Kiss of Summer

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I have so many people in my life that I am grateful for. To those who have been with me since the beginning of my writing journey, thank you!

Angie, when I first started this little adventure, you were one of the very first bloggers to show me kindness, read my work, review it, and love it. I am so glad that our business relationship has turned into one of the best friendships I have. I love our phone chats, crazy memes, and your visits to Colorado. Even if that means sweating to death at the Denver Zoo. It has been such a pleasure meeting your girls and introducing you to my children as well. I look forward to many more years of friendship. I absolutely adore you and am forever grateful for you!

Marina (Jen), I probably don’t say it enough...you are my rock in the writing world. I have learned so much from you. Thank you for sticking by my side through thick and thin, always having my back, and for just being you. I am so grateful to call you my friend. I cherish our phone calls, lunch dates, and travels together. You always know how to put a smile on my face, even in times when I want to just curl up in a ball and cry. I always know everything is going to be okay after I talk to you. I love you!

Shannon, words cannot express what you have done for me. Anytime I have needed something, you have always been there to support me and help guide me along the way. I hope that one day I will not only get to meet you, but to also just sit down and chat. You are a wonderful lady; I don’t know what I’d do without your love and support.

Kellie, I don’t even know where to begin. You do so much for me on a daily basis, with the pimping of my books, teasers, buy links, etc. I’m sure you’re tired of sharing the same old thing, day in and day out. I know this book has been a long time coming. I appreciate your patience with me over the last year and a half, while I’ve finished up. I am so looking forward to meeting you in Vegas next year. Be prepared for lots of squishy hugs. I say squishy, because after becoming a writer, I got squishy. Ha!

Stephanie, I am so glad that I got the opportunity to work with you at that publisher that went out of business. You have not only been a fantastic blurb editor, but also a great friend. I cannot thank you enough. I enjoy talking with you on the phone for hours on end, brainstorming, catching up on our personal lives, and sometimes just talking about absolutely nothing. You are one classy lady, and I feel honored that your signing event was my first. You really are an amazing woman.

Aly’s All Stars, there are no words that can express my gratitude for each and every one of you. You have all had great patience with me, laughed with me, cried with me, and I couldn’t ask for a better of group of ladies as friends. I love you all, and I enjoy interacting with you via LIVE video when I get the chance. You mean the world to me.

Barbara, Dawn, Samantha, Lori and Natalie...you 5 gals are just simply amazing. Barbara Dawn and Samantha...I will never forget that you drove for hours to come and meet me at a signing. I can’t even begin to tell you what that meant to me. And I most certainly will never forget those crazy monkey sounds. Lori, there is so much that I could say, but it would be a book in itself. You are one of the funniest people I know, and I am glad to call you my friend. I love how we can just chat on the phone about virtually nothing and still laugh our asses off. I’m so sad that I didn’t get meet you in Illinois, but I know that one day our paths will cross. Natalie, I know we don’t speak often, due to the time differences that we have, but I have enjoyed our Skype sessions immensely. I’m sure it’s funny trying to watch me cook dinner, considering I don’t usually cook. I hope that one day I will be able to fly down under and visit you, my friend. I can only imagine the fun we would have.

Lisa, I’m so glad that we found each other. You are the one who makes all of my words look pretty and read beautifully. Your hard work is appreciated, and I look forward to working with you for many years to come. You have a heart of gold, great insight, and I cherish you, my friend.

Alisha, I’m so happy that we became friends. It’s nice to have a fellow author that you can bounce ideas off of. If there is one piece of advice that I can give you, it’s to keep writing. No matter how down you might feel, you must keep pressing on. You are a very talented writer, and I know that you will go far.

To ALL of the BLOGGERS, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for sharing my work with your followers, for your support, but most of all for just being wonderful! Anytime I need something shared, you are always there to support.

I think this one goes without saying, but...I want to thank my family and friends. Without your love and support, my writing adventure wouldn’t be feasible. I know that sometimes my writing requires countless hours, tears, happiness, and every other emotion possible. I thank you for listening to me ramble about fictional characters as I work the story out loud. You are my rock, and I love you!

To my readers, thank you! Thank you for taking a chance on me, for purchasing my books, and for leaving reviews. Without you, I would not be where I am today. I am grateful for each of you and look forward to bringing you more to read in the future.

A very special thank you to my cover model, Michael Redding. You have supported me from day one, helping me make my dreams come true. Thank you for being a positive force in my life and for always listening. I am truly blessed to call you my friend.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION

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

EPILOGUE

WORKS BY AUTHOR

CONNECT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my Grandma Gloria, who was an avid reader of romance novels her entire adult life. She always wanted to read my books, but I was always afraid that they were a little too racy for her. Unfortunately, she passed just as I was writing this one, and I knew she would have been proud of me. This book is dedicated in her memory. She was my last living grandparent. I wrote the poem below on the day she went home to Heaven.

The clouds are gray on this beautiful, cool day, almost as if the angels can sense my pain.

A storm is brewing within my heart, where tears fall and no words start.

I sit for hours waiting to hear, because I know the news is near.

Another sniffle, another tear, I know the angels are here.

One last breath, one last kiss, Grandma, you will be missed.

Spread your wings and fly away, for Heaven received an angel today.

I will cry, I will reminisce, knowing that I gave you one last kiss.

All suffering and pain is gone; in time I will go on.

It is dawn and now I see it's time to spread those angel wings.

In loving memory of all my grandparents: Jane, Fred, Toby and Gloria—You are loved and missed.

In loving memory of my mother-in-law, Ruth, who passed away in July, 2016. A beautiful woman who is greatly loved and missed.

CHAPTER 1

I looked in the mirror, checking one last time to make sure my hair and make-up were perfect before exiting the dressing room. I was feeling good as my hands ran down the cobalt blue, sequined fabric that clung to my body. Nothing was out of place. It's Showtime!

I opened the door, making my final exit to the large, open arena. I could hear the cheers coming from the crowd as another skater finished her routine.

My nerves kicked into high gear, even though I'd performed this routine more times than I could count. My future was riding on this moment, and I couldn't afford to let anything or anyone get in my head.

I stood, waiting for my name to be called onto the ice; my time had finally come. This was my moment, my spotlight, and there was no room for error.

Please welcome to the floor, Summer Jacobs.

When my name was called, I took a deep breath, blocking out all distractions.

This is it, I told myself, making my way out onto the ice as the crowd erupted in loud cheers. Everything I'd worked for most of my life depended on this competition.

I took another breath to steady myself and calm the rapid palpitations beating inside my chest. As I placed my hands above my head, the music began to play. Slowly, my body found its rhythm and I swayed, moving softly to the crooning sounds of Adele's Set Fire to the Rain flowing through the speakers. I could hear and feel every word as I gained speed, preparing for my double axel—and nailing it. The crowd cheered, but this was the Women's National Qualifier, and I couldn't afford to lose my focus.

I'd waited for this moment for the past eleven years. Training, eating right, ditching parties with my friends, no school dances and certainly no boyfriends. Ice-skating and school, that was my life.

As I neared the end of my routine, my final jump...a triple toe loop, my landing was just a little off. It wasn’t enough for the spectators to notice, but it was an error that certainly any ice skater or judge wouldn't miss. Shit!

The music stopped as I stood in the middle of the rink in a swan-like position. The arena erupted into applause as I took my final bow, knowing that I'd just lost first place. I wanted to cry, as the humiliation consumed me. I blamed it on my skates that were two months new and killing my feet, but no amount of blaming could change the fact that the loss was all on me. I had allowed my focus to falter, just like all the other times before.

My coach, Lori, greeted me as I left the ice, handing me my blade protectors, just as she had always done after a competition. Grabbing my hand, she led me to the scoring box, where we sat waiting for my final results to be announced.

She remained optimistic, but for me, this was the end. I waited nervously until the results were revealed. Just as I feared, everything I had been working for most of my life was over. Alexis, the reigning Ice Princess, had once again beaten me out of first place. I hold no ill will towards her as she is an amazingly focused skater and besides, second place is nothing to scoff at.

Before this competition I had made an important decision. I promised myself that if I couldn't focus and take first, I would leave the skating world forever. There was only one problem with that. I hadn't yet let my parents in on my little plan. Breaking the news to my mother would go over like a fart in church, since it was her dream I'd been living in that skating rink for the past eleven years. I wasn't a spoiled brat, and I was grateful for the opportunities my parents gave me, but if I had it my way, I would have chosen to be normal like my friends.

Since skating took up most of my time, I didn't actually have that many friends, but the few that I did have were the best friends any girl could ask for. Each one was different, with her own special quirks, which made me love them even more.

Angie was the wild child of the group. She loved to color her hair every color in the rainbow. You never knew from week to week which color she would be sporting next. Then there was Natalie and her little sister, Veronica, who had lived across the street from me since the first grade. Natalie and Veronica's house sat in the middle of the cul-de-sac and housed most of the kids from the neighborhood during the summer. There were several reasons for this. One...a trampoline, two...an in-ground swimming pool with a diving board, and of course...the coolest parents ever!

I'd often wondered why my parents weren't cool like Natalie and Veronica’s. Then again, I had my horse,