Everything to Lose (Moonlight Dating Series #2)
Read Everything to Lose (Moonlight Dating Series #2) Online
Authors: Natalie G. Owens
Natalie G. Owens
Copyright 2008
-2012, Natalie G. Owens.
All Rights Reserved
Worldwide
.
Amazon Kindle Edition
ASIN: B008TPXR6M
PUBLISHED BY
Rose of Atlantis Press/
Natalie G. Owens
Cover Design
and Editing
by Zee Monodee
Formatting by Jeffrey Kosh
Cover Photos by Rino Fazzini (
www.flickr.com/photos/rinofazzini
) and Vladimir Surkov (Dreamstime)
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To all couples,
so they can remember how love is a wild animal
that can seldom be tamed.
Thank you, Laura Luzi, for refreshing my memories of your beautiful Ascoli Piceno.
:
SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR
will renew her zest for life.
Alex Moncado seems to have it all - good looks, a successful business, and a fun life in "party central" of the Mediterranean: the island of Malta. Except for one day in the year when he can't help but remember a tragedy that never should have been. One day he'd rather forget, because if he doesn't, the guilt will consume him.
Can one passionate night together banish the ghosts of the past and give tw
o lost souls a second chance?
Only Fate can tell…
A message from Jeanette Lagrange, founder of
Moonlight Dating
.
There were times in history when the sun was revered, its light a guide for travellers, a solace for the weak.
The moonlight, however, has always been a time for reflection, a time for yearning and indulging in a bit of philosophy. A time when lovers tryst and weary souls can finally find a place to rest. Kisses feel softer, a touch more electric, under the tender vigilance of our sister, the Moon.
Who knows what secrets simmer in the night? Even I cannot grasp the full dimension of their reach. The Moon, in all her understated radiance, has many answers to give, many riddles to solve, and many hearts to heal.
The Moon illuminates a path to redemption and happiness, and gives me visions of a different world. Sometimes they’re otherworldly visions, sometimes they’re as natural as the gentle ripple of the water left by the motion of an indolent oar, its handler unhurried, thoughtful. Because of this, I know that in the moonlight, the impossible can happen. Strong bonds are forged, and others are mended. Lives become whole.
We often hear of the bad, sordid deeds that happen at night time. Illicit sex, crime, cruelty – we thus fear the night. But I, a willing optimist, want to offer a different kind of reality, for my sake as well as yours. I want to give you a night that is radiant, beautiful, sensual, carnal. A night in which all the faces of love can be at arm’s reach, if you will them to.
Many are more apt to grasp life’s gifts from the shadows, because they are used to small expectations and are afraid of risk. They must allow themselves to slowly become acclimated to the change… because those who hesitate to abandon themselves in the blinding heat of the sun may feel newfound courage when the moon takes the reins of the skies and shines on infinity along with its shimmering cohorts, the stars.
I created Moonlight Dating to get you started on this journey to wanting more, expecting more, to give you all your heart’s desires. Nothing’s up to chance. If you don’t believe this is possible, I dare you to take the plunge. For every designed encounter, I need a man, a woman, a perfect match. If it’s there, I will find it for you. Give me one night, one chance, to wake your dreams in the moonlight…
Yours,
Jeanette Lagrange
“Dane.”
Lisbeth Marsh, new divorcee, gaped at her ex-husband who stood uncertainly on her doorstep.
He showed up just as she was about to wind down and settle with a bowl of chicken and rice salad and a DVD. Standing there, on her doorstep, he looked about
as
out of place as a ghost at a gathering of skeptics.
She
clutched the side of the front door, a conscious action that set tiny tingling fires on the underside of her fingers. Blood rushed to her hand as she pressed the tense digits on the rigid wood, wanting nothing more than to break it into splinters and crush them in her grip.
Wearing a worn gray jogging suit and holding a mini-vacuum in her right hand – she wasn’t exactly a poster child for femininity and elegance. Her elbow-length, copper-colored hair was haphazardly caught at the nape in a loose ponytail, and her cheeks were flushed from her housecleaning workout.
A complete mess, much like her marriage to Dane had been.
“What are you doing here? I thought you’d already started your new contract in Seattle.”
“Yeah, well. I thought I’d take a trip down here and…tie up some loose ends. Jeanette asked me to forward this to you.”
Dane handed her a shoebox. She opened it and peeked inside to see
a stack
of written notes about plants and gardening, as well as packets of seeds and a notebook.
The prized horticultural secrets of Jeanette Lagrange, the eccentric founder of Moonlight Dating
.
“I—thanks,” she said, flustered. “Why did she inconvenience you? I live closer to her while you live on another continent altogether.”
Didn’t the woman know that she and Dane had called it quits? True, over two hundred and fifty miles separated Richmond, London
,
from Market Drayton in Shropshire, where the older woman lived. Still, it would have been easier just to send it in the mail.
And Lisbeth wouldn’t have to relive the pain at the mere sight of his face…
“She emailed to ask about a website glitch and I mentioned that I had to come up to the UK to meet with a client. So, she asked me to stop over and collect the box.”
“You actually met her?”
“Nah, you know how she is. She sent her niece to hand me the package. We met by the downtown post office for five seconds. She seemed to be in a hurry,” he laughed.
Lisbeth moistened her lips. “You could have told Jeanette to contact me directly.”
Cut it out. He’s here now, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
He hesitated. “I also wanted to see how you’re doin’. You know, it being near Christmas and all, I just wanted to say hello, make sure you’re okay. It’s been so long...”
His voice trailed away.
Did he mean that?
She shifted her weight on the right foot and looked up at him. Her petite stature was another disadvantage she resented as Dane Marsh towered ridiculously above her by a good head-and-a-half.
Dane, the love of her life. Or so she’d thought once upon a time.
Dane, the ex who’d finally signed the divorce papers two months ago. Everything had been sorted in such a civilized manner through their respective lawyers.
Tension sparked through her, made her head spin like a helicopter stuck in the vortex of a deadly tornado. Outside, as if in silent appreciation of her inner turmoil, the already weak London sun
lay
imprisoned by a smoky, cloud-filled sky and a persistent drizzle of icy rain.
He lowered his gaze to the straw mat that had “Welcome” printed across it.
Feeling self-conscious, she opened the door further. “I’m being rude. Please come in.”
It wasn’t easy to speak to him like she would a stranger, but she was lost for words.
“Lisbeth…” he started as he stepped inside.
“I’m doing fine, as you see. No need to worry. Sunday’s my only day to relax and do some chores. Hard to get anything done on other days…”
Forcing herself to stop babbling, she started to turn away, but something in his eyes stopped her.
“Please, may I stay a while? I won’t be long, and it’s cold out there.”
He made the last words sound like a joke but really, was he begging?
Every breath he took ended in a cloud of frost. She looked at his damp hair and visibly shivering hands, and the sight tugged at her traitorous heartstrings.
No, don’t.
“Let me get this. It’s warm inside,” she offered as she shut the door.
“I was just finishing some cleaning up. Come, I’ll make coffee.”
Two minutes into this odd exchange and she was already acting like an idiot around him.
Around her husband.
Her devastatingly handsome
ex-
husband.
When she closed the door behind him, he sighed and blew into his hands then rubbed them together. He paused in the hallway and let his gaze drift to the living room alcove window.