Cindy Miles - Those Cassabaw Days

A bond that not even time can break…

As kids, Emily Quinn and Matt Malone were thick as thieves in the tightly knit community of Cassabaw Station. Then Emily’s world crumbled into tragedy, and she was sent away. She’s just returned to run a beachside café she now owns. A free spirit…with a guarded heart.

But while this town still feels like home, Matt is nothing like the boy she remembered. He is a man lost to shadows and doubt. As he helps Emily restore the café, however, their childhood bond reignites and unfurls into bittersweet longing. Now they face the greatest test of friendship…love.

What if?

What if he had kissed Em? Would she have pushed him away? Matt highly doubted it. Her body language had spoken volumes. He could tell she was completely in tune with him. He could see it in the shine of her eyes, in the way she leaned into him, and the light touch of her fingertips against his shoulder. The way she’d stumbled over words. She’d felt the same pull he had.

So strong was the current between them that Matt had literally wanted to pull her hard against him, dig his fingers into her hair and find the perfect angle of her head, just before lowering his mouth and fitting it to hers. So close he’d come to tasting those full lips, that long, soft throat, and holding her lithe body in his hands.

“Dammit!” Matt muttered under his breath, willing the images to go away. They wouldn’t. They stayed. Grew. Morphed into more than just a kiss.

Dear Reader Dear Reader Title Page About the Author Dedication PROLOGUE 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 CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO EPILOGUE Extract Copyright ,

Those Cassabaw Days introduces Matt Malone and Emily Quinn, childhood friends separated by time and now reunited on the small barrier island they grew up on. But this is more than simple romance. More, even, than just falling in love, experiencing the rush of butterflies, the fever of passion. It’s about building a friendship rooted in childhood innocence. It’s about having memories and making more memories. And it’s about overcoming all the barriers that stand in the way of forever.

I wrote this novel from many of my own memories: the place I grew up, people I knew and loved, and beloved recollections that still resonate within me when I inhale a certain scent or hear a particular song.

I hope you enjoy these memories embedded in Those Cassabaw Days, the unique souls who inhabit the island of Cassabaw Station, the families and hearts who fall desperately in love. It might even set you on a journey to find such a place—even if within the pages of a novel.

Happy reading!

Cindy Miles

Those Cassabaw Days

Cindy Miles

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CINDY MILES grew up on the salt marshes and back rivers of Savannah, Georgia. Moody, sultry and mossy, with its ancient cobblestones and Georgian and Gothic architecture, the city inspired her to write twelve adult novels, one anthology, three short stories and one young-adult novel. When Cindy is not writing, she loves traveling, photography, baking, classic rock and the vintage, tinny music of The Great Gatsby era. To learn more about her books visit her at cindy-miles.com.

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Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text A bond that not even time can break… As kids, Emily Quinn and Matt Malone were thick as thieves in the tightly knit community of Cassabaw Station. Then Emily’s world crumbled into tragedy, and she was sent away. She’s just returned to run a beachside café she now owns. A free spirit…with a guarded heart. But while this town still feels like home, Matt is nothing like the boy she remembered. He is a man lost to shadows and doubt. As he helps Emily restore the café, however, their childhood bond reignites and unfurls into bittersweet longing. Now they face the greatest test of friendship…love.

Introduction What if? What if he had kissed Em? Would she have pushed him away? Matt highly doubted it. Her body language had spoken volumes. He could tell she was completely in tune with him. He could see it in the shine of her eyes, in the way she leaned into him, and the light touch of her fingertips against his shoulder. The way she’d stumbled over words. She’d felt the same pull he had. So strong was the current between them that Matt had literally wanted to pull her hard against him, dig his fingers into her hair and find the perfect angle of her head, just before lowering his mouth and fitting it to hers. So close he’d come to tasting those full lips, that long, soft throat, and holding her lithe body in his hands. “Dammit!” Matt muttered under his breath, willing the images to go away. They wouldn’t. They stayed. Grew. Morphed into more than just a kiss.

Dear Reader Dear Reader Dear Reader Title Page About the Author Dedication PROLOGUE 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 CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO EPILOGUE Extract Copyright , Those Cassabaw Days introduces Matt Malone and Emily Quinn, childhood friends separated by time and now reunited on the small barrier island they grew up on. But this is more than simple romance. More, even, than just falling in love, experiencing the rush of butterflies, the fever of passion. It’s about building a friendship rooted in childhood innocence. It’s about having memories and making more memories. And it’s about overcoming all the barriers that stand in the way of forever. I wrote this novel from many of my own memories: the place I grew up, people I knew and loved, and beloved recollections that still resonate within me when I inhale a certain scent or hear a particular song. I hope you enjoy these memories embedded in Those Cassabaw Days, the unique souls who inhabit the island of Cassabaw Station, the families and hearts who fall desperately in love. It might even set you on a journey to find such a place—even if within the pages of a novel. Happy reading! Cindy Miles

Title Page Those Cassabaw Days Cindy Miles www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author CINDY MILES grew up on the salt marshes and back rivers of Savannah, Georgia. Moody, sultry and mossy, with its ancient cobblestones and Georgian and Gothic architecture, the city inspired her to write twelve adult novels, one anthology, three short stories and one young-adult novel. When Cindy is not writing, she loves traveling, photography, baking, classic rock and the vintage, tinny music of The Great Gatsby era. To learn more about her books visit her at cindy-miles.com .