The Fireside Inn Read online

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  Desire roared to life, hardening Leo’s body in a dizzying surge. He dragged Serena closer and plundered her mouth. Drunk on the sweet taste of her, the taste he’d been sure was lost to him forever, Leo forgot their surroundings, forgot everything but the feel of her in his arms.

  Until a loud wolf whistle and a round of applause jarred them apart, panting and staring into each other’s eyes.

  “Hey, that’s the newlyweds’ job!” someone shouted from the crowd of guests gathered at the edge of the temporary dance floor.

  A blush darkened Serena’s cheeks, but she laughed like bubbles popping in a glass of champagne, and Leo’s heart exploded in a frothy shower of joy.

  “Come on,” he said into her ear. Grabbing her hand, he tugged her off the dance floor and out of the heated tent, away from the milling guests and the twinkling lights, across the sand and down to the cold water’s edge.

  The sun was slipping below the edge of the world in a golden orange explosion of beauty, coloring the surface of the ocean magical stained glass in constant, rhythmic motion. A chill breeze whipped off the waves, cooling Leo’s heated blood enough that he could take Serena into his arms without immediately ripping off her clothes.

  They’d get to that bit, he fervently hoped—but first, he had to make sure she understood.

  “In case the poem wasn’t clear enough,” he told her, smoothing back the riotous, windblown mass of her curls, “and just so there are no questions about it later—I love you, Serena Lightfoot.”

  Her eyes were so wide and dark, he could drown in them if he didn’t take care. “I love you, too. So much, Leo. I left that night partly because I couldn’t take the thought of our time coming to an end.”

  “If you’d stayed, I would have told you that we can find a way to make this work. Wherever you are, that’s my home.”

  “I’m so sorry I ran.”

  “I understood,” he assured her. “You’d been hurt too many times. The human heart is resilient, but if it’s cracked too many times, it can’t repair itself easily.”

  “My heart didn’t fix itself.” Serena smiled up at him, golden and perfect in the sunset. “You did that.”

  “Well, I want to keep it in good condition.” Leo adopted a pragmatic tone. “After all, I intend to have use for it for a long while to come.”

  “Hmm,” Serena purred, curling closer to his chest. “So I’m a possession now. Like your vintage Jag or your Saville Row suits.…”

  “A prized possession,” he corrected her. “Your heart is the greatest treasure of them all—and I promise to cherish it, for as long as you choose to leave it in my care.”

  “I don’t know, that might be a very long time.” Serena pressed tight to his body, fire heating her gaze. “My heart is pretty happy with you.”

  “Good. I’ll take a lifetime warranty, then,” Leo rasped out, then bent her back against his arm and dipped her over the sand to seal the deal with a kiss.

  Don’t miss the other heartwarming novellas in Lily Everett’s romantic e-original trilogies!

  THE BILLIONAIRE BACHELORS

  THE BILLIONAIRE BROTHERS

  Get even more romance with Lily Everett’s full-length Sanctuary Island series!

  Available

  February 2014

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lily Everett grew up in a small town in Virginia reading Misty of Chincoteague and Black Beauty, taking riding lessons, and longing for a horse of her own. Sadly, her parents gave her a college education instead—but she never forgot what the world looked like from the back of a horse. She currently lives in Austin, Texas, where she writes full-time. Find out more at lilyeverett.com.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  “The Fireside Inn” copyright © 2014 by Lily Everett.

  All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  www.stmartins.com

  Cover: Couple © Aleshyn_Andrei ; cabin © Lauzla/istockphoto

  eISBN 978-1-4668-5474-1

  First eBook Edition: January 2014