Carousel Nights
Every first love deserves a second chanceJune Hamilton left home to pursue her dream of dancing on Broadway. Seven years later, she has one regret: Mel Preston, her teenage crush and onetime summer love. Now a single dad and the head of maintenance at Starlight Point, her family’s amusement park, Mel’s easy smile still makes her heart beat in triple time. But June came home with a plan. She would spend the summer revitalising the park’s ageing theatres then make a graceful exit back to the big city. Until Mel and his young son start making a powerful claim on her emotions, and June faces an impossible decision…
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Every first love deserves a second chance
June Hamilton left home to pursue her dream of dancing on Broadway. Seven years later, she has one regret: Mel Preston, her teenage crush and onetime summer love. Now a single dad and the head of maintenance at Starlight Point, her familyâs amusement park, Melâs easy smile still makes her heart beat in triple time. But June came home with a plan. She would spend the summer revitalizing the parkâs aging theaters, then make a graceful exit back to the big city. Until Mel and his young son start making a powerful claim on her emotions, and June faces an impossible decision...
âCan you help me?â
Mel didnât answer. He concentrated on the scuffed toe of his work boot. âCan this wait until next month or next year?â
She crossed her arms over her chest. âI wonât be here next year.â
He shook his head. âNone of my business if you want to keep running away from home.â
Her cheeks colored and he knew heâd struck a nerve. Heâd had no intention of firing any weapons, but it had been a very long day.
June cocked her head and studied him. âYou donât ever wonder if thereâs something else out there for youâsomething outside of Starlight Point?â
He shook his head again.
âYou want to stay on this merry-go-round your whole life? Working all year getting ready for a summer of twelve-hour days?â
Mel glanced at the dusty wall clock. âFifteen hours.â
June sighed, uncrossing her arms. âSome things in life you only get one solid chance at,â she said. âApparently you donât get that. Nobody seems to.â
She flung the shop door open and disappeared into the night.
Thank you for visiting Starlight Point as you read Carousel Nights. Can you imagine inheriting a summer resort and amusement park? It sounds like great fun and hard work to me. I love an old-fashioned theme park with a carousel, cotton candy, roller coasters and the sound of the waves on the shore.
This is the second book in the Starlight Point Stories miniseries. The first book, Under the Boardwalk, followed Jack Hamilton, the oldest of the Hamilton children, in the first summer they inherit Starlight Point. In Carousel Nights, middle child June Hamilton struggles with a tough choice: continue the Broadway career she always wanted, or come home and devote herself to Starlight Point? A summer romance she left behind years ago sweetens and complicates her decision. The third book in the series will be available in December 2016 and follows Evie, the youngest member of the family, as she finds her place at Starlight Point.
This is my eighth published novel, and they all take place in the summer and by the water. I love sunshine and waves because they are fleeting, like the first rush of falling in love. For me, writing about July days and the sparkle of the blue water makes them last all winter long. I hope reading Carousel Nights puts summer and love in your heart.
Thank you for reading my book. I hope youâll visit me at amiedenman.com, follow me on Twitter, @amiedenman, or send me an email at [email protected].
Happy summer, wherever you are!
Amie Denman
AMIE DENMAN is the author of eight contemporary romances full of humor and heart. Born with an overdeveloped sense of curiosity, sheâs been known to chase fire trucks on her bicycle and eavesdrop on loversâ conversations. Amie lives in Ohio with her husband, two sons, a big yellow Labrador and two cats. She believes everything is fun: especially wedding cake, show tunes, roller coasters and falling in love.
Carousel Nights is dedicated to my parents, who encouraged their four daughters to be anything they wanted to be. Thank you for your unwavering love and for taking us on all those vacations that sparked our curiosity and imagination.
Contents
I SURE AM far from Broadway. Right back where I started.
For June Hamilton, standing on the stage of the Midway Theater was pure nostalgia. She had danced her first semiprofessional steps here during the summers. But she had no intention of dancing her last ones on stage at her familyâs amusement park. Her legs were still good for six or seven seasons of New York City, and she still had a dream to chase.
âThank you for spending your summer at Starlight Point,â she said. The performers gathered around her shifted even closer. âYouâll dance your legs off doing five shows a day, but the experience youâll gain can take you anywhere.â
âYouâve been on Broadway for ages, right?â a girl with a tiny waist and a movie-star face asked.
