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CHAPTER1
She was not going to scream.
She was not going to scream.
She screamed in sheer frustration.
How could she have misplaced the bloody keys? Sophie muttered as she rummaged through her oversized purse. She just wanted to get inside her new house. Beside her, Zack meowed in agreement.
“I’m sorry, Zack. I’ll have you out of the carrier as soon as I find the keys.” And now she was talking not only to herself but also to her cat. Not exactly an auspicious beginning to her fabulous new life.
Because it wasn’t bad enough traffic had been horrific on Highway 1 driving into Laguna Beach. Nope, then her rear tire decided to explode, and she lost an hour waiting for the AAA man to change it. She white-knuckled it up the narrow, winding road leading to her new home, wincing each time one of the lush green trees scraped against her car.
When a truck materialized around the corner, heading straight for her, she’d swerved and became too familiar with a hedge on the side of Hayden Lane. She thumped her head on the steering wheel, fighting the urge to flip a U-turn, slink back to San Diego with her tail between her legs, and beg for her job back. Hell, beg the universe for her life back.
Now her fresh start was officially a hot mess. She’d plugged her agenda into her calendar, and nowhere did it say risk life and limb on journey or get locked out before actually moving in. She frowned; certain she’d dropped the shiny keys inside her purse when she’d hightailed it out of San Diego this morning.
Fine.
She knelt and dumped the contents of her scarlet satchel onto the quaint porch of her seemingly impenetrable new cottage. Sitting back on her heels, she tossed aside three brand-new lip glosses, some breath mints, an old-fashioned planner, and some stubs from movies she didn’t remember attending. What was she doing with all this stuff? Three lip glosses? She only had two lips, for goodness’ sake.
No keys.
No way. She never misplaced anything.
Her competence was part of her success as associate editor atHealthy Womanmagazine. Correction––her former job, as she’d given notice right after her fiancé failed to appear for their wedding. The jerk. She’d shocked her boss, who thought Sophie would throw herself into her work as opposed to shucking it altogether. Maybe this absentmindedness was right in line with her new unemployed status.
Closing her eyes, she inhaled a cleansing breath of the crisp ocean air, hoping for calm to permeate her like it did in yoga class. Inhale and exhale. Everything was going to be okay. Her shoulders softened.
“Bailey, no. Stop,” a deep voice shouted.
She glanced up, just in time for one hundred pounds of flying black fur to knock her flat onto her back. An enormous pink tongue slathered her with wet kisses. Laughing, she pushed against the huge paws in a futile attempt to stop the beast that seemed determined to give her face a thorough washing. Her bath ended when someone plucked off her assailant as if she were light as a feather.
“Bad girl, Bailey. Sit. Now.” The dog hung her head, attempting to appear ashamed.
“Are you okay?”
Sophie sat up. “Well, I’m certainly clean, but a little surprised by that missile of yours.”
The guy extended a strong hand, and she allowed him to pull her to her feet. Awareness prickled along her skin. When she lifted her gaze, her breath lodged in her throat.
For a moment, she was lost in a pair of bottle-green eyes framed with thick dark lashes. Those eyes studied her from a chiseled, square-jawed face that belonged on the cover of GQ magazine. Sun-streaked blond hair fell across his forehead. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.
No, no, no, remember what the last beautiful man did to you. No men allowed in your new, improved single life.
“Sophie Barnes?” He quirked an eyebrow.
Her pulse kicked. “I am. And who are you?” She dropped her palm and retreated a step.
Please don’t notice the coffee stains decorating my white tank top.Another casualty from her trip. She refused to analyze why she cared what he thought.
“I’m Nick Morgan, your landlord. I was just stopping by to make sure you were settling in.” He gestured toward the haphazard pile of luggage surrounding her.
“I can’t find the keys. I’m not sure where they could be. I know I had them this morning. I never lose things…” She bit her lip.
He waved a hand. “No worries, I’ll let you in. Sorry about Bailey. She doesn’t have the best manners, but she means well.”
At the sound of her name, Bailey thumped her tail and grinned.
