Just the brush of skin against skin was enough to turn his belly upside down, his chest inside out.
Davis looked down at Violet, her cinnamon-brown eyes soft with an openness he hadnât seen since sheâd returned. Questions, answers.
Could it work if we tried again?
Yes, he thought, in this moment. Yes, it could.
He could hear her breathing, and each inhalation swept through him, too. It seemed right to go a little furtherâto wind his finger around hers under the cover of all those ribbons, to link to her in such a small yet significant way.
Around them, it was as if everything and everyone had stopped motion, frozen in time while Violet and Davis caught up with each other in the Texas heat.
Kiss her. God, he wanted to kiss her so badly â¦
Dear Reader,
Welcome to my new miniseriesâSt. Valentine, Texas!
Itâs so exciting to settle in to a fresh town, especially one that has a deeply buried secret thatâs about to unravel, thanks to a stranger who sets off a series of events that start in this book.
The two people who go about investigating this secret are our hero and heroine, but digging up the townâs past isnât all theyâre doingâthereâs love in the air for them, in spite of a painful, shared past of their own. But this Romeo and Juliet are going to find a happy ending, no matter what obstacles befall them!
Thanks so much for reading my books! In appreciation, I always have a contest running at my website, www.crystal-green.com. You can also check my blog and Twitter (Iâm @CrystalGreenMe) for updates about my upcoming projects!
All the best,
Crystal Green
Violet Osborne was back.
Davis Jackson watched her slow down as she walked by his newspaper office and peer through the glass window. He lowered his flute of champagne while, around him, the fundraiser he was hosting for the townâs Helping Hand Foundation sparkled with activity, much like the Cristal bubbles in the drink heâd served to his guests.
Violet.
The girl whoâd gotten away.
She stopped at his door. His heart thudded, as if it was running backward, fifteen years to the past, to the day sheâd left him for college, abandoning little St. Valentine, Texas, in her rearview mirror. Abandoning him.
Their gazes locked as they stood there, and he knew she could feel everything he feltâthe sharp edges of all the questions left unanswered between them, the tension of seeing each other again, all grown up, years later, man and woman.
Although Violet smiled at him, there were shadows in her brown eyes as she said hello by pressing her fingers to the glass that separated them.
Something clenched in Davisâs chest, and he forgot that he was in a crowded room, full of the townâs upper crust dressed in their cocktail-hour best.
Violet. Here.
The mayorâs voice brought Davis back. âDessertâs ready!â
Davis heard everyone migrate toward the back of the high-tech office, toward where theyâd pitched white tents outside to accommodate the food. Violet still waited, as if she didnât know whether to come inside or just walk away from Davis. Again.
The memory of that day, the slam of realizing that he didnât mean all that much to Violet, the minerâs daughter heâd fallen for, the off-limits girl whoâd seemed to know him better than anyone, tore into Davis like a fresh wound. But what pained the most was what sheâd said that day, just before sheâd left for college.
âIs it true? Are there other girls, Davis?â
Even though sheâd said that she hadnât believed it when sheâd heard it, heâd seen a different story in her eyesâa doubt that he hadnât changed enough to truly love her.
And that doubt had crushed the life out of what theyâd had together in one swift moment, even if theyâd naively thought nothing could tear them apartâ¦.
He opened the door, and Violet took a breath, as if she was readying herself for a reunion, not only with him, but with all the people who were filtering out of the back exit, checking her out and dismissing her because she was hardly important to them.
But Violet wouldnât have been expecting any fuss from the othersânot after sheâd spent her time in St. Valentine making it plain that she wanted to leave. The attitude hadnât gone over well with the townies or most of the miners.
Yet sheâd made good on all her youthful confidence, hadnât she?