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Island Kisses: Chapter 16
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Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 17
I stepped up to the railing overlooking the view and Gabe came up next to me, placing a hand on my lower back. A small thrill went through me and my heart fluttered at his touch.“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked. “This view is the biggest reason I wanted this place.”“I love the ocean,” I said, taking in a deep breath of salty air.“Me too. I love it, because it’s a constant reminder of just how small we are in comparison to the world,” he said softly. “It’s humbling. It's honest and real.”I turned to face him. The setting sun fell across his face, lighting up his eyes and accentuating his gorgeous features. Not only was Gabe absolutely beautiful but it was becoming clear that he was also extremely deep and intelligent.“That was poetic,” I responded. “Did you write that yourself?”“No, but I have more.” He laughed and then put on his best serious expression again. “I’m small compared to the world. It’s just a fact. I just like to remind myself of it so that I can stay humble. Ev
Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 18
“I'm sorry if he came across as a little...” Gabe paused to think of the word. “Protective? Intimidating?”“Protective is a good word,” I agreed. “I think he really cares about you. But I think he warmed up to me.”“I do too,” Gabe said with a nod. “I'm glad he didn't scare you away. He can be a bit much.”I looked out from one of the big windows overlooking the water. The sun was finally setting and from where we sat, I could see the sky outside as it began to turn orange. It looked to be a breathtaking sunset.“Can we watch the sunset?” I asked, already standing up.“Of course!” Gabe said, nearly knocking over his chair and taking my hand.I followed him out to the patio and we stepped up to the railing. The ocean sprawled out in front of us, all the way to the horizon, where the sun sat lonely on the water. The sky was on fire, making the incredible view from the island even more breathtaking. A warm breeze blew off of the sea, causing my hair to fall across my forehead. Gabe reach
Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 19
I couldn’t remember the last time I had been this happy. It felt like I had been walking on a cloud and even two days after Gabe and I hooked up, there was still a smile on my face. Everything with him was going so well. He was exactly the type of gentleman I had always imagined, though never actually believed I could end up with.It wasn’t just Gabe that had me smiling, though. It was also my website and blog. My latest post about the amazing dates with Gabe had had a really good response, much better than I imagined they would. In fact, I was getting emails daily from readers, asking me if Gabe was real or just a made up person.The next Tuesday afternoon, I was sitting in my computer chair just casually looking at the comments on my blog, when I got a phone call from Cora. I hadn’t talked to her in a couple of days, so I jumped at the opportunity and answered the call.“Cora! How are you?” I asked, closing my browser to give her my full attention.“Fantastic,” she replied. “Althoug
Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 20
“Here, Harper, use this brush to cut in the paint next to the ceiling,” Mom told me, holding out a brush. “It’s angled so that you can get it perfect.”“Nobody is going to ever look up here,” I said, as I took the brush from her.“Your nephew will be looking up there every day from the crib,” Mom said. “So we have to make it look as good as possible.”“Because everybody knows that all newborn babies critique the paint jobs of their nurseries,” I joked.“Harper, please,” Rosie piped in, as she stepped into the room with us. “Just do what Mom says. She wants the room to be perfect, just like her new grandbaby will be.”“I was just joking around,” I murmured, before dipping the little brush into the green paint.“Why did you go with the color green, anyway, Rosie?” I asked.“Because green is considered a calming color,” Rosie explained. “I thought it would be good since he's going to have to put up with the two of you.”“That’s actually pretty smart,” I said, carefully pressing the paint
Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 21
Dinner had been amazing. Spectacular. Delicious. I'd never tasted sushi as fresh or well prepared as I had tonight. Gabe certainly knew how to pick a restaurant, that was for sure.As soon as we stepped into his house, Gabe kissed me. Our hands had been all over each other at dinner, but we had done our best to keep it appropriate. Now we were back at home, though, and we had total freedom again.With our lips locked, I reached up and began to undo the buttons of his dress shirt. With just the top part open, I placed my hands onto his bare chest, getting turned on instantly. His muscular pecks did it to me every time.Gabe stepped forward and gently pressed me against the wall near the living room. He then broke our kiss and looked down my body.“You have no idea how hard it was to be a gentleman at dinner with you wearing that.”I smiled flirtatiously and gently pushed my chest out to accentuate my cleavage. The tiny black dress made me feel so sexy and clearly Gabe noticed. He hadn’
Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 22
At what point can I stop counting these rendezvous with Gabe as just casual dates? I wondered. Seems like we’ve had at least five so far. Are we actually dating yet?Gabe was still asleep in his bed, but I had been awake for a while, just relaxing and enjoying the quiet morning in his beautiful house. I had made myself some coffee and a bagel, which I ate out in the living room while casually surfing the Internet and checking on my blog. I was surprised to see how much traffic my website had been getting ever since I started posting about my relationship with Gabe. It seemed that there were plenty of people out there who liked reading about good dates and not just nightmarish ones.After finishing my coffee, I set my laptop down onto the end table and walked over to open the patio door at the back of his house. From where I stood, I could see the ocean stretched out in front of me. Seagulls flew near the beach, their sounds filling me with nostalgia from a life of growing up near the
Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 23
Gabe and I had just finished our last bite of breakfast when his cell phone on the nightstand began to ring. He looked over at it and then toward me. “I really don’t want to answer that.”“Well, do you have to?” I asked.With a sigh, he reached over and pulled the phone off of the charger before looking at the screen.“I probably should,” he said. “It’s one of the guys I work with and he doesn’t usually call unless there’s a legitimate reason, especially on a Sunday.”“Go ahead and answer it,” I replied. “I’ll just go hang out in the living room. Maybe I can get a little work done while you’re on your call.”Gabe leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the lips before getting out of bed. “Okay, I’ll try to make it fast. I don’t want to waste this perfect Sunday morning taking care of business stuff.”“Take your time, Gabe. It’s no big deal. The Internet is a very big place and there’s plenty there to keep me occupied.”“You’re the best,” he said, as he lifted the phone to his ear and st
Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 24
After storming out of Gabe’s office, I went back to the bedroom and got dressed as quickly as possible. I was teeming with emotion, but I didn’t want to let out a single sob. I could save that for later, when I could enjoy a pint if ice cream and a few days of binge watching my favorite TV show. But for now, I needed to keep it together and act tough.So once I was dressed, I gathered my makeup from his countertop in his bathroom and tossed everything into my overnight bag. To think, I was considering what it would be like to spend my life with the guy and now I was doing everything possible to speed up the process of leaving his house for good.I can’t believe this. I should have known that it would only be a matter of time before something like this would happen to me, I thought. Why did I fool myself into thinking I could actually meet a decent guy?I zipped up my bag and tossed it over my shoulder. Before leaving the bedroom, I took one last look at the bed, where the blankets wer
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Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Epilogue
I never thought this day would come.Maybe when I was a little girl, I had hoped that someday it would. But I never actually believed it. It feels like a dream, but I know it’s not because it’s even better than anything I could have dreamt up.I’m marrying Gabe Honors. In just a few moments, I’ll be wed to the love of my life.I’m beyond nervous, but also ready. I’ve spent the last twenty minutes looking at myself in the mirror, making sure that my hair and makeup look absolutely perfect for him.“Hey, it’s almost time,” Cora says, as she steps beside me. “You look perfect, Harper. Seriously, you look gorgeous. Gabe is going to melt.”I hope she’s right.“Well, let’s do this,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “I’m ready.”Just outside, my mom is standing there, holding my little nephew’s hand. He breaks away and runs up to give me a quick hug before she tells him to go take his seat. Mom looks almost more nervous than I am. She can’t keep her hands still and she’s tapping her t
Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 31
The following week I finally sat down to prepare for my final blog post. My decision was made. It was time to say goodbye and pass the reigns onto a new owner. It made sense and it felt right.Gabe had told me to sleep on the decision, and for most of the week I had made my home at his house, which made sleeping really easy. But the truth was that it really hadn’t taken much deliberation; the blog seemed like a thing of the past, something that opened the door to new writing feats, and I was ready to walk through that door.During our time together I had allowed the blog to slip even further off my mind, which was entirely okay with me. I had checked in periodically and had found a quick selection for Worst Wednesday. But besides that, and for the first time in a long time, I hadn’t paid it much attention. It seemed that the blog and I had finally begun to outgrow each other. At one time it had been my baby, but now it was moving out, and Cora was the perfect guide.If there was anyth
Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 30
I had been fairly sure that I would never see the inside of Gabe's house ever again, but now I was standing on the deck watching the ocean once more. Not that I was complaining, though. I was happy to be there. In fact, the view of the ocean with the sun overhead never looked so good.“I’m glad you came over today. We need to talk. I’m ready to work through this and make things right again. But first, we both have to come clean with each other,” Gabe said, leaning against the railing of his deck.“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” I agreed. My palms were sweating, but I felt calmer than I had in weeks.His surprise visit at the restaurant had happened just the night before and this was the first time we had really had a chance to hash things out. This conversation needed to happen. It had been a long time coming.“Where should we start?” he asked. The breeze from the ocean ruffled his dark hair.“I guess what I really don’t understand is why you hid it from me?” I asked, starting th
Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 29
“So all of your readers think you’re out with Brian right now?” Cora asked.I nodded. “Yep, I’ve duped them all into thinking Brian is a real person that loves me just the way I should be loved. It’s too bad I had to make all that up, though, isn’t it.”“Whatever. I think it’s fine.” Cora just shrugged. “But I have to ask you an important question, Harper.”“What is it?” I asked, a little nervous.Cora turned to the side and set her jaw, making a serious face. “Do I look like a Brian to you?”I busted out laughing. Her goofy antics got me every time.“You know, you actually do!” I exclaimed. “You make a perfect Brian! Wow, I’m one lucky girl to be on a date with such a handsome man.”“Aw, thanks!” she said, as she turned back to face me and grinned. “If I talk like this does it make me sound like a Brian, too?”She lowered her voice as much as possible and crinkled her eyebrows together. I was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face. The good kind of tears, though, not
Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 28
I sat down at my computer and clicked on the Internet. It was always the first step in starting a new blog post and I could almost feel the writer’s block start to set in as a blank window popped up on the screen and began loading.It had been just over two months since the breakup and about a month and a half since I had introduced Brian.Brian was a tall guy with a toned body, dark hair and eyes bluer than an open sky on a summer’s day. He was funny, smart, a hard worker in his career as a physical trainer, a huge sports fan and… completely fake.I had decided to create Brian in order to appease my Mother and to use as a marketing tool for the blog. After my readers had obsessed over my relationship with Gabe, Brian was designed to be Gabe 2.0 and to carry the burden of a new and passionate relationship. And completely fabricating a fake relationship was much easier than actually getting consumed by one.Brian took me on elaborate dates to all the exciting places around town without
Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 27
I took a break from watching my blog to make some belated dinner. I heated up some left over lasagna and made a milkshake with some of the ice cream still left in the fridge as post-breakup comfort food. I couldn’t help but make fun of myself and my current state of affairs. It felt only fitting to throw on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix.After about a half hour I heard the phone ring.Immediately my heart skipped a beat. I had posted my blog late at night and had done so purposefully to avoid an instant reaction from Rosie or my Mom. But with as late as it was, realistically they were the only ones that would be calling.I checked the caller I.D. on the phone before answering. It was Rosie, which was better than Mom. I took a deep breath and clicked to accept the call.“Hey, Rosie,” I attempted cheerfully.“Hey, Big Sis!” she exclaimed.“What are you doing up so late?” I asked.“I fell asleep kind of early, and then the baby woke me up. My sleep schedule is so crazy now, thi
Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 26
Well, the time has come. Every beginning has an end, and my relationship has found its end. Two weeks ago, Mr. Perfect Match and I broke up and it is time for the corresponding blog post (because blogging about breakups is the best way to move on, right??)It’s not the typical kind of post I’m used to writing. My life is filled with many more bad dates than bad breakups, and maybe that’s a good thing. But it also means that I’m entering new territory without the right map to guide me. They say it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have lovedI stopped writing and glared at the screen. I highlighted the last sentence and hit delete as if the force of my click would hurt the words as they left the page. Love. It was like a bad word, something I had been conditioned not to say. And Gabe deserved no exception, even if it would appease an old stupid cliché about breakups.After a few moments of contemplation I picked up again where I left off.Time is a weird thing. It has the a
Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 25
The plane ride to Orlando only took less than an hour, but it felt like an eternity. I spent the entire trip trying to hide my sobs, but of course it was impossible. Luckily, I had sat in the window seat and was able to face away from everyone while I cried, but I still knew that people were looking at me. The older lady sitting next to me even asked if there was anything she could do to help. I responded with, “If you can make men honest, that would help.” She just laughed and said, “I don’t think there’s anything I can do about that one.”My makeup was ruined, my hair was a mess and the clothes I had on were a day old. Needless to say, I wasn’t looking like I was ready to hit the town when I crawled off of the plane. It didn’t matter, though. Cora didn’t care what I looked like. She wouldn’t judge me. That was why I had come to see her in the first place.I had only taken a few steps out of the front doors of the airport before I heard Cora calling out my name. I hadn’t even gotten
Billionaires And Beaches: The Kisses Series Island Kisses: Chapter 24
After storming out of Gabe’s office, I went back to the bedroom and got dressed as quickly as possible. I was teeming with emotion, but I didn’t want to let out a single sob. I could save that for later, when I could enjoy a pint if ice cream and a few days of binge watching my favorite TV show. But for now, I needed to keep it together and act tough.So once I was dressed, I gathered my makeup from his countertop in his bathroom and tossed everything into my overnight bag. To think, I was considering what it would be like to spend my life with the guy and now I was doing everything possible to speed up the process of leaving his house for good.I can’t believe this. I should have known that it would only be a matter of time before something like this would happen to me, I thought. Why did I fool myself into thinking I could actually meet a decent guy?I zipped up my bag and tossed it over my shoulder. Before leaving the bedroom, I took one last look at the bed, where the blankets wer
