Kiss Me Hello (23 page)

“How ironic,” Sara said. “Gracien’s purchase will be final today or tomorrow.”

“You don’t know how ironic,” Joss said. “I was standing on the cliff, watching a ship go by on the horizon, when the same feeling came over me—that someone was watching me. I was right. Jeremiah Poole had followed me, and he was carrying a shotgun.”

“Gracien’s father?” Sara said. “But why would he kill you? Was it an accident?”

“He blamed me for Olivia’s death,” Joss said. “He was Daniel’s father, you see. Olivia’s lover when I was away during the war. The day she was killed, she’d gone to town to meet him. He told me he begged her to go with him right then and never look back. But she wouldn’t hear of it. She couldn’t bear the scandal. She was walking away from him when a car struck her down on Bird Way.”

“Oh, god.”

“Then Daniel died, and it was too much. He snapped. From his point of view, I had ruined his life. Destroyed everything he loved. I can’t say I blamed him.”

“Except for the part about him killing you.”

“Well, there was that.” A lop-sided half smile curled Joss’s lips. “It’s hard to resent a man for killing me when I didn’t stay dead…and when it meant ending up here with you. With my soul mate. I guess that bell saved my soul after all.”

“Joss, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I had to be sure. I wanted to know I could make you happy. I needed to know what you really wanted.”

She slipped off the wall and sat on his bent knee and melted into his enfolding arms. Sure it was a risk, but living was a risk. She believed him, and she believed in him, and he believed in her. Their bond was stronger than death, a rock they could build a life on.

Joss rose to his feet and held Sara at arm’s length, his hands warm and strong on her shoulders. His gaze was gentle and loving, but it was also full of desire. “So what is it, Sara?” he said. “What do you want?”

“I want you to kiss me,” she said. “Kiss me hello.”

-oOo-

From the author: I hope you’ve enjoyed
Kiss Me Hello
. If so, please consider leaving a review or telling your reading friends about it! Also, find out first when my new titles are published—sign up here for
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I love to hear from readers! Feel free to email me at
[email protected]
with any comments. And visit
http://www.lkrigel.com/
for more information.

About...

About the Author

L.K. RIGEL
LIVES IN CALIFORNIA
with her television-watching cat, Coleridge. (His favorite show is
Castle
, but he was enthralled by
Game of Thrones.
) Rigel wrote songs for the 90's band The Elements, scored the independent science fantasy karate movie
Lucid Dreams
, and was a reporter for the Sacramento
Rock 'N Roll News
. Her work has appeared in
Literary Mama
and
Tattoo Highway.

Rigel writes the  
Apocalypto
series which includes
Space Junque,
Spiderwork
,
Firebird
(formerly titled
Bleeder
), and
Copperhead
(coming in 2012). Her
Tethers
series is about the wyrd and fae of Dumnos, an alternate Cornwall.

Her short story "Slurp" about an author with muse problems is included in
Deadly Treats
, Anne Frasier's Halloween anthology published by Nodin Press.

She loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her via email at
[email protected]
with any comments. And visit
www.lkrigel.com
for more information.

Other Books by L.K. Rigel

SFF Adventure, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic

Apocalypto Series

Space Junque

Spiderwork

Firebird

A World of Ghosts and Fire
(TBA)

Copperhead
 (TBA)

Apocalypto
(Omnibus Edition, Vol. 1 - 3)

Historical Romance

Love Was Never Wise

Fantasy Romance, Fairy Tales (for Grownups)

Tethers series

Give Me

Bride of Fae

War of the Wryds
(TBA)

You can find these books at your favorite online bookseller!