Kimberly Meter - Like One of the Family

Trouble in paradise

White beaches, blue waters…St. John is paradise for most. But not for Lora Bell. Her childhood home is a source of painful memories and obligation. And this visit isn’t likely to change anything. She’s here to deal with a mountain of trouble at her family’s resort, her grandfather…and Heath Cannon, the guy she’d rather forget.

Being around Heath reminds Lora of another side of herself—the less serious, more carefree side. And while that might be a welcome change, this is not the time. She has to be strong to make the tough decisions required to save the resort. So these feelings need to stop. Now. But it may be too late. Because those beaches, the water and Heath seem to be changing everything.

“I could fire you right now.”

“Do it, then,” Heath dared Lora. “But let me tell you something else so you can make an informed decision. If you do that, you’re going to have a storm on your hands that not even you will be able to handle. I’ve been running Larimar for the past year but beyond that, I own the gift shop downstairs, and Larimar doesn’t have enough money to pay me off.”

Lora stared, shock in her eyes. “What are you talking about?”

He shook his head. “Why don’t you take a moment to really look at Larimar and see all the changes that have been made since you’ve been gone? Someone had to do something to start making some money, because the one with the marketing degree…well, she was unavailable.”

With that, he stalked past her. He was done with her for the day. If he stood another minute in her presence, he’d choke on his own frustration—or choke her.

Dear Reader,

I love difficult people. There is something so subtle and nuanced beneath the surface of bad behavior that has always fascinated me. When you pick at the behavior, eventually you see the motivation beneath, and it gives you additional insight to that person. In my experience, most often the prickliest people have the softest hearts. What a fascinating contradiction, yes? I think so. And difficult people make for very interesting characters!

With this book you’re about to meet the Bell family, starting with Lora Bell. She’s the epitome of difficult. Known as a hard-nosed businesswoman, Lora is merciless in the boardroom, but she struggles to relate to her sisters as they try to save Larimar, the family resort in St. John. Add to the mix a special man from Lora’s past whom she can’t bully or forget, and you have a love story just waiting to happen.

This newest cast of characters has already stolen my heart. They feel as real to me as my own family. I had the privilege of traveling with my family to St. John in the Virgin Islands to research the location and I’m happy to share my experience through the Family in Paradise trilogy. Look for the next book later in 2012.

Hearing from readers is a special joy. Please feel free to drop me a line via email through my website, www.kimberlyvanmeter.com, or through snail mail at Kimberly Van Meter, P.O. BOX 2210, Oakdale,

CA 95361.

Kimberly Van Meter

Like One of the Family

Kimberly Van Meter

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kimberly Van Meter wrote her first book at sixteen and finally achieved publication in December 2006. She writes for the Harlequin Superromance and Harlequin Romantic Suspense lines. She and her husband of seventeen years have three children, three cats and always a houseful of friends, family and fun.

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

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

EPILOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

THE©WARM, SALTY©BREEZE lifted Lora Bell’s hair from her damp neck as she stepped from the ferry platform after docking in Cruz Bay, St. John. She knew the fierce humidity would wreak havoc on her carefully maintained cut and color so that by the time she reached Larimar, which was only a short drive out of town, the curl she fought to tame would spring to life with a vengeance.

Home sweet home, she thought sourly, pausing to quickly wrap her shoulder-length hair into a messy knot at the back of her head. Everywhere she looked paradise stared back—calm, azure water lapping at spun-sugar beaches, vibrant green foliage rimming the shorelines—but Lora really saw something different. She saw obligation, poverty, decaying infrastructure, greed and corruption leaking through the cracks in the cement and stinking up the air like the open-air Dumpsters that everyone used to dispose of their trash. And she was angry as hell that situations beyond her control had dragged her home against her will.

Although quieter and more low-key than St. Thomas, St. John still saw its share of tourists and Lora was reminded of this fact as she navigated the throng of people walking by with their coconut-rum concoctions, clutching at wide, floppy straw hats in an attempt to shield their skin from the tropical sun. Unlike them, Lora wasn’t here on a pleasure cruise.

She jerked her Louis Vuitton rolling luggage over the worn plank dock and continued, her steps quick and purposeful, toward the man awaiting her by the Jeep Wrangler her family had purchased many years ago and that had begun to wear its age like an embattled war veteran. She didn’t bother hiding her frown when she saw the Jeep but Lora knew it was pointless to complain. Island cars were a special breed. The more banged up, the more street cred they acquired. But it’d been quite a while since she’d lived on the island and she much preferred a smoother ride nowadays, such as her company’s sleek Lincoln Town Car, which had always been at her disposal when she’d been the company darling.

How the mighty have fallen. She gritted her teeth against the unexpected sting of moisture in her eyes and focused again on the problems facing her in the here and now. The long flight had been excruciating enough with nothing but her rapidly deteriorating sense of self to keep her company; who was she without her punishing work schedule to keep her busy? Who was she if she wasn’t out there making mincemeat of anyone who stood in her way? Just as she discovered that the answer was not to be found at the bottom of a Chardonnay bottle, it was not here, either. All that awaited her in St. John was more problems. She could only hope her problems in Chicago would wait—the ones greeting her in St. John would not.

Her gaze searched and settled on the one man she’d hoped she wouldn’t see. Given that her luck had been somewhere in the toilet region, she shouldn’t have been surprised that Heath Cannon would be the one to pick her up from the ferry.

Coincidentally, he wore the same expression of put-upon pique as she felt. Great. So they were both pissed. This ought to make for an uncomfortable ride to the resort. She met his hard stare with one of her own—intimidation was a tactic she had perfected. “I still don’t understand why you couldn’t take care of this situation until I could get here when my schedule allowed,” she said to Heath who neither offered to take her bag nor cracked a welcoming smile in spite of being her ride. Not that she’d expected or needed such niceties, of course. “I can’t imagine that Lilah couldn’t handle whatever is going on.”