Get Flirty!
From New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author comes FLIRTY in Whispering Cove.
A summer fling so hot, it can raise spirits…
Home renovation specialist Alexis Miller thought snapping up an old Victorian fixer-upper in podunk Whispering Cove would put her on the fast track to proving herself to her brothers.
She can handle cooling her heels to wait for the right permits. It’s the ghosthunter claiming he needs to spend the night to check out the “cold spots” that’s got her body temperature fluctuating.
When Sam Doherty responds to an emergency phone call to cleanse a haunted house in Whispering Cove, the first thing he notices is how Alexis hides her femininity behind baggy coveralls—and how she wants to cover up the old home’s beauty with modern frills. As a guy who “sees” things others can’t, he sets out to teach her to appreciate the hidden beauty, inside and out.
Scary noises soon send Alexis into Sam’s arms, and when a kiss leads to passionate lovemaking, Alexis wonders if it’s possible to find common ground in this small town. Or, once the house is “clean”, if Sam will disappear faster than a ghostly apparition.
Warning: Contains enough sexual tension to raise spirits and turn any cold spot into a sweltering vortex of heat and passion.
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EXCERPT
Sam Doherty stared at the now-empty veranda overlooking the beach and wondered if he was seeing things. One second a beautiful young woman was standing there staring down at him, and the next thing he knew she was gone, appearing and disappearing faster than a ghostly apparition. Maybe Errol was right. Maybe the place was haunted.
At least that’s what his best friend’s great-uncle, Errol Wilson, had told him over the phone when he called him home from New Mexico. He’d insisted he needed to cleanse the house and send Ol’ Lady Landry back to her resting place.
Sam wasn’t opposed to coming home, and when he’d heard that his best friend, Jon, had moved back to town, living in his childhood home nonetheless, with a girl who’d turned it in to a bed and breakfast, he was excited to hang out with him and catch up on life.
He also loved springtime in his hometown, and since his ghost hunting team was on a break while his two co-workers ran off to get married, he had nothing better to do with his time then come home and relax with family and friends.
He’d flown in late last night and after sharing a few stories and a few drinks with his folks at Hauk’s bar, he crashed and crashed hard. But the sound of the afternoon beach party pulled him from his childhood bed—and a room that his parents hadn’t changed since he’d left some ten years ago. Anxious to get out and see all his old friends, he headed straight for the ocean, hoping to eventually catch up with Errol and get the deets on the alleged haunted house.
Excusing himself from the overfriendly girl Jacob had introduced him to, he took a few steps toward the Victorian house, scanning the windows and back verandah. He stood there for a long moment, waiting for the apparition to reappear. But when he heard a loud noise inside, he rushed around to the front door, only to find Errol with his arms around the prettiest girl he’d ever set eyes on.
“Oh, I…excuse me,” Sam said, giving Errol a playful, atta’ boy wink. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Errol’s head came back with a start and when his eyes lit with understanding, he snarled. “Dang, boy. What’s the matter with you? Ain’t nothing going on here. You’re seeing things again.”
“Hey, Errol,” Sam said holding his hands up palms out as he began backing away. “I know what I saw, but you don’t owe me any explanation,” he said teasing. “Your business is your business.
“You think I could catch me a fine filly like this?” Errol waved his cane, and Sam caught the small swagger in the elderly gentleman’s step as he let go of the girl and inched back. He gave a cocky shake of his head and added, “‘Course, in my younger days…”
Sam turned toward the petite woman, who was staring up at him with those almost-too-big blue eyes, and asked, “I heard screaming. Is everything okay?”
She blinked twice, then shrugged, her big old coveralls flapping around her body. “I’m not sure.” She jerked her thumb toward the house. “I was inside and, and well… earlier Errol thought he felt cold spots…and then I heard this bang…and I think a scream, and there was a rush of air.” She stopped talking, and took a breath. “I’m sorry, I don’t usually ramble on and I’m sure there is a logical explanation for all this. I mean, it’s not like I believe in ghosts.”
Sam held his hand out for a shake and gave her a wide smile. “I’m Sam Doherty. Ghost hunter.”
Her eyes widened as they went from Sam to Errol back to Sam again. “Oh, I didn’t mean… I didn’t realize it was you.”
“You know me?” he asked, the richness in his voice seeping under her skin and affecting her in the strangest ways.
“Errol mentioned that he could get you to help me.” She slipped her hand into his, and when his fingers curled around hers for a shake, he realized just how small she really was. His glance moved over her again. As he took in her five-sizes-too-big overalls, he couldn’t help but wonder more about the girl who kept her figure hidden and her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. The tomboy look she was going for didn’t really seem to suit her, yet it did prove to intrigue him more. Since Sam was a man who could see more than most, he took a moment to look beyond the image she presented to the world. He suddenly found himself visualizing what she’d look like in clothes that actually fit her small frame, or better yet, no clothes at all…
“And here Errol never mentioned a thing about you,” he said.
His eyes moved over her flushed cheeks, taking a long time to access her. Even without makeup she was gorgeous, in a girl next door, wholesome kind of way. And that mouth…wow. With just a little pout to it, that mouth was made for kissing. His lips twitched, and he fought the natural inclination to lean into her, to press his lips to hers to see if they felt as soft as they looked.
Of course, unlike all his friends, who were settling down and having kids, he hadn’t come back to Whispering Cove looking for long term. Been there done that. But while he was here, he sure wasn’t opposed to getting to know the girl that Errol had seemed to take a liking to. Not that he could blame him. There was just something about this girl, and the sweetness she exuded that brought out the protector in a guy.
With her hand still in his, he asked, “And you are?
“I’m Lex Miller.”
A wide grin split his mouth.
“What?” She pulled her hand from his, a challenging look on her face as she glared at him, like she was waiting for some smart ass comment.
Since he didn’t want to disappoint her…
“Lex?” he asked thinking back to all the times he and Jon had camped out in their backyards, spending hours poring over superman comic books. “As in Lex Luther, superman’s nemesis?”
“No,” she said. And even though the stain on her cheek was deepening, she angled her head in a defiant manner and held her own against his teasing. Damned if he didn’t like that about her. “As in Alexis Miller, old house restoration and modernization specialist.
He stepped closer and when he caught the sweet citrus scent of her skin, he bit back a moan. “Now what a team we make,” he said, giving her a playful wink to let her know he was teasing…sort of. “You don’t believe in ghosts, and I don’t believe in restoring old houses.”
At least not anymore.
Before he could say more, he got a glass cane to the gut. Hard. He bent forward and let out agonized oomph.
Errol poked him again and growled, “What’s your dang problem, boy? You leave your manners in New Mexico? Why, if your father…”
As Errol continued with his litany, Alexis’s mouthed the words, “I think he’s off his meds.”
Loving her sense of humor, and knowing they were going to get along just fine, Sam let out a laugh. Once he was able to straighten back up, he asked, “So, Alexis, what is it that Errol said I could help you with?”
“He thinks I have a ghost.”
As she looked up at him with those bedroom blues, his mind raced, thinking about all the naughty delicious things he’d like to help her with, and not one of them involved cleansing her house of a ghost.
