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Gia
Gallow has traveled the world. Her wanderlust landed her in Georgia where she
has created a life for herself away from the petty differences of relatives and
domineering ex-lovers. Having settled in America, she has a successful business
and dear friends—and the attention of both Dane and Russell Walker. Due to her
own family's dramas over dueling hearts, she might have to forget about her
feelings for Dane to keep peace within the Walker family, but sometimes even
running thousands of miles away can't keep a heart from going after what the
heart wants. And Gia's heart wants Dane.
Gia walked around the counter and
stood next to him. He was much taller, but she liked that
feeling of having a protector,
though she certainly didn't need one.
She rested her hands on his
shoulders and lifted up on her toes to press a gentle kiss to his
cheek. "You are more than
forgiven."
His eyes were wide, and she liked
that she surprised him.
As she lowered, his hands came to
her waist. "That was nice."
"It was nice."
His eyes were searching hers, and
she wondered if she were conveying exactly what she needed.
She liked him. She really liked
him. Friends were fine, but deep in her gut she wondered if there might be
something more.
Dane took a breath as though he
were going to say something, but instead he leaned in and pressed his lips to
hers.
At first, she expected that he
was simply taking the peck she'd given him on the cheek, just a little deeper,
but she was wrong.
A moment later his hands moved
from her waist, and his arms pulled her in closer as he wrapped them around
her—his lips still pressed firmly to hers.
She inched back up on her toes
and draped her arms around his neck, leaning into him.
His kiss softened and soon his
mouth opened to her and he took possession. Her heart began to beat in the same
rhythm as his—she could feel it from his chest to hers.
The protective grasp he had on
her loosened as one of his hands moved up her back to the nape of her neck.
Dear God, he knew how to hold a
woman, she thought as she sank into the kiss that was
squeezing her insides tight.
Only the sound of the bell above
the door had them pulling apart and the slight gasp from the man that walked
in.
Dane winced. "Are you
freaking following me?" he asked as he eased his hands from her and she
stood back trying to ease her head from spinning.
They both looked at Russell
standing in the doorway, a bouquet of flowers in his hand, and a devastated
look on his face.
"Guess I should have
called," he said gruffly.
"It is nice to see you,
Russell. What can I do for you?"
"Nothing. I was just in the
area and saw these," he said holding out the flowers. "I thought you
might like them. They'd go nice
in your store."
Gia moved to him and took the
gift. "Thank you. They are lovely."
"I'll leave you two at it
then," his voice shook as he turned to walk out the door.
Gia turned to Dane, who let out a
breath. "I'll get him."
Dane went after him leaving her
alone with a heart that hadn't quite stopped racing and a
bouquet of beautiful flowers in
her hand.
Bernadette
Marie has been an avid writer since the early age of 13, when she’d fill
notebook after notebook with stories that she’d share with her friends. Her
journey into novel writing started the summer before eighth grade when her
father gave her an old typewriter. At all times of the day and night you would
find her on the back porch penning her first work, which she would continue to
write for the next 22 years.
In
2007 – after marriage, filling her chronic entrepreneurial needs, and having
five children –
Bernadette
began to write seriously with the goal of being published. That year she wrote
12
books.
In 2009 she was contracted for her first trilogy and the published author was
born. In
2011
she (being the entrepreneur that she is) opened her own publishing house, 5
Prince
Publishing,
and has released contemporary titles and has begun the process of taking on
other
authors
in other genres.
Bernadette
spends most of her free time driving her kids to their many events. She is also
an
accomplished
martial artist, working her way to her second degree black belt in Tang Soo Do.
An
avid reader she loves to meet readers who enjoy reading contemporary romances
and she always promises Happily Ever After.
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