Sourcebooks Casablanca What Happens in Summer Contemporary Romance

WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER
#2 in the AT THE SHORE Contemporary Romance Series
June 2018

Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/3vM2Q4F
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/4bzAtXE
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Kobo: https://bit.ly/KoboWHS
Audible: https://amzn.to/2M2ZWfY

Special Edition Cover and Box Set Now Available!

Special Edition Paperback
January 2024

Kindle Box Set – All 3 At the Shore Novels
January 2024

Paperback – All 3 At the Shore Novels
January 2024

Reviews

Kirkus Reviews: “Pineiro’s follow-up to One Summer Night (2017) covers the same time frame from the alternate couple’s viewpoint, to sexy, satisfying effect. Connie and Jonathan’s trials, tribulations, and second chance at love are engaging and at times thought-provoking, touching on the power of love, loyalty, and friendship. . . Another visit to Sea Kiss will charm romance fans.”

RT Book Reviews: “…a story about a love between two individuals that will not fade…readers will enjoy this summer-themed romance.”

Amy Alessio at Booklist: “Realistic yet successful second-chance romance stories are rare and always popular, and this is an excellent addition to the genre.”

Publishers Weekly: “Pineiro’s clever characterization ensures that Jonathan’s vulnerability and Connie’s deep-seated fear of loss will steal readers’ hearts. While a few well-worn tropes sneak into the story, the author, to her credit, makes them seem almost new. This story is sweet and spicy at the same time, and all-around satisfying.”

Library Journal: “Pineiro has penned a tender, sexy, often lighthearted yet realistic version of the classic reunion plot, offering a delightful beach blanket read.”

Teaser

Connie Reyes grew up watching her single mom work tirelessly to raise her. She promised herself she would never fall into the same situation. But when she bumps into the way too tempting Jonathan Pierce at a wedding, it’s hard to resist his charms. She’s scared she’ll fall for him –again — and he’s not the kind to stick around.

Jonathan’s been haunted by memories of Connie ever since he left town after their failed summer romance. After returning to the Jersey Shore, he’s determined to show Connie how much he’s changed. But when their passion ignites, can it become something more permanent, especially when it leads to a surprise that neither of them saw coming…

Excerpt

Prologue
Sea Kiss, New Jersey

Playing it safe was far worse than taking a risk on what you wanted.
Jonathan Pierce knew just what he wanted.

He grabbed hold of the gnarly branch of the decades-old wisteria vine that climbed the side of the Sinclair mansion and boosted himself up. He’d made the journey so many times this past summer, he could do it blindfolded.

He scrambled up the vine, finding the familiar foot and handholds until he vaulted up and over the second floor railing, and landed silently as a cat burglar on the balcony. It ran the length of the immense oceanfront mansion, with elegant French doors offering views of the sea.

The first darkened doorway was Maggie Sinclair’s room. He rushed past it quietly; Maggie belonged to his older brother, Owen. Not that Owen had acted on it yet, but Jonathan had known for years that the two were meant to be together, family feud be damned.

The next doorway was usually Maggie’s dad’s, but the old man had stopped coming down to the Shore as often as he once had, so it was a good bet that room was unoccupied.

Reaching the third room, he saw the curtains wafting in the summer breeze and the dim light from behind the partially closed French doors.

He smiled and his heart raced with pleasure.

Connie was waiting for him. Ever-responsible, ever-loyal Connie had broken her own rules to fall in love with him. Or at least he thought it was love. It definitely was on his part. With barely a week left before the girls all went back to school, he intended to let her know just how he felt.

He slipped carefully through the open doors and shut them behind him. He’d gone no more than a step when she launched herself at him, laughing and kissing him as she said, “What took you so long?”

“I missed you, too,” he said, knowing it was more about the separation to come in a week and not about the long hours since last night.

He bent his head and kissed her, his touch tender and caring, and she answered in kind, her lips soft and coaxing.

Although Maggie had been bringing her friends to the Jersey Shore every summer since they’d met freshman year in college, he’d never really paid much attention at first. He’d had his share of girls from his high school class fawning over him.

But when Maggie and her friends had come back the next year, he had finally, gratefully, noticed what a real woman should be. Like Connie: all luscious curves; also proud, smart, and independent,

As impatient as he might be to make love to her tonight, he wanted her to know how much this meant to him. How this wasn’t only a summer romance for him.

He leaned over her, his gaze locked on her face. He wanted to say the words … Lord, how he wanted to … but they stuck in his throat and so he let every kiss and touch tell her what he couldn’t voice.

***

Connie’s heart thudded almost painfully in her chest as she wondered how, in a week’s time, she could leave him. The ache deepened beneath her breastbone and she put her hand there and rubbed to assuage the hurt.

What had started as a summer fling with a funny, smart, and beautiful boy had turned into something so much more, with an incredibly amazing man. Falling in love with Jonathan hadn’t been in her game plan, but he was just too hard to resist.

She should have resisted. He was a Pierce. She wasn’t a Sinclair, but Maggie was like a sister and that stupid family feud was still going strong, as far as she knew.

He was going back to Villanova in a week and she’d be returning to Princeton. The colleges were not all that far apart, but if she was to execute her game plan, she had to stay in the game, which meant studying and more studying. Not nights spent in bed making love and days spent daydreaming about the nights. But like Adam with Eve, now that she’d had a bite of such delicious forbidden fruit, she didn’t know how she could go on a Jonathan-free diet.

At the moment, she could just admire his sun-streaked light brown hair waving wildly around a masculine face with chiseled features. A sexy dimpled grin was on his lips and his eyes glittered with a blue as enchanting as a Sea Kiss summer sea.

That ache in her heart rocketed to life again together with an almost unbearable lightness in her soul. For so much of her life she’d been driven to accomplish more and more, but with Jon, she could just be herself. No goals or responsibilities. Just … happy.

And so, in the blink of an eye, her game plan altered. She could see it all so clearly, only now Jon was there beside her at each step. Finish college. Head to law school. Pass the bar. Get a job in a big New York City law firm so she could help her family financially, as well as others who had legal problems and couldn’t afford representation. Become a partner. Marry Jon. Or maybe marry Jon and then become a partner. She didn’t want to wait too long to be with him forever.

Not that she’d ever pictured getting married to anyone before, since her home life hadn’t been anything great. But for Jon, she’d make an exception.

As she snuggled into the curve of his arm and pillowed her head on his broad shoulder, she sighed and said, “I can’t believe the summer’s almost over.”

He grunted his reply in a too-typical male way. “Sucks.” But then he surprised her by adding, “I’d like to keep on seeing you once you’re back in school.”

She smiled, pleased by his admission, and glanced up at him. There was a contented smile on his full lips and the first hint of a dimple. The hard line of his jaw had a bit of blond stubble from an evening beard. She ran her hand up to brush away a lock of his hair.

“I’d like that, too,” she said.

His smile broadened and the dimple fully emerged, drawing attention to that luscious mouth. She couldn’t resist surging up to skim a kiss along that dimple and the corner of his lips.

“What was that for?” he asked.

She wanted to say because he made her happy, but she hesitated. She’d seen what could happen to a woman whose happiness depended on a man, as she’d watched her mother lose herself and her dreams.

“As a way for you to remember me until we visit each other at college,” she said instead.

Tension crept into his body, impossible to miss. Enough to worry her. She pulled back from him. “I thought you wanted us to see each other. At least, that’s what you said a minute ago.”

A chagrined look passed across his features, stirring the worry inside her.

“I do, only… I won’t be at college this year. I’m not going back to Villanova.”

She searched his face, finding it hard to believe, but he appeared deadly serious. “What do you mean you’re not going back? Did something happen? Are you transferring to another school?”

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Behind the Scenes

The AT THE SHORE Contemporary Romance series was originally titled the Jersey Girl Bridesmaids. The series is still set along the fabulous Jersey Shore in the lovely town of Sea Kiss.

The original cover for What Happens in Summer!
Sourcebooks Casablanca What Happens in Summer Contemporary Romance