Author’s Note
I’m thrilled to have shared this second edition of Harmony’s Embrace with you. The first edition was tied up with my former publisher for the longest time, so once I got the rights back, I created a gorgeous cover (my favorite of the Embracing You books) and re-edited the story until it sang. It’s more suspenseful than the other books, which makes me love it even more.
It’s the final installment in my Embracing You series, and I’m sad to say goodbye to the Haynes siblings and their significant others. Birley, along with Ruby and Dylan, have given me many, many hours of excitement, frustration, and pleasure in creating their happily ever afters. I hope you enjoyed the ride.
Blurb
Second chances and mistletoe are the last things he needs.
Divorced dad Birley Haynes is too busy raising his children and running his family’s music school to dive headlong into a relationship. Then Harmony Holdich, his high school sweetheart, returns home for Christmas. Despite the threatening incidents around his workplace, she brings light and fun back into his life—and falls into his bed.
After the death of her unfaithful husband, Harmony plans to move across the country and start over. Reuniting with Birley never should’ve happened. His every kiss entices her to stick around long after the holidays are over, but all she can offer him is a fling.
When the threats rise, how will Birley keep his children safe and convince Harmony to give love another shot?
– Book 3 in the steamy, small town, contemporary romance series, Embracing You.
– This 40k word novella is a complete story with a HEA (happily ever after) ending.
– Second edition. Newly revised and edited.
Excerpt
Harmony bolted upright. A piercing beep blasted her eardrums. “What the hell?”
“Get dressed. That’s the smoke alarm.” Birley launched to his feet. Moonlight sharpened the rigid planes of his back as he grabbed his clothes. He scowled at her, his irises glinting. “Now.”
“Right.” She scurried from the bed and yanked on her sweater and pants.
He booked it out of the room, then returned and tossed Harmony her jacket. He’d already buttoned his coat haphazardly across his chest.
She jerked on the jacket and her boots. Her pounding heart struck her rib cage like a mallet against a brick wall.
He looped her fuzzy scarf around her neck before pulling her down the hall.
“I don’t smell smoke.” She shivered. An LED light flashed red from the blaring alarm on the living room ceiling like a demonic beacon in the darkness. No puffs of gray filled the apartment, but what about downstairs? She headed toward the main door, which connected with a hallway that led to the first level and to the attic.
He tightened his grip on her arm, stopping her. “All the alarms are linked, upstairs and down. Go out the back. I’ll check downstairs.”
“Hell, no. We stay together.”
“Don’t fight me on this. Get going.” He pressed a quick kiss on her lips, then pushed her toward the kitchen. After he lightly touched the doorknob, testing it for heat, he jerked open the main door and hustled out of sight.
Harmony forced her feet to carry her into the kitchen where she clutched the doorjamb, but the back door might as well be bolted shut. No way would she leave Birley in a burning house.She strode back across the living room.
A narrow staircase led down, and across the short, tight hall, another even narrower walled-in set led to the attic.
The staircase widened as she descended. Another blinking red light cast shadows along the paneled walls. She gripped the rail for balance. The shrill, intermittent beeps quickened her pulse. Each pause of silence was a godsend, but the whistling and crackling of fire seized the coveted peace.
She tapped the doorknob. Whew! It was cool to the touch. Fire thrived on ventilation and oxygen, so she hurried into the heart of the building and closed the door to protect the upstairs.
Tendrils of smoke crept along the ceiling like gnarled, deathly fingers. A whooshing noise split the air, combating the crackling sounds.
Twitching her nose, she raced toward the pipes practice room. Oh my God. A wall of heat slammed into her and slicked her brow with sweat. Flames lit the darkness. She gasped and clutched her chest from the open doorway.
Birley aimed an extinguisher at the flames licking the walls, but the fire was spreading faster than the white foam could cover. Water sprayed from the sprinklers and slicked back his hair. A draft from the broken window whipped the flames, which ignited a stack of fallen sheet music. He stomped on the papers, smothering the sparks.
What the hell was he thinking? The acrid stench of gasoline and gray smoke stung her nostrils. Her eyes watered. She coughed, spitting mucus on her sleeve, and jerked her scarf over her mouth and nose. Sweat trickled down her back in cold rivulets. The muscles in her neck and shoulders pulled so tight she ached. Glass shattered in another parlor, and she jumped.
“Birley! We have to go.” She rushed into the room and grabbed his arm.
“What are you doing in here?” He squirted foam at a fiery bookcase. Frenzy widened his eyes. He coughed hard and wiped his arm across his sooty face. “Go. The alarms are connected to the security company, so the cops and the fire department should be on their way.”
“Damn it. You are leaving. Now. Another room is on fire.” So she assumed. Why else would the glass break? Would the ceiling above her cave in? No flames touched it—yet. “Think about your kids.”
He stiffened. Foam fizzled from the nozzle in a short, quick burst. The canister slipped from his hands and dropped with a loud clunk. “You’re right.” He pushed her out of the room, tugged the sleeve of his coat over his hand, and gripped the door. The barrier slammed shut behind them. They raced out the back door near the stairs.
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About the Author
Amber Daulton is the author of the Lozano Cartel, the Arresting Onyx, the Embracing You, and the Ramseys in Time series, as well as several standalone novellas. Her books are available in ebook, print on demand, audio, and foreign language formats.
She lives in North Carolina with her husband and demanding cats.
Find her here: https://linktr.ee/AmberDaulton