrace. Their profiles were set against a net of twinkling fairy lights and he couldn’t remember them ever looking as in love and happy as they did right now. “Brother of the bride, right?” the barman asked. Lucas nodded, adjusting his position to sit more comfortably. “Captain Dylan,” he said and flashed a smile. “Just Dylan.” The captain, Dylan, looked past Lucas at the rest of the wedding party. “They look like they’re having fun.” Lucas turned on his stool and looked across the group of guests. Kate seemed oblivious to the fact she looked like a half-drowned rat as she held a glass of champagne in her hand and was deep in conversation with Vanessa. Kate’s husband was keeping his distance and sharing a joke with Tasha’s remaining guests. “So, what can I get for you?” Dylan asked again and rested his hands on the bar as he waited. On the bar was a cocktail list. Picking it up, Lucas eyed the various concoctions. “What would you suggest?” he said and laid the menu out flat. Dylan scanned the list. “Sex on the Beach is quite popular.” He gave a mischievous grin, as his eyes briefly met Lucas’s. Their rich ocean blue was more beautiful than anything Lucas had imagined lay behind the shades Dylan wore on the boat. Lucas drew his lower lip between his teeth. “I’m not crazy about sand,” he said suggestively and then focused on the cocktails. “I’ll have an Apple Mojito. Thanks.” He closed the menu and pushed it to one side. “Coming right up.” Dylan turned and searched for the ingredients to put together the Mojito—rum, apple liqueur, soda water, lime, syrup, crushed ice, and mint leaves. Lucas watched the flick of Dylan’s wrist as he muddled the lime and syrup with the mint leaves. “So, are you a boat-guy moonlighting as a cocktail-guy or the other way around?” he asked. He wasn’t sure which to bet on. Dylan was lean and tanned, stubble covered his jaw, and Lucas could see him halfway to crusty old seadog already. And yet with the tight jeans and the white, open-collar shirt, his hair swept back from his face, and the finesse with which he was pouring and mixing, Dylan definitely had the exotic bartender feel to him. Pouring the drink over ice, Dylan then finished the glass with a slice of lime, fresh mint leaves, and a straw. “What would you say if I said neither and both?” Dylan accompanied his mysterious answer with a grin. Rolling up his sleeves, he slid the glass toward Lucas. The drink looked good, as did the man who made it. Lucas’s gaze drifted from the drink to the inside of Dylan’s wrist and the tattoo that was now visible. He stared at the outline of a spiraling sun, made up of a large circle with equally spaced curved rays around its circumference. It was filled in a mixture of yellow and orange and words were written beneath it in a script Lucas couldn’t read from where he was. “Is that for me?” Tasha chimed in as she stumbled up against him and flopped across his lap. “No,” he said and sucked on his straw. The rum and apple taste was refreshing, and he had to stop himself before he finished the drink too quickly. “How the hell are you going to get up in the morning?” Was he supposed to look after her now that Kate was pool-soaked and definitely not sober? “I’m fine. Stop being a party pooper and have some fun.” Lucas rolled his eyes upward and stared at the night sky. It was clear and the stars shone brightly. “I mean it,” Tasha continued. “It’s a vacation. I don’t want you working all week or next week. You could do with getting a tan and drinking cocktails out of coconuts.” She stopped and looked up at Dylan. “You do have cocktails in coconuts, right?” “They can certainly be arranged,” Dylan said with a smile. “See?” She stood up and wrapped her arm around Lucas’s shoulder. “Please, for me and for you, no work while you’re here.” Tasha put on a firm look. “I mean it. I worry about you. I don’t want to lose you.” Unspoken was Alan and everything he had left behind. “Tasha!” Thank God. They both turned to where Liam was motioning for her to join him. Soon they would go to their separate rooms and Liam was evidently keen to spend as much time with her as possible before that happened. “Promise,” Tasha said. Lucas debated what to do. “Promise,” he lied. He watched as Tasha made her way unsteadily in three-inch heels back to her husband-to-be. “Are you okay?” Dylan asked, and Lucas tiredly pinched the bridge of his nose. “Your sister seems a real sweet girl.” “She is,” Lucas said and rested his arms on the bar. He thoughtfully looked up at Dylan. Boat-guy or cocktail-guy? “Do you ever feel like you should be somewhere else, doing something else?” Dylan met Lucas’s eyes and nodded. “Of course.” He smiled and leaned on the bar opposite Lucas. “It’s why I’m not the sole captain of that boat or the bartender mixing cocktails past the end of next month.” Narrowing his eyes, Lucas needed to ask. “Why?” “I’ve never subscribed to the whole settling for just one thing. There are a million and one places to visit, people to talk to, and jobs to have.” Despite saying this, Dylan had a thoughtful expression on his face. If he had made that statement with a grin then Lucas may well have left it but something about Dylan’s demeanor made him want to carry on this thread of conversation. “But aren’t some things worth settling for?” Lucas asked. Because of his job, Tasha had never wanted for anything. That was a good thing. Right? “Sure, I guess,” Dylan said and leaned back as Kate’s husband joined Lucas at the bar. He glanced at Lucas and smiled. “If you settle for the right reasons.” Not knowing what else to say, Lucas nodded his reply, and then taking his drink, he left his chair and walked past the hut, down onto the beach. Awkwardly and one-handed, making sure not to spill the drink, he removed shoes and socks and then left them in a small pile as he wandered down towards the gently rolling waves. The night was warm and there was a faint breeze that ruffled through his hair and brought with it the scent of the sea. He reached the water and immediately took a step into the cool sea, not really caring that the bottoms of his pants were getting wet. He’d packed shorts and cutoffs for after the wedding, getting this spare pair of dress pants wet meant he was more likely to wear the shorts. The only way to make sure he lived a little. His mind went from work to Alan to his health and inevitably settled on Tasha. Her meeting Liam, a man who could provide for her as well as Lucas had done, was the other part to this complicated jigsaw Lucas called life. In his opinion, no man would ever be good enough for his sister, but Liam came damn close. He was a solid, steady man with a passionate soul, and Tasha and he were perfect for each other. She had wanted Lucas to leave Municipal as soon as she heard Alan had died. She worried about Lucas as much as he worried about her. “And you think the stress won’t kill you as well?” she said with passion. “You’re thirty-two years old yet you walk around exhausted and gray. I never see you, and I worry.” “It isn’t like that,” he defended. “I’m younger than Alan and I know my limits—” “So did Alan.” He had no response to that one really. He could lie to everyone as much as he wanted, but he couldn’t lie to himself anymore. Instead he focused on the why of working as opposed to the actual doing. “I work so I have something for the future.” “You’ve said that before, Luc, and I’m the only one that can say this to you. Alan had a solid future—a pension, a family.” Sighing, he kicked at a small pile of sand on the edge of the water as he walked out of the water and back onto the beach. He glanced up at the beautiful hotel, lit with a thousand low lamps that cast a glow out into the surrounding darkness. The air was still humid, but there was a breeze coming in off the sea and the whoosh of the waves lulled him out of his introspection. He had to draw a line under his working life and decide what he was going to do now; it was the only way to move forward. Folding his legs under him, he sat cross-legged on the soft sand and looked out at the blackness of dark sky and iron sea. Was it the best thing for him to take up a new role on the fourth of next month? Was it worth losing his health and living on pills for the rest of his life? Would he be able to leave Municipal once the bonus for this last job was paid? Or should he change the direction of his whole life? He bet Alan would have wanted another chance to make these kinds of decisions. </div>

Follow The Sun (with Meredith Russell)

The Sapphire Cay series Written with Meredith Russell Book 1 - Follow The Sun Book 2 - Under The Sun Book 3 - Chase The Sun The Book Lucas ...

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