Sailing In Style. Dana Mentink

      

      Danger: Heartbreak ahead!

      Piper Brindle has spent her entire adult life trying to live down the stigma of her family’s checkered history. The one bright spot was Cy Franco, the talented California designer with the surfer-boy looks. She ended up only breaking his heart. Now an acting gig on the historic River King reunites her with the guy she pushed away. She knows she doesn’t deserve him, but how can she pretend she’s immune to Cy’s charms? As her past explodes into her present, Piper knows they can never have a future together. But with their irresistible chemistry drawing them even closer than before, how will she be able to walk away a second time?

      “You’re asking me to do the impossible.”

      Something in Cy’s tone thrilled Piper. She saw a spark in his eyes, a determined lift to his chin.

      What would it be like to believe everything would work out right?

      She meant to tie the balloons and tiptoe away, ignoring the tug that seemed to suggest she should help. Help the guy who would never forgive her for dumping him?

      Her sandal caught on a chair leg and she stumbled, letting go of the balloons. They drifted lazily up to the ceiling.

      Cy didn’t hesitate. He put his hands around her waist.

      She felt the press of his cheek into her back, the strong arms spanning her middle as he raised her up toward the balloons. His embrace rocketed her back in time, and she was lost in memories of laughter and love and joy when she’d briefly believed in the impossible, too.

      Dear Reader,

      Have you ever wanted to sail away from your worries? Me, too. I guess that’s why it was so enticing to write about a historic paddle-wheel steamboat. Though the fictional River King doesn’t ply the waters anymore, she’s a reminder of an elegant time when people put aside their cares and paddled along the California waterways. In preparation to write this book, I had the pleasure of touring the Delta King, a beautiful old paddle wheel docked in Sacramento. I met the gracious Coyne family, who saw the loveliness in this regal vessel even when she was nearly wrecked and has painstakingly brought her back to life.

      Isn’t that what romance is all about? Seeing the beauty in someone in spite of the scars? Cy and Piper certainly have some damage to overcome, but what better place to attempt it than an old boat docked outside the sleepy little town of Tumbledown!

      Thank you for coming along with me on this journey. I hope you enjoyed the trip! I’m always happy to hear from my readers via my website, danamentink.com, or my Facebook and Twitter pages. There’s also a physical address on my website if you’d rather correspond by mail. Thank you again for taking the time to sail along with Cy and Piper.

      Fondly,

      Sailing in Style

      Dana Mentink

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      DANA MENTINK lives in California, where the weather is golden and the cheese is divine. Her family includes two teen girls (affectionately nicknamed Yogi and Boo Boo). Papa Bear retired from the fire department, and he met Dana while they were doing a dinner theater production of The Velveteen Rabbit. Ironically, their parts were husband and wife.

      Dana is an American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year finalist for romantic suspense and a two-time Carol Award winner. Her suspense novel, Betrayal in the Badlands, earned an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award. She enjoys writing for Harlequin’s Love Inspired line, Harlequin Heartwarming and Harvest House. Besides writing, she busies herself teaching third grade. Mostly, she loves to be home with Papa Bear, Yogi, Boo Boo, a dog with social anxiety problems, a chubby box turtle and a feisty parakeet.

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      To the Coyne family,

      who brought life back to the Delta King.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

Dear Reader

       Title Page

       About the Author

       Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

       CHAPTER ELEVEN

       CHAPTER TWELVE