In His Kiss (Love On The North Shore Book 4)
In His Kiss
Love On The North Shore
Book 4
Christina Tetreault
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Welcome Letter
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
About The Author
Other Books By Christina
In His Kiss ©2017 Christina Tetreault
Published by Christina Tetreault
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from the author at Christina@christinatetreault.com. This book is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and places portrayed in this book are products of the author’s imagination and are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Digital ISBN: 978-0-9971118-7-3
Print ISBN: 978-0997111880
Dear Reader,
Welcome to North Salem, Massachusetts, the setting for this series. Some of you may have visited before, but if not please let me tell you a little about it.
Located forty minutes outside of Boston, it is in a part of the state referred to as the North Shore. North Salem is a close-knit New England town that few people leave. While such camaraderie can be wonderful, especially in times of need, it also means everyone knows each other’s business, and squabbles that pop up in high school sometimes continue for years.
Despite the occasional gossip and minor squabbles, North Salem is a wonderful place. I hope you come to love the town and its citizens as much as I do.
Happy Reading,
Christina
Chapter 1
Thud! The airplane’s tires hit the tarmac, jolting Ella’s neighbor awake. The woman had fallen asleep almost as soon as the airplane took off from London and hadn’t made a peep since. Ella wished she’d been able to do the same. Sleep had eluded her despite her best efforts. She’d even brought along an eye mask and earplugs. They’d helped her sleep months ago when she made the trip from Boston to London and on to Paris. Today nothing helped. Since she’d managed to arrive home safely despite almost missing her plane because her flight out of Paris had been delayed, and the crazy turbulence they’d experienced somewhere over the Atlantic making her fear she’d die in plane crash, she wouldn’t complain.
“Welcome to Boston. Please remain seated until the captain turns off the fasten seat belt light.” The flight attendant’s voice filled the cabin as Ella watched the scene outside the plane window.
Despite the instructions, Ella released her belt and reached under the seat for her purse and carry-on bag. The way she saw it, the plane was on the ground, so she no longer needed the seat belt. The woman next to her did the same.
“This is my first time to Boston,” the woman said with a British accent. “My daughter is studying at university here.”
“Boston’s a great city. You’ll enjoy it.” Ella searched through her purse until she found her smartphone. She switched off airplane mode and sent her parents a message, letting them know she’d landed safely.
“Then Boston is home for you?”
“More or less. I live about forty minutes outside the city.”
No point in telling her she lived in North Salem. Few people outside the United States knew the town existed. Although more people knew about the small town now, thanks to the media attention it’d received over the past few years, it still lacked the name recognition its more famous neighbors received. The town’s citizens preferred it that way.
“Is there anything you think I must do or see while I’m in the city?”
Ella considered all the city offered, and unfortunately memories from her last trip into Boston, a month before she left for France, popped up. She’d surprised Striker for his birthday and got them tickets to see his favorite band, as well as two nights at a downtown hotel. Despite having a great weekend, he’d broken up with her not long afterward. “I’d take a duck boat tour before you leave. It drives you all around the city before going into the Charles River.”
“It sounds unique.”
“If you enjoy art, visit the Museum of Fine Arts. It’s a favorite of mine in Boston.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep both in mind.”
Ella forced her memories back into their little corner and joined the other passengers filing off the plane.
After adding her last suitcase to the already-packed baggage cart, she maneuvered her way through baggage claim and outside. It took only a quick visual inspection of the vehicles before she spotted Jessie Quinn’s compact car. She’d hated asking Jessie for a ride today. The woman’s wedding was in two days. Ella imagined she had a hundred things still to do. Her options had been limited. Mom hated driving anywhere near Boston and Dad didn’t return from his business trip until Friday. She’d considered asking her older sister, but that meant Claire would have to make arrangements for someone to watch her daughter or drag Kerry along. That only left her friends. Cat would’ve been the more logical choice, but every time she saw Cat she thought of Cat’s brother, Striker. She didn’t need or want memories of him bombarding her before she even made it to town. As it was, once she got home there’d be no escaping the memories or the man. North Salem consisted of only so much space. No matter what, she’d eventually bump into him. Today she hoped to put the inevitable off at least until the weekend. Mack Ellsbury’s best friend and his best man, Striker would be at Jessie and Mack’s wedding on Saturday, along with more than half the town.
Jessie came around the car and hugged her, knocking the top suitcase off the cart in the process. “Welcome back. I grabbed you an iced coffee on my way here. It’s in the car.”
Leave it to Jessie to think of having an iced coffee waiting for her.
“You’re a life saver. Haven’t had a decent one since I left in May.”
“Hmm, four months in Paris or iced coffee. Think I’d make the sacrifice,” she said, her strong Boston accent making Ella realize how much she’d missed the sound of it and home. French sounded beautiful, but the Boston accent was one of a kind. Jessie opened the trunk and dropped in the suitcase she’d knocked off.
Somehow, they squeezed all but two of Ella’s suitcases into the trunk. Exactly how, she’d never know. After Ella tossed the stragglers and her carry-on into the back seat, Jessie joined the other vehicles exiting the terminal while Ella savored the best iced coffee she’d had in what seemed a lifetime.
“Okay, fill me in. What’ve I missed?” A minivan in the right lane cut them off, no directional light in sight, and Jessie slammed on the brakes. Massachusetts drivers. It’s good to be back.
“Ella, it’s North Salem, not Paris… what do ya think you missed?”
Perhaps the town didn’t have the same excitement as Paris, but things happened. Celebrities even visited from time to time. One even now called North Salem home and in a few weeks would be marrying one of its own. “The town hasn’t been sleeping since I left. Stuff has happened. Give me something.”
Silence answered.
“Jessie, c’mon.”
“I’m thinking.” She changed lanes before speaking again. “Gramps took Gran on a cruise this summer. They went down to Bermuda. First vacation in twenty years. They had a blast. Gran is already talking about going on another one soon. Gramps isn’t as enthusiastic. But I think they’ll go again.”
Not exactly the type of news she’d hoped for, but still good. “That’s awesome.”
“And Dakota Smith, an FBI agent Mack works with, bought the foreclosed house on Union Street.”
She didn’t know the guy, but she hoped Mack’s friend knew how to use power tools. For the past five years, the house had remained empty, and at least on the outside it needed a lot of work. Rumor had it local teens had used it for parties and trashed the inside, too. “Good luck to him. You’d have to give me the place for free to take on that project.”
“You and me both. Mack’s been over there helping him. Sean and Tony have stopped over a few times, too. They’ve managed to make it at least livable. But Dakota’s got a lot of work left.”
“Livable? Yikes. Do I even want to know?”
“Yeah, not really. But let’s just say none of the guys will ever bid on a house they can’t see the inside of first.”
“Guessing Dakota never watched any of those house hunting shows on television.”
Jessie laughed and nodded. “You’re probably right.”
“Anything else you can think of? How was your bachelorette party?” She’d wanted to go last month, but couldn’t justify flying home and then back to Paris just for a weekend.
“Great. The five of us did a paint night and then went to a comedy club.”
“Sorry I didn’t make it.” Like many of her friends, she’d known Jessie most of her life. They’d gone to school together and played on the same soccer team all the way through high school.
Jessie stopped as the highway became a parking lot of commuters on their way home. “No worries. It didn’t make sense for you to fly home for one night. But we need to go out soon. Last month I went to this indoor laser tag place. It was —”
“Laser tag? Seriously?”
“Mia’s bachelorette party. She wanted something different. Anyway, it was wicked awesome,” Jessie said, referring to Mia Troy, an A-list Hollywood actress who’d visited North Salem over a year ago and fallen in love with the co-owner of the town’s bed-and-breakfast. In less than three weeks, the two were getting married.
“Has the media already descended on town?” When Sean and Mia first announced their engagement, every media outlet had sent reporters and photographers to North Salem. While it’d been great for local business, it had driven many of the locals crazy.
The line of traffic inched forward, and Jessie looked over once it came to a standstill again. “Don’t tell anyone, but Sean and Mia got married two weeks ago.”
This type of news should’ve been shared long before now. “Nothing ever happens, huh? C’mon, out with all the details, and how do you know anyway? What about the wedding on the tenth?”
“We both know that day is going to be a media circus. So they arranged a private civil ceremony on Martha’s Vineyard. One of Mia’s good friends owns a place over there. They only invited Tony and Mia’s older sister. Sean asked me to watch Max while they were gone.”
“He left his dog out? No way. I don’t believe you. I expected Max to be a groomsman for sure.” Ella couldn’t help herself. Everyone knew how much Sean cared about his big Irish Wolfhound.
“Between you and me, I bet he considered it,” Jessie said, smiling. “Anyway, on the tenth the big church wedding and reception will happen. It’s what people expect.” The cars started moving, and she turned her attention to the road again. “Ask Cat about Sean and Mia’s ceremony. She went with Tony.”
Of course, Cat had gone. She and Tony were married, as hard as it was to believe sometimes. Even after Cat and her high school sweetheart broke up, Ella had assumed her friend would get back together with him. Never in a million years would she have predicted that Cat would instead fall for the town’s resident playboy, Tony Bates. But it happened. Although they’d hit a rocky patch early on, the two had been married for over eight months now.
“Uh, maybe. If I think of it.” Ella sipped her iced coffee and watched the traffic around them.
She’d avoided seeing Cat for the two weeks between when Striker broke up with her and when she left for France. She’d never admit it, but she suspected her friends had noticed. At the time, being around Cat reminded her too much of Striker, a man she’d thought might be the one. Being back for good, though, meant she needed to get over it. They’d known each other since preschool. You didn’t throw away such a strong friendship over a guy. Even if the guy was your close friend’s older brother.
“Cat’s picking up takeout from the Jade Orient and meeting us at your house. We figured you wouldn’t want to go food shopping tonight. Kelsey plans on stopping in, too, when she gets off.”
Ella appreciated the gesture, but she’d rather not confront her emotions on less than six hours sleep. “Great.” Her voice lacked enthusiasm, and Jessie picked right up on it.
“Cat’s still pissed at Striker for breaking up with you. She hasn’t invited him to her house all summer. I don’t think she talks to him much either, unless she has to.”
That made two of them. “She shouldn’t be. Relationships end. It happens. She wouldn’t be mad if he’d broken up with someone else. Just because we’re friends shouldn’t change anything.”
“Doesn’t mean she has to like it. I don’t think it helped that he started dating again right after you left.”
Jessie’s words sent an arrow straight through her chest. She’d guessed he’d started dating again. Striker wasn’t the type to stay single long. Still, hearing it made it real.
“Not that any of them lasted.”
Again, not a huge surprise. He’d told her himself, their relationship had lasted longer than any of his other ones.
“Can’t remember the last time I saw him with someone. Mack says he’s always in a bad mood. Claims it’s because Striker hasn’t, well, you know, in a while.”
Striker’s sex life or lack of one wasn’t her concern. “We all have problems.”
“I think he misses you.” Jessie took the highway off-ramp toward North Salem. “Mack refuses to offer an opinion.”
Right now, she wished Jessie would follow her fiancé’s lead. “He’d have to care to miss me,” Ella said, her voice heavy with sarcasm. “And he doesn’t. So how about we talk about something else? Please.”
“Sorry. I told myself not to mention him today, too. What about you? Did you meet any nice guys while in France?”
“One or two.” Okay, maybe more, but she’d never looked at any of them as more than colleagues or friends. “But if you’re asking if I dated, the answer is no. Didn’t really have the time.” More like desire. She’d taken many of her possessions when she left North Salem, but despite her best efforts, her heart hadn’t been one of them.
“Good. Well, not good because you didn’t meet someone, but good because you’re still single. I think you’ll get along well with Mack’s friend, Dakota. He’s a super nice guy.” Jessie stopped at a red light and glanced over at her. “At the reception, you’re both at the same table.”
She’d never known Jessie to play matchmaker.
“And don’t worry, I put Striker across the room with Tony and Cat.”
Too bad Jessie couldn’t put him across the state instead. “What’s Dakota like?” She’d heard his name but never met him. Honestly, she didn’t want to get into a relationship with anyone right now, no matter how nice he was. But it’d give Jessie something to talk about other than Striker.
“He’s been an FBI agent for six years, but only in the Boston office for two,” Jessie said. “Before coming here, he worked in the Albany office. And he grew up in Arizona.”
Ella list
ened and watched the landscape passing by. With each minute, they got closer to home and the very person she wasn’t ready to see again.
***
Striker checked his watch as he entered the high school locker room. Had her plane landed? His sister had slipped during a cookout at their parents’ house and mentioned that Ella was arriving home today. He’d asked for specifics, but Cat refused. And not because she’d been instructed not to share, or at least he doubted it. His and Cat’s relationship had been strained since the previous fall when he’d first found out about her involvement with Tony and gave her hell. Something he wasn’t proud of. After their wedding, things had gotten better between him and his sister—until he fucked up big-time. Since he’d broken up with Ella, his relationship with his sister remained in the toilet.
“Got someplace to be?” Tony Bates, the football team’s other assistant coach and his brother-in-law, asked, following Striker into the locker room.
More like somewhere he wanted to be but wouldn’t be welcome. “Negative. You?”
Tony leaned up against a row of lockers. “Cat’s going over to Ella’s after work. She came home today. Thought I’d stop in Masterson’s and grab dinner, maybe watch the Red Sox game. God knows how long Cat will be over there.”
“Forgot she came home today,” he said, unwilling to admit he’d known exactly what day it was. “But it makes sense. The semester starts soon. Who’s picking her up in Boston?”
“Jessie.”
“The three of them together. You won’t see Cat until tomorrow.”
Tony shrugged. “If you’ve got nothing planned, join me.”
He’d never say it, but he appreciated the offer. Despite Tony being a few years older, they’d been friends a long time. Like his relationship with Cat, their friendship had suffered the previous fall. Punching a guy in the face had a way of doing that. Over the past several months, things had returned to normal between them. “I’ll see you there.”
After a long convo with Pop, the team’s head coach and his dad, Striker left what was his home away from home this time of year.