The Unforgettable Series, Book 1
(Standalone)
New Adult Romance
Date Published: August 25, 2022 (2nd Edition)
Publisher: Frey Dreams
It's the summer before her senior year of high school and Bree Summers
wants nothing more than to spend it with her friends and get to know her new
crush a little better. Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned.
Bree's parents send her to her grandmother's house on a lake in Maine for
the whole summer. Although she's not happy, Bree loves spending time with
her grandmother and tries to make the best of it.
One morning, when she gets ready to take her kayak out, she stumbles upon
one of her neighbors, meeting gorgeous, active and playful Christian Emory.
The two soon find they want to spend as much time together as possible,
cherishing every moment before their unforgettable summer comes to an
end.
What will happen at the end of the summer when Christian leaves for College
and Bree has to return home for one more year of high school to find her
world has turned completely upside down? Will unforeseen circumstances keep
them apart or will they be able to find their way back to each other?
Excerpt
Chapter 2
The next morning, I wake up just as the sky begins lightening and softly groan. It must be way too early to get up! I stretch my arms above my head about to go back to sleep when I roll over and blink a few times. Realizing where I am, I startle myself awake and push myself out of bed wanting to get out on the lake.
Making my way over to my dresser, I pull out my new pale pink and chocolate brown bikini and quickly strip out of my pajamas and throw it on. I love the colors with my pale skin and chestnut brown hair. Since I was such a late bloomer, it’s also the first summer I actually have enough in my bathing suit to fill out a bikini and I want to show it off, even it’s just for me. I don’t think I’m “the shit" or anything, but I’m comfortable with myself. I guess you could say I have my good days and bad days. I throw an old pair of jean shorts over the top of my suit, slip my feet into my black and white flip flops and rush out to the kitchen.
Reaching for a notepad and pen, I quickly scrawl out a note to Gram. I don’t want her to worry.
“Good morning, Grandma,
I left to go kayaking. I’ll be back soon. I love you!
Love, Bree.”
I place a rubber band around my wrist to throw my hair up later and slip out the back door, making my way down to the lake where my green kayak sits waiting. As I pick my life jacket up out of the center of the kayak I hear light splashing, signaling either an animal in the water or someone might be paddling close by.
Quietly, I step towards the shore and freeze with my mouth hanging open. Through the trees I see the most beautiful boy I’ve ever seen and he’s no scrawny fifteen-year-old! He seems to already have a nice golden tan. His light brown hair has sun-kissed blonde highlights hanging messily, but perfect just above his eyebrows. Sunlight begins peeking up on the other side of the lake and seems to be reflecting off him, making him appear to be shimmering. He’s so close to the shore I can actually see his muscles rippling from his miniscule movements, with his arms bare and then hiding underneath a light blue t-shirt.
I concentrate on closing my mouth and squinting to see if I can tell what color his eyes might be when he stops and places his paddle on top of his blue kayak and starts looking around the lake. That’s when it happens. I guess I’ve been unconsciously inching closer to the lake, and I step too close to a wet, slimy rock. Awkwardly, I slip and lean forward with my arms swinging, trying to catch my balance. Letting out a helpless squeal, I lean too far and fall unceremoniously into the lake with a splash.
As I lift my head, sputtering, a loud chuckle erupts from what I can only assume is the beautiful boy in the boat. I look up, completely mortified and glare, red as a cherry tomato, with my face feeling like it’s on fire! He smiles, taking my breath away as he gestures to my life jacket. "You know, even if you can't swim, the water is only about a foot and a half deep there," he advises playfully.
My whole body begins to boil with embarrassment as I continue to glare at him while he inches closer. He easily jumps out of his kayak holding out his hand to help me up, still grinning. "It's okay. I won't push you back in," he teases. I reluctantly reach for his offered hand. He pulls me up a little too hard and I bump into his chest. His muscles tense as I plant my free hand on his chest in attempt to brace myself from impact. "Sorry about that," he mumbles, smirking at me, not appearing sorry at all.
I feel tingles shoot from our connected fingers all the way down to my toes as I finally meet his gaze. "Blue,” I mumble, staring into his eyes. Inhaling quickly, I begin to panic, seeing the strange look he gives me. “I mean thanks,” I quickly amend. Jerking my hand away, I take a step back, and almost lose my balance again, but he grabs my elbow, steadying me. "Thanks. I was just about to head out in my kayak."
"Don't you need a kayak for that?" he questions, smiling wryly. I narrow my eyes at him again and gesture to my kayak back on the bank behind the trees as I gather my now somewhat wet hair up into a ponytail. He guides his kayak towards the shore and jumps out of the water, grabbing mine before I'm even done with my hair.
"I can do that," I call out.
"I'm sure you can," he concedes, his smirk still on his gorgeous face. I just stare at him as he slides my kayak effortlessly into the water over the rocks.
"We have a ramp right there, so you don't have to pull it over the rocks," I inform him, pointing towards the ramp.
"Yeah, but you're already in the water over here," he observes, glancing at the ramp and back over to me allowing his eyes to quickly sweep down my body giving me goose bumps. "How about some company? I can show you around the lake," he suggests, smiling even broader.
I can’t stop my laugh from escaping. "I know my way around pretty well, thanks."
"Well, then, can you show me around a little more? I've only been here for a short time, and I would love to know some of the secret spots around here," he proposes, raising his eyebrows in question.
I roll my eyes and grin. "Ok. I just like to take it slow in the mornings though if that’s okay with you. I usually go along the shore and kind of check everything out. I was going to watch the sunrise, but I guess I'm too late for that now," I acknowledge, crinkling my nose as I look out at the already rising sun across the lake.
"Is that why you jumped right into the lake without your kayak?" he taunts, smirking. I roll my eyes again, not bothering to respond. "I'm Christian, by the way," he introduces himself, reaching his hand towards me with a full-watt smile. My breath catches in my throat. I dig my toes into the muddy bottom and take a deep breath to keep myself from falling over as I slowly reach for his hand. "And you are?" he prompts.
"Sorry,” I mumble, shaking my head at my awkwardness. “I'm Bree. I guess I wasn't expecting to see anyone this morning. I'm still waking up," I claim, hoping he'll buy my lame excuse.
"Bree, I like that,” he mumbles thoughtfully. “Is that short for anything?"
"Briann," I confirm with a nod.
Suddenly, I realize I’m staring into his electrifying ice blue eyes again with his large hand still holding mine. I quickly drop my gaze and tug my hand away, turning to step into my kayak as a blush consumes me once again from head to toe. I see him watching me get in out of the corner of my eye before climbing back into his own kayak. “So, where to Bree?” he prods, still grinning.
I take a deep breath to calm my trembling hands, then another, hoping my voice won’t come out shaky. “Where were you coming from?” He points behind us and I suggest, “Then, let’s keep going this way.”
I dip my paddle into the water and a chill goes through me, my whole body shuddering. “Are you okay?” he questions.
“Just cold,” I retort, not wanting to give him too much.
He nods and smiles mischievously, his eyes sparkling. “Let me know if you need anything to warm up.” Afraid to respond, not quite sure if his comment was all that innocent, I just nod my head, listening as his chuckle rumbles over the water. The sound has tingles practically consuming my whole body.
After a few minutes, he breaks the silence. “So, how do you know the lake so well? I haven’t seen you around here at all this past month.”
I almost breathe a sigh of relief, grateful with the change of topic. “My grandma lives here,” I inform him, pointing back to her house. “I’ve spent every summer with her since I was nine.”
“I think I’ve seen your grandma. So, you’re here for the whole summer?” he probes, arching his eyebrow in question. I nod my head in confirmation. “Well, it looks like my summer just got a whole lot better,” he happily admits, giving me another heart-melting smile.
Heat slams into me with his compliment, my whole body flushing from head to toe. “What about you? Where are you from?” I question, trying to move the attention away from me.
He pauses like he's contemplating his answer before he responds. “All over really; most recently Maryland and now here before I leave for college. We move around a lot for my dad’s job. Every couple years he seems to get a promotion that comes with a move.”
“That must be hard.”
He shrugs. “You get used to it and now I’m off to college, so I guess after this summer it won’t matter much anyway.”
“Where are you going to college?”
“University of Southern Maine. I like it up here.” We paddle quietly for a few minutes. Then he glances at me, asking, “What about you?” I must look confused because he grins and prompts, “Future plans?”
I nod my head in understanding and inform him, “I have one more year left of high school and then I’d like to come back this way as well. University of Southern Maine is actually where I’d like to go, if I get in. I want to be close to my grandma and they have a ton of programs to choose from,” I explain. To myself, I can’t help but think it’s also far away from my parents. It’s not like they’re ever around anyway.
“They’d be crazy not to accept you,” he claims, quietly. I blush again in response and quickly look the other way. “So, are there any secret coves or something like that around here?”
About the Author
Nikki A Lamers has always had a passion for reading and writing, especially
romance. She grew up in Wisconsin with her sister, mom, and dad. She always
loved reading romance books and watching romance movies with her dad,
something they both enjoyed. After college she lived in Florida for a few
years working at the “Happiest Place on Earth,” where she met
her husband. She now lives on Long Island in New York with her husband and
two kids. When she’s not working on her books, she also works with
scripts, on and off set. She spends her free time reading or hanging out
with friends and family. She would love to spend more time traveling,
visiting new places and meeting new people as well as continue creating
stories, each of her characters becoming part of her family.
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