LUMENI’D  BEEN   TRYING   TO   FIGURE   OUT   ALL   WEEK   HOW   TO   APPROACH   THEidea of me giving Alec some ideas about how to help deal with his dyslexia. Who knew he’d give me a perfect opening? And then a perfect way to ensure he didn’t blow it off when we scheduled a time to work on it. I should have known he’d want to get started right away. With the exception of dealing with relationship matters, he didn’t procrastinate.“You know, I’m trying to decide if you’re a workaholic or just a glutton for punishment,” I said.“It all depends on who’s giving out the punishment.” His eyes gleamed as he leaned toward me, his hands sliding up my legs to my thighs.With Evanne back, things with Keli on  track,  and  his secret about his dyslexia out in the open, it was like a weight had been taken off his shoulders. He still wasn’t a laid-back sort of guy, but everything about him just seemed…lighter.“You don’t stri

ALECCOMPLETE AND UTTER CHAOS.Squared.There was no other description that could come closer to accurately portraying a birthday party for an eight-year-old girl who had a massive extended family and an entire third- grade class full of friends. It was halfway through November, which meant we were all inside. My house was big enough to handle it, but it was a close thing.Still, as I turned quickly to  avoid  yet  another  collision with a small child, I wondered if it had been a good idea to have both family and friends over all at once. I wouldn’t say a word about it, though. Not when Lumen had suggested two separate parties, and I’d said I could handle it.I’d managed multi-billion dollar deals with people whose language I didn’t know. How hard could it be to plan a birthday party?The answer to that was a resounding I had no idea. I’d actually made a point to reach out to Keli two days ago to ask her for advic

BOOK DESCRIPTIONEoin: I’m watching her on video. She’s a complete stranger, yet something in her eyes hits me like no other woman. But to meet her, I’ll have to rescue her from a foreign country.When Aline Mercier, a young American teacher, is taken hostage in Iran, Eoin McCrae, is tasked with getting her out at all cost. Watching her ransom video shook him to his core. Teaming up with his buddy Cain, they initiate a daring rescue mission.Aline: Everyone thinks I’m this delicate flower who needs protecting, but I’m stronger than that. I’m making a diflerence in the world. Helping people. But I never imagined, it’d lead me to being kidnapped, held for ransom.Don’t miss, Strangers in Love, by M. S. Parker. The story of Eoin McCrae, a fine Scottish billionaire and Aline Mercier, an untouched flower.EOIN“Baby Shark” blared from my phone, and half a dozen menturned to look at me, all of them laughing. The rest didn’t even react. They’d heard that ringtone at least two or thre

EOINI  needed  to  get  the  hell  out  of  here.If I didn’t think it’d be an insult to everyone who’d died and been injured worse than me, I would’ve walked out as soon as I could manage it on my own and damn the consequences. Being here just reminded me of everything that’d happened. Of everything I’d lost.If I’d been in a civilian hospital, maybe it would’ve been better, but I was still army, and when we got hurt as bad as I had, this was where they sent us. Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany. Military run, so I saw men and women in uniform every day, and each time I saw one, it was like a fresh punch to the gut.I closed my eyes and tried to push everything out of my head, tried not to think at all, but I’d never been able to manage that, no matter what most of my teachers had claimed when I was growing up. When I hadn’t been paying attention in school, it’d been because I’d been thinking of somethin

EOINI’d  been  home  for  ten  days, and  I’d  finally  gotten  up  thecourage to do the thing I’d been dreading from the moment I was told that Leo was dead. Even though I’d been less than twenty minutes away since I’d come back to the States, I hadn’t left the base, hadn’t gone back to my parents’ house, to the neighborhood. I’d known that, as soon as I was back here, I’d have to face all the memories of Leo and me growing up.And I’d have to face his family.I ran my fingers through my hair and wished I’d thought to get it cut so it was neater. I’d shaved for the first time in almost two weeks, but that’d been due to the realization that my facial hair drew more attention to the scar because hair wouldn’t grow there. I hadn’t really thought about looking presentable until I’d already made the decision to go today. I didn’t want to put it off any longer, though, not even for a haircut. I wasn’t sure how long it would take m