SAND DOLLAR LANE
by Sheila Roberts
Publisher: MIRA
Release Date: April 26, 2022
Mass Market Paperback, Hardcover, eBook, and Audiobook
Brody Green is finding it hard to recover after being dumped
by his fiancée, Jenna Jones, then watching her walk down the aisle with someone
else. Jenna is determined to make up for her love defection and find him the
perfect woman, but Brody is done with love. First a divorce, then a broken
engagement. From now on he’s keeping things light, no commitments. Luckily
Brody’s business is booming. Beach Dreams Realty is the best real estate
company in town. And the only one. Until…
Lucy Holmes needs a new start. In business, in love, in…everything. If ever
there was a cliché, it was her life back in Seattle. She was a real estate
broker working with her husband until she caught him trying out the walk-in
shower in a luxury condo—with another agent. She’s always been the more
successful of the two, and with him gone, she’s determined to build a business
even bigger than what she had. Moonlight Harbor is a charming town, and it has
only one real estate agency. Surely there’s room for a little competition.
Or not. Looks like it’s going to be a hot market in Moonlight Harbor. And maybe
these two competitors will make some heat of their own.
Condensed Excerpt from:
SAND DOLLAR LANE
By Sheila Roberts
Lucy
Holmes-Anderson was smiling as she made her way to the condo she was showing in
downtown Bellevue. She and her husband, Evan, had seen it during a realtors’
open house the day before and been sure that it would sell in a moment. And she
was going to be the one to jump on that moment. She had a couple she knew the
place would be perfect for, and she’d arranged to meet them there on their
lunch hour.
She’d tried to let Evan know that she had a fish on the
line, but her call had gone straight to voice mail. It seemed like that
happened a lot lately. Hardly surprising, though. Like her, he was busy showing
houses, getting listings, writing up offers, and when he was with someone, he
never took calls. He had said something about having a noon appointment, so he
was probably already with his clients.
Sometimes it seemed he spent more time showing houses to
other people than hanging out in his own house with her. For a couple who
worked together, it sure seemed that they didn’t see much of each other.
But that was the nature of the real estate business. No
set hours, and evenings and weekends were usually busy. For both of
them. They were often either in their separate offices in Anderson-Holmes
Realty or meeting with people.
Even when they were
together, it felt more like they were simply sharing space. He’d spent most of
the evening the night before convincing a hesitant couple to lay out a king’s
ransom on a dog of a house in a Seattle neighborhood that was supposed to be
the next big thing. By the time he’d gotten off the phone, he’d been ready to
do nothing more than crash in front of the TV.
There wasn’t even
such a thing as a cozy breakfast together. Nothing new there though. Breakfast
had always been a rush to get out the door.
She and Evan had both
worked their way through school at the same pizza parlor and slowly fallen in
love in between orders. With his degree in business and hers in interior design,
they’d partnered up in both business and life. They’d put in long hours to
establish their real estate agency, and when the market in the Seattle area
turned hot, they’d been more than ready to take advantage of it.
They were now the
epitome of success, with three brokers in their office—two hunky millennials
who could charm anyone into listing their house with Anderson-Holmes and a
beautiful, bright young thing named Pandora, who reminded Lucy a lot of
herself twenty-two years earlier when she and Evan first opened their doors.
As far as Lucy
could see, the girl’s only flaw was that she lacked confidence. It seemed she
couldn’t submit a single offer without consulting Evan. Only the other day
she’d called with a silly question about a house inspection that left Lucy
shaking her head.
“She just needs
some hand-holding,” Evan had said.
“I could use some
hand-holding,” Lucy had replied in a playful tone of voice.
There’d been a time
when he would have taken the hint, taken her to bed and gotten a hold of more
than her hand. This time, he’d merely chuckled and returned to surfing the
internet on his laptop.
She hadn’t pushed.
They were both going pretty hard, and it seemed he was tired a lot.
Still, this wasn’t
what she’d envisioned their love life looking like now that they were empty
nesters. She’d joked to her older sister, Darla, that with their daughter, Hannah,
out of the house, she and Evan would probably have sex in every room. That was
what you did when you had the place to yourselves, right? She and Evan were
only forty-four. He was still in his prime, and she was at her sexual peak.
So far, she’d been
lucky if she got him stirred up in the bedroom, let alone anywhere else. Where
was all that empty-nester-second-honeymoon fun they were supposed to be having?
Somewhere in the future—at the rate they were working, the distant future.
But all work and no
play… If she closed this deal, she was going to make sure they went on a nice,
long vacation. They needed to put the romance back in their relationship. She’d
been eyeing resorts in both Hawaii and Fiji. She’d also been looking into
cruises. One of those European river cruises would be so nice.
Yes, a river
cruise. Evan had his boat and his fancy midlife sports car. She should get a
cruise.
Her smile grew
bigger. The Jorgensons were going to love this slick, two-bedroom condo in
downtown Bellevue. In addition to a bonus room, it had all the bells and
whistles—a generous kitchen with quartz countertops and an eating bar; spacious
living and dining rooms; windows with electric blackout blinds; unobstructed
views of downtown Bellevue, Seattle, Lake Washington and the Olympic
Mountains. The facility offered a spa, fitness center and theater room. What
was not to like? For some, the price. But the Jorgensons could afford this.
Actually, so could
Lucy and Evan. It might be nice to downsize from their four-bedroom
three-thousand-square-foot house. It wasn’t like they’d filled the place up
with kids. Or ever would.
Okay, maybe not
this condo. Their house was on Lake Washington, and it was important to Evan to
be on the water. She liked the water, too. There was something so calming about
it. So someplace smaller. Cozier.
That appealed to
her. Yes, it was worth considering.
Meanwhile, here
were the Jorgensons. In their late thirties, dressed in trendy clothes,
driving a Tesla compact, this couple was more than ready to go from being
renters to becoming homeowners. Lucy had convinced them that a condo was a good
way to start. Plenty of freedom and no maintenance worries.
“I know you’re
going to fall in love when you see this condo,” she told them as she let them
into the lobby.
“I looked at the
pictures online,” said Emma Jorgenson. “It looks gorgeous.” She smiled at her
husband, Aaron, who smiled back at her.
“We’re excited to
see it,” he said.
“I’m excited to
show it to you. If you like it, we’ll want to move quickly. This one won’t
last.”
They rode the
elevator up to the twenty-seventh floor. “The view is amazing. You won’t
believe your eyes,” Lucy said.
She let them into
the unit. It was gorgeous. Hardwood floors, windows showcasing a million-dollar
view (no, make that two million).
But what did she
hear? Were those voices?
“Is someone else
looking at this place?” asked Aaron.
“No one should be.”
Lucy followed the
sound down the hallway and into the master bedroom, her clients trailing her.
“This bedroom is
fabulous,” Emma breathed. Then her eyes fell on the trail of his and hers
clothes leading into the bathroom. “Umm.”
“Sounds like
someone’s in the shower,” said Aaron.
“That’s not
possible. The owners are in Cabo.” But Lucy had seen the clothes also, and
someone was definitely in the bathroom. She could hear water running, and a
high-pitched giggle. What on earth was going on?
“Maybe you should
wait here,” she said to her clients, and moved toward the bathroom.
“Ooh,” said a
familiar female voice as Lucy stepped through the door and onto the azure
porcelain floor.
Oh, no. She had to
be hallucinating. Behind frosted sea green glass, etched with marsh grass,
under the luxury rainfall showerhead, two bodies were silhouetted.
“Baby,” said
another voice.
It was a voice Lucy
knew well, a voice that had called her baby, too. Dread urged her not to look
around that glass wall, but anger won out and she did.
There stood Evan
with Pandora, the bright young thing. Both naked and sudsy. And Evan wasn’t
holding her hand. This didn’t happen in real life. This happened in books or
movies.
Lucy blinked,
hoping the image before her would disappear. It didn’t. Evan and Pandora Welk
were still right where she’d seen them.
“Evan?” Lucy
squeaked. He was too busy to hear her. She raised her voice. “Evan!”
Pandora was the
first to turn. Those faux-innocent hazel eyes of hers got so big they looked
like golf balls. She let out a screech, and the soap in her hands shot across
the shower.
Evan turned, too,
and looked over his shoulder. If eyeballs could bounce, his would have bounced
right out of his head and onto the shower floor.
“Luc!” he cried,
and stepped in front of Pandora in an effort to shield her.
Caption the moment What’s
Wrong with This Picture?
Plenty. Evan was
old enough to be this girl’s father. There she was, all slender and perky, and
there he was, a forty-four-year-old fool with love handles. It was so inappropriate
and unprofessional and…wrong! And furthermore, if he was going to go wild like
this, he should have been doing it with Lucy.
The Jorgensons
joined the party, apparently too curious to stay behind. “Eeep,” said Emma
Jorgenson.
“Whoa,” said Aaron
Jorgenson, half laughing.
“Ack!” said Evan,
still trying to shield the home-wrecker from the audience that was gathering to
gawk at them.
Red-faced, Pandora
hurried out of the shower, grabbed a towel and her clothes, and beat it as if
the hounds of hell were after her.
Lucy hoped they
were and she hoped they took a great big bite out of that perky, bouncy bottom.
Evan almost got
out, but his foot made contact with the soap, and down he went with a yelp.
Good. Maybe he broke something.
Lucy managed a
smile for her clients. “Would you excuse us for just a moment? Feel free to
check out the view. From the living room,” she added in case they weren’t sure
to which one she was referring.
They nodded and
left, and Lucy stepped into the shower and turned off the water. Evan was still
on the floor, trying to get up.
“I think I broke my
back,” he groaned.
“You’re lucky I
don’t break your head,” she snarled and bent to help him up.
Helping him up?
Really? After what he’d just done to her?
~~~~~~~~~~~
Are you new to Moonlight Harbor or have you already discovered this humorous and heartwarming series?
Do you enjoy an enemies-to-lovers romance?
What's your favorite romance trope?
Two randomly chosen people who post a comment before 11:00 PM, March 11 will each receive a print advance reader copy of Sand Dollar Lane.
*U.S. only
*Must be 18
*Void where prohibited
The author of more
than 50 books, Sheila Roberts is
best known for her holiday stories, women’s fiction and romance novels in
small-town settings. Her On Strike for
Christmas was a Lifetime Network movie, and her The Nine Lives of Christmas is a perennial Hallmark channel movie
favorite. Before she launched her author career, Sheila played in a band and
owned a singing telegram company. Long-time Washington residents, she and her
husband, also a novelist, recently moved to a beach cottage with a picturesque
view not unlike that of Moonlight Harbor.
Connect with Sheila at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/funwithsheila
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sheilarobertswriter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/_Sheila_Roberts
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sheila-roberts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/529302.Sheila_Roberts?from_search=true&from_srp=true
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sheila-Roberts/e/B0028830FE?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1645479608&sr=1-1
