Nina (Beach Brides Book 3)
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
NINA
Beach Brides Series
by
Stacey Joy Netzel
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NINA
Beach Brides Series
Copyright © 2017, Stacey Joy Netzel
Prologue and Chapter One from CLAIR (Beach Brides Series)
Copyright © 2017 Grace Greene
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Editor: Stacy D. Holmes
Cover Design by Raine English
Elusive Dreams Designs
ISBN: 9781939143570
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Dedication
To Noel S. and Lori Anne…
Thank you so much for your help building the hero, Finn. I’m so blessed to have such wonderful readers. Hope you enjoy the story!
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
About the Book
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
About the Author
About Beach Brides
Sneak Peek from Clair by Grace Greene
Grab your beach hat and a towel and prepare for a brand new series brought to you by twelve New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors…
Beach Brides! Fun in the summer sun!
Twelve heartwarming, sweet novellas linked by a unifying theme.
You’ll want to read each one!
BEACH BRIDES SERIES (Nina)
Twelve friends from the online group, Romantic Hearts Book Club, decide to finally meet in person during a destination vacation to a beautiful Caribbean isle. While of different ages and stages in life, these ladies have two things in common: 1) they are diehard romantics, and 2) they’ve been let down by love. As a wildly silly dare during the last night on the island, each heroine decides to stuff a note in a bottle addressed to her “dream hero” and cast it out to sea. Sending a message in a bottle can’t be any crazier than online or cell phone dating, or posting personal ads.
And, who knows? One of these mysterious missives might actually lead to love…
Join Meg, Tara, Nina, Clair, Jenny, Lisa, Hope, Kim, Rose, Lily, Faith, and Amy, as they embark on the challenge of a lifetime: risking their hearts to accomplish their dreams.
This is Nina’s story…
Jaded and guy-shy after too many heartbreaks, Nina is sure no one man could ever meet the impossible criteria specified in her message in a bottle—until she meets wounded veteran, Finn Regan.
Find all of the Beach Brides at Amazon!
MEG (Julie Jarnagin)
TARA (Ginny Baird)
NINA (Stacey Joy Netzel)
CLAIR (Grace Greene)
JENNY (Melissa McClone)
LISA (Denise Devine)
HOPE (Aileen Fish)
KIM (Magdalena Scott)
ROSE (Shanna Hatfield)
LILY (Ciara Knight)
FAITH (Helen Scott Taylor)
AMY (Raine English)
Prologue
Nina’s message in a bottle…
Single heroine seeks humble, kind, super sexy hero for a real life Happily Ever After.
No cheaters or jerks need apply—or anyone else who doesn’t meet the following criteria:
1. Must be one year older than me. Exactly. I don’t mind sharing a birthday with the love of my life.
2. Must speak French.
3. ‘super sexy’ = Sexiest Man Alive level of hotness.
4. Must be humble and kind. Think of Tim McGraw’s song. And if you’re not a fan, don’t bother applying.
5. Must be rich. (Billionaire world traveler would be a bonus to weigh heavily in your favor.) Do not equate this to me being a gold-digger. I’m just not willing to support lazy moochers who don’t know the first thing about being a real man. (hint: real men don’t mooch) So…a hard worker would be okay, too.
6. No tattoos
7. Must have a sense of humor. And be willing to admit when you’re wrong. AND apologize when you’ve been a jerk. (but remember, no jerks need apply, so figure that one out.)
8. Must have one blue eye and one brown.
9. Must be a prince. No country required.
10. Must be willing to hand over your whole heart to my tender, loving care for the rest of your life.
bemyhero (at) priley…
Chapter 1
June
Enchanted Island, Caribbean
Nina Delveaux tapped her pen against her lips as the light ocean breeze stirred a stray strand of hair against her neck. She had only a few more minutes to finish her note and meet the girls down at the beach for The Toss, yet her gaze followed a white tuft of fluff as it floated past her open bungalow doors and out of sight.
This little message in a bottle thing was downright silly if you asked her. They all knew it, and had even laughed about it over the endless supply of wine and fruity, tropical drinks last night. Yet, she wondered if secretly some of her fellow Romantic Hearts Book Club members were genuinely hopeful about writing a message to their perfect hero and tossing the message out to sea for the fates to play with.
She was a lot more practical than that, because if there was such a thing as fate, the ol’ girl had already had more than enough fun with her. She adored romance books for the fun, fantasy escape they were, not because she had any foolish notions the stuff between the covers mirrored real life. Just like there was a reason she read romance, there was a reason it was called fiction.
Her boss—and best friend—had called her jaded more than once. So would the book club members if she ever told them how she really felt about real life love. But, it wasn’t their fault she couldn’t spot a good man any better than she could pick a good cantaloupe. It wasn’t her fault either, when she couldn’t see what was beneath the outer layers.
The fruit was usually too green or too rotten when she cut it open.
The men were usually revealed as too selfish.
Or too interested in her famous boss.
Too immature, too much of a commitment-phobe, too…whatever. You name it, she’d dealt with it. Short of some miracle man meeting every condition on her list, she was done with the idea there was one special someone out there for her.
Nina skimmed her tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top note—or personals ad, really—so she could get this out of the way and enjoy her last night on the beach with friends.
Single heroine seeks humble, kind, super sexy hero for a real life Happily Ever After.
No cheaters or jerks need ap
ply—or anyone else who doesn’t meet the following criteria:
1. Must be one year older than me. Exactly. I don’t mind sharing a birthday with the love of my life.
2. Must speak French.
She couldn’t speak French, but so what. It went with her last name, and it was supposed to be the language of love, so her perfect fantasy hero needed to speak fluently so he could romance her socks off. Literally.
3. ‘super sexy’ = Sexiest Man Alive level of hotness.
4. Must be humble and kind. Think of Tim McGraw’s song. And if you’re not a fan, don’t bother applying.
5. Must be rich. (Billionaire world traveler would be a bonus to weigh heavily in your favor.) Do not equate this to me being a gold-digger. I’m just not willing to support lazy moochers who don’t know the first thing about being a real man. (hint: real men don’t mooch) So…a hard worker would be okay, too.
6. No tattoos
7. Must have a sense of humor. And be willing to admit when you’re wrong. AND apologize when you’ve been a jerk. (but remember, no jerks need apply, so figure that one out.)
Hmm. What else to add? It was impossible for any one man to fit her first seven requirements, but since she’d numbered the list, going to ten would make it nice and even.
She was deciding on eye color when another tuft of white fluff floated into view. It reminded her of the cottonwood seeds that made it look like it was snowing every spring where she’d grown up in Wisconsin. A change in air currents swirled the white fuzz into her bungalow.
It dipped and lifted, and watching it made her think of the scene from Practical Magic when Sandra Bullock’s character created an impossible love spell to protect her heart from being broken again.
That wasn’t quite what she was doing here, but…everything else on the list was so far out of reach, why not? She put the tip of her pen back to the paper.
8. Must have one blue eye and one brown.
9. Must be a prince. No country required.
She grinned at that one. Okay, so this ridiculous dare was kind of fun after all.
And, finally, for the most important one—even though no guy would ever get this far…
10. Must be willing to hand over your whole heart to my tender, loving care for the rest of your life.
bemyhero (at) priley…
Chapter 2
February, 8 months later
Pulaski, Wisconsin
It was after one a.m. when Nina sloughed through six inches of snow in her comfy, definitely-not-made-for-winter ballet slippers, inserted the key to unlock the door, and wearily stumbled into the dimly lit foyer of her boss’s Wisconsin house. The whole place was hers for the next month, but after the last nineteen hours, all she cared about in this moment was a bed.
Kicking her wet shoes off, she hauled her suitcase up to the first bedroom at the top of the stairs, stripped down to her panties and silk camisole, and practically fell asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Next thing she knew, something warm and wet swiped across the corner of her mouth as a God-awful smell assaulted her nostrils. Slobbering and panting registered a split second before she shrieked and yanked the covers over her head.
Her sleep-foggy brain identified the logical source, but couldn’t fathom where the heck a dog had come from.
“Woof!”
The shrill, excited bark pierced her eardrums as the animal jumped onto the bed in a whining frenzy after Nina’s surprised cry. Paws dug into her stomach and side as the dog committed to breaching her puny shield.
“Kismet. Come.”
Instantly awake, Nina’s blood froze at the sound of the firm male voice from where she vaguely remembered the door being. The mattress bounced as the dog jumped off the bed with a muted thump, and then nails sounded across the hardwood floor.
But forget the dog—where in the world had the man come from? Why was he in the house? How did he even get in?
“Sit. Good girl. Stay.”
Stay? Was he coming into the bedroom?
Nina flipped the covers off her face as she jerked upright in protest. Her long hair whirled about her head in all directions, and she scrambled to brush it out of the way as she turned toward the door to demand he stay.
Her voice deserted her at the sight of a tall—very tall—figure filling the doorway. His broad shoulders nearly touched both sides of the doorjamb. Her heart jack-hammered in her chest, but thankfully, he didn’t make a move to step inside the room while she fumbled for her glasses off the nightstand.
“Sorry about that. She gets a little excited.”
Oh, sweet cupcakes. The rich baritone of his voice was something else. So was the rest of him. Now that she could see clearly, she darted her gaze down his long, denim-clad legs and took in the cute, medium-sized, multi-colored dog sitting at his booted feet. The animal gazed up at him with rapt attention, tongue lolling out the side of its mouth.
Nina raised her gaze once more. She noted the man looked somewhat familiar, but didn’t waste time with that as her stomach pitched like she’d just done a loop de loop on a roller coaster. Especially since he didn’t sound sorry at all—or look it as his gaze dipped below her chin. Remembering she’d gone to sleep in her skimpy camisole and underwear, she dragged the sheet back up with a mortified gasp.
Amusement twitched his lips and sparkled in his blue eyes. Even at this distance, they were startlingly bright in contrast to his dark, messy hair and the equally dark scruff on his jaw. A slate-gray sweater clung to every contoured muscle of his chest, arms, and lean torso.
Her stomach rolled with anxiety even as a stronger sensation of recognition assailed her memory. But her rattled brain wasn’t cooperative enough to provide a name just yet.
Careful to keep the sheet clutched up to her chin, she scooted back to lean against the headboard. Its solid support was small comfort, but she finally managed to ask, “Who are you, and what are you doing in this house? How’d you get in?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing, Goldilocks. I live here.”
What? No way. Then her eyes widened as a horrifying thought occurred to her. Had she walked into the wrong house in the middle of the night?
Common sense answered the question before humiliation could sink its roots in too deep. Of course she wasn’t in the wrong house—she’d used Peyton’s key.
Then what the heck was going on? She hadn’t noticed another vehicle or tracks outside in the snowstorm last night—or early this morning, as it was. Hadn’t noticed much of anything else when she’d stumbled into the house, either. But then again, she’d been exhausted when she’d finally parked her crappy little rental car and pried her white-knuckled hands off the steering wheel.
Blinding snow and unplowed roads were exactly why she didn’t travel in the winter. Actually, take that back. She was fine with travelling in the winter, as long as it was in the daylight, to someplace warm. Preferably with a beach, like the movie location her best friend was on in New Zealand right now.
Thanks a lot, Peyton.
Bad enough her flight had been delayed in Minneapolis, she’d landed to discover her original SUV reservation had been given to someone else hours ago. That left her with a compact car to handle not only the main roads, but the bumpy gravel driveway to Peyton’s portfolio diversification investment.
Who could blame her for stripping down and dealing with everything else in the morning?
Everything else was supposed to include a hot shower and a trip into Pulaski for groceries, not a dog and a really, really good-looking guy.
A guy who reminded her of someone who she couldn’t place.
Forget that already.
“You can’t live here,” she argued. “This house belongs to Peyton Riley.”
“But I do live here. Temporarily, anyway. I’m doing the remodeling in exchange for a place to stay.”
Nina shook her head with a negative sound. “She would’ve told me if she was in the middle of remodeling before gi
ving me her key to stay here for the next month.”
Any sign of humor faded from his expression. “The next month?”
“Yes.”
Impatience flashed in his eyes. Or maybe annoyance. “Do you drink coffee?”
She blinked at the abrupt question. “Um…yeah.” And now that he’d asked, the fresh brewed aroma registered on her senses and made her mouth water.
“I just started a pot,” he confirmed. “Get dressed and we’ll have a cup while we figure this out.”
A practical suggestion even if he’d disguised it as an order. She’d overlook that since he’d promised caffeine. But first, that shower to wash away the travel grime from the day before.
“Where’s the bathroom?”
“Turn left into the hall. It’s the second door on your right.”
“Thanks. Give me twenty minutes.”
After a brief nod, he commanded, “Kismet, heel.”
The dog leapt to her feet and pranced out into the hall while he pulled the door closed.
She listened to the sound of his retreating footsteps, realizing he’d never given his name. Why did she have a gut feeling she knew the guy? And if she did, how could she forget someone that gorgeous?
With a combination sigh of release and groan of annoyance, she slid down into the bed, hugging the covers to her chest as she closed her eyes. A housemate and remodeling didn’t even come close to the “tons of quiet, writing time” Peyton had promised in exchange for Nina taking her place in the Veteran’s Valentine’s Day Auction at Whispering Pines Lodge.
Twisting her head to the side, she shot a quick glance at the clock. 6:52 a.m. sparked a frown as she pushed the covers aside. So much for sleeping in after the long day yesterday. She shot off a quick text to Peyton, even though it was in the middle of the night in New Zealand. A few more hours and she’d be up for hair and makeup before heading to the set. She’d respond first thing.
She better respond first thing. And it better be good. Because if this was some sort of elaborate set up, someone was going to get their butt kicked from here to Sunday.