BooksBarbecue
Back First Comes Love Save as PDF
Chapters (92)
  1. First
  2. Love Connection
  3. Zero
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. One Month Later
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Six Months Later
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-one
  27. Twenty-two
  28. Twenty-three
  29. Twenty-four
  30. Six Months Later
  31. Twenty-five
  32. Twenty-six
  33. Twenty-seven
  34. Twenty-eight
  35. Twenty-nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-one
  38. Thirty-two
  39. Thirty-three
  40. I Have Never
  41. One
  42. Two
  43. Three
  44. Four
  45. Five
  46. Six
  47. Seven
  48. Eight
  49. Nine
  50. Ten
  51. Eleven
  52. Twelve
  53. Thirteen
  54. Fourteen
  55. Fifteen
  56. Sixteen
  57. Seventeen
  58. Eighteen
  59. Nineteen
  60. Twenty
  61. Twenty-one
  62. Twenty-two
  63. A Christmas Date
  64. One
  65. Two
  66. Three
  67. Four
  68. Five
  69. Six
  70. Seven
  71. Eight
  72. Nine
  73. Ten
  74. Eleven
  75. Twelve
  76. Thirteen
  77. Fourteen
  78. Fifteen
  79. Sixteen
  80. Seventeen
  81. Eighteen
  82. Nineteen
  83. Twenty
  84. Twenty-one
  85. Twenty-two
  86. Note from the Author
  87. Sneak Peek – To the Stars and Back
  88. Two
  89. Three
  90. Four
  91. Also by Camilla Isley
  92. About the Author

I turn left, follow the road to the beach trail, and head north toward the park. If the Hudson waterfront is one my favorite trails in New York, it has nothing on the ocean. I’m only missing Chevron.

After the first loop, I check my watch. Eight minutes per mile. Way below my average. Lately, I’ve only had time to run on the weekends, and my lack of constant training is showing. I should start over, but I’m too lazy, so from the park, I cross over a bridge to the beach to go exploring. The shore is deserted, too dark even for surfers.

As I stare at the water, a terrible idea strikes me. Faster than I can stop myself, I remove all my clothes and run into the ocean stark naked. Never skinny dip—I can cross you off the list!

I don’t linger in the cool water more than thirty seconds. Not just because I’m butt naked in a public space, but also because the Pacific is freezing. I re-dress faster than ever and with fresh adrenaline pumping in my bloodstream, I run back to the hotel, breaking every personal speed record ever made.

By seven, I’m showered, dressed, and ready to rock LA. I’m finishing applying makeup when a knock distracts me.

“Who is it?” I call.

“Richard.”

My stomach does a triple axel. I slip on my cord wedges—a good compromise between the necessity to wear heels and a long day of walking—and open the door.

“Whoa.” Richard’s eyes widen. “And I thought I was up early,” he says, eyeing my already-prim attire.

He’s still wearing gray sweatpants and a black T-shirt. Soft, damp curls are clinging to his forehead as if he just came out of the shower, which he must have. Someone, please shoot me now! Sweat-panted Richard is too good a sight, and showering Richard too good a fantasy, for me to preserve my brain cells.

“I’m a morning person,” I say apologetically. “And there’s the jet lag.”

“Yeah, so would it be okay to meet downstairs in fifteen?”

“Super, see yah there.”

***

Richard jerks his chin toward my shoes, unimpressed. “Are you sure you want to walk in those all day?”

So wedges aren’t his thing. Mmm, I’ll see if I can do better tonight.

“Yeah, I always wear heels.”

“Why?”

We are not all blessed with Saskia Landon’s legs.

“I just love heels.”

“But we’ll be walking a lot.”

“I’m used to it, no big deal.”

He shrugs. “I was thinking we should turn today into something different.” Thu-thump, thu-thump, thu-thump. Can anyone else hear my heart beating? “Would your readers be interested in an ‘LA in One Day’ feature?”