Last Beautiful Girl Read online

  Last Beautiful Girl

  Samantha Chase

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  Go back and see where Dean and Courtney began

  And Then One Day

  About the Author

  Also by Samantha Chase

  Copyright 2020 Samantha Chase

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  All Rights Reserved.

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  No part of this book, with the exception of brief quotations for book reviews or critical articles, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  Cover Design: Uplifting Designs/Alyssa Garcia

  Editing: Jillian Rivera Editing and Amy Briggs/Briggs Consulting

  Praise for Samantha Chase

  “If you can’t get enough of stories that get inside your heart and soul and stay there long after you’ve read the last page, then Samantha Chase is for you!”

  -NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Melanie Shawn

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  “A fun, flirty, sweet romance filled with romance and character growth and a perfect happily ever after.”

  -NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Carly Phillips

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  “Samantha Chase writes my kind of happily ever after!”

  -NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Erin Nicholas

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  “The openness between the lovers is refreshing, and their interactions are a balanced blend of sweet and spice. The planets may not have aligned, but the elements of this winning romance are definitely in sync.”

  - Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

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  “A true romantic delight, A Sky Full of Stars is one of the top gems of romance this year.”

  - Night Owl Reviews, TOP PICK

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  “Great writing, a winsome ensemble, and the perfect blend of heart and sass.”

  - Publishers Weekly

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  “Recommend Chase to fans of Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Well-written and uniquely appealing.”

  - Booklist

  1

  “To the happy couple!”

  Kyle lifted his glass of champagne along with everyone else and smiled at the happy couple. His brother Hunter and his fiancée Violet beamed as everyone toasted their new engagement. And as much as he usually made fun of people who opted to tie themselves to another person for the rest of their lives, he had to admit he was happy for them.

  Hey, just because he didn’t want to take the plunge, didn’t mean others couldn’t.

  “There he is, the last Jones standing.”

  Looking over his shoulder, Kyle smiled as his oldest brother Dean walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. “Yup. That’s me!”

  They stood shoulder to shoulder as Hunter and Vi shared a kiss. “Nice of you to fix yourself up.”

  “What? What’s wrong with the way I look?”

  Dean reached over and ruffled his hair. “You couldn’t bother getting a haircut?”

  Groaning, he raked a hand through his hair. “For an engagement party? Not necessary. I’ve always worn my hair long and no one has a problem with it.” Then he paused. “Wait…do they?”

  Chuckling, Dean shook his head. “Sometimes you make it too easy.”

  “Ass.”

  “Look at him,” Dean said after a moment. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Hunter look so happy.”

  “I agree. And honestly, he deserves it.” Nodding, Kyle took another sip of his champagne.

  “What about you, bro? When are you going to give up your wild ways and settle down?”

  It wasn’t the first time someone had mentioned how it was time for him to give up his partying lifestyle and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Honestly, it didn’t even bother him.

  “Never,” he said mildly.

  Beside him, Dean chuckled. “Seriously?”

  Another nod. “Not everyone wants to settle down. Me? I enjoy dating. I enjoy dating different women.” Then he chuckled. “And many different women enjoy dating me.”

  Rolling his eyes, Dean shook his head. “It’s going to get old eventually. And so are you. And then where will you be?”

  “That is a long way off and I’m not worried about it. You weren’t in any rush to settle down.”

  “And yet I did. I just had to find the perfect woman.”

  That made him laugh. “Yeah, and she’d been right under your nose for most of your life. You were a little slow on the uptake there.”

  But his brother didn’t even seem mildly offended by the ribbing. “Yup, but once I realized that Court was it for me, I didn’t waste any time.”

  True, he had married her six months after he proposed.

  Whatever.

  He was about to comment on it when Dean’s wife walked over and snagged her husband to go and dance. He raised a glass to them and told them to have fun, but now he wished he had someone to dance with. Glancing around the room, there were plenty of women he knew, but they all were here with dates. Hell, he could have brought a date too, but taking someone to your brother’s engagement party implied a level of commitment that he just wasn’t interested in.

  No thank you.

  There was a time when he thought it was, but…that was a whole other lifetime ago.

  His father walked over and took the spot his brother had just vacated.

  “You know what I wish?” Domenic Jones asked.

  “What’s that, Dad?”

  “That I had someone to dance with.”

  Wow…color me surprised.

  Turning his head, he looked curiously at his father who had been widowed for close to thirty years. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “Why don’t you date?”

  Shrugging, his father said, “I guess I just sort of…forgot how.” He laughed softly. “For so many years after your mother died, I was focused on trying to keep it together and raise you kids. Then I was so set in my routine that I didn’t even think about it. But now? Now I’d like to think about it, but I don’t know how.” Sliding his hands into his trouser pockets, he glanced at Kyle. “You know any single women my age?”

  Kyle almost choked on his champagne. “Ugh…you are not asking me to set you up with anyone. Just…no.”

  “Why not? It’s not a big deal. You have a very active social life; surely you’ve met older women who might be looking to go out with someone like me.”

  “Someone like…? What is happening right now?”

  “What? What’s the matter?”

  He knew his eyes were pretty much bugging out, and Kyle looked around frantically for someone to save him from this conversation. But no one was paying any attention to them, and if they weren’t at a formal event, he seriously would have considered throwing something at either Dean or Hunter to get their attention.

  Letting out a long breath, Kyle said, “I t
hought you’d gone out for coffee a few times with…with…” Damn, what was her name? “Rose! Yeah, I thought you’d gone out with Rose a few times. What happened there?”

  “Happened? Um…nothing. We went out a few times for coffee, but…I don’t think she’s interested in me.”

  “Why? Did you ever ask her out on a real date? Like dinner or something?”

  “No, but…I thought she was just being friendly. You know…like a friend.”

  “Well, wouldn’t you like to find out if she’s interested? She’s here tonight. Maybe go ask her to dance.”

  “Oh,” Domenic said, “I don’t know. I just thought…”

  “Look, I think it’s great that you want to start dating again. If you ask me, you should have done it a long time ago. But maybe your friends—you know, people your own age—can fix you up with someone.”

  His father made a non-committal sound before asking, “What about one of those apps? You know, the kind where you swipe or something.”

  Now he really needed someone over here to help him out because there was no way he was going to have the talk about what swiping on a dating app meant. Scanning the room again, he spotted his boss, Jake, talking to Pastor Steve. The only one to catch his eye, however, was the pastor.

  And if that’s not an answer to a prayer, nothing is.

  Waving, he was relieved when they both began walking toward them. Kyle took a long drink of his champagne and waited. They all shook hands as they said hello.

  “Well, Domenic, Kyle, how are you both doing?” Steve asked with a friendly smile. “It’s been a big year for your family, hasn’t it?”

  “That it has,” his father replied.

  “You must be very proud. Your family is growing and everyone looks so happy.”

  Nodding, Domenic said, “I am and they are. It does my heart good to see them all settling down and starting families.”

  “Well,” Steve said, grinning at Kyle. “Not all of them.”

  Ugh…why did I think this was a better idea?

  With a bit of a forced smile, Kyle said, “So how about you, Pastor Steve? What’s new and exciting with you?”

  Luckily, he took the change of subject in style. “Well, let’s see…oh, Shelby and Sam are expecting a baby!”

  Of course they are…

  “That’s wonderful news!” Domenic said. “Congratulations! First grandbabies are always exciting!” Then he smiled at Jake. “And you’ve got a new baby as well, right?”

  “Yes, sir. This is mine and Mallory’s first big outing since Emma was born.”

  Kyle tuned out while they talked about the wonders of children and grandchildren and he wished he were anywhere but here. Everywhere he looked, people were laughing and smiling and having a great time, and all he could think about was when he could leave. Maybe once dessert was served, he’d go out to The Sand Bar for some drinks and see who was hanging out or maybe even drive down the coast a bit and see if any of the other clubs looked promising.

  “So Jake and I were just talking about an upcoming project that might interest you, Kyle,” Steve was saying, interrupting his thoughts.

  “Oh?”

  “Do you happen to remember the Albright family?”

  His heart literally stopped. He was certain of it.

  “The name sounds familiar, but…” he choked out, desperately wishing he’d walked away sooner.

  “Of course you remember them, Kyle,” his father said, smacking him on the back of the head. “You dated their daughter Sydney for two years in high school! What’s the matter with you?”

  Right now? The possibility of having a heart attack.

  “Yes,” Steve said, remembering. “Their younger daughter—Sydney—was a year behind you in school and their older daughter Tracy was a year ahead,” Steve went on. “Anyway, they all lived here in Magnolia up until a few years ago. Dan and Lisa retired down in Florida, Sydney went away to school and is working up in Boston, and Tracy married Daren Trager. They had been living down in Georgia but recently moved back and bought a house here in town.”

  “O-kay…”

  “Last month, Tracy and Daren were killed in a car accident. You remember the one where the car went off the bridge?”

  Everyone remembered it, Kyle thought. It was right here on the edge of town. He remembered seeing the news reports on TV and reading about it in the newspaper. It was incredibly sad. He’d gone to the funeral and paid his respects—from a distance. He had been a little too afraid to go talk to Sydney because of the way things had ended between them.

  “Wait…they had a kid, right? A daughter?” Kyle asked, suddenly unsure what the reports said happened to the child.

  Steve nodded somberly. “Fortunately, Haley wasn’t in the car with them. They were out on a date night.” He shook his head. “It was a bit of a mad scramble because Daren doesn’t have any family left—only child and his parents had him later in life—and all of Tracy’s family was out of state. Haley was sleeping at a friend’s house and was able to stay with them until Dan, Lisa, and Sydney were able to get here.”

  Kyle took another sip of his drink before asking, “Definitely a tragedy, but…what does this have to do with me?”

  “Oh, yes, of course,” Steve said with a small laugh. “Sydney has decided to move here. She’s Haley’s guardian. She’s going to move into their home and raise her niece here in Magnolia.”

  “I’m still not seeing…”

  Jake was the one to respond. “Daren and Tracy had just purchased their home a few months ago. It’s located on Sound Drive, down near the end. Older home. They were very excited about renovations. Apparently, they got an excellent deal on the house because it needed so much work.”

  Okay, now it was all beginning to make sense.

  “So Coleman’s going to do the work?”

  Jake nodded. He was the owner of the largest construction company in the region and it made sense that he’d be involved.

  “I planned on talking to you about it on Monday,” Jake said, giving Steve a quick glance. “But…maybe it’s the kind of project that you’d like to take the lead on.”

  “Me?” he asked incredulously.

  Steve just smiled serenely. “I just wanted you to have a little backstory so you’d take it into consideration. Right now, Sydney needs all the help she can get. Losing her sister, becoming a full-time caregiver to her niece, moving, finding a new job, and dealing with a home that needs a considerable amount of work is a lot for anyone to take on.” He smiled again. “Just…promise you’ll think about it.” Then he congratulated Domenic again and nodded to both Jake and Kyle before walking away.

  “That’s the kind of story that just breaks your heart and makes you thankful for all the good we’ve got in our lives, doesn’t it?” his father asked.

  Jake nodded solemnly. “We can talk about this on Monday, Kyle. I didn’t expect Steve to bring it up in the middle of the party.”

  “Just…just tell me about it now.”

  With a frown, Jake straightened. “The church is raising funds to help with the renovations Sydney is going to need to do on the house. I went over there on Thursday and checked it all out, and…it’s kind of a mess.”

  “Damn.”

  “Yeah. I know.” He paused. “It’s not just cosmetic; it’s everything. Whatever it was that Tracy and Daren paid for that house, I think it was too much because it’s a lot of work. I know Daren was kind of handy and he started a few things, but we’re looking at plumbing, electrical…hell, I wish we could just gut the place, but that’s not going to happen.”

  “Is it even safe for her to be living there? And with a kid?”

  “It’s not ideal, but now that we know exactly what the issues are, we’re going to do what we can to get things fixed as soon as possible. The plumbing and electric had to come first.”

  He nodded. “Right.”

  “Luckily, both those guys were willing to donate their time and only charged for materials. T
he church already had enough money in their fund to cover that.”

  “Okay. Great.”

  Jake took a moment and looked around the room, waving to someone and smiling, and Kyle felt like he was more confused than he was a few minutes ago.

  “Um…Jake?”

  Facing him, his boss gave a grim smile. “Do you remember Ezekiel Coleman?”

  “You mean the guy who started Coleman Construction? Founding member of Magnolia Sound? Um…yeah.”

  “He was also my mentor. He spent his life working to make this town everything it is today and always strived to help the people in the community. I want to follow that example.”

  He nodded again and figured there was a point to this story.

  “The thing is, I don’t have the funding behind me that Zeke did. If it were up to me, I’d cover the cost of all the work Sydney needs. I’m going to do what I can, but…I need someone I can trust to be there every day to make sure the work is getting done and getting done right.” He paused. “I’d like you to take on that position, Kyle.”

  “Seriously? Me? Why?”

  “You’ve been with me for a while now and I can see you’re ready to take on more responsibility. I haven’t had any jobs come in that I felt were a good fit for you to start training as a foreman on, but I think this could be it.”

  “Holy shit! That’s amazing! Thank you! I…I really wanted to talk to you about moving up, but…I don’t know. I didn’t want to overstep or anything.”

  Jake smiled. “You’re a great worker, Kyle, and I know you’ve helped out with some home renovation work with all of your siblings’ homes, so…I figured this would be a good project for you.” Then he paused.