Just What He Wanted Read online

  Just What He Wanted

  By HelenKay Dimon

  Book four of the Holloway series

  Travis Yardley thought he had everything he needed, but one look at Andrea Patterson shows him he was wrong. Andie is a gorgeous, curvy blonde who moves to town to manage a nearby campground. Seizing the chance to get close to her, Travis volunteers himself as tour guide and “bodyguard.”

  After a bad breakup, Andie is looking to start over and determined to put her heart on hiatus. She’s working on her self-esteem, and she is not ready for the likes of Travis. He comes on strong, with all the energy of a guy almost ten years her junior, which is exactly what he is.

  Even as Travis’s troubled past catches up with him, he pulls out all the stops to convince Andie he deserves a chance. And with the spring thaw hitting the Mountain View Resort, Andie discovers her own temperature rising whenever Travis looks her way...

  43,000 words

  Dear Reader,

  I’m writing this just after having returned from Disney World. It wasn’t my first trip to Disney and it won’t be my last. Even though I’m not fond of big crowds, I get sick if I even look at a twisty ride (though I still like to ride a few) and by the end of our visit we’re all invariably cranky, I still love it there. Disney truly has created something magical.

  Luckily, for those of you who don’t have a trip to Disney in your future, they’re not the only ones who can create something magical. Every month, Carina Press authors deliver us books that transport us to new times, new places and new adventures. This month is no different!

  I’m pleased to introduce New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Tyler’s new series, launching this month. This romance, set in post-apocalypse America, centers around the survival of the fittest: the motorcycle gangs of the future. Dark, edgy and steamy, Defiance is the first in this can’t-miss new series.

  Another New York Times bestselling author, Marie Force, is back with the next installment in her bestselling romantic suspense series. An error on the baseball field leads to murder in Fatal Mistake.

  And I’m happy to welcome Victoria Davies to Carina Press with her newest paranormal romance, Seducing the Demon Huntress.

  Joining these three is a lineup of fantastic authors returning to Carina Press. Don’t miss the latest installment of Love Letters Volume 3: Wicked Whispers. Verbal foreplay goes a long way in these four steamy stories. From author Christine d’Abo comes Sexcapades. Sparks fly between two rival internet bloggers in this erotic contemporary romance.

  Our last erotic offering for the month of June is the long-awaited sequel to Dana Marie Bell’s Blood of the Maple. In Throne of Oak, dark forces are converging on Maggie’s Grove, and a horde of hunters stalk supernaturals from the shadows.

  If you’re looking for more paranormal romances, Sheryl Nantus, PJ Schnyder, and Eleri Stone all have releases this month. Check out the new installments from Sheryl and Eleri respectively, Family Pride and Witch Bound. Meanwhile, join PJ on a new adventure as she kicks off her London Undead series with Bite Me. Zombies have taken over London and a werewolf finds himself protecting a woman who seems determined to put herself in harm’s way.

  Still in the “other world” genres, we have two releases: Fae Sutherland’s Sky Runners, a delicious male/male space opera; and the conclusion to Vivi Anna’s steampunk romance trilogy. The League of Illusion: Destiny wraps up with sorcerer Sebastian Davenport’s story.

  If you’re a fan of Downton Abbey, you’ll want to make sure you’re not missing out on Julie Rowe’s War Girls books. World War I generated many heroes—only some of them were men. Check out Enticing the Spymaster, her newest release, and go back and catch up with Saving the Rifleman, the first in this series. And while you’re in the past, why not stay there? Wendy Soliman’s Beguiling the Barrister also transports readers to a past time in this regency romance.

  Last but not least, two powerhouse authors have new releases to center you in the here and now. HelenKay Dimon explores love and lust in her return to Holloway with contemporary romance Just What He Wanted. Sexy Travis is the story we’ve all been waiting for!

  Adrienne Giordano rounds out our month of magical releases with Opposing Forces. In this romantic suspense, when a pharmaceutical distribution manager uncovers secret drug shipments at work, she and a savvy executive with political ties must risk everything—including their hearts—to stop the criminals and stay alive.

  No matter where your reading tastes take you, whether it’s the past, the future, or an alternate world, we’ve got an extensive catalog to help give you a magical experience without ever leaving the comfort of your own house (or needing to stand in line!).

  We love to hear from readers, and you can email us your thoughts, comments and questions to [email protected]. You can also interact with Carina Press staff and authors on our blog, Twitter stream and Facebook fan page.

  Happy reading!

  ~Angela James

  Executive Editor, Carina Press

  www.carinapress.com

  www.twitter.com/carinapress

  www.facebook.com/carinapress

  Dedication

  To all the readers out there who struggle with

  insecurities and body image and never feel smart enough or pretty enough—you are. Travis is for you!

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Being summoned to the boss’s office on a Monday afternoon might scare some people, but it took a lot to spook Travis Yardley. Standing in front of Spencer Thomas didn’t do it.

  With the early June sun beating through his T-shirt and into his back, Travis jogged up the small hill leading from the greenhouse behind Thomas Nurseries’ main building, with its buzz of traffic and customers, to the three-story farmhouse less than a hundred feet away. The top two levels served as private residences for the Thomas brothers, but the call came from the office phone on the main floor.

  As nursery foreman, Travis dealt with Spence and his brother, Austin, almost every day. Throw in the third partner, Mitch Anders, and Travis viewed any get-together more as reason to eat than panic. Not that they weren’t good businessmen. They were in every way, taking the small plant nursery Spence and Austin’s father built and turning it into a multi-state thriving business that included everything from sales to landscaping to tree inspections. But they all had different priorities now.

  Travis credited the women in their lives for the positive changes, especially Spence’s fiancée of a little more than a month, Lila Payne. With her around, Spence went from ’round-the-clock worker to a guy who insisted on having dinner at home every night. He now handled even the biggest work blow-up without yelling. Which was why everyone at the nursery—hell, everyone in the small town of Holloway, West Virginia, and the surrounding county—loved Lila.

  She took Spence from wary to almost stupid with happiness, and Travis didn’t blame the guy. Lila was smart and sexy. Only an idiot would pass up that combination. With his off-the-charts IQ, Spence wasn’t dumb. And at the moment he was busy laughing. Another new thing in Spence’s life, but Travis heard the low sound as he shut the house’s front door and stepped into the open entryway.

  After a quick glance up the staircase in front of
him, he rounded the corner to his left and stepped into the office area...and got an eyeful of Lila sitting on Spence’s lap. Long brown hair, khaki shorts and her arms wrapped around his neck. Nothing unusual about that, except that this clinch was happening in the middle of the office. Made Travis wonder what Spence did to get his woman alone and clear out the rest of the staff who usually sat at those empty desks.

  Rather than ask about that, Travis went with the call. “What’s up?”

  Lila jumped at the sound of his voice. Her openmouthed surprise broke into a big smile when she glanced his way. “Travis.”

  The woman sure knew how to make a guy feel welcome. “Ma’am.”

  “I love when you get all southern and proper.” She tugged on Spence’s hand, breaking his hold and standing up. “You whip out that accent of yours and the ladies in the nursery go cross-eyed. Then sales go up, so it’s a win-win.”

  Lila was petite and pretty with a round face and big brown eyes. And she managed to take the hundred-seventy-pound man she was engaged to and reduce him to a puddle of goo. Pretty impressive talent.

  So was the thing where she always knew the right thing to throw out there to keep Travis a bit off balance. “I’m not really sure what to say to all that.”

  Spence stretched as he stood, but he stayed plastered to Lila’s side. “Probably best to accept it as a compliment.”

  “It was,” she said. “And I need to ask a favor.”

  “Fine.” And by that Travis meant the answer to whatever she wanted was yes.

  Since he never said no, the setup with the call and request for an in-person meeting struck him as a bit dramatic. The whole team called back and forth and asked for things all day. It was part of the job but a bigger part of the friendship. Not being raised with that sort of loyalty and trust, Travis had grabbed on to the sense of community when offered. He valued the bond even more than the steady paycheck and the small cabin the Thomas family provided for him on the back acreage of the nursery property.

  But the way Lila shifted her weight and rubbed her hands together clued Travis in on the fact something bigger was happening here. He just wasn’t sure what.

  Then there was the simpleton grin on Spence’s face. Travis knew that wasn’t a sign of anything good. Last time Spence flashed that look, Travis ended up volunteering to rebuild a cabin. He suspected he was two seconds away from agreeing to take on some new asinine project. Not that he minded.

  But that smirk. Christ. “What’s wrong with you?”

  Lila glanced at Spence and frowned. “Travis is right. That look is a little—”

  “Disturbing.” Travis could think of other words—freakish, annoying, shit-eating—but he went with the tamer one out of respect for Lila.

  Spence shrugged. “I’m just standing here.”

  Yeah, this wasn’t going to be good. Travis braced for whatever was coming. “Which is why I’m worried.”

  “You know I have a new caretaker at Mountain View Resort,” she said.

  Now Spence and Lila wore matching grins. The strange excitement thrumming around them didn’t really match a conversation about the wooded area one town over. Lila had refurbished the resort and managed it for a few months until recently buying it, along with Spence, from her uncle Ned when he retired to Florida. Travis knew about the whole deal because those were the very same cabins he spent the spring rebuilding.

  He’d stayed out there for weeks. Most nights Spence also hung around, watching over Lila and grumbling every minute or so. He had no trouble with hands-on work, but camping? Not so much. Spence was a hotel-and-electricity type of guy.

  Even knowing the topic, Travis decided to tread carefully until he knew how big a pile of bullshit was headed straight for him. “I heard someone new just started.”

  “I was wondering if you’re still willing to help out with the management transition. I’m not fully comfortable with the idea of letting someone else handle everything out there.” Lila gave Spence the side-eye as she talked.

  Nothing too scary so far, but the big buildup and the way Lila and Spence kept skipping around the point made Travis think he’d only heard half the favor so far. Probably something to do with Spence’s preference to have Lila safe at home with him. Now that he’d finally pulled his head out of his ass and proposed, the management of the cabins miles away became an issue.

  Spence let out a long exhale. “You do run the place. You’re only really away from there at night.”

  There it was. Travis didn’t need the big-time IQ or even a college degree, which he didn’t have anyway, to nail that one.

  Her eyebrow lifted. “And some weekends.”

  Spence didn’t like her up there alone. She didn’t want to be away from her new business. Travis wanted to stay way the hell out of this one.

  This time Spence dropped his arm and faced Lila head-on. “Sleeping apart is not an option.”

  “You didn’t hear me suggest that.”

  “Anyway...” Travis clapped his hands together, just one time but loud enough to remind them how he was standing right there. He had to put an end to the bickering or he’d never get the full story from Lila. “What do you need?”

  “With the wedding right in front of us and moving into the house there’s so much.”

  “Lila?” The circling was starting to give him a headache. “I’m saying yes. Now I need to know what I’m saying yes to.”

  Her head fell to the side and a sweet, big-sisterly warmth shot off her in waves. “I love that about you.”

  Travis glanced at Spence, making sure he picked up on the sisterly part, then back to Lila. “What?”

  Lila shifted around the desk and threw her arms around Travis before he could brace for the surprise affection. But he didn’t try to fight it off. Didn’t really want to. After leaving home at fourteen and living on his own for so long, he welcomed the openness of this family.

  Just as the coconut scent of her shampoo hit his nose, she gave him one last squeeze and pulled back. “You’re pretty wonderful.”

  “Isn’t he just?” Spence said in a singsong voice.

  Travis glared at Spence over Lila’s head. “Okay, really with that?”

  Lila stood between the men. “Normally I’d be up at the cabins all day but there’s a ridiculous amount of wedding prep stuff to do since Spence is insisting on a short engagement.”

  He nodded. “I am.”

  “And I have all this paperwork to get the licenses and marketing plans straight for the resort. And did I mention my wedding dress is the wrong size?”

  “Don’t know anything about dresses, but—”

  Spence cleared his throat. “Except maybe how to get them off.”

  “—I can see where timing would be an issue when the groom gives you about two days to plan a wedding.” Travis was surprised Spence had even waited as long as he did. He’d declared his love for her at Christmas and made it the whole way to the very end of April to get down on his knees with ring in hand.

  “I proposed over four weeks ago.” Spence held up his fingers to make his point. “It’s time to get the deed done. Enough with the waiting.”

  “Very romantic.” Travis smiled at Lila. “You are a lucky woman.”

  “Aren’t I just?” She backed up straight into Spence’s arms.

  “Let me fast-forward this.” Spence pulled her tight against his chest. “Lila wants to make sure the new resort caretaker is okay out there alone at night, with the woods and all. Question is if you’d be willing to do an early evening check while you’re up there finishing off the last construction projects. Not forever. Just for a few days until we all feel comfortable.”

  Not an order. Spence asked and Travis appreciated having a choice. Not that he’d ever say no. He’d do anything for the people who gave him so much, and this seemed like a pretty good gig. He enjoyed being outside, in the fresh air, with the early summer sun hitting his skin. Sure beat inventory paperwork.

  “It would be part
of your regular workday at the nursery,” Lila rushed to explain as she waved a hand in the air. “We’re not asking for you to put in extra hours.”

  Spence cleared his throat. “Well, she’s not. I’m fine with you working around the clock.”

  She elbowed him in the stomach. “Spence.”

  Travis could see Spence’s face, so he knew his boss was being a smart-ass. “No problem. Happy to help.”

  “And you’ll be away from the nursery and all the wedding talk.” Spence laughed as he said it.

  Lila froze and in a slow turn looked up at him. “Excuse me?”

  The smile disappeared and took the amusement along with it.

  Travis couldn’t help causing more trouble. “Well, I could use a break from Spence’s whining about all the prep.”

  She pinched Spence’s arm. “We’ll talk about that later.”

  “Thanks for that, man.”

  Travis ignored Spence’s flat tone and kept his focus on Lila. “One question. Are you worried this new guy—Andy, right?—can’t do the job?”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, no. You’ve got it wrong because—”

  Spence hugged her tighter, brushing a hand over her hair. “The caretaker is new to the area. That’s all.”

  “I’m in.” And since Spence was getting handsy and Travis hadn’t had sex in weeks, he needed to get out of there. “In fact, I’ll head over now and introduce myself then do some work.”

  Spence nodded. “Perfect.”

  A few hours walking the Mountain View property and clearing away the last of the construction materials sounded good to Travis. He’d meet the new guy, size him up and let Lila know if she could trust him. She hired this Andy person but that didn’t mean he’d work out. A lot of people looked good on paper and turned out to be pretty shitty in person. Travis had learned that lesson over and over.

  Before Spence could start tonguing his fiancée, Travis gave a wave and headed for the door.

  “Wait.” Lila’s voice rang out in the sunny room.

  Travis turned around before he hit the doorway. “Yeah?”