Stroke of Love Read online

  Stroke of

  Love

  The Remingtons, Book Two

  Love in Bloom Series

  Melissa Foster

  Smashwords Edition

  Copyright 2014, Melissa Foster

  ISBN: 9781310024924

  Smashwords Edition, Copyright 2014, Melissa Foster

  ISBN: 9781310024924

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

  This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

  STROKE OF LOVE

  All Rights Reserved.

  Copyright © 2014 Melissa Foster

  V1.0

  This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Cover Design: Natasha Brown

  WORLD LITERARY PRESS

  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

  A Note to Readers

  I come from a family of several artists, so I was really excited to write Sage’s story. He’s got a heart bigger than the moon, and when he finds Kate, a woman who is equally driven to help others, it’s a match made in heaven. Their story has taken us on a romantic journey to Belize, and I hope you enjoy the getaway.

  Stroke of Love is the second book of The Remingtons and the eleventh book in the Love in Bloom series. While it may be read as a stand-alone novel, for even more enjoyment, you may want to read the rest of the Love in Bloom novels.

  To those who reach out and touch the lives of others in a positive, meaningful way

  PRAISE FOR MELISSA FOSTER

  “Contemporary romance at its hottest. Each Braden sibling left me craving the next. Sensual, sexy, and satisfying, the Braden series is a captivating blend of the dance between lust, love, and life.”

  —Bestselling author Keri Nola, LMHC

  (on The Bradens)

  “[LOVERS AT HEART] Foster’s tale of stubborn yet persistent love takes us on a heartbreaking and soul-searing journey.”

  —Reader’s Favorite

  “Smart, uplifting, and beautifully layered.

  I couldn’t put it down!”

  —National bestselling author Jane Porter

  (on SISTERS IN LOVE)

  “Steamy love scenes, emotionally charged drama, and a family-driven story make this the perfect story for any romance reader.”

  —Midwest Book Review (on SISTERS IN BLOOM)

  “HAVE NO SHAME is a powerful testimony to love and the progressive, logical evolution of social consciousness, with an outcome that readers will find engrossing, unexpected, and ultimately eye-opening.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “TRACES OF KARA is psychological suspense at its best, weaving a tight-knit plot, unrelenting action, and tense moments that don’t let up and ending in a fiery, unpredictable revelation.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “[MEGAN’S WAY] A wonderful, warm, and thought-provoking story...a deep and moving book that speaks to men as well as women, and I urge you all to put it on your reading list.”

  —Mensa Bulletin

  “[CHASING AMANDA] Secrets make this tale outstanding.”

  —Hagerstown magazine

  “COME BACK TO ME is a hauntingly beautiful love story set against the backdrop of betrayal in a broken world.”

  —Bestselling author Sue Harrison

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Flames of Love Excerpt - Chapter One

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  THICK BRANCHES SCRAPED the sides of the all-wheel-drive passenger van as it ambled along the narrow dirt road that divided the dense, unforgiving jungle. Sage Remington startled as a mass of giant leaves slapped against the grit-covered window. Plumes of dust billowed in their wake, swallowing the road, and Sage wondered if they were really heading toward civilization or away from it. The van keeled to the left, sending Sage and the other passengers flying across their seats until the bus rocked back to center and found its balance. Sage had never experienced anything like the trek to the remote village of Punta Palacia, and as he listened to the other passengers bitch and moan, he turned a deaf ear—and focused his artist’s eyes on the verdant jungle boasting some of the most vibrant and interesting hues he’d ever set his eyes on. He’d been living in the concrete jungle of New York City for the past five years and rarely had a chance to venture beyond the streets, offices, and subways. When he’d heard about Artists for International Aid (AIA), a nonprofit organization that brought educational, medical, and environmental programs to newly developing nations, he’d immediately volunteered to be a part of one of their two-week projects.

  “This is such bullshit. Belize, my agent said to me.” Actress Penelope Price gathered her long blond hair in her hand and pulled it over her shoulder, fanning her face with an exhausted sigh. “Think beautiful beaches and sunshine, she said.” After some fancy twisting and poking of a long, gold needlelike thing, she looked as if she was ready for the red carpet—or at least her hair was. The rest of her body—and her legs, which were long enough to wrap around any man’s waist twice—glistened with sweat. “My Chanel is ruined!”

  Sage shook his head at her Oscar-worthy performance. AIA worked with artists and celebrity volunteers, and as he listened to Penelope bitch, he wondered why she’d even volunteered for the project. He pulled a bandana from the pocket of his cargo shorts and wiped his forehead, which had long ago stopped beading with sweat and succumbed to the drenching wetness caused by the heat and humidity of southern Belize. Despite the sweat-soaked tank top clinging to his body like a second skin and the bitchy prima donnas he was traveling with, he didn’t regret his decision.

  “Stop your bitching,” Clayton Ray snapped. Clayton was a country music star and—from what Sage had witnessed at the airport and during the long flight over—an asshole extraordinaire. “You’ll have air-conditioning when we get there.”

  Sage hid his laugh behind a cough. AC, my ass. At least he knew
what he was getting into. Apparently, the others hadn’t been clued in to the realities of Punta Palacia. Sage was looking forward to the simplistic lifestyle, braving the heat and humidity of the jungle, and maybe, just maybe, figuring out why the hell a man who had enough money to buy half of New York and a career doing what he loved most felt so damn empty inside.

  “All I can say is that if there’s no air-conditioning, I’m heading back to Belize City. Pronto.” Cassidy Bay, a B-list actress, dabbed at her streaked eyeliner. “I can’t sleep in this weather, and without sleep, my eyes will be puffy.”

  Penelope whipped her head around to commiserate. “We can do that? Then why didn’t we just stay there?”

  Sage had been distracted and rushed when they’d boarded the van at the landing strip, and he had caught only a glimpse of Kate Paletto, the program director for AIA. He was six four and guessed she was about five two and weighed a buck ten soaking wet. He hadn’t gotten a good look at her face, but as she led them through to the van, he couldn’t help but notice her slim hips and sleek, feminine arms. From his seat in the second row, he could make out her long, silky dark hair, and he had a clear shot of her hand as it gripped the armrest so tightly her knuckles turned white. He wondered if it was from the banter or the bumpy ride.

  “No, Penelope. We talked about this, remember?” Luce Palmer, Penelope’s public relations specialist, sat in the back of the van. She was known in entertainment circles for being a hard-nosed negotiator and, most notably, for being able to turn around any celebrity’s bad reputation. “You’re here to rectify the damage you caused to your image. This is two weeks of…hardship to show you care about people other than yourself.”

  Hardship? Hell, Sage would relish being away from the stress and distraction of New York City. He worked late into most nights on his artwork and rarely even heard the phone when it rang. Maybe being away would help him to pay attention to other, more important things, too, and help him to not get so lost in his work. Spending two weeks in Punta Palacia seemed like the opposite of a hardship to him.

  Kate turned in her seat, flashing her vibrant blue eyes. She had dark lashes and the softest-looking skin he’d ever seen. The face of an angel. Jesus, where did that cliché come from?

  “I still don’t see why I couldn’t have gone on a vacation someplace else and gotten the same publicity,” Penelope said to Luce.

  “Because you’re here for humanitarian purposes, not a vacation.” Kate spoke with the confidence of a seasoned drill sergeant. Her harsh tone contrasted sharply with her soft features, giving her a good-girl, bad-girl vibe that she appeared to be completely oblivious to—and that Sage could not ignore.

  Sage had come to Belize with a plan. His artwork commanded six figures, earning him a fine living and drowning him in feelings of unease. He’d always felt a desire to give back to the community, but no matter how much money he gave to charities, or how many hours he volunteered in New York City, he still felt hollow, as if, in the grand scheme of life, nothing he did made a difference. He hoped that experiencing a different type of giving back, in a country that wasn’t so gluttonous, might spark a deeper level of fulfillment. And now that he’d smelled the humid jungle air and drank in the passing beauty of the jungle, an idea was coming to him—and a woman wasn’t part of the plan. Not even a woman as beautiful and as intriguing as Kate.

  A whisper of a thought floated to the forefront of his mind while the others bitched and plotted about their predicament. Instead of just donating money, he could paint the local landscape and the people and send those paintings back to New York to be sold. The profits could come back to Punta Palacia. Surely they could use the money, and he couldn’t imagine anything being more fulfilling than doing what he loved for a bigger purpose. A few pieces each year could bring significant funds for areas that needed it much more than he did. His pulse kicked up as the idea took hold.

  “Well, this is not what I signed up for, so we’ll just see about this,” Penelope snapped.

  Cassidy made a tsk sound and turned away.

  The vehicle was taller and wider than a typical passenger van with a narrow aisle dividing two rows of seats. Kate rose to her feet, clutching a clipboard against her small but perfect breasts. “This is exactly what you signed up for,” she said to Penelope.

  Clayton’s leg stretched across the aisle like he owned it, and he made no attempt to mask his leering. His eyes took a slow, hungry stroll down Kate’s body. Sage’s muscles twitched. The guy was the epitome of the status-driven celebrities Sage sorely disliked—entitled. Motivated by money and fame, he used people like pawns and stepped on anyone who got in his way with no regard for their feelings.

  Kate narrowed her eyes in his direction. “Problem, Mr. Ray?”

  Sage was drawn to her confidence, the way she wasn’t afraid to challenge Clayton, and he was powerless to turn away. And her sexy little cutoffs weren’t helping him any. With his artist’s eye, he did a quick sweep of her features, hiding his glance behind his hand as he wiped his brow again. Her deep-set, slightly upturned, smoky blue eyes stopped him cold.

  “You too, Mr. Remington?” Kate arched a brow.

  Shit. Now he looked as bad as Clayton. Am I? He opened his mouth to explain—I was just checking you out from an artistic standpoint. One quick glance. Jesus, you have the sexiest eyes I’ve ever seen. Fuck. Never mind. Luckily, before he could put his foot in his mouth, she spoke.

  “Let’s get one thing straight. I’m sure this is very different from the harem-filled exotic resorts you’re used to, but here at Punta Palacia we have one goal. To help the community. And that does not include any sort of sexual action from me or any other AIA volunteer.” She eyed Penelope, whose gaze was burning a path directly to Sage, and Cassidy, who was sizing up Clayton. “What you do among yourselves is your business, but we expect you to carry out your humanitarian efforts with respect for our staff and the community. Got it?”

  The silence was deafening. Kate’s lips held tight in a don’t-mess-with-me line.

  “Got it.” The words were out of Sage’s mouth before he had time to think.

  She gave a curt nod.

  “Alrighty, then. We’ll see where we end up,” Clayton said with a heavy Southern drawl.

  Kate exchanged a half smile with Luce, as if they were sharing an inside joke. “When we get to the compound, you’ll be assigned a cabin. Once situated, we’ll meet at the community rec area. The path behind the cabins will lead you to the rec area. Please try to be there within thirty minutes so we can get everyone up to speed as quickly as possible.” Kate turned and lowered herself into her seat as the bus took a bumpy turn to the right and came to an abrupt stop.

  Despite himself, Sage wondered what Kate would be like if she weren’t wrangling self-centered celebrities. As he stole a peek at her profile, he realized that she’d lumped him in with Clayton, and he cringed. They hadn’t even arrived yet and already he was on some celebrity shit list in her mind. Or on that damn clipboard.

  KATE WAITED IMPATIENTLY while the prima donnas made their way down the dusty steps of the van. She’d been with AIA for almost five years and this was her second assignment out of the country. Each assignment lasted for two years, with an additional three months of training. In a few short weeks it would be over and she’d be flying back home to see her parents. She had misgivings about this assignment coming to an end. Punta Palacia had been her home for just over two years. She’d become close with the children at the school and the community, and she’d been lobbying for the installation of a well in the village. Just thinking about leaving everyone, especially before the decision on the well was made, caused her chest to constrict. Kate was good at a lot of things, but saying goodbye was not one of them.

  She held Clayton’s stare as he exited the bus. She’d learned early on that holding her ground with entitled celebrities was the only way to keep them in line. They were all the same: cocky, surly when she turned down their sexual advances, and goddamn
needy. It would take less than five minutes after they checked out their small cabins for them to stomp back with a demand to leave. Kate had never given too much thought to what it must be like going from a world of having everything at their fingertips to a developing nation such as Belize. She’d grown up traveling with her parents on Peace Corps missions and had been surrounded by families who worked with the Peace Corps her whole life. Once she’d graduated college, she couldn’t wait to leave the United States and get on with helping people who really needed it. Lately, though, she’d also longed for something more, although she hadn’t been able to put her finger on just what that more might be.

  “Where to, darlin’?” Clayton flashed his perfectly capped teeth with a wide smile.

  “You’re in cabin one. The first cabin you come to.” She pointed to the cabin, and when his smile widened, she knew she was in for trouble.

  Sweat dripped from beneath Clayton’s Stetson. He swiped at it with his forearm. “You don’t need to worry about us. We’re harmless.” He took a step closer.

  Kate was hyperaware of Sage standing behind him, his dark eyes narrowed, his jaw clenching.

  “Unless, of course, you’d like to try ridin’ a stallion.” Clayton’s smile morphed into a smirk, the left side of his mouth tilting up.

  Kate had been propositioned by celebrities before, but that didn’t stop her hand from fisting around her pen as she pulled her clipboard to her chest like a shield. As she opened her mouth to tell him what he could do with his offer, Sage stepped from the bus in his sweaty tank top and cargo shorts and cleared his throat loudly.