Winning his love, p.1
Winning his Love, page 1
Winning his Love
Starlight Ridge Book Five
Kat Bellemore
KB Press
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2022 Kat Bellemore
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:
kat@kat-bellemore.com
You can also visit Kat at www.kat-bellemore.com
Cover design by OPIUM HOUSE Creatives
Editing by Susan Hughes
About This Book
He’s done playing the dating game.
This small town won't let him quit.
After spending six years in Thailand while working for a service organization and chasing after the only woman he’s ever loved, Travis Matkin is done playing games. Desperate for a new start and a chance to settle down, he moves to California to manage a small-town hardware store. The people of Starlight Ridge are all too happy to have a new face and promptly set their sights on pairing Travis up with one of their many eligible bachelorettes—through a charity auction.
* * *
Eliza Meyer has always been competitive, and her beach volleyball team’s five-year winning streak is proof. But she doesn’t train hard to win—she trains hard to live. Determined to outwit the disease that has cursed her family for generations, she’s doing everything she can to stay ahead of the game. Her competitive streak doesn’t end at athletics, however, so when Starlight Ridge starts up their first community charity auction, she knows she needs to win. Eliza only wishes she would have realized what she was bidding on.
Also by Kat Bellemore
BORROWING AMOR
Borrowing Amor
Borrowing Love
Borrowing a Fiancé
Borrowing a Billionaire
Borrowing Kisses
Borrowing Second Chances
* * *
STARLIGHT RIDGE
Diving into Love
Resisting Love
Starlight Love
Building on Love
Winning his Love
Returning to Love
Contents
Free Book
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
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
Returning to Love
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Also by Kat Bellemore
About the Author
Subscribe to Kat’s newsletter now to receive a FREE copy of the prequel to her Starlight Ridge series.
Arrested by Love takes place 25 years before Diving into Love, the first book of the Starlight Ridge series. In this novella, you’ll meet new residents, as well as see some much younger but familiar faces.
By joining Kat’s newsletter you’ll also receive emails twice a month with glimpses into Kat’s writing process and her everyday life.
* * *
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1
Travis adjusted his yellow and black plaid shirt in the hotel-room mirror. It was his favorite—his good luck charm. Over the past six years, it had faded. And as he’d sweat and worked under the Thai sun, he had thinned while his muscles had grown. He was an odd shape now, and the shirt didn’t fit quite right anymore. Still, he couldn’t bear to throw it away. And if anyone needed good luck right now, it was him.
All the same, he threw on a leather jacket over the shirt so it still showed and gave the illusion that it fit. He had a last impression he needed to make. Not that it mattered anymore. But still, he had some dignity left.
Travis grabbed the handle of his suitcase and took the elevator downstairs to check out. The Thai receptionist placed her hands together in the traditional wai gesture and bowed. He returned it. Would that be the last time he ever bowed his head to someone, a sign of greeting and respect? He blinked moisture away, handed his room key to the receptionist, and walked outside into the heat.
Chloe and Davis were waiting for him, leaning against a dented Jeep parked against the curb. Chloe looked good, her hair pulled up into a ponytail, sunglasses perched on her head. Travis couldn’t help wondering for the hundredth time what Davis had that Travis didn’t. Davis certainly looked more like he belonged in the country now than when he’d arrived several weeks ago. And the man was an expert craftsman. He knew his stuff and could singlehandedly build a Thai hut better than even Travis. Not that Travis would ever admit it.
But still.
Travis had always thought it would be him and Chloe. Of course, he’d also thought he and Janet would be together forever.
The Jeep.
Dry mud caked her sides. That Jeep was like an old friend to Travis. He’d always been the one to drive her through the jungle, picking up volunteers from the airport, going into town for food and supplies—no one drove her except for Travis.
Who was going to drive her now?
Surely not Davis. The Jeep wouldn’t last a week with him at the wheel. Travis wished he could take it with him. Protect it.
“You really didn’t need to take the time to drive me to the airport,” he told Chloe and Davis as he walked the short distance to where they waited. His legs felt heavy. Like they didn’t want to go any more than he did. “The hotel has a shuttle.”
Chloe snorted. “Since when have we ever allowed someone from Building for Hope take the airport shuttle?”
“It’s not like I’m a starry-eyed volunteer,” Travis said, lifting a shoulder.
“No, you aren’t. You are much more.” Chloe stepped forward and, placing a hand on his arm, stopped him mid-step. She lowered her voice. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out how you were expecting, but I want you to know that I still consider you my closest friend. And maybe it was selfish of me, but I needed this goodbye. I needed the final farewell. And I’m serious when I say that I hope you come back to visit.”
Travis’s breath caught in his throat. He supposed he’d needed a final goodbye as well. Closure. Maybe Travis could return to Thailand someday, but not as long as Chloe’s presence made his heart beat so hard that it ricocheted off his ribs and made him sick at the thought that she didn’t return his feelings.
His gaze dropped to where her hand still rested on his arm. “Thanks. And who knows? Maybe I’ll come back. One day. Or maybe I’ll love Starlight Ridge so much, I’ll never want to leave.” He gave her a lopsided grin.
One that Chloe wouldn’t believe for a second. She knew him too well for that.
She gave a sad nod and retracted her hand.
Travis knew he wasn’t returning to Thailand. And he doubted he’d ever love a place as much as this one. This had been his home for the past six years, and he’d hoped forever.
At first Travis hadn’t known where he was going to go, he’d just known he needed to leave. He had thought about backpacking through Europe, doing odd jobs to earn money along the way. And then an opportunity had presented itself. One that Travis still couldn’t believe he’d agreed to.
Travis would take over Davis’s hardware store in his little Californian hometown, since Davis had managed to do the impossible—swooped in with his good looks, overly sensitive personality, and poor taste in clothes, and stolen Chloe’s heart.
Travis couldn’t stay and watch another man living his life—the one he’d felt he was meant to have. And so, Travis was taking over Davis’s life. Taking over for the man who had taken his place.
Ironic was what it was.
And tragic.
Davis reached for Travis’s suitcase to place it in the back of the Jeep, just as Travis had done for Davis at the airport all those long weeks ago.
It wrenched Travis’s heart just a little tighter. If only he’d known then what he knew now.
“This all you got?” Davis asked.
“It’s all I’ve ever needed.”
Well, not quite. But he supposed you couldn’t have everything, could you?
2
Alone.
It wasn’t a feeling Travis was used to.
His gaze swept over a picturesque boardwalk, taking in the many stores surrounding the one he was meant to manage. A chocolate confectionery. Scuba shop. Dry cleaners. An Italian bistro that announced its grand opening. There, in the middle of them all, was a large sign that simply said Hardware Store. The sign was neat, taken care of. That was more than he could say for the store itself. Dust and dirt clung to the windows, the CLOSED sign a cheap thing that hung on the other side of the front door.
In spite of the warm day, no one else was out walking the boardwalk, though Travis could see quite a few out on the beach. He was tempted to join them, but he had a job to do and turned instead to his store.
Not his, exactly, he thought, as a weight settled in his stomach. He didn’t own it. Didn’t even pay rent. Travis had been hired to manage it and in return would earn a paycheck and use the apartment above the store. All he needed was to make sure that the small town of Starlight Ridge could purchase the tools and supplies they needed or, hopefully more often than not, go out and be the one doing the repairing.
Travis wondered if he’d even have business, judging by the lack of people walking about.
He rubbed an eyebrow. This was a mistake. Coming here. Thinking that this place could help him get over Chloe. Thinking it would help him start over.
Rather than the constant movement that Travis was used to—that he needed—this small town felt like time had stopped, everything on pause. The opposite of what he wanted. Travis needed something that would keep him busy, occupy his thoughts. He needed something to do.
In Thailand, Travis had been in charge of a dozen hormonal college students who had wanted to pad their resumes with things like “helped build huts in the middle of a Thai jungle,” all while hoping to do the least amount of work required. What they’d really wanted was to have plenty of time to explore the country, go on elephant rides—experience adventure. And of course, squeeze in a romantic fling or two. Sure, they wanted to help people. But they wanted to have fun while doing it.
Work wasn’t always meant to be fun.
And romance couldn’t be counted on.
Ever.
Travis would know.
It was what had driven him from Thailand after six years of heat and humidity.
And he missed it. Desperately.
He hadn’t realized how much he’d miss the giant tent he’d had to share with a dozen other people. The sounds of hammers and saws mixed with the caws of exotic birds. The monsoon rains that forced you to run for any available shelter, or the alternative—getting caught in one and not bothering to hide because after two seconds you were already soaked.
Travis released a deep sigh and walked up to the hardware store. He tried to see inside through the front window, but it was too dirty. He squinted, as if that would increase the visibility of what lay in wait for him. It didn’t.
Davis had given Travis a key to the store as he and Chloe had driven him to the airport. He’d made Travis swear that he’d take good care of the key. Apparently it was the only one, and no one could make another for Travis if he lost it, because Davis had also been the locksmith.
That was the first thing on Travis’s list of things to do today. Make more keys.
Travis slipped the key into the lock on the front door, and it turned easily. Pulling in one last long breath, he stepped inside and worked to find a light switch. Florescent lights flickered on, illuminating the neatly kept shelves, everything in its place.
Regret.
Despair.
The emotions hit hard.
This was his life now.
Instead of working outside all day, he would be stuck in this place. A place full of tools that he wasn’t meant to use.
Travis hoped that Davis hadn’t been exaggerating when he had said that he’d spent most of his time fixing things around town rather than behind the checkout counter. Travis didn’t think he’d be able to handle being inside this place longer than an hour at a time.
His pulse quickened.
What had he done to end up in a place like this? Where had he gone wrong?
His breaths shallow, Travis quickly backed out the way he’d come and moved outside, closing the door behind him.
He stepped away from the store and forced himself to breathe. His heart began to settle. Out here, he could almost convince himself that he was on break visiting Pukket, or another Thai beach.
Almost.
The air was different here. Quiet. It didn’t have the thrum of chaos that seemed to permeate Thailand. Even when he’d been living in the middle of nowhere, there had been life everywhere he’d looked.
Here? There were the waves. And the birds scavenging along the sand, hoping to find remnants of food left behind by beachgoers. Davis had asked Travis if he was up to it—handling a small tourist town.
Anything Davis could handle, Travis could. So of course he’d said he was up to it.
Travis was suddenly unsure that was true.
Of course, anything was better than the alternative. Staying in a place where the woman he loved didn’t want him—saw him as a friend. A reliable worker.
Turned out that, even as a builder, he was replaceable. By Davis of all people. Except, Davis had gotten the better end of the deal. He’d gotten both the job and the girl.
Travis’s gaze traveled to the ocean. Even though he really needed to get the store cleaned up, the dusty shelves and dirty windows could wait an hour.
Right now, he needed to be anywhere other than here.
So, he walked the boardwalk, his hands shoved in his pockets. When he ran out of boardwalk, Travis took a left and moved toward the beach. He was surprised at how fine the sand was. So fine that after several steps, the small grains had already filled his shoes. He slipped the shoes off, then stuffed his socks into one of them before continuing his walk toward the waves.
A group of bikini-clad women were playing beach volleyball, and he quickly steered clear of them. Several years ago, his reaction would have been quite the opposite. He would have flirted, asked if he could join in. But times had changed, and so had he.
Travis spotted a lifeguard station and walked toward it. A man was sitting in it, shirtless. He was toned and tanned, despite it being late April. And he was reading a book. Didn’t even notice when Travis walked up.
“Hey,” Travis called up. “Is it always this quiet around here?”
The man started and sat up, his book dropping to his lap. He immediately scanned the ocean, looking for threats. When he realized there were none to be found, his gaze landed on Travis. It took another moment before he seemed to remember the question and he finally answered. “No, not during tourist season.” He settled back into his chair. “You came at a good time. Spring breakers have pretty much dried up, but summer tourists will start flooding the beach in about three weeks. How long are you staying?”
That was a good question. Unfortunately for Travis, he was stuck here for the time being. If he’d had a plan B, he would have already been back on a plane.
“Don’t know,” he said. “A while. I’m managing the hardware store up on the boardwalk.”
“The hardware store?” That made the lifeguard sit up straight again. It seemed they didn’t have a lot of turnover in this kind of place.
“The owner is supposed to be flying out tomorrow to get me situated and teach me the ropes.”
“The owner,” the lifeguard said slowly, like Travis couldn’t mean what the lifeguard thought he meant.
Travis gave a hesitant nod. “Yeah. His name is Davis. You know him?”
“Everyone knows everyone around here.” And then the lifeguard jumped down from his station and stuck out a hand. “I’m Isaac.”
Travis wasn’t used to handshaking—it wasn’t a thing in Thailand—but after a brief hesitation, he took the outstretched hand. “Travis.”
“Is this a…temporary situation?” Isaac asked, leaning against the lifeguard station. When Travis didn’t answer right away—unsure what the lifeguard had meant by the question—Isaac tried again. “You planning on staying long-term?”
Travis turned his gaze to take in the ocean and the town’s colorful shops. “Maybe. Might be a good fit.”
