Accidental Love on Meadow Cove Lane (Island County Series Book 10) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Happy Truth About Love Excerpt

  About the Author & Contact Info

  BOOKS BY KARICE BOLTON

  Accidental Love on Meadow Cove Lane

  Island County Series #10

  Karice Bolton

  Copyright © 2018 Karice Bolton

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any printed or electronic form, or stored in an unauthorized retrieval system, or transmitted in any form without permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, incidents, and events either are the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Edited by V. Clifton

  Cover: AdobeStockPhotos:

  © yanikap, © sasamihjovic

  Interior: B&B Formatting

  Adobe Stock: ©skarin

  Contact the Author

  To contact the author, please visit her online at http://www.karicebolton.com or via

  Twitter/Facebook/Pinterest @KariceBolton.

  If you’d like to be included on her mailing list to find out about

  new releases, click here or go to Karice Bolton’s website

  You can also text KariceBooks to 313131 to receive a text from her on release days!

  BOOKS BY KARICE BOLTON

  ISLAND COUNTY SERIES

  FINDING LOVE IN FORGOTTEN COVE

  LOVE REDONE IN HIDDEN HARBOR

  TANGLED LOVE ON PELICAN POINT

  FOREVER LOVE ON FIREWEED ISLAND

  TEMPTING LOVE ON HOLLY LANE

  CHANCE AT LOVE ON MYSTIC BAY

  IRRESISTIBLE LOVE AT SILVER FALLS

  LUCKY IN LOVE ON HOUND ISLAND

  MISTLETOE MISCHIEF

  ACCIDENTAL LOVE ON MEADOW COVE LANE

  BEYOND LOVE SERIES

  BEYOND CONTROL

  BEYOND DOUBT

  BEYOND REASON

  BEYOND INTENT

  BEYOND CHANCE

  BEYOND PROMISE

  BEYOND the MISTLETOE

  SILVER RIDGE SERIES

  A HAPPY TRUTH ABOUT LOVE

  A LITTLE SECRET ABOUT LOVE

  A FUNNY THING ABOUT LOVE

  A SURPRISING FACT ABOUT LOVE

  LUKE FLETCHER SERIES

  HIDDEN SINS

  BURIED SINS

  REDEMPTION

  MIA

  V MAFIA SERIES

  BLAKE

  DEVIN

  JAXSON

  THE WITCH AVENUE SERIES

  LONELY SOULS

  ALTERED SOULS

  RELEASED SOULS

  SHATTERED SOULS

  THE WATCHERS TRILOGY

  AWAKENING

  LEGIONS

  CATACLYSM

  TAKEN NOVELLA (A Watchers Preq uel)

  AFTERWORLD SERIES

  RecruitZ

  AlibiZ

  UprisingZ

  Chapter One

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” The pastor clasped his hands together and took a step back, narrowly missing one of the six-foot tall red-heart rose arrangements that looked like it was more for a funeral than a wedding.

  My stomach sloshed with relief and excitement as I watched my ex-boyfriend of six years kiss his beautiful bride. My heart filled with happiness for them both.

  No, really. It did.

  We were one of those couples you heard about. You know, the kind of couple who’d amicably split and remained friends for years to come. It worked that way with all of my relationships. The only one that backfired went all the way back to high school when I caught my first boyfriend making out behind the bleachers with my very best friend.

  Classic. I know.

  Right after losing my boyfriend and my best friend in the summer of senior year, I made a promise to myself to always break things off before a situation went too far south.

  So because of that vow, this was the fourth wedding I’d attended for an ex-boyfriend.

  To be honest, I was extremely relieved I wasn’t asked to be in the wedding party. That was when the whole harmonious friendship idea could—and often did—become awkward.

  Especially when the bride does the fake smile thing and pretends she’s super happy that you’re friends with her soon-to-be husband.

  But Cynthia wasn’t like that. She truly did appreciate the relationship Charles and I had. She even told me that seeing him and I function well for so many years after the romantic relationship had ended told her what kind of incredible person he was.

  Mr. and Mrs. Charles and Cynthia Troner spun around, clutching one another’s hands, as we all stood to cheer them on. The joyful couple started their long trek down the aisle, and butterflies took flight in my stomach for the happy family. These two were meant to be together.

  Cynthia beamed and Charles looked like he’d found his nirvana. They were only a few rows away from me when Charles’ eyes connected with mine, and he winked at me. I chuckled and shook my head as Cynthia held her red-rose arrangement close to her chest.

  Her brilliant blue eyes sparkled with excitement and pure bliss when the man sitting three seats to the left of me, whispered, “uh-oh,” in my direction.

  I looked past the elderly couple sitting between the stranger and me, and my brow raised in question.

  “Pardon me?” I whispered back, noticing the man was extremely attractive.

  His dark hair, hazel eyes, and chiseled features could definitely be a big distraction from the matter at hand, which were the shocking implication of his statement.

  “Looks like the groom married the wrong woman.” The man wiggled his brows, and the elderly woman sitting next to me gasped.

  Charles and Cynthia were only feet away, and I turned my attention back to the happy couple as they waltzed by, and I cheerfully waved, mouthing, ”Congratulations,” to them both.

  “I just call it as I see it,” the man explained, reaching for the wedding program on his chair. He wasn’t even whispering any longer.

  “Well, you need bifocals,” I snapped back as the elderly couple froze between us. “You know nothing of the relationship we all have.”

  “Ah-ha.” The man grinned with a twinkle in his eyes. “So there is a relationship.”

  I let out a disgruntled sigh and shifted my ivory skirt back in place. Even though he was good-looking, I wasn’t going to take the bait. As far as I was concerned, the low-level conversation had ended. I’d always felt that the best way to avoid bottom-feeders was to stay out of the pond entirely.

  I turned my attention back to the wedding party as they filed after the bride and groom when Sammi stopped to give me a hug, her red roses getting squished between us.

  “Can you believe dad finally bit the bullet?” Sammi gushed. “Thanks to you.”

  “It wasn’t me. It was love.” I smiled, softly patting her back.

 
Sammi gave me a peck on the cheek and bounded away, following her dad and new stepmom.

  “And the plot thickens.” The man chuckled as the ushers began leading the wedding guests out of the room row-by-row down the aisle.

  I turned, completely disgruntled by the vocal voyeur, and glared at him. “There is no plot. There is only love, so let’s not try to spoil their glorious day.”

  “I just call it as I—”

  I held up my hand and interrupted. “Yeah. I know…I know.”

  The elderly woman next to me giggled, and her husband slid his arm around her waist.

  I waited for Walter, Charles’ good friend and usher, to lead me away from the chatty peanut gallery. I could literally feel the man just itching to say something more, and I had no intention of sticking around for whatever it might be.

  The truth of the matter was that the relationship Charles and I had was far more complicated than anyone could ever imagine. He was my first serious boyfriend. We’d met the last year in college and started our life together as adults. He worked as an accountant for a large firm in Denver where we’d moved to follow his dreams, and everything was great for the first five years.

  Until it wasn’t.

  I’d noticed he started to pull away, and I realized that there was someone else.

  No, he didn’t cheat on me.

  But I knew he inevitably would, and I couldn’t do that to myself. The problem was also that I hoped he would cheat to make the breakup easier. However, then I reminded myself of the vow I’d made. I needed to end things first so I could still look at him calmly around the holidays.

  The truth was that Charles met a woman named Justina Lapert, who worked in the marketing department at his firm, and their bond was instantaneous.

  I knew Charles well enough to know he wouldn’t cut things off with me. Instead, he’d just make himself miserable, he’d make me miserable, and he’d make our lives miserable. When I stopped by the office one day to deliver a surprise lunch to him, I didn’t see anything scandalous.

  What I saw was something far more powerful.

  And painful if I’d let it be, which I didn’t.

  What I witnessed was a scorching love between two people who hadn’t even shared physical intimacy yet, and I ended our relationship that night over teriyaki takeout. I wasn’t sure what came over me, but I knew our relationship had run its course.

  I won’t act like I wasn’t devastated on many levels. I realize what everyone says about emotional cheating being as bad— if not worse—than the physical act of cheating, but I’d escaped relatively unscathed, and Charles went on to have a wonderful daughter, Sammi Belle, who was now fourteen years old.

  The woman who was Charles’ love of his life and Sammi’s mother? She passed away from breast cancer when Sammi was only three years old. The events devastated everyone who knew and loved Justina, Charles and their family. Family and friends quickly rallied around Charles to help with Sammi.

  At first.

  But it was almost like the novelty of the event wore off, and those friendships began to drift away or completely evaporate. When Charles needed someone to watch Sammi suddenly or pick her up after school, their friends stopped picking up his phone calls or returning his texts.

  I think that realization about his friends was nearly as devastating as the loss of his wife, but his therapist explained to him that it wasn’t that uncommon of an occurrence. So he returned to Seattle, which was where I had moved back to after my Colorado stint.

  I let out a sigh, and mindlessly reached for a glass of champagne punch from one of the servers carrying a full tray of the bubbly stuff.

  I scanned the room seeing all the smiling faces juxtaposed between the gaudy floral arrangements. The one thing I was certain of was that if I ever got married it would be a quick ceremony, maybe somewhere romantic like my cousins’ Silver Ridge Resort a few hours away. I’d love a tiny ceremony up in the mountains with only family and maybe a few friends. But first, I’d need to start dating and actually be committed to the process, which I seriously doubted I could ever pull off. Too many awkward glances and uncomfortable moments to make me want to leave my glass studio on Fireweed Island.

  But seeing the wedded bliss between my ex and Cynthia really did make me happy. It just didn’t give me the oomph to take control of my own nonexistent love life. Regardless, it was about time Charles and Sammi found their happy place, and Cynthia provided them both with unconditional love and a heart big enough for all four of us.

  Why four?

  Because I was the only friend who always picked up the phone.

  “You doing okay? I hope what I said didn’t offend you too much.”

  I recognized the man’s voice and slowly brought my gaze to his. “So you only wanted to offend me a little?” I squeezed my thumb and index finger together. “Just a smidge?”

  The man shook his head and laughed. “I just recognize a man who has feelings for a woman.” He took a sip of his dark drink. “And I thought it was interesting that it was you and not the woman he had by his side.”

  “I see you found the open bar.” I pressed my lips together and cocked my head slightly in the direction of the bartenders. “Didn’t take you too long.”

  “Why would it? It’s not every day a guy is put in a position like this.” He grimaced, but I noticed how cute he was with the set of wrinkles creasing along the sides of his eyes.

  “And what position is that?” I set my empty glass down and waited for a reply.

  “You wouldn’t get it.” He shook his head, his gaze connecting with mine.

  I quickly fought away the attraction to him. I knew bubbly drinks worked faster than something without the extra carbon dioxide kick, so I wasn’t going to fall for the alcohol euphoria of attraction.

  “Try me.” I took another sip.

  He licked his bottom lip, and I swore I could almost taste the sweetness right along with him, which horrified me. I couldn’t even imagine how I must have been longingly gazing at the man.

  His deep laughter alerted me to my worst fear. I was nearly salivating at this complete—and utterly good-looking—stranger.

  “I’m Cynthia’s ex-fiancé.”

  I nearly spat out my drink.

  “I didn’t know Cynthia was engaged before.”

  And I didn’t. She’d never mentioned it.

  He smiled. “Several times. Not just to me. I was beginning to think she was a serial fiancée, so I had to come here to see it with my own eyes.”

  “That’s awful to say.” I shook my head. “What they have is real.”

  But I certainly hoped Charles knew about Cynthia’s other engagements.

  “Is it though?” he asked, taking a step closer.

  My heart skipped a beat.

  “Maybe the groom would rather have had you by his side.” His brow quirked slightly. “Just maybe the love is misplaced or, at the very least, misguided.”

  I didn’t know it was possible to be so annoyed and turned-on at the same time.

  “Of course, their love is real. Cynthia is the sweetest mother to Sammi and—”

  “What if it’s just the jubilation of it all? The quickness of everything creating a false sense of promise? The newness of love that’s bound to wear off because it always wears off?” He posed the question more for his own benefit than mine.

  “How in the world did you get an invite to this shindig?” I asked, taking another sip of the bubbly concoction. “You sound like the Grinch who Stole Matrimony.”

  He shrugged, still looking amused.

  I narrowed my eyes on him. “Did you get an invite or are you a wedding crasher?”

  “Would you tell on me?” His hazel eyes sparkled with mischief. “I bet you would.”

  “Tell on you? I’m not in fifth grade.”

  He swirled his drink, clanking the ice cubes against the glass.

  Ignoring me, he continued, “You look like a tattler.”

  “A tattler
?” I shook my head. “Believe me, with a brother like mine, I wasn’t a snitch.”

  “I’m not sure if I believe you.” He let out a deep breath and glanced in the direction of the reception hall.

  The doors hadn’t opened up yet, so everyone was milling about in the foyer of the old mansion. More of the same large, red-rose arrangements dotted the hallway, along with several white orchids placed on the cocktail tables leading to the reception hall.

  “But, no. I didn’t crash the wedding. I got an invitation and debated about coming, but I’m glad I did.”

  “Really? Why’s that? What possible reason could make you glad to be here?”

  He grinned and shook his head. “She’s standing right in front of me.”

  This time it was my turn to laugh. “You’re a little too smooth for your own good.” I patted the man’s shoulder and quickly noticed how muscular he was under his suit jacket.

  “Well?” he asked as if he could read my mind, which again, hit the annoying category at the same time my chest tightened.

  “I’ve felt bigger.” My face reddened. “I mean stronger.”

  “Are you going to tell me your name or make me beg?” He set his empty glass on the table and took another step closer.

  “Dakota.” I smiled, knowing I wouldn’t ask for his. “Dakota Turner.”

  Chapter Two

  “Is it just me or do these flowers look like someone stole them from a funeral home?” the handsome wedding crasher whispered as I set my plate of prime rib and garlic mashed potatoes on the table next to him.

  I tried to keep in my giggle and refused to admit to him that I’d wondered the same thing.

  “You’re awful and you need to behave yourself.” I scowled at him as I sipped my third bubbly drink. “Doesn’t matter that you’re an ex-lover scorned to bits.”

  “You’re the one who sat next to me.” He smiled wider.

  The man had a point.

  “I can’t be that awful.” He wiggled his brows, and I fell a little harder.