The South Winds by Allison Mullinax
Series: Turquoise Isle, Book 1
Series: Turquoise Isle, Book 1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Fiery Seas Everlasting
Publish Date: August 7, 2018
About the Book:
Cassie Ray, manager of her family’s successful oyster house, has never asked for much out of life. The sun, surf, and sand are her companions. The regulars and tourists that flock to The Slippery Oyster are her livelihood. But when the Atlantic kicks up a hurricane, sending waves of black water threatening the coast, Cassie quickly learns that the south winds have blown in a lot more than debris and saltwater.
Dean Alexander left Turquoise Isle eight years ago and never looked back. With his sister’s wedding approaching, and a hurricane churning in the Gulf, Dean returns home, where he’s welcomed with a rip tide of memories determined to pull him under.
Will Cassie and Dean make it through the crashing waves of the past? Will they get a second chance before it's too late or will the storm ahead be too much for them to handle?
Read Chapter 10 from The South Winds:
Read Chapter 10 from The South Winds:
THE SOUTH WINDS by Allison Mullinax
CHAPTER TEN
“I’m not saying you have to marry the guy,
Cassie, but why would you turn down abs like that?” Holly looks over her
shoulder as she pushes through the doors of the Slippery Oyster. “And those dimples.”
She shakes her head, as if that would help it all make sense to her. She can’t
see past the charming personality and the looks that could kill, into the train
wreck that was our relationship.
“I don’t even know him anymore.” I walk
past the hostess area toward my office, Holly hot on my heels. In truth, the
years I’d spent with Dean had been mostly filled with a love like I’ve never
known. But the last few months—it had been like an atomic bomb had gone off,
obliterating everything in the drop zone, my entire world lying in the center
of it.
“Well, it seems to me like he sure wants to
get reacquainted.” She giggles, readjusting the gym bag slung over her
shoulder.
“He’s here for Julia’s wedding. Once he’s
walked her down the aisle, he will climb back into his expensive car and drive
straight toward to his new life up north. And he won’t look back. He belongs up
there now.” Dropping into the leather chair behind my desk, I fire up my
computer, seeing who is expected to come in today. I scan the list of employees
until I find his name: Tony Balentine. Good.
At least I won’t have to call him in to fire him.
“He could have said no to coffee. He wanted to see you. I’ve never seen you
with a guy for longer than a couple of weeks. Four years is a long time.” Holly
stands in front of the mirror, patting her face with a makeup sponge, looking
briefly at me through her reflection. She dips her hands into her makeup bag,
pulling out a mascara wand.
“We were just kids,” I say defensively,
refusing to make eye contact. I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear and
click the mouse in various places along the screen. But my mind is elsewhere.
Despite myself, an image of me and Dean
standing calf-deep in the ocean flashes to my mind. Along the beach, our
friends are laughing around a campfire built from leftover pallet wood found
behind my parents’ restaurant. Our fingertips are entwined as we stand side by
side, looking out at the moon melting into the horizon. My head rests against
his shoulder as his thumb traces circles along the top of my hand. His voice is
soft, and deep.
“You and me? Always?” he asks. And in reply
my pinky hooks onto his. “I love you, Cass. It’s going to be okay, I promise.”
And in that moment, I had believed every
word.
We had spent the entire day on the beach
with our friends, the majority of us graduating from the junior college earlier
that weekend. Everyone had big plans to get out of our town, attend
out-of-state colleges, or internships anywhere but here. But Dean and I, we
were the ones staying behind. I had my associates in business management, all I
would need to help my parents run the restaurant I had grown to love. Dean had
pursued a degree in computer science, and on the outside, he’d seemed so happy.
We’d been unstoppable, and I’d never seen it coming.
Our friends had shouted at us from the
beach, always teasing us, never really understanding how two people could love
each other the way Dean and I do. Had.
The way we had.
I remember Dean lifting me up out the
water, his strong hands under my arms. He pulled me to his lips, kissing me in
front of everyone, not caring about the way the guys always called him whipped.
He threw me over his shoulder, slapped my backside, and waded through the water
back to our friends.
Purchase Links:
Fiery Seas Pub Bookstore
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Purchase Links:
Fiery Seas Pub Bookstore
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Meet the Author:
North Alabama native, Allison Mullinax, grew up in the small lake town of Guntersville, AL. She discovered the escapism and addiction of writing at an early age. Today she remains a lover of reading, all things outdoors, and spending time with her husband and three daughters.
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