In seaside Blueberry Cove, Maine, friends are just another word for family, and big-city politics take a backseat to local pride. But the real treasure on these shores is always love…
When D.C. lawyer Hannah McCrae heads home for her brother’s wedding, she’s dragging a lot of baggage along with her—and she doesn’t mean suitcases. Betrayed personally, and humiliated professionally, the last thing she wants is a new man. That’s fine with square-jawed, rugged contractor Calder Blue. He and Hannah may be wildly attracted to one another, but all he wants is to build the town’s hotly contested new yacht club and mend a centuries-old family feud. Yet thanks to resentments old and new, day after day the pair wind up tangled in each other’s business—and maybe soon in each other’s arms.
Every bride needs something “blue”…
She was taller than he’d initially thought when she’d been in the car. Somewhere around five-nine, maybe five-ten. He didn’t know what kind of heels she had on, but, regardless, she wasn’t much shorter than he was, and he came in at six-one. Lithe and lean, not much in the curves department, either. That much he’d accurately ascertained from his blouse assessment earlier.
She paused as she noted the sign on the side of his truck.
“Blue Harbor Farm.” She looked back at him. “I thought you said you were a contractor.”
“I am. Family business. Fourth generation.”
“And the farm?”
“First generation,” he said with a smile.
“You?”
He nodded.
“Sounds like a lot to juggle.”
“If you ask my father, it’s a waste of time and money. If you ask my brothers, a hobby that got a little out of control.”
“And if I asked you?”
He kept his smile in place, but his answer was serious and heartfelt. “The thing that kept me sane through a hellacious divorce.” His smile grew slightly. “Continues to keep me sane working with family.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “About the . . . hellacious part.”
She waved a hand briefly, but said no more. She held his gaze, then looked at the sign again, more, he thought, for somewhere else to look. Other than at him. He wasn’t sure what she’d seen in his expression, but banged up or not, she seemed a pretty sharp sort. So probably . . . too much.
He saw her eyebrows lift. “Calais?” she said. “You’re a long way from home.”
“Not that far. Hour and fifteen to the company office, hour-forty-five to the farm.”
“Unique town, Calais. Sort of umbilically attached to Saint Stephen across the border in New Brunswick, right? Interesting blend of cultures.”
“Mais oui, bien sur.”
She smiled a little at that. “I guess you grew up speaking French and English, living so close.”
“It’s predominantly English on both sides of the border. I speak French because my mother is French Canadian. I grew up with both languages.” He opened the passenger door to his truck.
“You didn’t have to do this,” she said, as he helped her up to the passenger seat.
She levered herself into the truck with a natural, graceful ease, making him wonder if she was a dancer, or some other thing that elegant women did with elegant bodies like the one she had. She required only a little assistance from him, which was just as well, he thought. Putting his hands on any more of that elegant body wouldn’t be wise. She was the kind of distraction he never needed in general, and definitely didn’t need right now.
She pulled on her own seat belt, wincing a little as she did, then immediately leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “But I’m very grateful you did.”
“Not a problem,” he said, palming the door, intending to close it.
“Hannah,” she said, quietly now, so he knew she was in more pain than she’d been showing, making him pause.
“I’m Hannah. McCrae.”
“Calder Blue,” he responded.
“Ah. Blue Harbor Farm,” she added, as if recalling the sign on his door. “Any relation to Jonah Blue?” she asked through barely moving bruised lips, eyes still closed.
“Great-nephew.”
“I thought I’d met all the Blues.”
“Different branch of the family.”
She opened her eyes then, and turned all that dark blue on him. Despite whatever pain she was in, and whatever worries she might have, her eyes were still surprisingly sharp, and quickly assessing. “You mean—as in Jedediah Blue’s branch?”
“The very same.”
“Your branches don’t talk to each other. For like . . . a hundred years.”
“A little longer, but that is true, yes.”
“How long have you been in Blueberry?”
“Just heading in, actually
She leaned her head back and closed her eyes again, but her lips curved upward just a hair and stayed that way, even when she winced at the pain.
“Something amusing about that?”
“Not at all. It’s . . . I just realized that your bombshell is going to be a lot bigger than mine.”
About the Author:
USA Today bestselling author of the Cupcake Club Romance series, Donna Kauffman has seen her books reviewed in venues ranging from Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal to Entertainment Weekly and Cosmopolitan. She lives just outside of DC in the lovely Virginia countryside, where she is presently trying to makeover her newly empty nest into something that doesn’t have to accommodate piles of sports equipment falling out of her coat closet (okay, out of every closet…and under every bed….), size 13 cleats and sweaty uniforms cluttering her foyer (and stairwell, and laundry room, and…), and a kitchen that should have come with a traffic light. And a pantry monitor. (Anyone with a clever idea on how to repurpose lacrosse sticks into matching reading lamps, she’s all ears!) When she’s not stripping paint, varnishing an old auction house find, or trying to avoid bodily injury with her latest power tool purchase, she loves to hear from readers!
Jennifer’s Review of Sea Glass Sunrise
Review (4 Stars): Hannah and Calder were a great couple together and you could see the instant chemistry between the two characters even when they tried to pretend that they didn’t. They seemed as though they would be exact opposites and would have nothing in common but sometimes exact opposites make the best couples. Sea Glass Sunrise is a smart, charming, small-town romance that will keep readers coming back for more in this delightful new series. I enjoyed every moment of Hannah and Calder’s love story and I can’t wait to see what couple finds love next in the second book of the series.
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