Cassandra Haslam loves plans. Lunch plans, wedding plans, and floor plans—they all bring her joy. In fact, she's had her entire life planned out—career, marriage, and family—since age ten. She's smart, hard-working, and a real go-getter, and everything has fallen into place so far.
Until her husband dies suddenly, right when she's about to enjoy the fruits of all of her hard work and planning, leaving Cass reeling and...well, without a plan.
When her youngest graduates three months later, making her an empty-nester as well as a widow, Cass decides it's time to make a new plan for herself.
It's not a back-up plan.
It's a paradise plan.
With one of her best friends now living in Hilton Head, Cass makes a move and purchases a piece of waterfront property on the island. It's the perfect place to build her paradisiacal life and her new self as she designs and constructs a beautiful beach house.
But when she injures herself—not in the plan, by the way—she meets general-contractor-turned-doctor Harrison Tate. He helps her out of a jammed thumb, a sprained ankle, and a bruised ego.
When he keeps showing up unannounced at her construction site, sometimes with her favorite pastries, Cass starts to wonder if she should add him to her daily routine... If she does, will her perfectly laid out plans fall short of paradise? Or could she find her new life and a new love, all without any plans at all?
Harrison pulled up to the appointed pick-up spot, easily spotting Grant and Bea—and a beautiful brunette. She stood taller than Bea by several inches, and she had the long limbs and grace of a woman who came from wealth.
Harrison tried not to judge her so quickly, because he’d heard Bea and Grant talk about her plenty. A widow for over a year now. Three kids. Parents and a sister in Texas. A golden retriever, whom he didn’t see. So she’d left him with someone, and Harrison found himself wondering who the lovely Cassandra Haslam might trust enough to leave her beloved pet with.
He came to a stop and immediately jumped out of his SUV. As he rounded the tailgate and came face-to-face with Cassandra, he drawled, “Hello,” his face feeling hotter than it should. He reached for her bag at the same time Grant did, and Harrison found himself wanting to swat his friend’s hand away.
He pulled, and Grant pulled, and the suitcase went nowhere. “Oof.” Grant stepped back, and Harrison still had a grip on the bag. It suddenly came in his direction, and he flinched away from it so he didn’t get hurt. He stumbled slightly, catching himself against the brake light, and the suitcase toppled to the ground.
“Sorry.” He hurried to retrieve it, then fumbled with the button to get the back hatch to lift. Grant stared at him as if he’d grown an extra eye, and Harrison’s whole body flamed with South Carolina heat as he hefted Cassandra’s bag into the back of the SUV.
“There’s another one, Harrison,” Bea said, and he bustled over to the sidewalk like he was Cassandra’s personal butler. He told himself to calm down. He shouldn’t be acting like an overeager dog to please this woman.
If he was going to start dating again—which he wasn’t—he’d pick this woman, his brain shouted at him.
“Cass,” Bea said as he rolled the bag closer to the back of the vehicle. “This is Harrison Tate.”
He grunted as he lifted this much bigger and much heavier bag into his car. He dusted his hands as he turned to face the pair of women. “Nice to meet you,” he said.
“Harrison,” Bea said. “This is Cassandra Haslam. My best friend in the whole world.” She linked her arm through Cass’s, and the two of them smiled at one another.
Cass then faced him, her smile staying clipped in place. She had long eyelashes framing her dark eyes, and a maturity in her face that only came with age. Her teeth sat straight and white, and she gripped his hand firmly as they shook. “It’s great to meet you, Harrison,” she said. Even her voice painted pictures in his ears.
Pure adrenaline soared through him, and he couldn’t release her hand. She didn’t pull back either, and they stood there, looking at one another. He wasn’t sure if the charge filling him was adrenaline anymore, but perhaps…electricity.
“You can’t park here,” someone said, and Harrison startled. He pulled back and Cass did too.
“Yeah, we’re going,” he said. He glanced back to Cass, but she’d ducked her head and started to move around the corner of the SUV to get in.
Harrison did the same, berating himself for falling into some sort of trance. How old was he? Fifteen?
Starstruck by a beautiful woman. He ground his teeth together and shook his head. “Don’t act like a fool,” he muttered to himself. Then he yanked open the door and got behind the wheel.
A USA Today Bestselling and Amazon Kindle All-Star Author, Elana writes clean and wholesome contemporary romance. She is well-known for her young adult dystopian romance series Possession, Surrender, Abandon, and Regret, published by Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster). She writes clean beach romance in the
Hawthorne Harbor Second Chance Romance series, the Getaway Bay Romance series, the Getaway Bay Resort Romance series,the Forbidden Lake Romance series, the Stranded in Paradise Romance series, the Hope Eternal Ranch Romance series, the Sweet Water Falls Farm Romance series, and the Carter's Cove Romance series. Elana also writes inspirational western romances under the USA Today bestselling pen name of Liz Isaacson. Learn more at Liz's website. Elana is the force behind Indie Inspiration, and you can find her books for writers, Writing and Releasing Rapidly and Writing Killer Cover Copy among others, and join her group and page on Facebook. She runs a personal blog on publishing and is a founding author of the QueryTracker blog, a co-founder of The League of Extraordinary Writers, and a co-organizer of WriteOnCon. She is a member of ALLi and NINC and a popular speaker for libraries, teens, and writer's conferences across the United States. To contact Elana to speak at your event, please see her contact page.
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