Free Novel Read

Wish You Were Here Page 5


  Maggie grasped the rail to keep her knees from buckling.

  “Marry me, Mags.”

  She clamped her hand over her mouth, waiting for someone to jump out of the bushes and say it was all a joke. No one appeared. “What about Justine?” Her gaze met his.

  He shrugged. “Well, she was right. By now, I suspect she’s met up with Ricardo in Tuscany.”

  “Tuscany? Ricardo?”

  “It’s probably the first spontaneous thing she’s ever done. It’s okay, Maggie. We’re happy for each other. Can I continue here, please?” He gave her that grin, the one with the dimple she loved.

  Oh, how nice it was going to be to wake up to that each day. “Please, don’t let me stop you.”

  “I love you, Maggie. I think I always have. Now before we have to ask that nice man who happens to be a very busy pastor to rearrange his schedule to come here in time for tomorrow night’s sunset, please tell me that you’ll have me as your best friend, your lover extraordinaire, and your husband. I’ll do my damnedest to make you happy with all three.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut and nodded. He slipped the ring on her finger, grabbed her hand, and hurried her down to the beach. Where the hammock once hung stood the pastor, the owner of the Tiki pub and grill, and Joe, the waiter.

  “Best I could do on short notice, Mags. We’ll do things properly again, if you want.” He stooped down and slid her shoes off as they stood before the pastor.

  “No need, this is perfect.” She smiled as she held his hand, only partly aware of the words the preacher spoke. There under the last dredges of a perfect tropical sunset on a hot summer night, Maggie uttered the words that would begin a lifetime of memories with a man with whom she already shared a past…

  “I do.”

  About the Author:

  Growing up the daughter of a father who was a distributor for a New York Magazine Publishing firm, Amanda usually had her nose stuck in the latest issue of Vampirella or a Hitchcock Mystery book. An artist first, her penchant for creating started at an early age with crayons and colored pencils and much of what she learned makes her a ‘visual’ writer. Calling herself a renaissance woman, she has worked in the corporate world, written a weekly newspaper column supporting Fine Arts in our schools, loves to travel, do research and perhaps her greatest achievement--raised four kids.

  Amanda has been referred to as a "true artist in the writing realm' and her zest for life inspires her "character-driven" stories. Her passion is to take ordinary people and place them in extraordinary situations, delving into the realm of potential and possibility as she watches them become the heroes and heroines of their own stories. She counts herself fortunate to be able to do what she loves, aspires to stay fresh and unique to her voice and listen to her readers. A member of RWA, and a multi-genre hybrid author, her work is published internationally, in audio, in e-book and in print. She currently writes sizzling contemporary and erotic historical romance. www.amandamcintyresbooks.com

  Other Books you might enjoy by Amanda McIntyre:

  (*check availability in e-book, print, or audio)

  The Kinnison Legacy series:

  Rugged Hearts, Book I

  Unfinished Dreams (re-release)

  Tales of the Sweet Magnolia series:

  Fallen Angel

  Wild and Unruly

  Celtic Spice Anthologies:

  Dark Pleasures

  The Pleasure Garden

  Winter’s Desire

  The Master and the Muses

  Tortured

  The Diary of Cozette

  Find excerpts and more novella, short stories, and free reads on my website:

  www.amandamcintyresbooks.com