CLEAN ROMANCE: Finding Peace (Christian Romance, Inspirational Romance, Second Chance Romance) (New Adult Contemporary Romance/Clean and Wholesome) (3 page)

She couldn’t stop thinking of him on her
flight back. As soon as she got out of the airport, she checked her phone.
Eight new messages, four of them were from Janine. None from Jason.

She went back to work the next morning,
straight into Janine’s office.

“There she is, our returning champion,”
said John as he popped a bottle of champagne.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“I told John here about how Hugo took an
instant shine to you.”

“You showed initiative Julie,” continued
John, “that’s exactly what I like to see. I knew you could do it. Keep this up
and you’ll be a senior partner, in no time.”

“Thank you.”

Julie felt strange. This is what she had
always wanted. To be successful at her job, to have the respect and admiration
of her bosses, but something was missing. She had left a piece of herself back
on that boat, but it was more than that, she missed Jason. He had revealed his
inner most fears to her and she’d fallen for him. Now she felt like she was
missing an important limb. It was almost painful, thinking about him.

“Is it okay if I go for some air?” she
asked.

“Are you okay?” asked Janine, with
concern.

“I’m okay. I just feel a little woozy.”

“Sure,” said John. “Take all the time you
need. In fact, take the rest of the day off. You deserve it.”

She quickly left the room and ran into
the elevator.

What should I do, God?
She thought.
Take
a breath, go for a walk and clear your head.

She closed her eyes and composed herself.
She went out into the street and started thinking about the last few days. She
thought about what Jason had told her, and what she had told him. She’d never
revealed so much to anyone before. She’d never felt so close to another human
being, not since her first love.

As she walked, she looked up and
suddenly, to her surprise, she saw Jason. He was standing a dozen or so feet
away from her, exiting another building. Her face immediately lit up and she
was about to shout his name, when she realized he wasn’t alone. There was a
woman with him. She was tall and blonde. She had legs for miles and looked like
a supermodel.

Maybe she’s just a client?
Thought Julie.

The woman hugged Jason and he kissed her
cheek. They held hands for a moment and then crossed the street. There was no
room for doubt in Julie’s mind.

I can’t believe it. He played me. He
really was a playboy.

Tears started streaming down her face and
she sat down on a bench close by.

How could I have been so stupid? Of
course, he must have a woman in every city. Women must be queuing up to meet
him.

She sat there for a few moments, feeling
sorry for herself, until finally, anger took over. She stood up and went
straight back to work.

“Oh. You’re back,” said Janine with
surprise.

“I thought John said you should take the
rest of the day off.”

“Yeah, but I’m feeling much better now.”

“Okay, in that case, I want you to look
at this file.”

She handed her another USB stick.

“Let me guess, another big client of
ours?” asked Julie.

“You got it. John was so pleased with the
way you handled Hugo, he wants to see if you can replicate your results. I got
to be honest, I’m curious myself. And just a little tip between you and me, if
you can, you’ll be looking at a senior position in months, not years.”

“Okay, I’ll get right on it.”

They both smiled and Julie started making
her way out of Janine’s office.

“Oh, by the way,” continued Janine. “I
almost forgot. Hugo called; he wanted to talk to you.”

Julie had to forcibly stop herself from
rolling her eyes.

“Oh great, I’ll talk to him later.”

“I’m sorry? I’ve told you many times that
he’s our most important client, you should be at his disposal twenty-four hours
a day. That’s an order. Please don’t keep him waiting.”

Great
, thought Julie.
What have I
got myself into?

She arrived back at her desk and phoned
him.

“Hi Mr. Brown, how can I help you?”

“Is that Julie? I hardly recognize you.
What’s with all the formality?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Okay…are you free now?” he asked.

“Now? I suppose so.”

“Great! I’ll meet you outside in five.”

Outside the building, he was standing
there in a sharp grey suit and with a big smile on his face.

“Hey gorgeous, how are you?”

She didn’t reply and instead walked
passed him.

“There’s a café just around the corner if
you’d like to talk,” she said.

Once they got to the café and sat down,
Jason looked her in the eye.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? You’ve been giving me the cold shoulder
since the phone call. I can’t think of anything I could have done so it must be
something else. You can talk to me about anything, you know that right?”

“You haven’t done anything wrong? You
really believe that?”

“Yes of course, if you think I have, then
just tell me.”

“I saw you earlier today with some
woman.”

“What? That’s impossible, what woman?” he
asked.

“She was tall and blonde…”

He started laughing before she could
finish.

“Oh I’m sorry, did I say something
amusing? Is this all some kind of joke to you?”

“She’s my sister.”

Julie froze for a moment.

“She’s your what?”

“My sister. She’s a financial advisor.
She works in a bank, just a few blocks from here. We meet up every now and
then, whenever I’m in town, I try and touch base with her. Family’s important
to me, you see.”

She didn’t know what to say. She was
speechless.

“I’m sorry, I, I just jumped to
conclusions.”

“It’s okay, no harm done. Listen, do you
want to get out of here?”

“Okay, sure, what did you have in mind?”

He smiled at her.

Moments later, they were being driven
through the city to another large building.

“Let me guess, you own this building
too?”

“No, but maybe one day.”

She laughed.

As they went inside Julie’s heart was
racing. She didn’t know what to expect. A large private swimming pool, a
private cinema, or maybe it was a jewelry store?

She realized the room was empty, except
for a small pillar that stood in the center.

“I don’t understand, there’s nothing
here. What exactly are we doing here?”

Jason pointed towards the pillar.

“There is one thing here. Why don’t you
go and take a closer look?”

She walked up to the pillar and realized
that there was a small box resting on top. She opened it and gasped. Inside was
a huge diamond ring. She made a huge O with her mouth.

“Julie, I’ve been in love with you since
that first moment on the beach. I may be crazy but…will you marry me?”

She desperately tried to fight back the
tears to try and speak.

“Yes, of course I will. I love you too, Jason.
It’s so crazy and sudden, but it’s how I feel. This feels right.”

They both hugged and had their first
kiss.
This is crazy
, Julie thought.

“By the way,” said Jason, “this
building’s being demolished in an hour so we really got to get out of here.”

She burst out laughing.

“It was almost the perfect moment,” she
said.

“I’m sorry, how about lunch on the yacht?
Would that make up for it?”

“Absolutely.” She gave him a big smack on
the lips and they walked, holding hands, off into the clean air and onwards to
the beach.

Jason pulled her hand up to his mouth,
kissed it, and said, “To our new beginning.”

“Yes. That sounds beautiful.”
I’ve
made it
, Julie thought. She smiled, thinking about her future with Jason.

Like what you read? Leave a review at the end of the Bonus
book!

Mail Order Bride: A
Ranch to Call Home

Grace Warren

Synopsis:

Lucy Carson is single woman
from the big city; unfortunately, her bank account is nonexistent along with
her social life. Nash McCain is a widowed Texas rancher with a hard headed
sister in law and two amazing children.

When fate, through an
obscure internet site, brings them together it’s a roller coaster of emotion
for all involved. Lucy is in love with the children at first sight, but she
can’t seem to get Nash to notice her. Aunt Van wants nothing to do with her.
Finally able to see the truth Lucy lets the chips fall where they may.

Will she travel back to New York empty handed and broken
hearted or will Nash open his heart and learn to love once again? Find out in
this new original romance A Ranch to Call Home.

The sound of a
train braking on the tracks was deafening in the early morning hours, outside
the small town station on the outskirts of Smyrna, Texas. Slender legs and
dainty feet adorned in open toed wedges stepped from the train car ramp and
into the morning fog that covered the arrival dock. Lucy wheeled her single bag
in one hand while she scanned over the printed information from the online
service in the other. According to the travel itinerary, she was to meet the
taxi just outside the station and travel directly to the county clerk’s office.
She assumed she would proceed onward from there by other means, as that was her
ending destination on the print out.

The cab driver
stood waiting for her outside the station door. He didn’t hold a sign and he
didn’t ask questions, it was obvious he was waiting for her, he had to be, she
was the only passenger left waiting of the few that had exited. The man
assisted her in loading up her bag and closed the door behind her. The fare had
been taken care of in advance, per the set up of the whole situation, leaving
Lucy with nothing more to do but wait out the drive. She leaned her head
against the window and stared out at all the open spaces that surround her.
Expansive fields of cotton and enormous pastures with cows and horses were laid
out for miles as she traveled down the highway. It was an eye opening
comparison to where she had come from. Her 600 square foot loft back in New
York could fit several times over in some of the houses she was passing by. Not
to mention, each house was situated on acres and acres of beautiful lawn and
fields with running fences that went on for miles. Lucy was feeling overwhelmed
and scared. She hadn’t expected to feel so insecure, she hadn’t realized how
comfortable she had been living in the tight quarters of the city and she
hadn’t fathomed she would be questioning her decision with this much doubt,
until this moment in time.

Her fingers
unfolded a well weathered singular piece of paper. The creases showed that it
had been opened and folded numerous times. Lucy opened it one last time and
starred at the printed picture of a man in a white button up dress shirt, deep
tanned skin and light scruff about his neck and chin. His dark hair was
complimented by bright, sea foam green eyes. Lucy saw sorrow in his eyes
although there was a smile on his lips. The man was flanked on either side by a
child; a young girl of eight on his right, her golden hair in pig tails and a
dimple on each cheek and a boy who was the four year old version of his father,
on the left. She had gazed on this picture everyday for the last three months.
The man was Nash McCain and the children were Olivia and Galen.

Lucy followed the
steps it had taken to get here as if it were a well rehearsed mantra, which in
fact it was. She had lost her teaching job a year ago due to educational cut
backs. Three months after that, her father had passed away, leaving her as the
sole surviving member of her small family. When she had finally managed to pay
all the bills involved with his passing, her saving had been devastated, she
had to work three jobs, a waitress, a dog walker and the occasional babysitter,
to make ends meet and that wasn’t enough to give her any financial cushion. She
had been so busy trying to stay afloat that there had been no time for anything
else, let alone anybody else. So, she had turned to the internet for
socialization. That is how she found the website, a site that had guaranteed
her a social life and financial security. Lucy recalled how skeptical she had
been at first, but the more she delved into the site the more it made sense to
her. When the day came that she could no longer afford the loft she felt that
she had no more options available to her. That is how she ended up with the
printed photograph of Nash McCain.

The taxi parked
in front of a large stone building. Tall white pillars loomed before her as she
made her way up the marble steps and into the foyer of the county building. She
double checked the office number and conferred with a laminated map of the
building before proceeding through security and up another flight of stairs to
the second floor. Sitting outside the office, on a bench that looked less than
accommodating, was a man. Lucy stood still for a moment and took in his form.
His feet were clad in weathered cowboy boots, dark jeans that looked brand new
covered his long legs, finishing off with a light blue button up shirt and a
black Stetson that was tilted so far down on his head she was not able to see
his face. Lucy had to bite her lip to stifle a giggle. She knew she was in
Texas, but she didn’t expect the stereotypical cowboy look so soon. It threw
her off guard and his image, mixed with her travel weary emotions, and brought
laughter that she could not hold back.

Hearing her
twitter of amusement the man looked up, a look of recognition washed over his
shadowed features and his sea foam green eyes shown bright when he removed his
hat, holding it against his chest. “Are you Lucy Carson?”

Lucy covered her
mouth to stop the giggles from coming out and appearing rude. She nodded,
unable to speak. The man took a few steps forward and offered his hand.

“Nash McCain.”
His large hand engulfed hers, but his touch was gentle. “It’s a pleasure to
meet you face to face, Ma’am.”

The couple walked
into the office together, Nash carrying her single piece of luggage. The clerk
welcomed them and asked how she could help.

Nash cleared his
throat. “We’d like to get a marriage license.”