Mia's Heart (The Paradise Diaries) (28 page)

He
pauses. 

And
pauses. 

And
looks at me with an eyebrow raised. 

I
sigh happily. And smile. 

“I’m
there,” I tell him.  “I love you, Quinn McKeyen. I thought you already
knew.”

He
grins and my knees weaken. 

“I
do,” he admits.  “I’ve known all along.  I just wanted to hear you
say it.”

“I
love you,” I tell him softly.  Then I lean up on my tiptoes and whisper
into his ear.  “I love you.  Forever and ever and ever.”

He
grins and grabs my hand. 

“Forever
and ever and ever?”  He raises an eyebrow now. 

I
nod.  “Yep. I told you—this is our own personal fairy tale.”

He
laughs and I squeeze his hand. 

“On
three, okay?”

He
nods. 

We
count to three. 

And
then we jump. 

The End

To read Gavin’s story,

Please stay tuned for Book Three in The Paradise
Diaries,

Coming Spring 2013

Acknowledgements

As always, I have to thank my family for putting
up with me.  My husband and my kids are very tolerant when they have to
eat take-out.  Or repeat themselves three times when my thoughts are
buried in a plot. 

Michelle Leighton- the best critique partner in
the world.  Thank you for always being awesome.  And for putting up
with me. 

Dani Snell.  Thank you SO much for this
awesome cover.  You always know what I didn’t even know that I wanted and
give it to me.  You’re awesome.   

About the Author

Courtney Cole is a novelist who lives near Lake
Michigan with her family, pet iPad and her favorite cashmere socks.  She
is the author of The Minaldi Legacy (
Of Blood and Bone
), The Cougar
Chronicles (
Confessions of an Alli Cat
), The Bloodstone Saga (
Every
Last Kiss, Fated, With My Last Breath, My Tattered Bonds, House of Thebes
)
and the Moonstone Saga (
Soul Kissed, Soul Bound
and the upcoming
Princess
of the Night
).  She is also the author of two standalone novels,
Princess
and
Guardian
.  To learn more about her, visit
www.courtneycolewrites.com

If you’d like to read an excerpt of her YA
Contemporary,
Princess
, please continue reading. 

Princess
by Courtney Cole

Money can’t buy happiness… even in a world that begins with
a Tiffany teething ring.
Sydney Ross has it made. As the 17-year old daughter of Illinois senator
Randall Ross and socialite Jillian Ross, Sydney was born with perfect teeth and
a killer trust-fund. Everything about her life is idyllic…the life of a
princess. The Ross’ are richer than God and twice as beautiful, the
picture-perfect All-American Family.
Except that it is all a lie.
After a positive pregnancy test, Sydney’s life unravels in the space of just
one breath.  Life as she knows it is over and survival itself begins to
look questionable as life and death literally hang in the balance with each
sordid twist that she is dealt. 

After the shocking climax, Sydney is brought to her knees
with one seething question: Who in the world can she trust when no one is who
they seem to be?

Caution:  This book is not set in a Mayberry kind of
world nor is it a simple book about teen pregnancy.  Princess is somewhat
twisted and edgy.  You might need to fan yourself during some parts and a
box of tissues during others.  It contains love, suspense, heartache and
loss.  Oh- and some adult themes and language, too.   

Chapter
One

“You
want me to wear
what?”
 

Sydney’s
slender fingers, which had been lightly twirling her dark blonde hair, abruptly
stopped moving as her mouth gaped open.  Late afternoon sunlight poured in
through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating her delicate features and
shining into her eyes, but she ignored it.  She was focused on the
outrageous request that she had just heard from her boyfriend’s lips.

On
the other end of the cell phone, Christian repeated himself even though he knew
perfectly well that Sydney had heard him the first time.  His voice was as
velvety-smooth and assured as ever, a perfect reflection of the confident man
behind it.  It had never entered his mind that she might say no… because
she never had.

“I
want you to come over wearing only your coat.  Come completely naked
underneath.”

Sydney
snapped her mouth closed and then closed her eyes for good measure, too. 

“You’ve
got to be kidding.  My mother is home…” Her voice trailed off uncertainly
as she absently twisted a sapphire ring round and round on her finger. 

“Do
I detect a note of fear in your voice, Syd?  I know that can’t be
right.  The Sydney Ross that I know and love isn’t afraid of anything.”

She
was completely aware that Christian was goading her because he knew that more
than anything, she hated to be thought of as scared.  She hated it even
more than a week long juice fast. She had never turned down a dare and she was
slightly annoyed that Christian was exploiting that weakness.  That said,
she still couldn’t ignore it.  It wasn’t in her nature.

“I’m
not afraid,” she insisted.  “But May isn’t exactly long coat
weather.  Someone’s going to notice.  Why don’t you come over here
wearing only your football pads?  That would be more entertaining…at least
for me.” 

She
smiled and let herself relax, sinking into the softness of her damask chaise
lounge.  Laughing things off almost always worked when she didn’t want to
do something. It wasn’t effective today, however. Christian was stubbornly
persistent.

“Syd,
I miss you.  I haven’t seen you in days.  Your mom is home. 
Mine’s not.  I just want some alone time. After we leave for college,
we’re not going to be able to see each much.  And that’s only a few months
away.  It’s rainy out so just wear a rain coat.” 

And
that was it.  Her heart melted into a pool around her toes.  Christian
was charming even when he begged. How could she say no?  She couldn’t
fault him for wanting to spend time with her. He was right. Pretty soon they
would be going to separate colleges.  And it always got her when
Christian, the strong, self-assured guy that he was, got sentimental and told
her how much he needed her.

“I
want to see you, too,” she murmured softly, relenting.  “I’ll be there in
twenty.” 

Tossing
down her phone, she gazed around her bedroom.  Designer clothing was
draped over every piece of furniture.  She wasn’t concerned.  Their
housekeeper, Stella, was deep-cleaning today and would hit her room at some
point.  And it wasn’t as though she needed to find something to
wear.  Instead, she began taking her clothing off, laying each item piece-by-piece
on the plush white sofa in her sitting area until she stood naked in the center
of the room.

She
knew she didn’t have anything to be embarrassed of.  Long, lean
legs.  Flat tummy. Golden-hued skin.  Warm brownish-hazel eyes, sandy
blonde hair, a light smattering of freckles on the nose that she inherited from
her mother. She gave a long sigh.  She would do.  Although she did
wish that her boobs were bigger.  A healthy C cup instead of the small B
that she currently sported would be nice.

With
another sigh of resignation, she continued her nude jaunt into her walk-in
closet to sift through the winter section. Her closet was the size of a normal
person’s entire bedroom, crammed full with racks of expensive clothing and
stacks of shoes, so finding the longest feasible coat took a few minutes. 
But she needed to find one that wouldn’t stand out in May.  Obviously, she
couldn’t wear an ankle-length parka, even though she wanted to. 

She
finally selected a mid-thigh length Burberry plaid rain coat, pulling it out
and holding it up against her to judge its length.  It was appropriate for
the weather and was long enough to cover her naked butt.  Good Lord. 
She couldn’t believe she was going to do this.  But hell would have to
freeze over before she backed down.  She cinched the belt at her narrow
waist and didn’t even glance behind her at the mirror again as she stuck her
feet into a pair of heels, grabbed her purse and left the room. 

As
she descended the winding grand staircase, there wasn’t a sound, other than the
low hum of the vacuum from a distant location in the house.  She knew it
was Stella.  Her mother would rather die than do housework.  As she
neared the bottom step, she felt a brief moment of dizziness and chided herself
silently.  There was no reason to get worked up.  She could totally
do this. She paused to take a deep breath and the dizzy spell passed.

“Mom?”
she called as she reached the bottom stair and stepped down onto the wide
marble floor of the foyer.  Her heels clacked loudly as she walked across
the glossy stone.

“Mom?” 

No
answer.  Maybe she would luck out and her mother wouldn’t be home. 
Then she could just leave a note and her mother wouldn’t examine her appearance
with the hawk-like eyes that missed nothing.  Wearing only a coat was not
the behavior of a senator’s daughter.  Just as the thought crossed her
mind, a draft suddenly blew up her coat and she shivered as the cool air
brushed her naked flesh.  She felt infinitely naughty.  She had to
admit… she liked the feeling. It definitely spiced up her day.

The
smell of freshly baked cookies led her to the kitchen.  She walked in just
in time to find their black haired cook, Ben, pulling a tray of white chocolate
macadamia cookies from the oven.  His black hair, in combination with his
ice blue eyes, made most people do a double-take when they saw him for the
first time.

“Miss
Ross, you’re just in time. Better get one while they’re hot!”

Ben
beamed his ever-present cheerful grin at her and motioned to a rack of her
favorite cookies cooling on the massive granite expanse of counter space. 
She smiled back at him and grabbed one as she walked by, burning her finger
tips and once again feeling a brief wave of nausea and dizziness.  She
shook her head in annoyance.  Sydney Ross didn’t get scared. She was being
silly.   “Thanks, Ben!” she called over her shoulder as she continued on
through the library. She could hear him humming as she walked away and smiled
to herself.  She had never met someone so perpetually happy. 

As
she passed the sparkling glass wall of windows that framed their courtyard, she
spotted her mother lounging on the stone-tiled veranda, holding an iced lemon
tea in her hand and laughing wildly at something her new tennis instructor had
apparently said.  Sydney nibbled on her cookie as she observed them for a
minute.

The
guy couldn’t be more than twenty years old and was hanging over Jillian Ross’
shoulder, murmuring softly into her ear and rubbing her arms lightly as he
spoke.  Sydney rolled her eyes in disgust.  Pathetic.  As
intimate as they appeared, her mother might as well sit in the guy’s lap. 
Why her dad put up with that kind of behavior, Sydney didn’t know.  But
then, in order for it to upset him, he would have to be home long enough to
witness it.  And he never was.

The
two of them made her sick to her stomach, making it impossible to continue
watching them if she wanted to keep the cookie that she had just eaten down in
her stomach where it belonged.  She pulled open the heavy glass doors and
stuck her head out.

“Mom?
 I’m going over to Christian’s. I’ll be back later.”

Her
mother barely spared her a glance.

“That’s
fine, Sydney. Let Ben know you won’t be here for dinner.”

And
that was it.  Jillian flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and
returned her attention to the fawning boy.  He was a new one.  Sydney
didn’t even know his name.  But she did know that his white shorts were
indecently short and tight.  She could easily see the bulgy outline of his
junk.