Long Memory (15 page)

“You love me?”

Beth rolled her eyes. “James.”

“Next year, when we’ve dealt with a lot of this stuff, I want to ask you to marry me on this Ferris wheel.”

Beth waited a moment for her heart to start beating. It was a solid, reliable plan. Just the kind of thing she would expect from an accountant.

“I plan to go into business for myself as a local CPA. I already know where I can get some clients, and I think I can earn a decent living. I can work right out of Nonie’s house so I’ll have a low overhead. With me there, you won’t have to worry so much about Nonie and Jean. That should help you with your temper because you won’t be so stressed all the time. The rest of it you’re going to have to do.”

“You realize this means I just called my future mother-in-law a harpy in front of a hundred witnesses.”

“Does this mean you plan to say yes to my proposal in a year?”

Beth leaned her head on his shoulder. “Next year, after I’ve learned not to have screaming temper tantrums, I plan to say yes to your proposal.”

James nodded and leaned his head on hers. “Then we have a lot of work to do.”

Christa Maurice

For my seventh birthday my brother gave me The Eagles’ Hotel California and I was completely enchanted by the title track. No clue what it meant, but I loved it and my fate was sealed. Unfortunately, as a hard core introvert, performing onstage in any capacity was off the table as a career choice. So I turned to writing and spent many boring college lectures detailing the adventures of Touchstone in the margins of my notebooks. Years later I decided to do something with them and wrote what became Heaven Beside You. These things do tend to get out of control with me. A fun side project that kept me entertained while I was teaching English in Korea turned into a series that I was working on through a stint in Chile, the US and the Middle East. And I’m not slowing down.

When not writing, I like to travel so much that I recently had to have pages added to my passport. I also enjoy eating, reading and listening to music. Often simultaneously.

Also by Christa Maurice

Drawn to the Rhythm Series

Satellite of Love

Heaven Beside You

Twenty Flight Rock

Let Me Be the One

Keep Coming Back to Love

Arden FD Series

Three Alarm Tenant

Struck By Lightning

Spark of Desire

Weaver’s Circle Series

Secrets Everybody Knows

Long Memory

One Ring to Rule

Melody Unchained

Lyrical Press books are published by

Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018

Copyright © 2011 Christa Maurice

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

Lyrical Press and the L logo are trademarks of Kensington Publishing Corp.

First Electronic Edition: May 2011

ISBN-13: 978-1-61650-272-0