Charming You (Thirsty Hearts Book 1) (32 page)
Read Charming You (Thirsty Hearts Book 1) Online
Authors: Kris Jayne
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The next two books in the Thirsty Hearts series are available now! Can’t wait? Turn the page, and enjoy the following excerpt from Choosing You now... Follow the continuing story of Taryn and Jeff. Will they make it down the aisle?
Taryn Lieber has a date set to marry a man beyond her dreams. Jeff McConnell, and his feisty daughter, Olivia, transformed her life. She never thought she’d want a ready-made family. Now, she can’t wait.
The only good to come out of Jeff McConnell’s first marriage was his curly-haired daughter and the unfulfilled desire for a woman to stand with him as he conquered the world. When he met Taryn, he knew instantly she was the one.
Taryn and Jeff have plans for marriage, adoption, and a life together, but those plans fall apart when Jeff’s ex-wife shows up, wanting to be part of Olivia’s life. What does the woman want? Taryn’s instincts tell her Shannon Nelson is an unreliable, scheming opportunist. Jeff’s compassion compels him to find a way for Olivia to reconnect with her biological mother.
Conflict, mistrust, and danger follow as Taryn and Jeff try to hang on to the love that brought them together and make it down the aisle.
New job. New address. New name. Shannon Clifton has one focus. After missing most of the first seven years of her daughter’s life, she’s getting her life together to be a good mother to Olivia. She’ll prove to her ex-husband and the world that her past of drug addiction and crime is history.
Jonah Moran hasn’t struggled for much. He has a cushy job at his father’s billion-dollar company, a string of socialite girlfriends, and anything money can buy.
One night, Shannon’s past confronts her in a dangerous encounter that brings Jonah to her rescue. Shannon and Jonah begin a relationship that offers something new for each of them. Shannon’s never had a man sweep her off her feet with elegant charm. Jonah’s never had a woman who appreciates each joy like it’s her first. Drawn together in a novel passion, they find solace in each other’s worlds even as their differences threaten them with ruin.
Jonah’s family has no intention of welcoming Shannon, and Shannon fights to stand on her own feet for the first time in her life. Can Shannon and Jonah push through the barriers and find lasting love?
Alexa Stevens lives for the new, the exciting, and what’s next. So when she visits a friend in London to cheer her through a divorce, she’s intrigued by meeting the handsome Adam Gadsby. The heat between them chases away the November chill and has
him
thinking long-term. Her trip draws to a close, and Alexa figures she’ll fly home with fond memories of her London fling and nothing more. Adam has other plans. Can Alexa open herself to the possibility of love?
J
eff couldn’t believe
a child could love anything as much as Olivia loved that bounce house. She and her school friends bounced in the air-filled tower for an hour straight. Their cupcake-powered screams filled Jeff’s backyard and pushed parents into the house for occasional respites from the noise.
“Daddy, can we keep it?”
“The bounce house goes back tonight, sweetie.”
“But can’t we keep it? I’ll do it every day. It can be exercise. We’re ‘posed to exercise every day.”
Jeff peered down into the wide and pleading chestnut brown eyes of his now seven-year-old daughter. Her normally freckle-dusted face bore spots, whiskers, and black button nose. Olivia had a fascination with leopards. Her curly blonde hair rambled wildly around her painted face, escaping the two well-intended ponytails he’d arranged that morning. For a crazy second, he thought about keeping the inflatable amusement park for another day. Then, he came to his senses. His child’s big, round beseeching eyes had that effect on him.
“You have other ways to exercise, Liv. And we have to give it back so some other kids can use it.”
“Oh,” she said. “But we can get it again another time?”
“Absolutely. Maybe for your birthday next year?”
“A whole year? That’s so long.”
“It’s not so long. And it’s still here now, why don’t you go back and play before your friends have to leave.”
Olivia didn’t even respond. She tore across the yard and up the steps of her new favorite toy. Jeff looked around the expanse of lawn, seeing Taryn and his mother gathering up the small bags of party favors for each guest to take home. He could never have done all of this without Taryn.
Catching her attention, he waved at her. She smiled back at him. Then, something caught his attention. A gaggle of adults gathered on one side of the bounce house, supervising the kids. Jeff froze.
A woman hanging on the edge of the group watched silently. She looked older. Much older than the five years it had been. But there was no mistaking her — at least not for Jeff. Shannon turned up the corners of her mouth into a slight smile. She shifted from foot to foot and looked around. Jeff blinked. Yes, Shannon still stood there.
Creases feathered around her blue eyes. Despite the smile, she stayed on the fringe of the group and didn’t approach. No one looked her way, but then no one at the party knew her except him and his parents. Taryn had seen her picture, he didn’t know if she’d recognize her. No one but him had spent so much time looking at that face. Trying to decipher it. Read it. Elicit some feeling from its owner, mostly to no avail. Shannon’s guard was always up and, the last few times he’d seen her, reinforced by dulling drugs that made her unknowable.
Now, here she was. Olivia’s mother. His ex-wife.
Buy Choosing You
K
ris Jayne is a devoted writer
, reader, and traveler who left a twenty-year career in high-tech marketing to follow her dream of writing full time.
She spends her days blissfully sweating out the writing process in the Dallas area with her dog, Otis the Shih Tzu.
