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Summer By The Sea
Cathryn Parry
Sometimes even lifeguards need saving…Lifeguard Sam Logan is always cool under pressure. But his laid-back nature is put to the test when his daughter begrudgingly comes to live with him for the summer. Luckily, his new neighbor, Silicon Valley tech guru Sarah Buckley, agrees to mentor her. In return, Sam teaches Sarah some much-needed meditation.Brash and self-centered, Sarah is not the best influence for eleven-year-old Lucy. Yet Sam can't deny he's attracted to Sarah's drive – and the vulnerability she starts to show him. It's no secret that at the end of her sabbatical, Sarah is heading back to California. So why does this feel like more than just a summer fling?
Sometimes even lifeguards need saving...
Lifeguard Sam Logan is always cool under pressure. But his laid-back nature is put to the test when his daughter begrudgingly comes to live with him for the summer. Luckily, his new neighbor, Silicon Valley tech guru Sarah Buckley, agrees to mentor her. In return, Sam teaches Sarah some much-needed meditation.
Brash and self-centered, Sarah is not the best influence for eleven-year-old Lucy. Yet Sam can’t deny he’s attracted to Sarah’s drive—and the vulnerability she starts to show him. It’s no secret that at the end of her sabbatical, Sarah is heading back to California. So why does this feel like more than just a summer fling?
CATHRYN PARRY is the author of ten Harlequin Superromances. Her books have received such honors as the Booksellers’ Best Award, HOLT Medallion Awards of Merit and several Readers’ Choice Award nominations. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and their entertaining cat, Otis. Please see Cathryn’s website, cathrynparry.com (http://www.cathrynparry.com), for information about upcoming releases and to sign up for her reader newsletter.
Books by Cathryn Parry (#ubd997f85-9ded-5207-975e-1f50396edb5a)
HARLEQUIN SUPERROMANCE
The Undercover Affair (http://ads.harpercollins.com/hqnboba?isbn=9781488017339&oisbn=9781488085598)The Good Mom (http://ads.harpercollins.com/hqnboba?isbn=9781488006869&oisbn=9781488085598)The Secret Between Them (http://ads.harpercollins.com/hqnboba?isbn=9781488006609&oisbn=9781488085598)Secret Garden (http://ads.harpercollins.com/hqnboba?isbn=9781460385340&oisbn=9781488085598) Scotland for Christmas The Sweetest Hours Out of His League The Long Way Home Something to Prove
Other titles by this author available in ebook format.
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Summer by the Sea
Cathryn Parry
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08109-2
SUMMER BY THE SEA
© 2018 Cathryn Parry
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
For Megan Long. Every book that you edit you make better. Thank you for being a blessing in my life!
“Do you mind if I ask you a favor?” Sarah said impulsively. “May I bring over a steak for you to grill for me?”
Sam shook his head, appearing as if he was trying hard not to laugh. “How do you know I’m up to your fine standards?” he teased.
She eyed the steaks he was putting onto a plate. “Because I know quality when I see it.”
He barked out a laugh.
“And I was so determined not to like you.” He shook his head as he set the plate down and sank into an Adirondack chair beside her. He laughed again.
“Excellent,” she said cheerfully. “Let me go get the steak I bought.” She rose. “I can bring over a salad for you and Lucy to share with me.”
“Already taken care of. Plus, grilled corn on the cob will be coming later. But tell me.” He leveled his gaze at her, suddenly serious. “Why should I even do this? All you seem to do is insult people, and frankly, I’m not up for that when it comes to my family.”
“But...I apologized to you,” Sarah said.
“Oh, boy!” He gave her a mock cheer.
“Look, I never apologize, Sam! Apologies admit weakness. So this is a first in the history of the world for me—be flattered.”
“You’re quite self-centered.” Sam paused and grinned at her wickedly. “And I never insult people—be flattered.”
Were they flirting?
Dear Reader (#ubd997f85-9ded-5207-975e-1f50396edb5a),
Welcome to Summer by the Sea, a new Wallis Point, New Hampshire, story set in the fictional seaside town first described in The Long Way Home and continued with The Secret Between Them and The Undercover Affair.
Sarah Buckley is a driven type A tech entrepreneur who is at first enraged to be banished to a rustic beach cottage for a quiet summer sabbatical.
All Sarah wants is to return home to her busy Silicon Valley company, where she can continue her quest to conquer the tech world. First, though, she needs to prove that she’s learned to relax and “become more Zen” in her relations with others.
So, is her beach neighbor Sam Logan, a laid-back lifeguard without any apparent life goals—and his genius eleven-year-old daughter, whose future he and Sarah conflict over—the person to teach her?
A summer by the sea can work wonders and heal any wounded hearts. I hope you enjoy Sarah and Sam’s spark-filled romance!
All the best,
Cathryn Parry
Acknowledgment (#ubd997f85-9ded-5207-975e-1f50396edb5a)
A special thank-you to Cape Cod lifeguard Sarah P. for answering my questions and teaching me about torps, rip currents and—in an unplanned encounter—how to treat a jellyfish sting.
Contents
Cover (#u02056ba0-a022-5748-a6e1-4203f6a1596e)
Back Cover Text (#u7f055a8a-0c9f-5e2e-a379-d479e931a599)
About the Author (#u9b780b9c-04a4-5708-b35c-ac9fdd22ba13)
Booklist (#ud06fedea-5c0b-5e5e-b5db-df7b3db9714d)
Title Page (#uc43e19d2-7fd4-5958-a187-7eced9662bc5)
Copyright (#u477e2588-bdce-5839-8a9c-896ce4f155a7)
Dedication (#u15c361ef-8cd7-5f45-96fe-c6a1d02d4d5c)
Introduction (#ua8e9b809-a7d4-57f5-b318-1bcfc0f342cc)
Dear Reader (#u1fbb085e-ebbb-5b10-879d-ad3f91a08143)
Acknowledgment (#u87f2de3d-5a95-56d4-86ec-c1eed40e84bc)
CHAPTER ONE (#u9da80cb1-650b-50a7-9fb8-ea32a93e2b3d)
CHAPTER TWO (#u76b7e7fe-7706-5ba0-86dd-a7051b58ba2e)
CHAPTER THREE (#ua32b8df5-99fe-5568-b6ec-5bf9a77cc184)
CHAPTER FOUR (#ubaf0f25c-b054-52f9-836e-7fb5fd936fee)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINETEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_e3f22e81-5b68-5d08-9db1-17ad1d780f56)
SAM LOGAN’S SUMMER plans were turned upside-down in a single phone call.
Twenty-four hours later, his eleven-year-old daughter, Lucy, stood in his tiny bachelor kitchen, surrounded by her suitcase, her iPad, and a ragged and well-loved stuffed bear that he hadn’t even known she still slept with.
Sam stared at it—and her—in shock. Seeing that teddy bear made him realize he really had no idea what was going on with his daughter. He felt completely inadequate to the task of being Lucy’s full-time dad.
Ironic, considering Sam worked with kids her age every day. He taught environmental science to middle school students. Sam was known as a laid-back teacher. A guy who could handle whatever came his way without getting his feathers ruffled or ruffling feathers. It was his great strength, his inner Zen.
But the panic rose from deep in his chest and clutched at his throat, affecting his ability to breathe. This must be what swimmers felt like when they were caught up in a giant, sucking rip current.
Sam had never been caught in a rip current himself. As a professional lifeguard at Wallis Point beach in summer, he knew the signs and avoided the trap. A few times per season, he rescued people caught in the grip. He even taught the younger guards—college-aged men and women—to notice the signs so they could warn others, too.
Avoidance of danger had always been key in Sam’s world.
Sam wiped sweaty palms on the back of his shorts. Lucy was here, sitting at his kitchen table, pushing her light brown hair from her eyes and staring at her luggage, probably as uncomfortable as he was. Her mother had decided to head to Alaska for the summer to work as a singer on a cruise ship, so Sam was now responsible for her. For ten long weeks. Alone. During lifeguard season.
Shaky, he wondered what he should do with her—feed her lunch, maybe? Usually she came to his house for two Saturday afternoons per month—had ever since she was a toddler—and before they left for whatever fun activity he’d planned that day, Lucy always sat and ate a peanut butter sandwich and drank an orange soda. That was their tradition.
So he opened his refrigerator door. No orange sodas. Instead, one whole shelf was filled with a batch of craft brew he’d made earlier in the week. He bent and felt past the beer bottles, finding two cold cans in the back of the fridge. “Luce,” he said, straightening, “I’m out of orange soda. Would you like a ginger ale?”
His daughter regarded him stoically. “Yes, please. I’ll make my own sandwich.”
“Okay. Good.” Feeling a little more hopeful, Sam popped the two cans open then passed her one. Without any drama, she stood, got a plate, bread, peanut butter and knife and began making lunch for herself.
He should calm down. He and Lucy would be fine—they could figure out this new arrangement as they went. He saw her often enough to know the basics of caring for her according to the rules Colleen had insisted upon since Lucy was a baby.
Sam had been blindsided when she’d been born. Though he and Colleen hadn’t been together anymore and Sam had been a young father—just twenty-one at the time—he had coped. He would have preferred to see Lucy more often, but the lawyers had told him what was best for the three of them, and Sam had rolled with it. He would roll with it now.
He seated himself across from Lucy and took a long drink of the almost medicinal-tasting ginger ale. Even if he had no idea what he was going to do with her for the next ten weeks—and he couldn’t take Lucy to a movie or a museum or a theme park or even his brother’s house near Boston every day, like he usually did when he had her—he wasn’t going to freak out. Neither was he going to put the burden on Lucy. The situation wasn’t her fault. Sam didn’t want to be like his own parents and force inappropriate decisions on her the way they had with him and his brother when they were kids negotiating a difficult divorce.
Be Zen. Be detached. Stay cool.
That’s what Sam had learned young. Dealing with other people’s kids in the public school system reinforced the lesson for him daily. It was best to keep calm under pressure. Have non-emotional and non-threatening conversations. Use humor whenever possible.
Sam gave Lucy his easiest smile. “It’s all good, Luce. There are worse places we could be stuck together for the summer, right?”
She gazed up at him with her serious brown eyes. “Maybe,” she replied calmly. Then she went back to cutting her sandwich precisely in half with a serrated bread knife.
The most grown-up kid I’ve ever known, Sam’s brother had once said. Sam had been proud of it at the time. But now he glanced at Lucy’s teddy bear leaning forlornly against her adult-looking black luggage, and he wondered if there was more to her stoic behavior than was apparent on the surface.
