If you like small-town romantic suspense spiced with danger, shocking surprises, and that happy-ever-after feeling, you’ll love Island Whispers.
About the book:
It only takes a moment to unravel the ideal life.
Nina Billings has been the good girl all her life, doing her best to give the small-town gossip grapevine nothing to talk about.
Nina Billings has been the good girl all her life, doing her best to give the small-town gossip grapevine nothing to talk about.
But doing the right thing at the wrong time changes everything. Catching an escaped felon on video committing another crime has earned her a live-in bodyguard.
Not just any bodyguard–the thrilling man she’d slept with for one night only.
Guardian Agency protector Boone Reynolds has been searching for the woman who turned his world inside out. Learning she’s his new assignment is both a lucky break and risky balancing act.
He’ll gladly go the extra mile to protect Nina from the criminal hunting her. And he’ll go even further to prove he’s the man she can count on every night for the rest of her life.
Sneak Peek!
Chapter 1
Nina Billings stepped into the quiet darkness of the back room at Island Bloomers and waited for the happiness to start flowing.
It didn’t.
She flipped on the lights and urged herself to get it together. Her eyes were gritty and her neck was tight from tossing and turning all night long. Good thing her commute was short—only a quick descent from her apartment over the shop.
She locked the door behind her and trudged forward into the design room. Dragging like this, feeling as if she’d rather be anywhere but here was highly unusual. Being raised by parents in the landscaping and nursery business, she’d been around plants and flowers all her life.
Work was her safe space, her happy place.
And she’d put in the years of blood, sweat, and tears, along with education, effort, and training to have her own shop—a successful shop—before turning thirty. Island Bloomers was her pride and joy. Having a prime location on Central Ave, specifically on the main square of Brookwell Island, was a privilege she was committed to.
So it was past time to focus.
Yes, it was early, after a restless night. Too bad. None of her days resembled a normal nine to five. That was part of the magic of being a florist. She’d usually loved coming in and designing for a couple of hours before the shop opened to the public.
While she pulled on her apron and gathered her tools, she put the phone on speakers and checked messages for any additional orders. No surprise that two more local families had heard about the funeral service in Charleston today and requested deliveries.
She made notes, pulled buckets of greenery and flowers from the cooler for stock, and got to it. Two arrangements and one plant basket were headed to the funeral.
That would make delivery easier.
Sniffling as she snipped stems and framed up the floral pieces, it took her a moment to realize she was on the verge of tears. She stepped back to blow her nose and dab at her eyes. Despite the nature of the arrangements, funeral flowers rarely made her cry. In part, because she considered flowers a special gift to honor a friend or loved one.
And also because a flower shop was typically a cash-poor business. Dealing with perishables meant higher than usual lost product and waste. Funerals offered a welcome and unexpected influx of cash.
Having worked in flower shops that barely made payroll from week to week, Nina had carved out a different business model. Failing at her dream wasn’t an option. Although she always had the safety net of returning to the family business, she was determined to stand on her own.
To offset the typical flower shop pitfalls and the risks of being in a smaller market, Nina had set up contracts with other business owners on the island. Most of her clients were bed and breakfast owners, but she’d added a couple of local restaurants too.
In addition to a steady income, the contracts gave her a consistent design task list for her employees and allowed her to streamline supply orders to maximize the profit margins.
Haley Whitman, one of her closest friends from design school, joked that Nina was a mercenary and the enemy of creativity. And yet she visited Nina at least once a year, filled in when necessary, and usually spent part of her vacation in the Island Bloomers workroom, playing with ideas for the “boring” contracts.
Nina smiled to herself even as a tear rolled down her cheek.
What on earth was the matter with her today?
Shaking it off, she redoubled her efforts to focus on the flowers—and only the flowers. These arrangements had to be delivered in a few hours. As her hands worked, her mind wandered along the business and marketing path.
It would be nice to have the full contract at the Inn, the island’s biggest non-beach destination. Someday, she mused. She didn’t have staff to support that kind of order right now. Instead, she negotiated for conference room arrangements on an as-needed basis. Being smaller and local, she could respond faster than their contracted florist in Charleston. And she liked to believe it helped to have an Island Bloomers flier in the welcome packet given to each guest at check-in.
She continued snipping stems and placing flowers for the funeral pieces, grateful she had worked ahead yesterday afternoon on today’s normal deliveries. Fresh vases were ready for the Pelican Pub and Hargrave Hideaway, the newest B&B on the island and the only one with a private cove.
The Hargrave sisters had become good friends with Nina in recent months and their business was starting to pick up. More importantly, it seemed as if the sisters were finally recovering from the loss of their mother.
Of course that brought tears to her eyes again. What those three had been through was just too much. Nina didn’t want to think about the day when her mom wasn’t around to take her call or text, or spread a little guilt when she missed a Sunday dinner.
Ugh! It was so unlike her to be weepy about anything. And never at work. She prided herself on her kind, friendly, and professional approach. She’d built a strong reputation on her ability to connect with her customers, to find the right thing when they didn’t know exactly what they were looking for.
She hadn’t known the person being memorialized, but she knew the customers who had called her and she wasn’t about to let them down. Sorting out the cause of the waterworks would have to wait until later.
Changing up the music to hard rock and cranking the volume, she pushed her mushy feelings to the back of her mind and finished the pieces. By the time her assistant Molly Trumble arrived, Nina had the funeral service orders wrapped for delivery and was starting on the day’s deliveries.
“Good morning,” Molly said, turning down the volume. “You okay?”
“I’m great,” Nina fibbed. “These three pieces need to go to Charleston if you’ve got the shop?”
Molly looped the apron over her head. “Absolutely.” She tilted her head to the design table. “Those are for deliveries here on the island?”
“Yes. The flowers for both Hargrave and the Pelican are in the cooler, ready to go.”
“Seriously?” Molly eyed her. “How long have you been here?”
Nina shrugged. “It’s just one of those days.”
“Mm-hm.” Molly pulled open the cooler. “I still can’t believe Reed wants bud vases for lunch service at the Pelican. In my head the pub will always be the place where I cut loose. If I want to have a girl-lunch, I think of the Inn.”
“Same.” Nina chuckled, and to her dismay tears welled again. This was ridiculous. “We both know he only signed that contract to help me.”
Molly shook her head and then reached for a couple of buckets of flowers. “Maybe at first. And sure, it probably set the example for other business owners around here. But he’s benefitting too, adding in special events and the lunch service.”
Nina appreciated Molly’s loyalty. “Whatever his motives, I’ll take it.”
Savvy business owners could pivot and capitalize when conditions changed. The Pelican had been a neighborhood pub from the start and it still had that comfortable, well-worn vibe. But things were growing and improving on Brookwell, thanks to a concerted effort from everyone in the close-knit community.
Nina loved every minute of it. The history and the excitement of what was to come. She loved being part of something bigger than herself. Maybe she got it from her mom and dad. Both Nina and her older brother, Nash, had been raised to be active and involved. Not just with the family business but with the island community as a whole.
For the Billings family that involvement started at home and spread outward from the neighborhood, to their businesses, and all the way out to the marina and the heart of town here on Central.
“Isn’t Reed the one pushing for a girls’ day out initiative?” Molly asked, walking back into the cooler.
“I think that was Kirsten’s idea,” Nina replied. “Sparked by work she did for a client. But it’s gaining steam at the quarterly meetings.” The business owners on the island got together regularly to brainstorm ways to coordinate marketing efforts that would benefit the entire island community.
Molly paused, a bundle of deep purple liatris in her hands. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s smart. Eventually the pub will be Kirsten’s.”
Surely Reed would retire at some point. Although Kirsten had her own career as a freelance graphic artist, she spent plenty of hours working at the Pelican. “Could be she’s trying to give the place an image update.”
“I could get behind that.” Molly winked on her way to the prep sinks. “The more flowers they need, the better. I’m for whatever keeps us going,” she added. “So many small businesses and small towns fade to dust and I just don’t want to see that happen here.”
“That would be the worst,” Nina agreed. Failure wasn’t on her agenda. Ever. “I love our town and all the people in it.” She swiped a tear from her cheek.
Molly gave her a long study. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Nina waved off her concern. “It’s probably allergies. Plus I didn’t sleep well.” She looked at the wrapped arrangements on the delivery counter. “And something about this funeral service got under my skin.”
“I get it,” Molly said. “Some days are just off.”
Nina pulled her car keys off the hook. “I need to get these loaded and delivered.” When she and Molly had the arrangements secured in her personal car for the drive to Charleston, she went back inside for her purse.
“Are you sure you don’t want to trade?” Molly asked.
“Pardon?” Nina was momentarily baffled and then she remembered her teary eyes. “Oh, I’m fine. The drive will be good for me. Don’t worry.” She gave her assistant what she hoped was a convincing smile. “Henry will be in for the local deliveries. If you need anything just call and we’ll sort it out together.”
“I forgot to check the doorway bucket,” Molly said. “What did you choose?” A giddy cheer drifted out on the cold air. “It’s a rainbow of daisies. I love them!”
Nina loved her enthusiasm. And she had to agree that the variety of colors on those cheery daisy faces were their own special ray of sunshine. “Be sure to add some white ones to the mix for any traditionalists who happen by.”
Molly laughed, clearly delighted. “I can hardly wait to open the doors.” On a laugh, feeling happy and upbeat despite her destination, Nina left the shop. Molly’s mood was bound to create an uptick in sales today. Who could resist her?
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