Summer Heat Wave Read online

  Denver started toward them, but then he heard someone call his name. He turned away from the water to see Paul and Melanie Ashworth coming toward them.

  “Savannah, Grandpa and Grandma are here!” he shouted and strolled toward his in-laws.

  “You’re early.” He hugged Melanie and shook Paul’s hand with a warm smile. It was amazing how much the pain of the past had faded in five years.

  They’d gotten married and invited the Hudsons to the ceremony. Blair couldn’t lie to her friend Anne, and when she’d confessed her and Denver’s deception, Anne had chuckled and said she’d known the first day, but that she’d told Jack she was convinced it was only a matter of time before it became a real engagement. She and Jack had taken a gamble and continued to invest in the new Bali resort, Atlantis Rising, which was fully booked for years as the world’s most stunning new underwater resort.

  Life had only gotten better when Blair had crawled across their bed one morning and showed him a positive pregnancy test. The birth of their daughter had brought Denver closer to Paul and Melanie Ashworth than he’d ever expected.

  “We couldn’t miss a moment of Savannah’s third birthday.” Melanie blushed. “I may have brought too many presents.”

  Paul chuckled and rolled his eyes. “I think that’s our job as grandparents.”

  Blair joined them and put Savannah straight into Paul’s arms. The older man carried his granddaughter about on the beach, dancing with her and laughing.

  “I’m so glad you’re here, Mom.” Blair slipped her hand into Denver’s and grinned. “Honey, you tell her this time.”

  “Tell me what?” Melanie asked, her eyes lighting up.

  “We . . .” Denver cleared his throat. The emotions filling his chest with cottony warmth were almost too overpowering for him to speak. “We’re expecting again. It’s a boy. We waited to tell anyone until Blair was four and a half months along.”

  “Oh!” Melanie started crying and hugging her daughter and Denver. Then she spun to shout at her husband, “Honey! Blair’s pregnant. It’s a boy!”

  Denver felt the smile on his face was so strong that his jaw would ache for hours afterward, but he didn’t care. Long after lunch and celebratory toasts, the grandparents dutifully took Savannah to their cabin for a story, bath, and naptime. Blair held out a hand to Denver, and he followed her toward the water. She kicked off her shoes, and he slid out of his, leaving them on the beach. In a matter of moments, they had stripped down to their swimsuits.

  Blair led him into the water, their fingers linked as the waves embraced them. The sunlight caught her hair and illuminated her face, and Denver couldn’t breathe. Whatever pain and hate had once been trapped within him was destroyed in that moment forever.

  He was truly, infinitely, deliriously happy. After so much darkness so early in his life, he felt like he was rising from the depths of the sea, swimming faster and faster toward that glittering ring of endless light on the surface.

  Thank you so much for reading Summer Heat Wave! Be sure to watch my newsletter, Facebook, and Bookbub for when book 2 - Simon’s story Summer Heat Rising comes out!

  About the Author

  Lauren Smith is an Oklahoma attorney by day, author by night who pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smart phone flashlight app. She knew she was destined to be a romance writer when she attempted to re-write the entire Titanic movie just to save Jack from drowning. Connecting with readers by writing emotionally moving, realistic and sexy romances no matter what time period is her passion. She’s won multiple awards in several romance subgenres including: New England Reader’s Choice Awards, Greater Detroit BookSeller’s Best Awards, and a Semi-Finalist award for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award.

  To Connect with Lauren, visit her at:

  www.laurensmithbooks.com

  [email protected]