Irresistible love, p.1
Irresistible Love, page 1
CONTENTS
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
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Epilogue
Looking for your next small town read??
One
ALSO BY SAMANTHA CHASE
ABOUT SAMANTHA CHASE
Copyright 2024 Samantha Chase
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book, with the exception of brief quotations for book reviews or critical articles, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are 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.
Cover Design: Kari March Designs
Edits: Jillian Rivera
PRAISE FOR SAMANTHA CHASE
“If you can’t get enough of stories that get inside your heart and soul and stay there long after you’ve read the last page, then Samantha Chase is for you!”
-NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Melanie Shawn
“A fun, flirty, sweet romance filled with romance and character growth and a perfect happily ever after.”
-NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Carly Phillips
“Samantha Chase writes my kind of happily ever after!”
-NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Erin Nicholas
“The openness between the lovers is refreshing, and their interactions are a balanced blend of sweet and spice. The planets may not have aligned, but the elements of this winning romance are definitely in sync.”
- Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
“A true romantic delight, A Sky Full of Stars is one of the top gems of romance this year.”
- Night Owl Reviews, TOP PICK
“Great writing, a winsome ensemble, and the perfect blend of heart and sass.”
- Publishers Weekly
“Recommend Chase to fans of Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Well-written and uniquely appealing.”
- Booklist
PROLOGUE
THREE MONTHS AGO…
Sweat was literally pouring off her body, and her hair was practically matted to her head. Her heart was racing, her throat was dry, but as the choreographer took his spot in the corner of the room, Lily Montgomery took her position and waited for the music to begin.
The bass beat started, and Tag loudly counted them down. “And five, six, seven, eight! Hold, two, three, four, right, left, right, left, pull…pull…” He clapped almost aggressively as he continued to count out the movements and Lily knew she was nailing every one of them. This particular piece was jazz funk, and when Tag smiled and winked at her as she strutted across the room, she knew he was pleased.
Catching her reflection in the mirror, she spun several times before leaping three times along with the fifteen other dancers currently on the floor. It wasn’t until she landed and held her pose that she felt a twinge of pain in her hip that wasn’t there before.
Shake it off.
The routine was new and challenging, and perhaps she overextended on that last leap. Either way, when they took their water break, she’d do a little extra stretching just to play it safe.
“Take five!” Tag called out. “And when we start back, I’d like to see a little enthusiasm out of all of you, not just some of you!” He turned away without another word.
It wasn’t the first time that class went past midnight this week, so that didn’t throw her. But looking around at the full group—all thirty-six of them—it didn’t look like everyone was feeling the same way. Tryouts for this year’s squad was apparently going to be brutal, and as much as this had been a bucket list thing for her, she hadn’t expected there to be so much competitive precision this long before auditions. She had come to Miami to get situated and settle in long before auditions, which were still almost six months away. Unfortunately, her chance to dance with the squad at the Dolphins’ games wasn’t guaranteed yet.
But it would be.
She’d danced for a year as a Rockette and she did another year performing with the national tour of Hairspray. Basically, she’d grown bored with New York and doing all the travelling and was ready to tackle the world of NFL cheerleading. When she’d seen some of the competition, she’d played up the fact that her father was a bit of a legend in the world of football. He’d been forced to retire because of an injury before she was born, but his name still opened the door for her here.
And even though it stung a bit that she’d had to resort to dropping names, it just made her all that more determined to prove to everyone that she deserved to be here.
I’ve got this.
With a shrug, Lily went to the back corner where her bag was and pulled out a bottle of water. Taking a long drink, she allowed herself a solid minute to let her mind go blank before getting down on the floor and stretching.
Her nose was touching the floor when her friend Drea sat down beside her, mimicking the pose. “I’m ready to shoot Tag with a tranquilizer dart,” she murmured. “I don’t know why he doesn’t call out the specific people who are screwing up.” Turning her head, she grinned at Lily. “Because I don’t see why you and I have to be punished for other people not learning the damn routine.”
Lily straightened for a moment before bending to touch her nose to her left knee and winced.
“You okay?”
She hesitated only for a second before forcing a smile. “Yeah. I guess I didn’t stretch as well as I thought I had earlier.”
“Oh, same,” Drea said, mimicking all of Lily’s moves.
They were new friends, but…like…dance friends. They rarely hung out together outside the studio or rehearsals. It wasn’t intentional, but mostly because once they were done rehearsing each night, Lily went home and slept for almost twelve hours. She knew she needed a break, but she was making up for some lost time after breaking her collarbone three years ago in a freak accident.
Still…it would be nice to go home and see everyone…
“And we’re back!” Tag called out. He was a fantastic choreographer, but she wished they could move on to something new.
Both she and Drea got to their feet, finishing their waters. “I bet Tag picks me to be in his top five tonight,” Drea said confidently. “He’s been winking at me all night, so I know he sees how I’m nailing the choreography.”
“Or maybe he’s just got some sort of nervous tick,” Lily muttered.
“What?” The friendly girl she’d been chatting with was gone judging by the sneer she was giving Lily.
“I’m just saying…he’s winked at me too,” she quickly explained.
Muttering something under her breath, Drea stormed off, leaving Lily standing there, shaking her head.
Diva.
“Let me get group one up first!” Tag ordered. “And I want you all to watch Lily! If I had to pick someone to make the team right now, she’d get my vote!”
While she wanted to gloat, she didn’t.
She did, however, smile sweetly at Drea as she took her position.
“And five, six, seven, eight! Hold, two, three, four, right, left, right, left, pull…pull…” he commanded, as he clapped with each count throughout the short routine. “And turn! Turn! Leap! Higher! Three, four…”
The music was blaring, and Lily was in her element. Everything she wanted was within her reach.
“Keep it going!” Tag yelled as he paced along the mirrored wall until the music ended. “I want to see that one more time and I want those leaps higher and more powerful!” He clicked the music on again from the beginning and counted them in once more.
Slightly winded, she immediately jumped right into it as if she’d had a break. She smiled, she preened, she mentally high-fived herself when Tag winked at her with a nod of approval. She had this—she knew she had this. There was a bit of a high that she got from dancing, and right now, she was experiencing it at a whole new level.
The big finish was coming up again. She nailed her turns and swiveled her hips in a sexy little move before taking her three steps and…
“Leap! Leap! Leap!” he called out, but something in Lily’s hip snapped as she crashed to the floor in excruciating pain.
Well…shit…
ONE
There were dozens of butterflies in Lily Montgomery’s belly threatening to take flight. Today was the day she was both looking forward to and dreading.
The day she found out if she was cleared to go back to dancing.
It had been three months since that fateful leap at dance rehearsals—three months since her dream pretty much crashed and died as she’d crumbled to the floor—but with any luck, her scans would show that she was good to go. With nothing else to do but wait, she pulled out her phone and figured she’d scroll through social media to kill time until the doctor finally came in to see her.
There were three missed calls and two texts from her mother.
Yeah she’d been avoiding talking to her family because she knew they were worried about her and, truth be known, she was worried about herself too. It was safer to keep her distance, otherwise she’d completely break down and wallow in self-pity. The missed calls had been on the phone for almost a week and she hadn’t listened to the voicemails, but the texts were new.
Mom: Lily, whatever it is I did to upset you, I’m sorry. I’ve left you multiple messages and your father said not to pester you, but I’m concerned.
She laughed softly. Since her father had been a pro-athlete when he was younger, he understood how an injury could mess with you psychologically and the importance of people giving you space while you heal. Clearly, he was running interference for her.
Mom: We’ve got some stuff going on here and I know I’ve been a little distracted, but please call me. I miss you.
Tears stung her eyes because…yeah…she missed her too.
She just didn’t want the pity she’d been getting ever since her injury. It was almost as if her mother knew something she didn’t, like this injury was going to end her career. Glancing around the office, she chose to take it as a good sign that she was sitting here rather than in an exam room. Although…
The door opened and Dr. Mathis walked in. She was the orthopedist Lily had been working with since her injury. She was in her forties, specialized in sports injuries, and came highly recommended. From the moment they’d met, she’d been nothing but kind and understanding, and always put Lily’s mind at ease. But as she walked by on her way to her desk, she suddenly looked a bit imposing.
“Well?”
Dr. Mathis took a seat behind her desk and let out a soft breath. “I wish I had better news for you, Lily, but…”
Her heart sank.
“But I’m not healing,” she said miserably. She’d been preparing herself for this day. After three months of physical therapy, she definitely felt better, but not healed. With her shoulders sagging, she braced herself for what would come next. “So? What are my options?”
With a patient smile, Dr. Mathis replied, “That depends on what you’re looking to do.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, if you want to go back to dancing full-time, then surgery is really your only option.”
“What if I don’t do the cheering? I know that was way more aggressive and challenging than anything I’d ever done before. What if I go back to the Rockettes or…or…Broadway? Or…”
“I can tell by that response that surgery isn’t an option for you.”
It really wasn’t. The thought of it terrified her because there were too many “what if” things that could happen.
She shrugged. “Not that it’s not an option, but…I want to make sure we exhaust every other option first. I know I’ve rested; I’ve done P/T, I’ve done the over-the-counter pain relievers…” She paused. “What about the shot? We haven’t done the cortisone shot yet.”
“We haven’t,” Dr. Mathis agreed. “But it’s not a cure, Lily. I need you to understand that. Cortisone shots can provide relief for anywhere from two weeks to six months, but that’s it.”
“And will I be able to dance during that time?” She had already lost valuable prep time for the cheer squad and didn’t have anything else lined up. Fortunately, there were normally auditions open year-round all over the world for all kinds of shows if she wasn’t too picky.
The look Dr. Mathis gave her wasn’t optimistic. “I think you can try, but you’ll end up aggravating the injury more.” Pausing, she got up and walked across her office and pulled a brochure off one of her bookshelves. “This is some literature about the surgery. The recovery time is lengthy—three to six months—but I truly believe it’s the best option for you.”
She begrudgingly accepted the brochure. Surgery was the absolute last thing she wanted to do. Call her stubborn, but she truly believed she would heal on her own.
The thought made her laugh. How many times had she heard the stories about her father and his stubbornness regarding surgery for an injury he received while playing pro football?
Like father, like daughter.
Still…maybe she could talk to him about this and get his input. So far, she’d downplayed her injury to her family and had even turned down multiple invitations to go home for a visit because she didn’t want anyone fussing over her. The last time they did that was after the ski lift accident three years ago. Her father and two of her cousins got injured as well, but it felt like everyone hovered over her during her recovery until she thought she’d go mad.
Unfortunately, it didn’t look like she had much of a choice. Her short-term rental lease was almost up and it just made sense to go home to North Carolina and regroup.
“Okay, I promise to think about it,” she told Dr. Mathis.
Nodding, she sat back down behind her desk. “I hope you don’t just think about it,” she said carefully. “I think you should go for another opinion. Maybe two. Talking to more professionals may help you understand a bit more what an injury like this can look like in the long term, whether or not you do the surgery.”
She hadn’t thought of seeing another doctor, mainly because Dr. Mathis was the top in her field in this part of the country. But perhaps it was something she could also ask her father about, since he had to make a similar decision regarding his own surgery.
“I’ll do that,” she finally said. “I’m planning on heading back home to North Carolina and I’ll look up some doctors there.”
Smiling, Dr. Mathis asked, “Where in North Carolina?”
“Charlotte. That’s where I’m from and my family is all still there.”
“I actually have several colleagues that I can highly recommend in the area, plus several at Duke. I know that’s a few hours from where you live, but…”
“I appreciate any recommendations. My dad played in the NFL back in the day and had to have multiple surgeries after an injury. I’m sure he’ll have some names as well.” Then she paused. “Although most of those doctors may have retired by now.” Laughing softly, she shook her head. “That would be my luck.”
“I know this isn’t the news you were hoping for, but this isn’t the end of your career. It’s a small detour. You’re young and healthy and you’re obviously willing to do the work to get better.”
She nodded. “Thanks. It’s all just…it’s a lot. This is the second injury in the last few years and…well…it’s scary. Dance is all I know,” she admitted quietly.
That’s when she saw the sympathy on the doctor’s face and it nearly made her cry. But rather than give in to that feeling, she forced herself to sit up straighter and forced herself to smile.
“But I’d really like the shot just to get me through until I decide. Is that okay?”
“Absolutely.” Standing, Dr. Mathis walked around her desk and came to stand beside her. Giving Lily’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze, she said, “Give me a minute and I’ll get a nurse to set you up in one of the exam rooms.”
“Thanks, Dr. Mathis.”
An hour later, she was walking into her apartment with mild discomfort. The damn shot hurt almost as much as the injury. Tossing her purse on the sofa, she gently collapsed next to it with a groan. The smart thing to do was call her mother and let her know she was coming home, but…it could be fun to surprise her again. No one made her feel more loved or missed like her mom. Tears stung her eyes as she slowly nodded because…yeah. It was time to go home.
Glancing around the apartment, she knew there wasn’t really a whole lot she needed to do. The place came furnished—including all the pots, pans, and dishes—so realistically, she could have all her personal stuff packed within the next day or two. Some things she’d ship home, but the rest she could toss in the car with her.
