All For Love (16 page)
Regardless of wherever life led them, they’d go together.
The countdown quickly went from ten to one, and as soon as the words
Happy New Year
rang out, Christian kissed her. Around them, as people cheered or kissed partners of their own, Paige’s world came down to one man.
The man of her dreams.
Her mouth danced against Christian’s as eagerly as she’d danced with him. And when they both finally came up for air, the crowd was still celebrating, clinking glasses and toasting the New Year…with cameras recording it all.
“This is going to be all over the entertainment news, isn’t it?” she said. “I’ll probably have thousands of angry fans hunting me down for stealing away their heartthrob.”
“I’m sure they’ll think I’m one very lucky man,” Christian said. “And you know, if you want to avoid the media attention, we should probably make a run for it.”
“Do you have a secret hideaway in LA?”
“I was staying with my sister, but I was thinking that for tonight we could find a hotel room overlooking the beach.” Christian’s smile promised things that made Paige shiver in wonderful anticipation.
“I have to admit, I
do
like you in hotel rooms. Although I definitely want to meet your family, too.”
“Tomorrow,” Christian assured her. “We have plenty of time. In fact,” he said as he pulled her close again and spun her into another dance, “we have a whole lifetime.”
And as they danced together to the music that only they could hear, Paige knew she’d finally found the perfect partner she’d been waiting for her entire life.
EPILOGUE
The Walker family always got together on New Year’s Eve to watch the big mirror ball drop in Times Square on TV. This year, however, their father had an iron grip on the remote. As a big fan of
Seattle General Medical
,
he told them all that he wanted to watch the leading man take part in a New Year’s Eve event in LA instead.
As she always did on New Year’s Eve, Emily had prepared a huge selection of appetizers that everyone could nibble on throughout the evening. This year, she had chosen the theme of New Year’s Around the World, with each appetizer representing a different country. Right now, it looked as if the Spanish tapas were going to be the first things to go, with the Japanese sushi a close second.
Everyone was still in a holiday mood, and they’d already played a rousing game of Pictionary. It was a big, warm, fun family evening, and Grams and Tres looked on with pride, as they did every year.
The only person missing tonight was Paige. She’d told them she had something important to do, but none of them knew exactly what it was. Of course, Emily had a pretty good idea that that
something
was connected to Christian Greer. But she kept her thoughts to herself for the time being.
Knowing that many of them would be leaving Walker Island in the morning to get back to their homes and jobs, their father did some last-minute catching up. “So, what plans does everyone have for this coming year?”
“I’ve got my last term at school starting next week,” Hanna said, “and a couple of preliminary documentary ideas I want to finish putting together. Plus, Joel and I were talking about sailing down to Los Angeles at some point.”
“Nicholas and Charlotte and I have the surfing tour in New Zealand and Indonesia,” Rachel said. “We’ve also got some new curriculum materials for Charlotte, so we can keep up with her homeschooling. And we were talking about going climbing in Australia, too, if we can squeeze it in.”
“You all know what I’ll be doing this year,” Morgan said with a smile. “Getting married!” She looked lovingly over at Brian, who looked as if he was ready to say
I do
right there and then.
In the space of one short year, three of her younger sisters had fallen head over heels in love and were now leading the fulfilling lives she’d always hoped for them. If their mother were still alive, Emily knew she would be so thrilled to see them settled.
“Your father and I are so proud of all of you,” Grams said, “and we hope this next year is as wonderful as this year has been.”
“Hear, hear!” they all called out, clinking glasses.
“And what about you, Emily?” her father asked. “Got any big plans for next year?”
The whole family stopped what they were doing and looked at her, including Michael, who, as an honorary Walker, had joined them for the evening. But before she could reply, Charlotte called out, “Look, Aunt Paige is on TV!”
For the next few minutes, all of them paid rapt attention as Paige danced with Christian. It was a beautiful dance, but the most beautiful thing of all was seeing how much the two of them clearly loved each other. And then, just a few moments after the dancing stopped, they started counting down to midnight. In the midst of the streamers and sparklers in the middle of the dance floor, they all watched as Paige and Christian kissed.
Emily was so happy for her sister, and her family were all cheering, too. They had all seen how perfect Paige and Christian were for one another when he was on the island learning to dance with her, and now it looked as if the happy couple had finally figured it out, too.
As Emily looked around the room, she saw that her other sisters were kissing the men they loved. She was
so
happy for them all, but she still couldn’t help but wonder: When would it be her turn to fall in love?
Right then, she looked up and saw Michael standing in the doorway, staring directly at her as if he’d just made his own New Year’s resolution.
One that—shockingly—seemed to include her.
~ THE END ~
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Lucy Kevin’s New Release Newsletter
.
Watch for the next Walker Island romance,
FOREVER IN LOVE
(Emily’s love story, Book #5)
, coming May 2015!
And don’t miss,
BE MY LOVE
,
NO OTHER LOVE
and
WHEN IT'S LOVE
, the first, second and third books in the Walker Island series!
* * *
Enjoy an excerpt from Lucy Kevin’s New York Times bestselling Four Weddings and a Fiasco series!
THE WEDDING GIFT
Book #1 in the Four Weddings and a Fiasco series
After Julie Delgado’s restaurant closes, she temporarily takes over the catering position at the Rose Chalet, a full-service San Francisco wedding venue. She plans to dazzle the bride and groom so the Chalet’s owner will keep her around, but fate has other plans for her when the bride’s brother shows up for the first food tasting
.
Andrew Kyle is not only the Cuisine Channel’s Edgy Eats host and chef, but his recent review of Julie’s restaurant was the final nail in its coffin. Once he meets Julie at the Rose Chalet, he’s certain she’s playing it safe. And he wants nothing more than to be the one to break her guarded passions loose.
But despite the undeniable sparks between Julie and Andrew–and the fact that he seems to believe in her when no one else does–can she afford to be taking risks with her cooking, with her career…or with her heart?
It wasn’t easy trying to finish off the main courses and desserts, knowing all the while that Andrew Kyle was probably out there telling the Rose Chalet’s owner exactly how awful Julie’s food was. And Rose would listen, of course, because what else would she be able to do in the face of a triple whammy: celebrity chef, the groom’s brother, and great dimples?
Enough about the dimples
, Julie ordered herself.
Just remember what he did
.
It was pretty hard to forget. One review from the city’s most prominent TV chef, and her business had come crashing down around her ears. The faint trickle of new customers Julie had hoped would widen into a stream dried up completely. Her entire dream went south in a matter of weeks, all thanks to the man who was currently sampling Julie’s seafood platter.
Well, she couldn’t let him ruin this dream too. Which meant Julie couldn’t do anything horrible to his food, even if a small part of her wanted the revenge.
The truth was, the best revenge would be to show him just how wrong he had been. All she had to do was present him with the best plates of food in her life, and then force him to eat his words.
Easy.
Though if it was that easy, why was her hand shaking while she finished the duck? She needed to focus, take her time, and—
“Is everything okay?”
Julie jumped at the sound of Andrew’s voice, almost slicing a finger open in the process.
What was he doing in her kitchen? Had he finally realized who she was? Had he come to gloat?
Or, maybe, to apologize for what he’d done?
Knowing anything she really wanted to say to him would get her instantly fired by Rose, Julie settled for, “I’m not sure you should be in here.”
“No, it’s fine—”
“Julie,” she reminded him, like he hadn’t just been told her name a few minutes ago. “Julie Delgado.”
Was there a flicker of recognition in his eyes? Did he even vaguely remember her name?
Then again, why would he? He was a famous chef. She was a nobody who couldn’t keep her own kitchen open and was now cooking for scraps at a wedding venue.
“I asked Rose before I came in to see the kitchen where the food for the wedding might be prepared.”
“
Might
be?”
“My brother and his fiancé deserve the best. I promised I’d cast my chef’s eye over it as my wedding gift to them. Which is why I’d appreciate it if you could bring the desserts out with the main courses and stay with us as we go through everything.” He flashed that brilliant smile of his. “After all, I’m sure the two of us will have a lot to talk about.”
For a moment, Julie wondered if he meant the review, but those darn dimples of his were turning her brain just enough to mush so that all she could manage was, “Will we?”
“Sure,” Andrew replied, with another smile.
Oh my God, after all he’d done, was he actually flirting with her?
...Excerpt from THE WEDDING GIFT by Lucy Kevin © 2014
LUCY KEVIN BOOKLIST
Walker Island Romance Series
Four Weddings and a Fiasco Series
Stand-alone Books
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
When New York Times and USA Today bestseller Lucy Kevin released her first novel, SEATTLE GIRL, it became an instant bestseller. All of her subsequent sweet contemporary romances have been hits with readers as well, including WHEN IT’S LOVE (A Walker Island Romance, Book 3) which debuted at #1. Having been called “One of the top writers in America” by The Washington Post, she recently launched the very romantic Walker Island series. Lucy also writes contemporary romances as Bella Andre and her incredibly popular series about The Sullivans have been #1 bestsellers around the world, with more than 3.5 million books sold so far! If not behind her computer, you can find her swimming, hiking or laughing with her husband and two children. For a complete listing of books, as well as excerpts, contests, and to connect with Lucy:
