Red Lines (31 page)
“I really did it. It is happening.”
She threw her arms around his neck. “I love you.”
“And I love you.”
“How do you feel? Any regrets?” She nervously bit on her lip. “This is a huge life change.”
He looked around the room. “You kidding? Spending all my summers here with you at the beach, our falls and winters at the ranch? It’s a dream, baby.”
“Have you settled on the location for the studio?” They had spent hours with a U.S. map spread in front of them trying to decide on a location that would make sense for them when they were in Texas or North Carolina.
“Nah, I figure everything else has fallen into place, and that will too. Besides, I’m off this summer. Production company can wait until after my vacation. I’ll let Jeff stress about all of that stuff. He’s good at stressing.” He pulled her into his arms.
“I still can’t believe this.” She listened to the words roll off his tongue, but no matter how many times he said it, she never thought it would happen.
“You want to watch the interview again? I just proclaimed to the entire world that I’m not starring in any more movies. I am done. Completely ready for my life with you.” He tucked her hair behind her ear; it was finally long enough to touch her shoulder again.
“And you’re positive you’re happy about this?”
“Completely.” He grinned. “But tell me, pretty girl, are you? Are you ok with our setup?”
She thought back to the night Evan’s father was in the hospital. She remembered the look of panic on his face, the pain in his mother’s eyes, the confusion Anna tried to muddle through. She knew then that no matter what happened, she was a part of that family. Evan was her family. The only way to make sure they stayed together was to make changes—big, life-altering changes.
She had to give up the next Blue Steel contract. Bruce agreed to let her submit songs, but no more exclusive deals with Carly or Drew. She missed her writing sessions with Carly, but they stayed in touch and shared lyrics through email. The writing was still a part of her life—it was only slightly altered.
She couldn’t let Evan be the only one to make sacrifices, and she couldn’t expect him to change completely. He needed excitement and he needed a change of scenery every few weeks. Bouncing back and forth between their two states gave him all of that. A little piece of home wherever they went, but not enough to let them succumb to the mundane. Cowboy seemed to like ranch life as much as beach life. Somehow they had managed to find the perfect dog in the midst of the chaos.
“I’m happy, Evan.”
“That’s all I wanted to hear.” He kissed her. “Can’t believe I had to remodel an entire beach house and give you your own closet at the ranch to get you to move in with me, but I guess it was worth it.”
She shoved his chest. “You moved in with me here.”
“Right, right. I guess so. We moved in
together
. How’s that?”
She smiled. Nothing had ever felt more right. “Perfect.” She kissed him. “So, can we really watch that interview again?” She rested her head on his chest.
“Yeah, let’s do that.” Evan hit rewind, then play.
She settled against him. Tonight she would spend loving her very own ex-movie star in their own private paradise on an island far from everything that didn’t matter. And nothing felt more right.
(On Safe Sex)
The author would like to note that the characters in this book are extremely responsible and practice safe sex measures: condoms, birth control, and annual physicals. In the interest of maintaining the appropriate pace of the storyline, some of these details are left to the assumption of the reader. All characters would like you to know they are responsible and promote the safest of sex ;-)
T.A. Foster is a Southern girl whose heart and spirit are connected to the beach. She grew up catching rays and chasing waves along the North Carolina Outer Banks and now resides in the state with her adventurous pilot husband, two children, and two canine kiddos.
T.A. has an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a graduate degree in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University. When she’s not chasing her two-legged and four-legged children or trying to escape for date night, you can find her reading, writing, or planning her next beach trip.
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I started writing
Red Lines
immediately after finishing
Finding Haven
, but paused for a few months while I worked on some other projects. By the time I picked up the story again, I was in the middle of one of my husband’s deployments.
Deployments always come with their own set of complications, but this one was especially difficult for our family. The positive spin on it is that I was able to channel some of the long-distance angst into Evan and Haven’s relationship.
Before I list the set of amazing people who helped me produce this book I want to thank all the people who helped me through the deployment and helped me finish the book when life was filled with challenges. My family, especially my mother, the neighbors who checked on us regularly (Marion, you were a godsend!), friends who called and texted, and the wonderful people in our community who made sure we were taken care of, thank you to each an every one of you for getting us through and for keeping me on pace with
Red Lines
. This book wouldn’t have made it without such overwhelming support.
To Mary-Kathryn, who always seems to fit in time for Evan, thank you for reading and giving countless amounts of feedback. Jennifer and Alyssa, thanks for your endless support. Our sprints and daily check-ins were just what I needed.
To the InkSlinger team, I appreciate all you do. Sommer at Perfect Pear Creative Covers, you did it again with another amazing cover. Thank you, H. Danielle Crabtree for your editing and guidance.
Of course, thank you to all of the wonderful readers and bloggers out there. Your support means the world to me!
Keep reading for a preview of FLY, available now!
Description
Not everyone’s good at one-night stands.
Skye Stephens has the worst day of her professional career, and all she wants to do is shed her power suit and get lost in the sheets with the hot guy she met at the bar. The problem is, this uptight ad exec doesn’t know how to do one-night stands. She has strict rules about dating and when to let a man in her bedroom.
Fighter pilot Ben “Bolt” Hardcastle is used to lovin’ and leavin’. But, after he meets Skye, one night doesn’t seem to be enough.
When these two crash-land into each other, a connection strong enough to make the loner pilot and the sexy businesswoman shed their rules about love and relationships begins to burn deeper than either of them ever expected.
“B
olt, Bolt!” There was pounding on the door. “Man, we’re already late. Pre-flight’s in thirty minutes. Get your ass out here.”
Bolt rolled to his side, removing the arm draped across his chest. He grabbed his phone. “Shit,” he mumbled. He never set his alarm last night. He glanced at the brunette under the sheets. Her hair tumbled over the pillow.
“Hey,” she smiled.
“Um, hey.” He jumped from the bed. Damn, what was her name?
“Bolt! Dude, the car’s downstairs. We’re leaving.” The pounding stopped.
“Right behind you.” He called after them, trying to clear the fog from his head.
The girl pulled the sheet with her as she sat up in bed. “I thought you said your name was Ben.” She tilted her head to the side.
