RED LINES
by T.A. Foster
February 2015
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BOOK
SUMMARY:
Love on remote Perry Island was one
thing, but with the flash of a camera everything has changed.
Movie star Evan Carlson has just
landed the role of a lifetime, playing the infamous Dexter Red. Fans can't get
enough of the sexiest, most-talked-about guy to ever hit paperback pages.
Haven is in Austin working on her
songwriting career, and Evan's faith and commitment are put to the test. No
matter which way he turns, Hollywood keeps getting in the way.
Does realizing their career dreams
mean losing their relationship? Can they survive the headlines and media frenzy
surrounding Evan's new role?
When it comes to love, some lines
are meant to be blurred.
Chapter one
The pilot called over the speaker to announce the plane was
making its final approach into Austin. Evan folded his book and tossed it on
the floor. Home. It had been four long months since he had been home. He had
tried to outrun his life, but failed. He fought. He hid. He resisted. He lied.
But now he was back, only this time he wasn’t alone.
Haven was tucked and curled against
his side—where she fit perfectly. She had fallen asleep soon after takeoff. He
studied her face, half-covered with her auburn locks. He envied the sleep she
found. There was no way his mind would have done anything but cycle through
everything that could go wrong. If he held on a little tighter, pulled her a
little closer, maybe there was a way to protect her. He didn’t want to move his
hand from her hip or shift to wake her.
There were certain moments that he
knew he couldn’t get back. This was one of them. They were still them. Just
Evan and Haven. The minute the plane landed, it would all change.
They would be waiting. They were
always waiting.
The flight attendant hovered nearby
and Evan waved her off. Her name tag said Ally. She was only trying to follow
safety procedures for the landing, but they needed more than seat belts for
what was ahead of them. He wrapped his free arm across Haven and drew her
against his chest as the wheels hit the pavement. If only keeping her safe was
always this easy. The impact jostled them both and her eyes fluttered open.
“Hey.” She smiled.
“Hey.” He planted a kiss on her
forehead before she stretched into an upright position.
“I slept the entire way?” Haven
looked toward the window. Her nose wrinkled in disappointment.
Evan straightened his legs. They
were cramping up, but it was worth it to let her sleep like that. “Yep. You
seemed tired, so I let you nap.” He didn’t want to tell her all the selfish
reasons he wanted her pressed against him.
“We’re in Texas?” She leaned closer
to him, her eyes darting back and forth like she was trying to read his mood.
“Darlin’, we’re in Texas.” He
couldn’t believe they were in his home state together.
Was it really this morning that he
said goodbye to everyone at the campground and left Perry Island with a hole in
his heart?
He was prepared to live with that
heartache. After all, he was responsible for everything that had happened. The
lies. The deceit. The paparazzi swarm. It was all his doing. When he thought he
had left Haven behind, he thought a part of him had stayed behind too. Buried
in the sands of the island like lost treasure, never to be recovered.
The pain had wrapped his bones and
suffocated him. The only thing he knew to do was leave. Give her what she
wanted—as much distance and space from him that he could provide.
It was hard to believe it was over.
The hurt and the pain from losing her had evaporated. Haven was here with him.
They were together.
Leaning across the love seat, she
brushed her lips against his, and he instinctively pulled her into his lap. It
didn’t take much for her to distract him. He blamed the pretty blue eyes she
batted in his direction. It didn’t matter—he would kiss her anytime and
anyplace she’d let him.
Everything about her lit him on
fire. He growled in her ear, wishing there weren’t a flight attendant and two
pilots on board with them.
“I can’t wait to take you home.”
Haven pulled back and grinned. Her
eyes shot across his shoulder to the window behind him. “Me either, but it
looks like we have a welcome wagon.” She pointed.
He knew, flying into Texas, there
would be a press group, but he was hoping, for Haven’s sake, it would be
minimal. He had only gotten her back a few hours ago, and this firestorm could
shake the newly formed foundation they had built.
Evan took her hand in his and
squeezed it a few times as they looked through the windows of the jet. It might
be dark, but there was no mistaking the mass of people gathered with cameras.
“You ok with all of this?” He
surveyed her face before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Her eyes widened as the jet came to
a standstill on the tarmac. The flashes shot through the air like lightning
strikes, and the door hadn’t even opened yet.
“I think so.” She whispered the
words toward the window, and he worried it was already too much.
“We can wait it out.” He thought
about the best exit strategy. “Or, why don’t I go out and talk to them, and
then I can have someone from the airport sneak you to the car? That could
work.” He was trying to formulate a plan B and C, but she stopped him.
“No.” She turned to face him.
“We’re doing this together. This is a part of you, and I need to get used to
it. You are Evan Carlson, right? The World’s Most Sought-After Bachelor,” she
teased.
He loved that she was determined to
face the reporters, and loved it even more that she was ready to embrace this
part of his life, but he felt the familiar pain under his ribs as he inhaled.
It was sharper with each breath. This was the last welcome he would have
planned for her. There had to be a way to shield her from all of it.
In that instant, he wanted to run
to the cockpit and tell the pilots to fly straight back to North Carolina, back
to where they could disappear on a nameless beach and blend in with the locals.
Texas was home, but he felt homesick for Silver Belle and everything they had
on Perry Island. Life was simple and easy there like the waves rolling across
the sand.
Shots of panic gripped him. What if
she felt the same way? What if she regretted the decision to fly to Austin with
him? She was only supposed to be in town for a few days to meet with Bruce at
Blue Steel Records. This could all be over before he even got to show her the
ranch.
His real life was outside the walls
of this plane, and it might be more than either of them could handle. When he
had the chance to get her back, all he could think about was kissing and
holding her, laughing and talking with her. Loving her. Now protecting her was
part of it too.
Watching the flashes ricochet off
the jet, he worried his selfishness to have her back had outweighed his good
judgment. No one would voluntarily sign up for this.
“You sure? They can be kind of
brutal. You don’t have to get used to it tonight. We can ease into it.” He
thought back to how she had been ambushed in the parking lot at her father’s
store and followed by a pack of paparazzi. Even her parents wound up as
targets.
Haven wrapped her hands around his
neck and smiled. “Yes, I’m absolutely sure. Besides, I have a feeling there is
no easing into life with Evan Carlson.” She winked and he had to chuckle. That
was usually his move.
There was no denying those blue
eyes. If she was ready to do this, he was going to make damn sure he controlled
as much of the press onslaught as he could.
“Ok, well just stay next to me.
I’ll make a statement and then we’re off to the ranch. It will be quick and
painless.” He forced a smile, knowing there was nothing painless about facing
the assembly on the tarmac. There would be questions, and there would be false
accusations. Emmy would inevitably come up.
“I’ll be fine. Stop worrying.” She
reached for her backpack and slipped it over her shoulder. “I’ll let you do all
the sweet talking and I'll just watch you in action.” She poked him in the
side.
“I’m glad you find the humor in all
of this.” He shoved the book into the side pocket, pulled the zipper on his
bag, and stood. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. You never
do.”
She clutched his hand as they
waited for the flight attendant to open the door. “I know that. Stop worrying.”
Despite the private jet and the
private terminal, the press was still allowed to congregate. Evan usually flew
out at abnormal times, missing the frenzy, but ever since the breakup story of
Emmy Harper and Evan Carlson made headlines last week, the reporters were
anxious to catch a glimpse of him, maybe even snag a quote.
He and Haven would have to walk
down the plane’s stairs, through the private terminal, and reemerge through
another set of doors before they could duck into the car. Alone, he could
manage the system effortlessly. With Haven, it was going to be a completely
different experience.
Unlike Emmy, who sought the
cameras, spoon-fed reporters tantalizing quotes, and dazzled her audience,
Haven was new to this twisted game.
“Mr. Carlson, you may exit the
plane now.” Ally, the flight attendant, smiled brightly as she swung the door
to an open position. “It was a pleasure flying with you, sir.”
Evan nodded at her and thanked both
pilots. He looked past the door. The ground crew had already attached the
stairs. There wasn’t anything keeping them on the jet. Still, Evan felt as if
his boots had lead soles weighing him to the threshold.
It had already been said, but he
felt like he was pushing her into the very thing that ruined every relationship
before this one. He had to ask again. “You’re ready for this?”
“If you don’t get off this plane,
I’m going to start thinking you don’t want to take me home.” Her eyes flared.
“All right, all right, pretty girl.
Let’s do this.”
He clasped her hand in his and
pulled Haven behind him as they descended the steps, leaving the safety of the
jet and diving headfirst into tomorrow’s headline.
Author
Information
T.A. Foster's Bio:
T.A. Foster is a Southern girl whose
heart and spirit are connected to the beach. She grew up catching rays and
chasing waves along the North Carolina Outer Banks and now resides in the state
with her adventurous pilot husband, two children and two canine kiddos.
Her long love affair with books
started at an early age, and as soon as she was able, she transformed
imaginative stories into words on paper. Time Spell is T.A.’s debut novel, and
the first in a series about a very adventurous, clever, and magical girl named
Ivy.
T.A. has an undergraduate degree in
Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill and a graduate degree in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M
University. When she’s not chasing her two-legged and four-legged children or
trying to escape for date night, you can find her reading, writing or planning
her next beach trip.
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