Fast track to love, p.1
Fast Track to Love, page 1
FAST TRACK TO LOVE
DRIVE ME WILD #4
BRONWEN EVANS
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
Slow Ride Excerpt
About the Author
Also by bronwen evans
Fast Track To Love
A Seasonal Novella
Bronwen Evans
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Fast Track To Love is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2021 by Bronwen Evans
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Bronwen Evans Author, an imprint of Bronwen Evans.
This book contains an excerpt from the book Slow Ride by Bronwen Evans. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.
* * *
Cover design: Les
Copy-Editor: Angela Bissell
www.bronwenevans.com
Created with Vellum
CHAPTER ONE
Havelock North, Hawke’s Bay – 4 days before Christmas
“Mr. O’Sullivan, since you’re here during Christmas, would you like to book Christmas lunch or dinner in the restaurant? Most likely, everywhere else will be booked or closed, and we’re filling up fast.”
Lizzie, according to her name badge, the young lady behind the reception desk of the only full-service hotel in Havelock North, a small town in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, was trying to be helpful, but shit, Los Angeles to New Zealand was a fucking long way and after sixteen hours of flying, all he wanted was a shower, food and sleep. In that order. Plus, who wanted to sit in a restaurant by themselves on Christmas Day like Larry Loser?
“I’m not sure of my plans yet. Can I let you know later?” She nodded, taking his credit card, and that was the end of the conversation.
It was a bitter pill to swallow when a young lady no longer flirted with you. He wasn’t that old, but now closer to mid-forties than mid-thirties, he’d noticed the subtle shift. Why should he care? He wasn’t interested in young women. With his life experiences and baggage, the more mature woman was his preference, and he was looking forward to exploring the differences between American and Kiwi women on his trip down under.
He was about to turn away when he remembered… “Someone was supposed to leave a car for me. Do you know if it’s here?”
The smile fixed on her face slipped. “Do you know who was delivering the vehicle? A rental company?”
“No. A Doctor O’Regan.” Did she flinch?
Sully was in no hurry to get the car, he’d be an idiot to drive in a country that drove on the opposite side of the road when he felt like Sleepy from the seven dwarfs, but while he’d volunteered to fly to New Zealand to view a vintage Jaguar for his boss, Marcus Black owner of Bad Boy Autos, he didn’t plan to stay too long. Just long enough to make the purchase, arrange for the car to be shipped home if it passed muster, and make him forget that he’d have spent Christmas alone back in the States. Two weeks max.
“I’ll have to ring the concierge and ask.”
“Ask them what? Is there something I can help you with?” Sully looked towards the door that had opened to the back office and almost—almost—shook his head like a startled deer in headlights.
The first thing he noticed wasn’t her face. It was the sexy timbre of her husky voice. Shivers of memory slid across his skin. She sounded like a fine malt whiskey, something he’d not had the pleasure to drink in over sixteen years. She made him yearn for a taste—dangerous to a man in recovery.
One look and he realized she was dangerous in other ways. His body flamed with heat and need. The sixteen-hour journey forgotten. Thick, glossy hair, the color of midnight on a cloud‐less night, was fastened in a high ponytail making her appear younger than she probably was. The provocative curve of rounded hips was displayed in the pencil skirt she wore and the tiny glimpse of coffee-colored cleavage made his mouth water.
* * *
What was wrong with him? Hadn’t he just thought about his age? He wasn’t a young guy who got a hard on when a beautiful woman went by, and she was beautiful. They should register a smile like hers as a dangerous weapon.
He knew he was staring, but he bloody well didn’t care.
She moved forward and offered him her hand. His swallowed up her smaller one as they shook. Her blouse tugged across her breasts, revealing just enough of the bounty which would keep him hard for the rest of the day. Think of something else, think of something else…
“I’m Kara O’Regan, owner of the hotel.” Did she just say O’Regan? Surely not.
“Mr. Sullivan asked if your father had dropped a car here for him,” Lizzie said, as he couldn’t seem to get his mouth to work.
The hand he held stilled, and he reluctantly let it go. “So, you’re the American my father mentioned was arriving to view the Jag. You’ve had a wasted journey, I’m afraid. It’s not for sale.”
“I’m Jake Sullivan, but everyone calls me Sully.”
She laughed, and for one moment he forgot to breathe. “Like in Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman?” She studied him. “I can see the similarities.”
He longed to know if that was a good thing. He hated Christmas and perhaps a dalliance with the striking Kara might keep the holiday blues away. A down under fling was what he needed—wanted, actually. “You’re Doctor O’Regan’s daughter? No wonder he recommended your hotel.”
“In all fairness, it is the only hotel in Havelock North. There are plenty of motels but if you like the comfort of a trendy bar, a fabulous restaurant and room service, you’ve little choice.” She checked the register. “I see you’re staying for two weeks. At least you’ll be able to have a holiday.”
“I’m not giving up before I’ve even met the man. I can be very persuasive. My boss finds money usually talks, and he has deep pockets.” Sully also had money, but he didn’t like anyone to know that. He loved his job as a head mechanic for Bad Boy Autos. The owners Marcus Black and Tom Lorde had given him a share in the business and now he swam in cash.
“Typical. An American who thinks money buys you anything you want. Not this time.”
“Why would your father invite me to view the car if he wasn’t interested in selling?”
Her smile dimmed. “He probably did believe, at the time, that he’d sell it, but he never will. He bought the car for my mother and she was his life. It’s not for sale.”
Not a lot you could say to that. Besides, every word was laced with memories and pain. Pain filled memories. This would be an exasperating trip, especially if Dr. O’Regan’s daughter acted as a gatekeeper.
“He’d promised I could have the Jag to use while I was here. So, perhaps you could help me hire a car instead?”
“I doubt the rental companies have any left this close to Christmas.” Lizzie’s words died as she looked at her boss. “I can try. Any car in particular?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Any car is fine, as is any price, given the demand.”
“I really am sorry,” Kara said. “How about I send up a bottle of our finest Hawke’s Bay wine to help you sleep? White or red?”
“Keep the wine. I’m fine, just tired. I wanted to get out of LA for Christmas, anyway.” He had plenty of time to change her father’s mind.
Lizzie handed him a little card. “You’re in the Tui Suite on the top floor. We’ve taken your bags up. The restaurant is open until eleven tonight but room service runs twenty-four hours. Have a pleasant stay.”
“Yes, welcome to New Zealand and the sunny Hawke’s Bay. Please, let me know if I can make your stay more comfortable.”
Now there was an offer he’d love to accept in so many ways. Talking her father into selling him the Jag would be a start, but he knew how he’d like this vacation to finish; losing his bad memories of Christmas past in the arms of a beautiful woman. He didn’t want to spend Christmas alone. A holiday fling was in order. Kara might be the fix he needed, but what he wanted right now was sleep. “I’ll let you know.”
Kara watched with clenched thighs as the sexy as hell American walked away. When was the last time she’d had sex? If she couldn’t remember it was far too long. Do something about it.
Jake Sullivan, no she mentally corrected herself, Sully, was the very definition of sex on two legs. He looked pretty amazing for a man in, what his late thirties? The smell of money lingered around him, but he tried to hide it.
At a glance, he was a movie-star dressed to look like the man next door. No man who lived near her ever looked like Sully. She’d never have left home if he did. He wore his designer jeans and crisp white shirt, rumpled from his travels, with a confidence that was intoxicating. She got the vibe that with Sully, what you saw was what you got, and she’d like to get what she saw.
Christmas fling? Very tempting.
She forgot to check for a wedding band.
“He seems very nice,” Lizzie said.
She nodded, her gaze still roaming across his form as he stepped into the elevator. Tall, broad, and lean, hair dark brown like chocolate with hints of gray at t
Why didn’t she tell him about her dad’s condition?
Guilt hit hard and fast. Let him sleep before ruining his trip. It was a hell of a long way to come for nothing.
“Don’t bother finding a car for him. I’ll get the Jag. He can use it while he’s here. Dad can’t use it anymore.” With his memory like it was, she wondered if he remembered offering to sell it. She hadn’t known about Jake Sullivan’s visit until yesterday, and by then he was winging his way across the Pacific. Her offer of the use of the car was to make up for his wasted trip. Perhaps she could show him around. Give him a trip to remember. Naughty, girl.
She smiled inwardly. The tall, dark and take me to bed eyed American could be what she needed this Christmas. She hated Christmas and for a very good reason.
She was alone. He was alone. They could be alone together.
“What’s made you smile like a cat who’s already had the cream?”
Kara looked up to see her best friend Jacquie winking at her. “Nothing I want to share with you,” she said, feeling a blush forming.
Jacquie leaned on the reception counter. “Who’s made her smile, Lizzie? I think I’ll buy them a gift. Getting a smile out of Kara at this time of year is like pulling teeth. I should know.”
Jacquie was the local dentist.
Lizzie looked puzzled for a moment. “A guest just checked in. I suppose he was hot if you like your men mature.”
“Now that’s interesting. I have to meet this man if he’s got you all hot and bothered.” Her friend laughed. “You can tell me all about him over lunch. Come on. I only have an hour before I have to get back.”
She groaned. “Let me grab my wallet.” Blast. Now she’d get a lecture on how having a fling with a man from America would not find her Mr. Happily Ever After. That at Thirty-four she should search for commitment, not casual flings.
Plenty of people waved hello, as they walked into Mania, their favorite lunch haunt other than the restaurant in her hotel. The owner, Megan, pointed them to their table. Every Monday, Jacquie and she joined Megan for lunch at Megan’s café. The girls had grown up in the Bay and known each other since pre-school.
They didn’t need to see a menu. “Kara’s had a hunk register at the hotel.”
Megan plonked herself down and dove for her glass of water. When she came up for air, she sighed. “Oh, to be free and single again.”
“Don’t give me that shit,” Kara laughed. “You’re the luckiest woman on this earth with Jarrod.” Jarrod Tarrant and Megan had been sweethearts throughout school and married now for fifteen years with three lovely kids.
You could almost see the peacock plumes as she preened. “True. So who is he?”
“Jake O’Sullivan, aka Sully. An American.”
“Oh, that’s a shame,” Jacquie said, while Kara rolled her eyes.
“Age? Profession?” Megan asked eagerly. “Here to stay or just visiting?”
“OMG you two! He’s a guest at my hotel.”
Jacquie and Megan looked at each other. “You know more,” Megan exclaimed, just as their meals arrived.
It saved her from answering for a few minutes, but then Jacquie piped up, “So what’s he here for? Visiting his wife?”
“Explain why I’m friends with you girls.” When Jacquie wiggled her eyebrows and Megan prodded her with her fork handle she said, “He looks to be around forty, I forgot to check for a wedding band, but we all know that means nothing, and he’s here in Havelock North to buy Dad’s Jaguar.”
“You forgot the most important part. Is he hot?” Megan insisted.
“Let’s just say he’d melt an igloo.”
“Ooh, you lucky girl.” Megan looked dreamily into the distance.
“Why is she lucky?” Jacquie’s cutlery hit the table. Here we go, Kara thought. “She needs to stop this one-night stand behavior. She won’t find Mr. Right rolling in the sack with, well, with an American that’s for sure.”
Jacquie met her Mr. Right at the tennis club six years ago. Carter Lockwood, a farmer who loves her to bits. Only he’d had a hidden problem, and definitely wasn’t Mr. Perfect. Their marriage was rocky for a couple of years, but now they were inseparable. With two children under five this was why meeting for lunch once a week was about all Jacquie could spare at the moment given she worked three days a week too.
Kara tried to keep in the words, but really! “I don’t want, or need, a Mr. Right. You seem to forget I’m not and never will be a Mrs. Right for any man.”
Jacquie sighed and leaned across the table. “Look, Steve was the dick of all dicks. He definitely wasn’t Mr. Right and you’re well rid of him.”
“I have to agree, hon. Jarrod would never have left me if I couldn’t have children. Love is for better and for worse.”
Kara couldn’t look at them. Both girls hadn’t really embraced Steve. Unlike her, he hadn’t fooled them with his false charm and good looks. She’d wasted six years of her life on a man who left four years ago on Christmas Day without a backward glance, the minute she learned the reason they hadn’t conceived was because she couldn’t. Now here she was four years on with no one special in her life.
When she’d gone home crying to her mum, all her mother had said was, “Don’t worry, love. You’ll find a man who’s on his second time around. He’ll already have had kids and won’t want any more so he won’t care.”
Won’t care! Well, she bloody cared. As an only child, all she’d wanted was to have a large family of her own. It took her two years to realize that what upset her the most at Steve’s leaving was not the actual leaving, but the knowledge she’d never have children. Here she was at thirty-four, and she didn’t know what she wanted, now her dream of a family was dead.
She didn’t blame Steve for leaving because she often wondered if the boot had been on the other foot, would she have stayed with him?
She glanced up and the looks of pity on her friend’s faces saw her backbone straighten. “I live in a small town. I run a very demanding business and it’s not as if potential husbands are growing on trees. Apples, yes, men, no.”
“I’m with you, love. It’s more likely you’ll meet some man from out of town. I didn’t think, or wanted it to be, so far out of town. America’s a bloody long way away.”
“Christ. You know I can’t leave the Bay. You have me married off and you haven’t even met the man. Am I that pathetic or that desperate?”
Her two friends looked at each other, and Jacquie sighed. She reached for Kara’s hand. “I was hoping you would find someone to be your rock before your father… before he…”
“Before he forgets me completely?” Kara finished for her, the tears she’d held at bay welling.
“Oh, sweetheart, don’t cry. You’ll never be alone. You will always have Jacquie and I. And Jarrod and Carter and the kids. They love their Auntie Kara.”
She swiped a tear off her cheek and gave them a weak smile. “I know. It’s just this time of year… it sucks. What would I do without you?”
They ordered coffees and Megan uttered, “Go for it with Mr. America. I think the next few weeks might be fun. Does hot as hell know you own the car?”
A smile spread over Kara’s face.
“Oh, let me be there when you tell him. Please.” And all three burst into laughter.
CHAPTER TWO
Sully tried to sleep late, he really did, but hell, he’d been awake from about midnight New Zealand time, which was seven in the morning in Los Angeles, his normal waking time.
He’d sent Marcus a brief text last night, saying he’d arrived and told him about the conversation with Kara regarding her father not selling the car. As he rolled over in bed and opened his mobile, there were several replies from Marcus, each one getting angrier and angrier. What did Marcus expect him to do about it? Sully lay back and sighed as he stared at the ceiling. He understood Marcus’s mood given he was recovering from major back surgery that would dictate the rest of his life—but still…
