Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 53349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Though Nate is usually glued to his computer and Tamara is happiest at the beach, they’re surprised to find that they have a great deal in common too –– they both agree that relationships are nothing but trouble. But despite vowing to remain friends, and nothing more, it’s as if Cupid is following them with his bow and arrow everywhere they go. When the heat between them can no longer be denied while dancing together at a wedding, they share a sizzling kiss. Will that one special kiss lead the computer geek and the sunny beach girl to a deeper love than either of them ever thought was possible?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
The staff at Married in Malibu were gathered in the main room on Monday morning with their coffees and tablets. Business at Southern California’s most exclusive wedding venue was really taking off, and this morning they were going to begin planning for an exciting new wedding. Nate Waterson hadn’t had time to pick up his usual morning double espresso from Malibu T and Coffee before the meeting, and he was definitely feeling the absence of his first caffeine fix of the day.
“I think we can safely say,” their fearless leader Liz Wilkinson began as she sat down at the large table with the entire staff, “that the launch for Lucas’s music video on Friday night was a huge success. The record label was thrilled with how it went, and even better, Lucas himself was over the moon about it. Well done, everyone.”
Friday’s launch of rock star Lucas Crosby’s new single had garnered amazing attention on social media, as well as mainstream radio and music streaming sites. The track was already shooting straight to the top of the charts. On a more personal front, Nate could see that Meg was clearly thrilled by her relationship with Lucas—if her blush at just hearing his name was anything to go by. Despite an extremely bumpy start with Meg’s mother, Meg and Lucas had been inseparable on Friday night. The two of them had made quite the cozy picture of new love.
As Nate looked around the room, he couldn’t help but wonder if Cupid also worked at Married in Malibu. The many brides and grooms who booked weddings at the venue were all madly in love, of course. But Liz and Jason, Jenn and Daniel, and Travis and Amy had also found their one true love here. And now Meg and Lucas were a couple as well. It truly boggled the mind that there had been so many love matches among the staff. Only Kate and Nate himself were still footloose and fancy-free.
Liz’s phone rang, and after looking at the name on the screen, she made a quick apology to the group. “I’ve been waiting for this call since yesterday.” She pushed her chair away from the conference table. “I won’t be long.”
Kate immediately took the opportunity to hop to her feet and dashed out to the gardens to check on the new automatic watering system. Jenn and Daniel, and Travis and Amy, spoke quietly to each other. Both couples were so clearly deeply in love with each other, Nate almost had to look away. And given Meg’s smile and flushed cheeks as she typed on her phone, Nate knew she must be messaging Lucas. Not wanting anyone to think they were leaving him out—honestly, he couldn’t be happier for them all—he looked down at his tablet and started to read the specs on a new version of WedminX, a new data-handling software that had just been released and which he thought might be useful for streamlining operations at Married in Malibu.
The words blurred on his screen, however, because he couldn’t stop thinking about Tamara Truscott, the owner of Malibu T and Coffee. On Friday night, while they were at the club for Lucas’s video shoot, she’d surprised him by pulling him out onto the dance floor. Although Nate wouldn’t have normally been caught dancing in public, he hadn’t been able to resist her invitation. She was so beautiful, so full of life and laughter, that he would have done anything for her in that moment, just to make her smile. Just to be close to her.
And then the most unexpected thing of all had happened. She had leaned in close to him while they’d danced in each other’s arms… The next thing he knew, they were kissing.
He still couldn’t believe the kiss had happened. After all, he was the geek who dealt with Married in Malibu’s tech systems, while she was the most effortlessly beautiful and sweetest woman he’d ever known. Plus, she ran her own successful business, which she’d built from nothing.
Despite putting in countless hours running her café, she always managed to look as though she’d just come from a day at the beach, tan and wind-blown and happy. Yet on Friday night there had been something extra special about her. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Nate hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her. So when she’d held him close during that slow dance, kissing her had seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Not only natural. Perfect. The kind of kiss that happened only when two people were in perfect synchronization, and there was enough emotional connection for it to feel like magic.
With a start, Nate realized both Kate and Liz had returned to the table and Liz was speaking. It took more than a little effort for Nate to push Tamara from his mind to focus on what his boss was saying.