Two Hearts: (Kinsella Family Book 1) (Sweetbriar Cove 10) Read online

  Two Hearts

  Sweetbriar Cove: Book 10 Kinsella Family: Book 1

  Melody Grace

  Copyright © 2019 by Melody Grace

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover design copyright British Empire Designs.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Introduction

  Also by Melody Grace

  Two Hearts

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Epilogue

  Also by Melody Grace

  About the Author

  Thank you for reading!

  Two Hearts is the start of a new chapter in my Sweetbriar Cove series, introducing the Kinsella Family. There’s plenty of romance and laughter to go around, as play-it-safe lawyer Alice decides to shake things up with the handsome new stranger in town…

  I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. So pack your sunscreen, take a mini-vacation, and enjoy a taste of summer, wherever you are.

  xo Melody

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  Also By Melody Grace:

  The Sweetbriar Cove Series:

  1. Meant to Be

  2. All for You

  3. The Only One

  4. I’m Yours

  5. Holiday Kisses (A Christmas Story)

  6. No Ordinary Love

  7. Wildest Dreams

  8. This Kiss

  9. Always Be Mine

  10. Two Hearts

  11. The Story of Us

  12. Back to You

  The Beachwood Bay Series:

  1. Untouched

  2. Unbroken

  3. Untamed Hearts

  4. Unafraid

  5. Unwrapped

  6. Unconditional

  7. Unrequited

  8. Uninhibited

  9. Unstoppable

  10. Unexpectedly Yours

  11. Unwritten

  12. Unmasked

  13. Unforgettable

  The Oak Harbor Duet:

  1. Heartbreaker

  2. Reckless Hearts

  With Every Heartbeat

  The Promise

  Welcome to Sweetbriar Cove: the small town where happily-ever-after is guaranteed.

  TWO HEARTS

  Discover summer love in Sweetbriar Cove with the new standalone romance from New York Times bestselling author Melody Grace!

  Alice Evans wants to shake things up. Two years after tragedy first brought her back to Cape Cod, she’s still going through the motions, stuck in the same old routine. She’s looking for something to get her heart racing… Something, or someone — like the handsome stranger who comes roaring into town on a classic motorcycle, turning heads and sending the summer temperatures soaring.

  Jackson Kinsella isn’t looking to be tied down. A world-class photographer, he’s just in town visiting his grandfather and getting some much-needed rest and relaxation. But the mysterious brunette he meets on the Fourth of July won’t let his mind rest, and the sparks between them are anything but relaxing…

  The connection between them is immediate, and soon, their romance is heating up Sweetbriar Cove. But can Alice find the strength to start over? And will Jackson’s restless spirit keep him from true love?

  Find out in the new swoon-worthy standalone romance from New York Times bestselling author, Melody Grace!

  The Sweetbriar Cove Series:

  1. Meant to Be

  2. All for You

  3. The Only One

  4. I’m Yours

  5. Holiday Kisses (A Christmas Story)

  6. No Ordinary Love

  7. Wildest Dreams

  8. This Kiss

  9. Always Be Mine

  10. Two Hearts

  11. The Story of Us

  12. Back to You

  1

  Alice Evans was stuck. She’d known it for months now, the creeping feeling that she was sleepwalking through her life, reliving the same familiar routine. She’d tried to ignore it by throwing herself into her work and pretending everything was OK, but she should have known it was only a matter of time before the universe decided to send her a message.

  A mud-splattered, inconvenient message.

  “OK, I hear you, loud and clear.”

  Alice ruefully surveyed her car, currently buried up to the hubcaps in mud. It was the Fourth of July, and the sun was going down. Her plans for the evening involved celebrating with her friends and eating her body weight in blueberry pie, but thanks to a kamikaze stray dog and a blind curve, she’d wound up swerving right into the ditch.

  Now she really was stuck. Alice had to appreciate the irony. Her mother always said, if you ignore your problems for long enough, they’ll find a way to trip you up. Well, she wasn’t exactly tripping, more sinking deep into the mud, but either way, Alice couldn’t avoid the truth any longer.

  This wasn’t how she’d pictured her life turning out.

  Not just the mud, but everything. She’d left her high-flying law job in Chicago and moved to Cape Cod a couple of years ago when her mom first got sick. Neither of them thought she would be staying long, just a temporary visit to help out, but then the diagnosis came in, and Alice knew she wasn’t going anywhere. She was there by her mom’s bedside through the worst of it, but even now that Diana was in remission and Alice was free to leave and restart her life again, she found herself standing still. She was still living in her old childhood bedroom, running her legal practice out of the front room and pretending to herself that she’d planned it this way, and wasn’t just drifting down the river of least resistance.

  Although, drifting seemed pretty good to her right now. Drifting, sliding, any kind of movement at all. And as for calling a tow truck . . . She was guessing that Bill from the auto shop was up at the party along with everyone else.

  There was nothing else for it. She was going to have to get herself un-stuck, and fast.

  Alice braced her feet on a mound of solid ground and tried to push her car just a couple of inches out of the mud. “Gnnuuugh.” She huffed, and strained, and skidded, and—

  Squelch!

  Alice’s feet slipped, and she tumbled to the ground with a muddy splat.

  Owww.

  She hauled herself up and wiped off her hands, catching a glimpse of herself in the side mirror. Clearly, fate had decided to throw in a free facial along with the life lesson. Alice wiped her cheek and tried to look on the bright side. They said mud was good for the complexion, right? After all, why spend a hundred bucks at the spa, when she could get a full-body mud-bath treatment right here on Huckleberry Road!

  She was just wondering how exactly she was
going to haul her car out of the ditch—or hike to the celebration with three boxes of pie—when the rumble of an engine came from around the bend.

  Alice brightened and quickly hurried back up onto the road, ready to flag them down. With any luck, it would be one of the locals, en route to the party, and she could be showered and changed before the fireworks began.

  But instead, a classic Harley Davidson came roaring into sight.

  Alice paused, curious. She’d never seen a motorcycle like that around town, and the identity of the rider was hidden behind a black helmet and a dark leather jacket. She lowered her arm, stepping back to let it pass, but the bike slowed and drove a lazy U-turn to arrive back beside her car.

  The rider removed his helmet and ran a hand through his tousled dark blond hair. He had blue eyes, a strong jaw dusted with stubble, and as for that smile . . .

  Alice knew for sure she’d never seen him before, because there was no way on earth she would forget a smile like that.

  Hello, stranger . . .

  “You need some help?” he called.

  “That depends . . . Can you lift two tons of metal with your bare hands?” Alice called back.

  Her sexy Good Samaritan climbed off the motorcycle and approached, smiling. “Who’s to say I can’t?”

  Alice raised an eyebrow. “In that case, let me get you a management contract, because people would pay to see it.”

  As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she cringed. Way to take a potentially flirty comment and turn it into a contract negotiation!

  This is why you’re still single.

  But the man just chuckled. “OK, maybe not,” he admitted, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “But maybe we can get it out of the ditch. You try the engine again, and I’ll push.”

  He stripped off his leather jacket, and Alice tried not to stare. He was wearing a sky-blue T-shirt that brought out the blue in his eyes and looked soft enough to touch.

  And as for the taut, muscular torso beneath . . .

  “Ready?” he asked, and she flushed.

  What was she doing, drooling over a complete stranger? Alice scolded herself. She had more important things to do, like get out of this ditch with her dignity—and pies—intact.

  “Ready!” Alice went around and followed his instructions, turning the ignition as he got behind the car and braced his broad shoulder against the trunk.

  “OK, now give it some gas,” he called, getting ready to push.

  The wheels spun, and the handsome stranger huffed and strained, but it was no good. Well, the view was pretty great from where Alice was standing, but despite the man’s ample biceps, the car barely moved an inch.

  Alice finally cut the engine and sighed in defeat. “Thanks for trying, anyway. Do you want some water?” she asked, noticing him wipe his sweaty brow.

  And how his T-shirt was now clinging temptingly to his chest . . .

  Never mind him, she could use some cooling off herself. Alice popped the trunk to grab her duffel bag of emergency provisions. She passed him a bottle, and he took in the rest of her emergency supplies with amusement. “What are you preparing for, the zombie apocalypse?” he asked.

  “Yup,” Alice replied, deadpan. “That’s what the axe is for.”

  He laughed. “Remind me not to get on your bad side,” he said, teasing. “I can see it in your eyes, you’ve got a dangerous streak.”

  She almost snorted with laughter. Dangerous? Clearly, this guy had no idea who he was dealing with. The last time she’d broken the rules, it was keeping her library books a week after the due date. And then she’d felt so guilty, she’d insisted on paying double the fines. Femme fatale, she was not.

  But she wasn’t about to admit that to this guy, so she just smiled. “That’s me,” she replied lightly. “Wild and mysterious. And muddy.”

  He chuckled. “You know, in Bali, they take mud baths to prepare for the new year, like a ritual cleansing ceremony.”

  “You’ve been there?” she asked, curious.

  He nodded. “Last year, on my way up through Indonesia. You should think of this as good luck,” he added. “The start of something new.”

  There was something in his voice that made Alice wonder if he needed a fresh start as much as she did.

  “I’m Alice,” she blurted.

  “Jackson,” he replied, reaching over to shake her hand in his warm, strong grip. Alice met his gaze for a moment and felt her pulse kick. His eyes were friendly, with a hint of mischief lurking in their blue depths.

  This wasn’t a man who got stuck, she could tell. He was the type to always be chasing new adventures. Fearless and bold.

  “Nice to meet you,” she snapped back, quickly releasing his hand. “And thank you for the help. For trying, at least.”

  “Any time.” Jackson smiled at her, and Alice had to look away.

  This man’s smile should carry a warning: Danger, weak knees up ahead.

  “I shouldn’t keep you,” she found herself saying, even though she would happily have stayed there chatting on the side of the road all night. “The fireworks will be starting soon.”

  Jackson finished his water and pulled his leather jacket back on. “Do you want to take a ride?” he asked, and Alice’s cheeks got hot.

  “Excuse me?”

  “To wherever it is you were going,” Jackson continued, with a nod towards his motorcycle. “Hop on the back, and I’ll take you.”

  It was an offer she would be crazy to refuse, but still, Alice hesitated. “Is it safe?” she asked.

  “I’ll go slow,” Jackson replied. Then he paused, looking at her with amusement. “Don’t tell me you’ve never ridden one?”

  “They’re dangerous,” she protested.

  “So is stepping out your front door in the morning,” he replied cheerfully. “But where would the fun be if you stayed home all the time?”

  “Not that it’s much safer there,” Alice couldn’t keep herself from replying. “Over six thousand people die every year from accidents in their home.”

  She caught his look and blushed. “Lawyer,” she explained, and he laughed.

  “Then I better drive real slow, or I’ll have a lawsuit on my hands.”

  He offered her the helmet, and Alice paused. Riding off on a motorcycle with a sexy stranger wasn’t the kind of thing she did every day. Or ever. But what was that she’d been telling herself about getting un-stuck?

  The car might be a lost cause tonight, but she could do something different, at least.

  “OK,” she replied, her heartbeat racing with nerves. “I’ll try. Oh, wait, the pies!”

  She opened the passenger door and retrieved her purse and the stack of bakery boxes she was bringing to the party.

  “Now why didn’t you mention those earlier?” Jackson asked with a grin.

  Alice smiled, relaxing. “Want one? You’ve definitely earned it.”

  “Say that again after I’ve delivered you in one piece.”

  Jackson helped store her things under the seat as Alice gave him directions to the party, then she cautiously climbed on behind him.“Hold on,” he instructed, revving the engine with a sudden roar.

  Alice gulped and slid her hands tentatively around his waist. Jackson revved the engine again, and then they were moving, snaking slowly back onto the road and along the shoreline. Alice held her breath, waiting for disaster, but none came. The wind whipped around her bare shoulders, and she found herself relaxing, feeling almost weightless as they drove on.

  She exhaled in relief. This wasn’t terrifying at all! In fact, it was kind of . . .

  Fun. Thrilling.

  Sexy.

  Alice could feel the motorcycle throbbing between her thighs, and the solid muscles of Jackson’s back pressed against her, and she was shocked at how . . . intimate it felt. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this up close and personal with anyone.

  And no, her bikini waxer definitely didn’t count.

  She
slid her hands tighter around his waist, feeling the heat of his body and the definition of his torso beneath her fingertips. Something shivered, low in her stomach, and it took her a moment to realize what it was.

  Desire.

  Had it really been so long since she’d felt it last?

  She blushed and quickly loosened her grip, glad that Jackson couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Here he was, trying to be a chivalrous stranger, and she was practically groping him.

  Down, girl.

  The ride flew by, and to Alice’s disappointment, they were soon turning up the long driveway that led to her friends’ house. There were a dozen cars parked out front, and as Jackson brought the motorcycle to a stop, she could hear the party underway around the back.

  She clumsily climbed down and took off the helmet. She didn’t want to think about how she must look right now, complete with mud-smeared cheeks and flattened hair.

  “Well, what’s the verdict?” Jackson asked, handing Alice her things with a smoldering grin. “Should I expect a lawsuit heading my way?”

  Alice smiled. “No,” she said, breathless from the ride. “That was . . . really fun.”

  He chuckled. “You sound surprised.”

  She gave an awkward shrug. “I guess I don’t do things like this often.”

  “Which part?” Jackson’s smile turned smoldering. “The motorcycle, or flirting with handsome strangers?”

  Alice couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t know, do you see any around here?”

  He clutched his chest with a groan. “Ouch.”