SYNOPSIS:
Toni Blake’s new heartfelt Coral Cove series brings Blake’s
incredible talent of creating a story that’s filled with hope and love. ALL I
WANT IS YOU starts off the series with the story of Christy Knight, a character
who appeared in her Destiny series. Readers will remember Christy from her
encounter with Anna Romo, the heroine of Hall Moon Hill (a 2014 RITA Award
Finalist), the last installment in the Destiny series. Christy’s life changed
when a horrible fire claimed the lives of her mother and father; she’s left to
deal with the aftermath of financial troubles on her own. Christy grew up in
the small, cozy town Destiny, Ohio, but she feels her future lies elsewhere. In
hopes of figuring out what’s next, she’s decided to move to the city.
Christy and her roommate Bethany are struggling to make ends
meet. The beautiful jewelry she creates doesn’t pay the bills. To top it off,
Christy’s just found out about her Grandpa Charlie’s own financial troubles and
that he may be asked to leave his assisted living home. As his only living
relative left, Christy feels it’s up to her to help but she can barely help
herself. Bethany thinks it’s time for Christy to grow up and find a guy who’s
smart, sexy, and solvent. Though Christy’s hesitant about the plan—she’s a romantic
at heart after all—faced with few options she’s willing to give it a shot.
The search spells disaster from day one. Her first date fails before it even starts! She did, however, meet her sexy neighbor Jack DuVall. He’s not quite the man she needs at the moment—if only his blue eyes weren’t so mesmerizing. It seems the rugged handyman fits the first two categories (smart and sexy), but he’s all wrong for her. As Jack helps Christy with small patch-up jobs around the apartment, they develop a friendship. Jack hasn’t been entirely forthcoming, he’s not really just a handyman and he’s nowhere near broke. Wary of trusting others because of a painful past he doesn’t want to revisit, he thinks it’s best to wait before sharing too much information about himself.
Meanwhile, Grandpa Charlie thinks it’s time for Christy to
take a break from her day-to-day stresses and get some much needed R&R by
visiting him in sunny Coral Cove.
Knowing she’s short on funds, Jack wants to help Christy make the trip
happen, but how can he without exposing that he’s actually loaded? He joins her
under the pretext of needing a vacation as well, splitting the expenses. As the long hot days turn into sizzling
nights together, Jack can’t deny his reasons for going along are far from noble.
The Coral Cove charm captivates Christy and Jack, and a
passionate, loving relationship blossoms. Jack finds he had it all
wrong—Christy’s not only gorgeous, but feisty and completely irresistible;
after so much heartbreak and let downs Christy feels she finally has someone
she can trust. But, when Jack shares secrets he’s been holding back, the
relationship is compromised. As they both struggle to find their way back to
each other, the quirky seaside town of Coral Cove could prove the perfect place
to find a red-hot destiny of their own.
ALL I WANT IS YOU
is a brilliant start to a heartwarming and sexy series, filled with Blake’s
relatable blend of inspiring, passionate stories of hope and new beginnings.
Readers will fall in love with the seaside town of Coral Cove and its quirky
characters over and over again.
PURCHASE LINKS:
EXCERPT:
As her lower lip began to tremble, she bit down on it, trying
not to let him see. Not that that was
enough to help this situation even one iota.
She wanted desperately to rehook her bra, but she couldn't do it from
this angle and could only hold it helplessly in place over her breasts. She'd never felt so rejected in her life.
Trying to swallow back her pain, a spark of anger erupted
from her. "Why did you have to
start kissing me? Why did you even start
this at all?" She could no longer
meet his gaze – what had become easy and effortless had now grown impossible
again. At some point her eyes had become
stuck on his chest because, hot and masculine though it was, it still seemed a
safer place to look.
"I'm so sorry, honey," he said. "I ... didn't mean to exactly. I didn't plan it. It's just that you're ... really beautiful
when you're passionate about something, that's all."
She pulled in her breath, both flattered and bewildered – and
Anna's words came back to her. About
going for it. About never knowing how
things would have gone if you didn't. So
even now, even as reckless as it seemed, she didn't hold back. "I'm passionate about you, Jack."
He let out a heavy breath.
And her heart beat so hard it hurt.
"I'm passionate about you, too, Christy,” he said. “Believe me, I am. I just ..."
"What?" she demanded.
Now it was he who looked away, dropping his gaze to the
flowered print of her skirt. "Maybe
I'm just worried about … attachment.”
“Attachment?” she asked.
He spoke more directly this time. “Maybe I'm worried that I'll get attached to
you, or you'll get attached to me."
I'm already attached to you. But this time she held the words in. Since putting it on the line didn't seem to
be working in this case. Who'd have
thought getting lucrative consignment deals for her jewelry would be so much
easier than giving herself to a man – and getting him to take her.
Somehow Anna's simple story had made Christy believe that if
she put her heart out there for him to see, she'd find out he loved her,
too. Anna had made it sound ... hard,
and yet at the same time so very simple.
Like the happy ending would just come if you willed it to. So where was her happy ending? And why had she been so foolish to believe it
could be that easy?
Instead of saying any of that, though – instead of forcing out
any more honesty and openness – now she found herself trying to deal in
logic. "I thought you said we'd
come to Florida and see what happened.
That we'd let things take their course, go with the flow. You're stopping the flow."
He looked so pained for her now that she knew her own pain was written all over her face. It didn't matter what she said – she'd already
made herself as vulnerable as a person could be. And the thing about vulnerability was – once it
was out there, you couldn't take it back.
She couldn't take it
back. Anymore than she could rehook her
bra.
"That seemed like a good idea at the time,” Jack said,
eyes still fraught with distress. “But
I'm not sure it's that simple now. I
mean, it's like I said – I'm afraid ... one of us will get attached."
"Don't you think,” she began desperately albeit still
logically, “that most sex attaches
people? In some way? Even if they pretend it doesn't?" Oh crap, what was she doing? Spilling her heart out onto the floor some
more, that was all. And maybe saying
things she didn't even really know she felt until this very moment. "And the truth is – I wouldn't want to have
sex with anyone I might not get attached to.
It's a connection. It's supposed to mean something. Even if the whole world has tried to make it
into nothing more than a recreational activity." She stopped, sighed, let her gaze drop –
because she realized she'd met his eyes again in the course of spewing out all
this stupid honesty. And she felt all
the more naked, but it had nothing to do with her state of undress.
When she next spoke, her voice went softer. "Or that's how it feels to me anyway. So if getting attached sounds so horrible to
you, then I guess it's just as well you stopped."
About the Author: USA Today bestselling author Toni Blake’s
love of writing began when she won an essay contest in the fifth grade. Soon
after, she penned her first novel - nineteen notebook pages long. Since then,
Toni has become a RITA-nominated author of more than twenty contemporary
romance novels including her recent 2014 RITA nomination for Half Moon Hill the
last installment in her popular Destiny series. Her books have received the
National Readers Choice Award and the Bookseller’s Best Award, and her work has
been excerpted in Cosmo. Toni lives in the Midwest and enjoys traveling,
crafts, and spending time outdoors. Learn more about Toni and her books at www.toniblake.com.
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