Cliff's Edge (Solace Island Series, Band 2) - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Meg Tilly may be best known for her acclaimed Golden Globe-winning performance in the movie Agnes of God. Other screen credits include The Big Chill, Valmont, and, more recently, Bomb Girls and the Netflix movie War Machine, starring Brad Pitt. After publishing six standout young adult and literary women's fiction novels, the award-winning author/actress decided to write the kind of books she loves to read: romance novels. Tilly has three grown children and resides with her husband in the Pacific Northwest. She is currently at work writing the third Solace Island novel.

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***This excerpt is from an advance uncorrected copy proof***

Copyright © 2018 Meg Tilly

Prologue

He caught sight of her as the wedding party swooped past him and entered the church. Her arm was linked with the bride’s, both of them laughing in the late-afternoon sun. Her head was thrown back, causing her long dark-chocolate hair to tumble down her back in glorious abandon.

Mine, the man thought with a fierceness that shocked him to the core.

He quickly parked, grabbed his phone, snapped a hasty photo through the windshield, then exited his vehicle. The path of his life had just veered to the left, and he had no choice but to follow where it led him.

He crossed the road and melded into the edges of a large group entering the church. Nervous sweat was starting to congregate in his armpits. He could feel it sticking his shirt to his back as he slipped past the ushers standing guard at the vestibule’s arched doors leading into the nave.

He sat in the rear of the church and waited for her to reappear. And when she did, he bathed in her beauty, the gracefulness of her form.

The ceremony was finished, the bride was kissed, and everyone stood hurling flower petals as the newly married couple headed down the aisle. Only a few more minutes before they would pass the back pews and the crowd would disperse.

He tapped the lacy arm of the matron beside him. “Who is she?” he asked. He thought he had put his socially acceptable expression of bored interest on. But apparently a flare of the passion coursing through him had slipped past the mask, for the woman’s eyes widened as she took a slight step back.

“The bride?” she asked, her dimpled hands fluttering up to her neck.

“No, her,” he said, smoothing his face into benign kindness and tipping it toward the mystery goddess. “The maid of honor.”

The woman’s skittishness subsided, and an affectionate smile took its place. “That’s the bride’s sister, Eve Harris. Quite the beauty, isn’t she?”

“I hadn’t noticed,” he lied. “She looked familiar, and I was wondering how I knew her.”

“She and her sister are co-owners of the Intrepid Café. It’s a pretty recent addition to our town, but it’s been quite the smash hit, let me tell you! My friends and I meet every Wednesday for our afternoon social and, oh my, do we enjoy their baked goods.” She glanced over her shoulder and noticed that her friends had moved on. “Excuse me,” she said, hurrying after them.

Dazed, he followed in her wake, out the church, down the steps into the courtyard, blinking in the harsh July sunlight. A mole emerging from its hole. His mind spun a million miles an hour.

She belonged to him. Of that he was certain.

However, this would require careful planning, preparation. He wasn’t sure exactly how he was going to pull it off, but he did know one thing.

He was her destiny.

One

Three months later

“So, which one will it be?” Eve asked, peering at Ethelwyn through the glass case.

The woman’s hands were shoved in the front pockets of her saggy faded jeans, her worn plaid work shirt loose and untucked. She was staring intently at the various pies. Her lips made little smacking sounds, as if she were actually tasting the various options. “I don’t know,” she moaned. “The cherry looks good, but I really love Maggie’s strawberry-rhubarb. It has just the right amount of tart and sweet.”

Behind Ethelwyn, someone cleared his throat. Eve glanced at the fortysomething man sporting an expensive haircut and wearing a fawn-colored cashmere sweater over a button-down white shirt. His sleeves were rolled back. There was a gold Cartier watch on his wrist and a burnished gold wedding ring on his finger.

He seemed a trifle irritated by Ethelwyn’s indecision.

Eve smothered a grin. Too bad, she thought. This is the Solace Island way. Doesn’t matter what your bank balance is. Everyone’s equal.

Besides, Ethelwyn was one of the Intrepid Café’s most loyal customers. She and her life partner, Lavina, purchased copious amounts of baked goods. Whereas Mr. Fancy-Pants had only started coming by recently and usually ordered a coffee. Black. How could anyone see the tempting treats and smell the wonderful fragrances caused by her sister’s delicious creations and then just order a black coffee?

“Take your time, Ethelwyn,” Eve said cheerily. “It’s an important decision. I’ll start boxing up the rest of your order.” She slid the glass door of the display cabinet shut with her hip as she rose. Then she turned to the back counter, where her sister, Maggie, was transferring pecan-puff jam-dot cookies from the cooling racks to a display platter.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Maggie murmured, a conspiratorial grin lighting up her face.

“What?” Eve said, placing a dozen chocolate cookies with caramel centers and a sprinkling of flaked sea salt on the top into a white bakery box.

“He likes you,” Maggie whispered. She wiggled her eyebrows, which meant the guy she was talking about was super hot.

Eve peeked over her shoulder, took a quick glance around the café to see who had arrived. No one had. She looked at Maggie. Who? Where is he? she mouthed, shifting casually closer to her sister, because clearly Maggie had a better hunk-viewing vantage point.

Behind Ethelwyn, Maggie mouthed. You should see the way he’s looking at you. All hungry-like.

The tendrils of hope and excitement deflated with a thump. “Eww,” Eve said. “First of all, he’s married.”

“He is?” Maggie looked disappointed.

“Yup. Ring on the finger. And second, even if he weren’t”—Eve wrapped the red-and-white string around the bakery box and secured it—“he’s not my type.”

Maggie started to open her mouth.

“At all,” Eve said firmly.

Maggie sighed. She looked so wistful.

“I know.” Eve reached over and wiped a smear of flour off her sister’s cheek. “You’re so happy and in love with Luke, and you want that for me.”

“Yeah,” Maggie said with a rueful smile. “That about sums it up. Speaking of . . . Falling Ashes has a gig in Seattle next week. If you’d like to check the show out, it’s on one of your days off—”

“Not going to happen,” Eve said, cutting her off at the pass.

“But you and Levi were such a cute couple. That guy was so into you. What happened? Why’d you break up? We all loved him, Mom and Dad included.”

“They were okay with him. Mom thought he was wild, and Dad wanted to keep an eye on him. ‘The devil you know’ and all that. It’s the only reason they hired him.”

“Once they got to know him, they liked him.”

“Dad thought he was a slacker.”

“You’re being harsh. Sure, it would take Levi a while to get focused, but once he did, he pulled his weight on the construction site. The guy was crazy about you—still is, I bet. He’s single.”

Eve gave her sister a look.

“What? It’s not like I’ve been keeping tabs on him. He sent me a friend request last week on Facebook. I was curious, so I glanced through his profile—”

“I’m going to be adventurous and take the cherry!” Eve heard Ethelwyn’s raspy voice declare from...