Sunsets and New Beginnings: A Heaven's Beach Love Story, #1

By Teri Riggs

Mandi Waters had the worst day ever. She lost her job, found her fiancé in bed with her best friend, then discovered he'd been stealing from her. She seeks refuge with her beloved aunt in the peaceful seaside town of Heaven's Beach. Her ability to trust may be in tatters, but the handsome businessman with the surfer boy looks, might have her reconsidering.

Josh Foster's mother has her greedy eyes on the only waterfront property left in Heaven's Beach. Unfortunately, it belongs to a woman unwilling to sell. Her solution is simple: coerce Josh into seducing the owner's niece, in hopes she'll sell. However, Josh will never get involved in the same kind of sordid relationships his mother had. Especially when he meets Mandi. She's the kind of woman he could love--until he discovers Mandi is the prey his mother means to trap in her tangled web of deception.

Mandi and Josh have both sworn off love. But if they will let it, the magic of Heaven's Beach may help them find a way to let the sun set on the past and together discover a new beginning.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Teri Riggs
• Release date: Jun 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781386713814

Book preview

1

One week before Memorial Day…

Mandi Waters didn’t think her day could get any worse…until she opened her bedroom door and found she was sadly mistaken.

Her fiancé was sprawled across their bed, his arms stretched above his head and handcuffed to the brass headboard. Christy, her best friend—make that former bestie—was riding him like a rodeo queen, her legs hugging him like she was astride a bucking bronco. The only things Christy wore were Mandi’s pink cowgirl hat and a tiny tattoo on her ass. Mandi assumed the ink on Christy’s ass read, simply, slut.

Yee-haw! Ride ’em, cowgirl! Mandi yanked her hat off Christy’s head, swatted Tad with it, then pitched it to the floor. Had she really just said that?

Mr. Bucking Bronco pulled his pride and joy out of Christy and pitched her off with one single upward thrust of his hips, sending the cowgirl rolling onto the floor. Dammit, Mandi! What the hell are you doing home this time of day?

I find you and this two-faced ho in my bed, doing the nasty, and that’s all you have to say, Tad? She tossed her purse onto the small dresser. For the first time in all her twenty-four years, Mandi wished she owned a gun. Wasn’t losing her job at the little clothing boutique enough bad shit for one day?

It’s not what you think, sweetheart. Christy and me…well, we…umm…she handcuffed me and forced—

"I forced you? Christy heaved herself off the floor and slapped him across the face in pure girl-done-wrong fashion, the irony of the fact that she was the girl who’d done wrong obviously lost on her. Are you crazy? She grabbed her shirt from the foot of the bed and dragged it on. Have I been forcing you to play for the last three months?"

"Three months? You’ve been cheating on me for three months? Mandi twisted the ring on her left hand. Screwing your fiancée isn’t good enough for you? I’m surprised you even asked me to marry you." And damn sorry, too, if this was his idea of marital bliss. It sure as hell wasn’t hers.

Damn, Mandi. You are one stupid little Southern belle. Christy stepped into her shorts, shimmied them up, and stuffed her panties into her back pocket. She smoothed her bleached hair. You don’t love Tad, and I think you’re the only one who doesn’t realize it.

Mandi couldn’t move. It was as if her feet were glued to the floor. Her insides turned to mush and she broke out in a cold sweat as she forced the bile down. She scrubbed her eyes with the balls of her hands. She was not going to cry. Not over Tad. He wasn’t worth it.

And Christy? She was worth even less.

Tad twisted on the bed. Wait, Christy! Get me out of these cuffs.

I don’t think so, stud. I’ll leave you like that in case Mandi wants to go for her own eight seconds of glory. She strode out the bedroom door.

At least give me the damned key. Tad’s handsome face turned fifty shades of red as Christy slammed the apartment door behind her.

Mandi stared at the guy she was supposed to marry. His cheating manhood flopped to one side of his family jewels, looking as shriveled and defeated as his face.

Mandi. Sweetheart. Get me out of these and I’ll explain everything. This is fixable. He yanked the headboard. You know I love you. Give me a chance to show you.

Oh, you were giving me a show, all right. Just not the right one. She forced herself to move—to the closet, where she grabbed her suitcase, then threw the few articles of clothing she owned into it, not even caring that they weren’t folded neatly.

Her life had gone from neat and orderly to a shit storm of a mess in thirty seconds flat.

What are you doing, sweetheart? Come on, stop that and find something to get these cuffs off.

Mandi ignored him and stomped her pink cowgirl hat flat as she passed it. She emptied her drawers and added the contents to the rest of her things. Next, she went to the small bathroom and poured her toiletries and makeup into the bag.

She stormed into the living room and grabbed the picture of her parents and her off the mantle. It seemed like it’d been taken a million years ago, back when they’d still been a family and her parents were still alive. Aunt Abigail had taken the picture at the beach, the last time the three of them had visited her mom’s sister. She pressed a fist to her lips, fighting for control.

The furniture had come with the apartment and there really wasn’t anything else worth keeping. After setting aside what little she could, to some day have a real home, she’d basically lived paycheck to paycheck. She had always believed the apartment was too small to clutter it up with knickknacks and other unnecessary stuff. Mandi started towards the door, but stopped. Bear. She wasn’t going to leave him behind. He, at least, would never let her down.

She headed back to her former—as of five minutes ago—bedroom. Bear was perched at the foot of the bed. Sheesh, he’d had a full view of the rodeo.

She tucked Bear inside her purse. It’s a shame he had to witness you in your finest moments.

It’s a damned stuffed animal, Mandi. He doesn’t see shit. Tad tugged harder on his restraints. This isn’t funny anymore. Take these off.

Your slut-cootie girlfriend can unlock you. She pulled the one-carat diamond ring off her finger and laid it on his stomach. Needless to say, I won’t be marrying your cheating ass.

Listen to me, please, sweetheart.

Not gonna happen. I hope you have the miserable rest of your life you deserve. And on second thought, I’m keeping the ring. She snatched it back. She’d earned it.

The ring is a fake! Tad yelled. Bogus, like our relationship. Do you really think I’d ever marry someone like you, Mandi? Your clingy, needy ass makes me sick.

She threw the ring at him. You said it was your mom’s ring. Do you even know how to tell the truth? Like trudging through quicksand, it seemed to take hours to get to the front door. Still, she managed to keep her head held high and her back straight, when all she really wanted to do was curl up and cry.

She held her breath, closed the door behind her, and leaned against the wall. She willed her heartbeat to slow. As much as she hated Tad right now, his words still stung. If he was going for the kill, he’d succeeded. She stood with her back against the wall and cried until she ran out of tears.

It was humiliating, and she needed to leave in case Christy came back. She couldn’t face the woman who’d stabbed her in the back again. Mandi reached for her suitcase at the same time her building superintendent arrived.

Miss Waters, I’ve come to give you this. He handed her an envelope labeled Final Notice. Sorry it’s come to this. I’ve also filed for an eviction notice. You seem like a nice person. If you’d only come to me or at least responded to my non-payment notices, I could’ve worked something out. Made your rent payments easier.

I don’t understand. What are you talking about? She had never missed a payment in her life, even when it meant eating enough PB&J sandwiches to feed lunch to an entire elementary school.

You can’t ignore late payment notices without consequences. You left me no other choice.

But, Mr. Stanley, I’ve always paid on time. I give my half of the rent to Tad and he—oh no. He didn’t pay you, did he? Her heart sank. No wonder Tad had insisted he write the check every month. She’d been subsidizing him without even knowing it. I’m sorry, Mr. Stanley.

Mr. Stanley pointed to her luggage. I see things haven’t worked out between you and Mr. Lansing.

Not even close. Thank God for big favors.

I wish you well, young lady. He tapped the paper he held. Sadly, this will go on your credit report. But if you work hard, someday your credit history will be cleared.

Damn Tad, for more than just cheating. I appreciate the advice.

There was no way on earth her credit would be restored for years to come. She needed to go somewhere quiet, make a phone call, and check on the single credit card she had. Tad had ordered carry-out for them with her card number