Summer Love in the City: Sweet & Steamy Instalove Romance #3 (Summer Instalove) Read online

  Summer Love in the City

  Sweet & Steamy Instalove Romance #3

  By Haley Travis

  Copyright 2020 Haley Travis. All rights reserved. Cover design by Lexie Renard.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted or duplicated in any form whatsoever without express written permission of the author. This book is intended for sale to adults only. This is a work of fiction. Any similarities to actual people or specific locations or details is completely coincidental, or intended fictitiously. All characters are over 18, no sex partners are related, all sex is consensual. This is fantasy. In the real world, everyone practices safe sex at all times. Right? Right.

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  PROLOGUE ~ Kim

  CHAPTER ONE ~ Kim

  CHAPTER TWO ~ Devin

  CHAPTER THREE ~ Kim

  CHAPTER FOUR ~ Devin

  CHAPTER FIVE ~ Kim

  CHAPTER SIX ~ Devin

  CHAPTER SEVEN ~ Kim

  CHAPTER EIGHT ~ Devin

  CHAPTER NINE ~ Kim

  CHAPTER TEN ~ Devin

  CHAPTER ELEVEN ~ Kim

  CHAPTER TWELVE ~ Devin

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN ~ Kim

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN ~ Devin

  EPILOGUE ~ Kim

  Other Stories and About the Author

  PROLOGUE

  * Kim *

  *** Two and a Half Weeks Earlier ***

  It was starting to get late, and the crowd at Julian’s Pub was thinning out. I was sad to see

  Joanna leave early, knowing that I wouldn’t see her for at least a month. With her gone for

  two weeks, and then our pub closed for their summer renovations for another two, it was

  going to be a strange gap in our usual social schedule.

  Four weeks wasn’t really a long time, except that we were all twenty-two, and everything

  seemed important. We were at the point in our lives where everything was shiny and new,

  but we were hopefully mature enough to acknowledge it.

  “Ladies, I think we need a round of lemon drop shots to close out tonight,” I announced.

  Becca held up her hands, saying, “I still have half a glass of wine, count me out.”

  “I’m in,” Kate said.

  Laura laughed. “How about I have a ceremonial sip of yours? I’ve already had three drinks.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not sure whether to be horrified that half of you are lightweights, or

  impressed that people know their limits.”

  “How about both?” Becca asked. “If you’re pushing us into meeting men, we’re going to

  need to know both when to let go, and when to draw lines.”

  Signaling Sherrie, our bartender, for two lemon drops and a round of water, I realized that

  Becca was right. “I guess all any of us can do is keep our eyes open, and trust our gut

  instincts,” I said.

  The other girls nodded, and I realized that we were all a bit nervous about our summer

  breaks.

  I knew that my girlfriends thought I was joking about the whole “friends before mens”

  sentiment, but it was a little more than a joke. We were definitely all at places in our lives

  where it was inevitable that some of us were going to find a boyfriend, which might blossom

  into a real, serious relationship.

  It was downright weird that my friends looked to me for dating advice. I had barely dated at

  all, so I was scarcely an expert. And although I was very outspoken with women, I

  somehow lost my edge when I was speaking with men. Maybe I’d just seen too many

  losers trying to pick up women who were too shy to tell them off properly.

  Even though I’d been on a handful of first and second dates, and had a bland two-month

  relationship, dating made me freaking nervous.

  “Well, I know the only men I’ll be meeting when I’m away are going to be the dads of the

  kids I’m looking after,” Laura laughed, “But I promise to smile at a couple of guys when I’m

  picking up sunscreen and other stuff for my trip, okay?”

  “That’s a start,” Kate agreed. “Be open-minded. Look around at possibilities. That’s all any

  of us can do.”

  I noticed that Becca was tracing patterns with her finger around her necklace, as she

  always did when she was a million miles away.

  “It’s not as scary as it sounds,” I said, reaching out to pat her arm. “If you’re not feeling it with a guy, you walk away. Easy.”

  “How do you know if what you’re feeling is right?” she asked. “I mean, I’ve seen lots of cute

  guys that I’ve wanted to talk to, but you know…that whole terror of rejection thing is pretty

  intense.” She tried to laugh.

  Kate nodded, thinking. “I guess when the nervousness about losing him is worse than the

  nervousness about saying something stupid, you have to jump in.” She shrugged.

  “Don’t forget,” Laura said, “we forget most of the details of conversations, and only recall

  the overall impressions. Everyone trips over their words, and nobody is nearly as smooth as

  they want to be. But people only remember the broad strokes of a meeting, not the details.”

  Kate gave her a sideways glance until Laura shrugged. “Psychology classes.”

  We all laughed as the drinks arrived. “Thanks so much, Sherrie,” I said. “You know us too

  well.” Along with the two lemon drops were two shots of ginger ale so that we could all

  have a drink together.

  Raising our glasses, Laura said, “To Joanna’s adventure tomorrow. Let’s hope she finds a

  nice guy to flirt with, even a little.”

  “To all of us finding a summer flirtation,” I said.

  “To learning how to at least speak to guys,” Becca giggled.

  “To everyone using their heads while losing their hearts,” Kate said, raising her glass to the

  chandelier over us before we all drank.

  “It’s going to be so strange not seeing you guys every week,” Becca said softly.

  “Well, I’ll still be here,” I said, trying not to sound grumpy about it.

  Kate nodded. “You’re being responsible. Saving for a car is a big deal – we’ll need you to

  drive us around someday,” she laughed. “Don’t worry, you’re going to find ways to have

  your own little adventure.”

  “Also, if you do meet a guy,” Laura said, “You already know that he lives here and there’s a

  possibility of a real relationship.”

  I shrugged. “Yeah. To be honest, I’m still sort of torn on whether I would prefer a little

  summer tryst or the real thing.”

  Kate shot me a glance, then tucked the wisps of her hair that had escaped her braid behind

  her ears and looked at me quite seriously. “You’re not always in control of these things,” she

  said. “You can steer the ship, but there’s no telling which way the wind blows.”

  “You’ve been reading that hippie stuff again, haven’t you,” I laughed.

  She pouted at m
e dramatically. “Don’t you dare make fun of me for reading a couple of

  books about love. I’m trying to learn more about the construct of love so that I can welcome

  it into my life.”

  “Like writing down the things you want so that they manifest?” Becca asked.

  “I guess?” Kate shrugged. “Not specifically, but I figure if you know more about something,

  there’s a chance you might feel more confident about it.”

  “That makes a lot of sense, actually,” Laura said. “And at the very least, it certainly can’t

  hurt.”

  We all nodded, looking around the table at each other. Our circle of quirky, creative women

  was probably going to change and shift this summer. I just hoped that we would still stay

  together.

  “I can’t wait until September,” I said. “When life gets back to some sort of normal, and we

  gather around this table to see how far we’ve come this summer.”

  “It’s going to be amazing,” Laura said brightly, her eyes shining with hope.

  “Even if nothing happens, we’re all taking steps forward, so that’s something,” Becca said.

  Kate laughed. “Out of the five of us, there had better be at least a couple of naughty stories

  of stolen kisses or I’m going to be terribly ashamed of all of us.”

  I nodded, glancing at my phone. I had to get through two more weeks of work before my

  glorious urban staycation. Although I didn’t have a lot of money to go anywhere expensive, I

  was looking forward to being a tourist in my own hometown. Trying to remember to look

  around a bit for cute guys the entire time was definitely going to put a new shine on all of

  my favorite spots. Even if I was still a bit nervous, there was no harm in browsing.

  CHAPTER ONE

  * Kim *

  I didn’t want to tell my coworkers that I was going to be in the city for my vacation. I knew

  that if it got busy, they would be calling, emailing, and texting me at all hours if they thought I was within reach. I’d spent the last two weeks giving them all the notes they could

  possibly need on my files, resources, and projects.

  So I implied that I was going away, by mentioning my limited access to cell service, and

  they should only call if it was an emergency. That sounded a bit shady, but I was fairly

  certain they would forgive me if they found me out. Everyone deserves a break, and they

  did mention work-life balance at the last big meeting.

  Besides, almost everyone at this particular little media company worked in the west end.

  They also lived there, went to the restaurants and bars there, and pretty much never left. If

  I stayed right downtown, checking out the museums and galleries and artsy restaurants on

  Queen Street, they would never run into me.

  It was absolute bliss waking up the first Monday morning of my vacation, and having

  nowhere in particular to be. Although I had a mental list of things I would like to see and do

  this week, nothing was carved in stone.

  As I showered, did my makeup, and put on one of my favorite summer dresses, I thought

  about how hilarious it was to leave at approximately the same time as I would to get to the

  office, but to go instead to a café with a giant patio.

  Coffee, Eggs Benedict, and a good book kept me company for an hour and a half. There

  was just enough breeze to ruffle my hair, and just enough sunlight flickering through the tree

  above me to warm my face. Then I simply strolled west and south, looking in shop

  windows, popping into little gift stores, and enjoying my morning.

  By one in the afternoon, I had wandered near the financial district. There was a lovely

  restaurant with another big patio. It was absolutely swarmed with business people having

  important lunches, but there was one tiny table in the corner free.

  As soon as I got the menu, I realized I should have checked the reviews of this place before

  I sat down. It was unbelievably expensive. On the other hand, it was the first day of my

  much deserved break.

  Ordering a simple appetizer and coffee, I began people watching. The diners all around me

  were mostly wearing dark gray and black suits, or dark blue and gray dresses. So I turned

  to the street to watch the summer parade of flowered skirts, candy-colored high heels, and interesting band t-shirts.

  The food was delicious, and I realized I didn’t have a lot of experience eating out by myself.

  I forced myself to leave my phone in my purse and simply observe the world around me. If I

  wanted to become a top-notch video producer, I was going to have to learn how to crop a

  shot and set a scene on the fly. Imagining various assignments, I tried to analyze every

  angle, picturing where the best shots would be.

  I saw a man approach the hostess who would be perfect to play some sort of billionaire

  prince. If I were shooting a “normal man on the street” segment, I would never choose him.

  But if it was a piece where I needed a man who had once been a thug, then became a rich

  playboy, he would fit the bill perfectly.

  The hostess instantly took his arm, leading him to the bar as if he was some sort of VIP.

  From the cut of his stylish suit to the flash of his impressive watch, he had the look of

  someone who was just known. Like an actor, or a rockstar.

  As he came around the corner, his dark eyes flashed to mine, and I looked away

  immediately. It was too intense to look directly at him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw

  that he stopped the hostess, as they murmured something together.

  Finishing the last bite of my incredible lunch, I dabbed my lips with a napkin, then took a sip

  of coffee. Casually glancing around the restaurant, his eyes met mine again as if he’d never

  stopped staring at me.

  Then a man nearly as huge, who must have been the chef, arrived to shake his hand and

  lead him away. I loved that some chefs were wearing all black uniforms now. It had a bit of

  military flair, somehow. But I was momentarily irritated that he took the most beautiful man

  I’d ever seen out of my line of sight.

  Suddenly the hostess was at my elbow. “Excuse me, miss. Chef and his guest would like to

  invite you to join them on the private terrace.”

  “Um, why me?” I blurted.

  She leaned in with a sly smile. “I believe Mr. Mitchell was quite taken with you. Your bill has

  already been paid, and there is fresh coffee on the terrace. Will you follow me, please?”

  In a daze, I followed her into the restaurant, up an almost-hidden tiny staircase that opened

  onto a beautiful private patio overlooking a park.

  The gorgeous man flashed a wink, pouring coffee for me and gesturing to the chair in front

  of him. Then the chef shook his hand. “I expect to see a lot more of you, Devin,” he

  chuckled. “I shouldn’t have to call you twice to test my new menu.”

  “I’m terrible, but I’ll make it up to you,” the man chuckled as the chef nodded to me, then disappeared.

  Sitting down, I set my handbag on the far edge of the table, then looked at him carefully. He

  was both rugged and refined. The shoulders of a brawny football player, with immaculate

  fingernails.

  He held his hand out to me. “Hello. I’m Devin.”

  “Kim,” I said. “Why did you ask me to come here?” I knew that I sounded awkward, but I

  was still learning the tricks to being smooth around men.

  He spread his
hands. “When I walked into my friend’s busy restaurant and saw the most

  beautiful woman on earth, I needed to get you somewhere quiet so that we could chat.” He

  paused. “I know, I’m a little spoiled.”

  I laughed, surprising myself. He was ridiculously charming.

  “So, you just snap your fingers and people do anything that you want?” I asked, pouring a

  touch of cream into my coffee and stirring it slowly.

  “If you don’t ask, you don’t get,” he shrugged. “You could have said no.”

  “I still might.”

  His eyebrow raised as he smirked, and I felt like I’d just won a point. The way he watched

  me sip my coffee was unusual. It felt like he was studying me, but I couldn’t imagine what

  for.

  His phone beeped, but instead of looking at the screen, he clicked it to silent and set it on

  the table face down.

  “What are you doing today, Kim?” His deep voice had a slight dark rasp to it, making him

  sound rough. I’ve always loved the look of a tough guy in a crisp suit, but this was way too

  much. From his stylish haircut to the shine on his immaculate shoes, his entire look was

  polished. But the tiny scar over his left eyebrow made him seem dangerous.

  “I’m going down to Queen Street to check out some galleries, I think.”

  “You don’t work today?”

  “No, I’m on vacation, actually.”

  His luscious lips quirked up in a half smile. “You’re not going away somewhere more

  interesting?”

  Raising my chin, I said, “My city is incredibly interesting, thank you very much.”

  He chuckled, reaching out to take my hand across the table. “You’re right, it really is. Are

  you hungry?”

  “I already ate.”