Return to Home by Missy Walker

If you loved Missy Walker’s, Return to Me, try the final book in the Sassy Seaview Series. Here’s a sneak peak from Book three ‘Beyond Melting.’

Amber

Cronuts with blood orange glaze and beetroot macaroons coloured the plate like Andy Warhol art. Dessert at the newest restaurant in Seaview was definitely living up to the hype.

“Why do they call it a cronut?” Lily asked, her blue eyes seemed larger with her recent blonde pixie cut.

“It’s a cross between a croissant and doughnut.”   I took a bite, the chantilly custard oozed out.

“And it’s warm!” Jazzie cradled the pastry like a priceless artefact. Throughout dinner, the sound of the restaurant patrons did little to drown out Jasmine's love tentacles of happiness.  If I had any emotion at all, now would be the time to feel it as I watched my gorgeous friend experience a bliss unknown to me.

The girls I’d met at university, had taken me in like they’d known me their entire lives, especially when I needed a friend, I got the bonus of having two. More lifelines than friends. Compasses who guided me, navigating me back to safety when I veered off course.

“Excuse me, ladies, these are for you.” The waiter held a tray with three glasses of champagne.

“We didn’t order any champagne,” Lily said.

The waiter turned his attention from Lily to me. “Courtesy of the gentleman at the bar for you Miss.”

Me?Without waiting for a response, he placed the flute filled with pale yellow bubbles in front of me, then gave the remaining glasses to the girls.

I peered past the lanky waiter, toward the bar. The mysterious man with dark-brown locks, tanned skin, and a body fit for an iron-man challenge stared back at me. Any other night I'd take him home— especially since his burning stare took me to another hemisphere—but not tonight.

Jazzie turned around. “Who is that?”

“I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter, I’m with my girls.”

The waiter smiled before retreating.

“Tonight’s about you Jazzie. Lil and I are celebrating having you back in Seaview.  I’m already missing you, knowing you're leaving us again so soon.”

“Holy hell. Who is that?” Lily says, twisting her neck.

Again, my gaze is drawn to him, our eyes collide, his lips tip into a lopsided grin. I nod in appreciation of our drinks while trying to ignore the fizzle shooting up my spine.

The Adonis would have to be put on ice…

“Oh, he’s coming over.” Jazzie whips her head back around, her eyes as wide as the half eaten cronuts in front of us. “Damn girl, he is handsome.” She giggled.

Thundering palpitations knocked at my chest each step he drew nearer to our table.  He sashayed across the busy restaurant floor, his almond shaped eyes glued to mine.

“Good evening ladies,” he said through a wide smile. His voice, rich like mahogany, was almost as tempting as his scent of cinnamon and cedarwood invading my nostrils.  Dark, well-kept stubble adorned his square jaw and catlike green-blue eyes sidelined me more than I’d like to admit.

“Hi!” Jazzie and Lily said in unison, like the choir from Sister Act.

He smiled. Then returned his focus to me.

He had the kind of hair you’d love to run your hands through, long on top with tapered sides. I swallowed. How long has it been? “Thanks for the drinks, but as you can see, we are having a girls’ night.”

“I can see that,” he said, his cement stance unshakable.

I tilted my chin. “So, that means, no men.”

“Is that a rule you have?” he asked.

“Rule?” Lily interjected. “Amber loves her rules.”

“Amber.” His glare, prey-like and unmoving, sent pulses between my thighs.

“Can you take a hint Casanova or are you as arrogant as your good looks?”

Lily laughed and Jazzie covered her mouth. But he didn’t do anything. He stood, unperturbed. Dressed in casual jeans and a crisp baby-blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up, you’d be mistaken to think he fit in, if it wasn't for his expensive tan loafers.

I crossed my legs under the table. His arrogance wasn’t like the other twenty-somethings that tried it on. He stood, unfazed by my rebuttal. Where others would have scampered, he stayed. Like he knew he would win, like he always got what he wanted.

My skin hummed from my neck down. No, not tonight.

“I’ll be at the bar, when you change your mind.” He smiled, revealing a set of movie-star teeth.

“And they say whales have enormous balls!” Lily licked the macaron crumb that dotted her mouth.

“Ah, Mr-Full-of-Himself is pretty damn gorgeous, though. Right, Amber?” Jazzy asked.

“Sure he is. And any other night I'd probably take him home and lose myself in him, but...”

“And then what? Don't get his number because of your rules?”

“You know my rules keep me safe. What I was going to say before you cut me off, but I won't, because how often do I get to see you both now. Our weekly dinners have been non-existent since you moved to New York, Jazzie.” I took another bite of the cronut. “And, Lily, you’re busy with your new florist shop— which, by the way is so gorgeous.”

“Look who’s talking! You’ve been working around-the-clock. Trying to reach you is impossible. I have more luck when I’m in New York  than when I'm here. At least I know you’ll be up in the middle of the night working when it's the AM in Manhattan.”

“True, but when you love what you do, it’s not really a job.”Jazzie arched an eyebrow. “I know Skype isn’t the same, but I’m here now and let’s just enjoy”—she flicked her wrist—“the half hour left before I have to get to the airport.”

“We can’t keep the famous rock star waiting.” Lily joked. Truth was, Kit and his band Four Fingers were exploding on the charts worldwide, and he couldn’t be a nicer guy, with a nicer girl than Jasmine.

“Kit said he’d meet me at JFK airport when I land. How sweet is that?”

“Sugary sweet,” I said. I was happy for her, truly. But I didn't do relationships. We were wired differently.

She grinned. “I told you I’m joining him on tour for a while, didn’t I?”

“Yes, sounds swell,” I said.

Lily wrapped her fingers around the last macaron. “You know Amber, he’s still looking at you.”

I glanced over our round table to the bar fitted with cascading leaves and candelabras.

His legs dangled from the oak bar stool where he sat opposite a woman, seemingly oblivious to the conversation. The dim lighting did zero to deflect the lust arrows that shot between us. He was staring straight at me, while simultaneously chatting someone up, who from the way she was stroking his bicep, seemed like a sure thing.

Who does that?  Someone with moon-sized cahoonas and a gold-plated schlong, that's who— and that sent a flutter to my core.

“I’m going to miss you guys so much, please come to New York and visit me and Kit. There’s a ticket there waiting for you,” Jazzy said.

“I can get my own ticket.”  I said.

“Of course you can.” Jazzie smiled; she’d known me long enough to know I didn’t mean to offend her.

“Summer in New York sounds spesh, maybe I could convince Blake,” Lily said, a smile spilling into her cheeks. God, could my besties be anymore in love? Ugh.

“Just think about it, girls,” Jazzie added.

I downed the rest of my double espresso; the hot liquid sliding down my throat. It would aid in my midnight research on Magma Gold. Starting tomorrow, under my boss’ supervision, I'd be the youngest lawyer in the firm I worked for, Jackson and Lane Lawyers, to be heading up a merger. And not just any merger, Magma Gold was the firm’s most prestigious client. I’d already done a ton of research but I didn't get in this position by doing what every other associate had done before me. Hell no.

It was just after ten when we exited the restaurant, but it still buzzed with a mixture of backpackers and wealthy holiday makers. In under three years, Seaview had transformed from a local coastal town an hour from Brisbane to a tourist Mecca where people flocked like seagulls, taking five different photos to try to capture the perfect instagram worthy shot.  And to accommodate the new money, trendy bars and restaurants had been popping up more frequently than pimples on a teenage boy.

“Bye gals.” Jazzie said as the taxi pulled up.

I clawed her in for a bear hug. “I hope it's not this long between drinks, next time.”

She hugged me tightly and I let go first. “Let’s Facetime next week?” Jazzie asked.

“Definitely.”

Lily hugged Jazzie for a long time. “Lil, if you don’t let her go she’ll miss her flight.” Gently I  peeled Lily's bear-grip she had around Jazzie’s shoulders.

“Love you both,” she said, with glassy eyes.

I closed the door to the taxi. “Love you too!” Lily and I both said.

The cab pulled away, taking our best friend back to New York, to the man of her dreams, and to her new life.

I turned to Lily, her eyes glossy. “I'm okay,” she sniffed…

I put my arm around her shoulders.  “I know you are.”

I peered down at her jacket that flopped over her handbag. “Dammit.”

“What’s wrong?” She glanced up at me.

“I left my jacket in the restaurant.”

“Nanna Anderson!” You’re so forgetful,” Lily said.

“Not usually. I think I’m just tired.”

“Want me to come back in with you?”

“No, go. If you're lucky you’ll make it home before the rain sets in.”

She wrapped her arms around me, and I gave her a big squeeze. “Dinner next week?” she asked, gathering her jacket above her head catching the spits of rain that fell from the blackened sky.

“Absolutely.”

I made a beeline into the restaurant, instantly spotting the denim jacket, draped along the back of the capri chair. I scooped it up, turned around and automatically set my focus on the bar, scouring it for the face that made me feel something. But, he wasn’t there, nor was the woman he’d been sitting with. I darted toward the exit, pushing open the heavy glass door and inhaled a lung-full of crisp wet air.  I let out a low grumble, as I set about the shortcut via the alleyway, annoyed with myself for letting any man affect me in that way.

“Hey.” He appeared from heck knows where. If it wasn't for his smooth voice, the same one that hadn't left me since dinner,  I'd have taken off like Usain Bolt.

He was tall, at least a head taller than me. Strong, fit and as his eyes lingered from mine to my lips, I heated instantly. His gaze set me alight. His arrogance, top of the charts, and a helluva turn-on. He knew what he wanted and admittedly, so did I.

“Hey yourself.” My legs stopped, obeying the deep need I had within and ignoring the endless research that awaited me in my apartment. “Where’s your muse?”

“She’s right in front of me.”

“Am I?” I bit my lip. “I was hoping you’d say that.”