New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sherryl Woods takes readers to the North Carolina coast with a new family and her trademark heartfelt emotions
In a trade-off sheâs lived to regret, Emily Castle left home years ago to become an interior designer. The youngest of three sisters, Emily desperately wanted to prove herself. Success, though, came at the cost of leaving behind the man she loved.
For Boone Dorsett, losing Emily left his heart shattered, but another woman was waiting in the wings. Now a widower with a young son, Boone has a second chance with Emily when a storm brings her home. But with his former in-laws threatening a custody suit, the stakes of loving her are higher than ever.
Will fate once again separate themâor is the time finally right for these two star-crossed lovers?
Praise for the novels of
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sherryl Woods
âWoods always thrills with her wonderful characters, witty dialogue and warm and loving family interactions.â
âRT Book Reviews
âSherryl Woods always delights her readersâincluding me!â
â#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber
âWoods really knows what readers have come to expect from her stories, and she always gives them what they want. Here, she pens another great love story populated with funny, witty and charming characters, written with great care.â
âRT Book Reviews on Where Azaleas Bloom
âWoods knows how to paint a vivid picture that sencourages the reader to feel the emotions of her charactersâ¦everyone will be able to relate to this book.â
âRT Book Reviews on Catching Fireflies
âA whimsical, sweet scenarioâ¦the digressions have their own charm, and Woods never fails to come back to the romantic point.â
âPublishers Weekly on Sweet Tea at Sunrise
âWoodsâs readers will eagerly anticipate her trademark small-town setting, loyal friendships and honorable mentors as they meet new characters and reconnect with familiar ones in this heartwarming tale.â
âBooklist on Home in Carolina
âRedolent with Southern small-town atmosphere, this emotionally rich story deals with some serious issues and delivers on a number of levels.â
âLibrary Journal on A Slice of Heaven
For all of those whoâve discovered the magic
of North Carolinaâs Outer Banks and made happy memories there, including my own special extended family. Thanks for the good times.
Dear friends,
My affection for living by waterâbe it the shores of the Potomac River in Virginia or the beaches of Key Biscayne in Floridaâis well known to most of you. Thereâs another spot thatâs become dear to me in more recent years: the coastal towns in North Carolina.
For the next three months Iâm inviting you to share my fictional version of that special region in the new trilogy of Ocean Breeze novels that begins with Sand Castle Bay. Youâll get to know the three Castle sisters and their wise and wonderful grandmother, to say nothing of the strong, sexy men in their lives, as they face the kind of changes and challenges many of you may have faced at one time or another.
I hope youâll embrace this new family as well as this new setting and spend the next few months imagining the sand beneath your feet and the ocean breezes on your cheeks.
All best,
Sherryl
1
The television in Emily Castleâs Aspen, Colorado, hotel room was tuned to the Weather Channel, where there was minute-by-minute coverage of the hurricane aiming directly at North Carolinaâs coast, the place that had been like a second home to her. Childhood summers there had been slow and lazy and sweet. The beach town her grandmother called home was where sheâd ultimately experienced her first heartache, yet despite those painful memories and despite everything she had on her plate at the moment, it was where she needed to be.
Even before her cell phone rang, she was checking flight schedules on her laptop. She clicked on a connecting flight between Atlanta and Raleigh, North Carolina, just as she answered the incoming call.
âAlready on it,â she told her sister Gabriella. âI should be able to get to Raleigh by sometime late tomorrow.â
âNot a chance,â Gabi argued. âFlights are going to be canceled up and down the East Coast for at least a day or two. Youâre better off waiting until next week and booking for Monday, maybe even Tuesday. Avoid the craziness.â
âWhatâs Samantha doing?â Emily asked, referring to their older sister.
âSheâs rented a car and is already on her way down from New York. Sheâll be here later tonight, hopefully ahead of the storm. Theyâre predicting landfall overnight. Weâre already getting some of the wind and rain bands clear over here.â
Of course Samantha would beat the storm! Emily couldnât seem to stop herself from frowning. Though sheâd never totally understood it, the odd competitiveness sheâd always felt with her oldest sister kicked in with a vengeance. She supposed with three sisters, there were bound to be rivalries, but why with Samantha and not Gabi? Gabi was the driven, successful businesswoman, the one most like her in terms of ambition.