Finding Amy

By Cristina Grenier

Sir Noah Archibald Appleton and Sydonie Amelia Bailey are as unlikely a pair of lovers as there ever was. Archie's a baronet with a multi-billion business in the hotel and tourist industry from Woodstock, England; Amy's a social worker from Poughkeepsie, New York. She's black, he's white. She's open and uninhibited; he's the master of the stiff upper lip. She's only ever been in one relationship; he's been known to play the field. She manages to keep herself financially solvent; he's a billionaire. And that they even met at all is beyond coincidence. He helps her when she runs into him, literally, and once they realize what she has seen, they inform the police.

Afterwards, the sparks fly, despite his best efforts to keep his distance, but instead of staying with him as Archie would like, Amy returns to the States. They Skype, text, and call, and he falls more deeply in love with her. And when he visits her for Christmas, they confess their feelings to each other. Then she disappears. Her older brother Sid, a lieutenant colonel in the Army, joins the search party. Will Noah find the woman he has come to love before it's too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Monster Media LLC
• Release date: Mar 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386048916

Book preview

Finding Amy

Cristina Grenier

Want to receive a FREE copy of this

full length BWWM Romance by bestselling author Cristina Grenier?

Click the cover below.

Chapter 1: A Damsel in Distress

What the heck had she just seen? Amy Bailey blinked, and looked again. No...she wasn’t dreaming. It was real. Flora had just fallen over, like a rag doll in slow motion, on the blanket she was sitting on. Amy had come to Santa Clara to visit her friend Florangel Rosado, and to take a break from the work she did with troubled teens in Poughkeepsie, New York. Tonight would be her last night on the island. She was due back home the next afternoon, though she had another week of vacation, which she had planned to spend cleaning her house and visiting with her family in New York City.

Now, she wasn’t even sure she would get off the island alive. Because she had just seen Karim put something into her friend’s drink while Flora was distracted, and then she had watched as Flora collapsed. Flora had been with the short black man named Karim for five days, and they had seemed to be hitting it off. She had gone down with them to the beach to hang out until the beach party began, and had come back from her swim and pulled her wrap over her bathing suit. Neither of them had noticed her return, as she had sat a bit away from them on a little dune to give them some privacy. Flora had insisted that she wanted her there, and now it seemed Amy had witnessed a crime.

Flora, she called out, softly at first, and then louder. Her friend didn’t answer, but Karim looked over at her, his eyes wide and cold. Amy surged up from the sand, grabbed her flip flops and beach bag, and ran. The stones on the path she had run to hurt her feet, and after a few minutes, she wondered if she was bleeding. But she kept running, turning corners, ducking into doorways, listening, as she ran, for the sounds of pursuit. She knew this part of the village well, having been to this island for numerous visits in the past, and it was serving her well now. The sounds faded. She turned another corner and stopped just behind a large flowering plant, dragging air into her lungs, and trying to dispel the image that had sent her flying from her perch atop the little hill of sand on the beach.

Now, as she struggled to breathe where she had hidden herself, she planned her next move. The resort where she was staying was still too far away to run to, but she could go to Flora’s place, for which she had a key, and hide in the storm shelter. Karim wouldn’t expect to find her there. She just had to leave the shelter of the big plant behind which she had been hiding for the last five minutes and expose herself to everyone’s eyes, including Karim’s if he was still around, for about a minute.

Still deliberating about how to move with the least amount of attention to herself, she thought about how she would need help to get off the island. If she went to the police, she’d need to have hard evidence of foul play, and as she hadn’t stuck around to see what else Karim had done, she didn’t even know where Flora was now, or what he had done with her friend. And she didn’t really know anyone else on the island. Except...she recalled the man she had met only that morning.

‘Met’ was probably not the best word to describe her encounter at sunrise as she was going down to the beach for a run. She had just started her jog when she rounded the corner and slammed into a wet, solid wall of muscle. She stumbled backwards, and the man grabbed her arms to stop her from falling flat on her generous behind. She looked up with a tentative smile.

I...I’m so sorry, she said, trying to extricate herself from his grasp. I should pay more attention to where I’m going.

Indeed, he agreed, rather unchivalrously she thought, but then how else would we have met? His English accent was unmistakable.

Amy looked up for the first time into the man’s face, and managed to withhold the sound of shock at the sight of the most impressive male features she had ever beheld in her entire life. Mr. Englishman was taller than her, wider than her, and sexier than her on her best day. He had more hair on his head than she did; in fact, his was long enough that he had it restrained in a ponytail at his nape. Hers, on the other hand, cupped her scalp like a second skin. His eyes were a warm brown, with a ring of gold in the center. His lips were round and smooth and thick enough to make her wish she had met him elsewhere at a better time and in a different place. His cheekbones were hard planes that she wished she could smooth the edges of, and yet she knew somehow that if he smiled, they would lose that tough edge and morph into something far more seductive.

I’m Archie Appleton, he had said, releasing her so he could extend a hand. His English accent made her shiver. And you are?

Bowled over...er, Amy. I’m Amy Bailey. She blushed furiously even as she extended her hand to shake his.

He smiled, and Amy caught her breath. She hated the fate that had led her meet her dream man when she only had one day left of her vacation.

It’s a pleasure to meet you, Bowled-Over Amy, he replied, straight-faced. I’m awestruck myself.

She dared to look into his face again and saw the mischief in his brown eyes, and she chuckled. She couldn’t help it. He was so unexpected, and he made her feel safe, which she didn’t understand.

He paused, hands still on her arms, and then he let her go and said, I’m staying there. He pointed to the five-star hotel to her left and Amy blinked. It was a new luxury hotel, about which it had been reported for weeks before its opening that the owner was an English billionaire playboy who had lived on the island as a boy and wanted to give back to the community. Was this guy that billionaire? She didn’t recall the billionaire’s name.

Are you the guy who owns this place, Mr. Appleton? she asked, blunt as ever. She had never been known for mincing her words, or playing games with people. Her approach had always been direct, and she saw no reason to change now, especially since she was seriously considering how she might meet him again before she left for home the next day.

I am, he said, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Why? Is it significant?

His tone was suspicious, and Amy supposed she could understand that. For all he knew, she could be a gold digger waylaying him. She hastened to reassure him.

No, not at all, but it makes me think you can be trusted. She looked him square in the eyes this time, needing him to see her sincerity.

He studied her face for a moment, and then said, Fair enough, B-O-A. What is your verdict?

She frowned in puzzlement. B-O-A? she asked, ignoring his question.

Bowled-Over Amy. His tone was deadpan, though his eyes were bright with mischief, and his lips twitched.

This time, Amy laughed, a full-throated sound of pure pleasure. This man was a prize, even if he was a playboy. If he could get her to laugh within five minutes of meeting her, he was a winner.

You’re funny, she said sarcastically. I like a man with a sense of humor.

I’m pleased to hear it. I like bold women who speak their minds.

Amy smiled. Here was a man whom she might like to spend some time with, and have a little harmless fun before she went home. He was certainly really easy on the eyes, though she could sense a core of steel in him. She supposed a man who made billions by the sweat of his brow wouldn’t be a pushover. She had never had much use for soft men who let others decide how they lived their lives. This man seemed different.

Now, as she prepared to move from her hiding place, she wished she knew how to find him. She felt sure he would help her. She turned, inhaled deeply, and put her foot out to run. Instead of making it over to the covered path she was heading for, though, she smacked into someone and her heart hammered in panic. She raised a hand to slap at the ones holding her away from the stranger’s body, and noticed that they were tanned, not cocoa brown like Karim’s, and that the hands were big and veined, with long fingers ending in neatly trimmed nails. A second later the man’s accent, as he asked if she was okay, sent a thrill of relief coursing through her. He wasn’t Karim. He was Archie Appleton.

We have to stop meeting like this, he joked, steadying her on her feet as she stumbled.

Amy stared at his smiling face, and felt a wash of emotions sweep over her. Between her fear about what she had seen, and her frustration at meeting a man she might like at an inconvenient time, and her anger at the whole mess, she wanted to scream.

Instead, she tried to pull away from his hands and said, Look, she said, I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m in a bit of a hurry. I can’t linger here. It isn’t safe. Someone was chasing her, and she didn’t have time for idle chit chat or harmless flirtations. She had a life to save...her own.

She bit her lip as she made the last statement. She had let more slip than she intended, but maybe it was her subconscious telling her she needed help if she was to escape from Karim. He didn’t know where she lived, so if she could get off the island without being seen, she’d be home safe. However, if she got someone else involved in this unexpected adventure, then that would be borrowing trouble.

Why is it not safe? Archie’s hands had not budged, and in fact, upon hearing her choice of words, they had tightened almost imperceptibly. Are you in some kind of trouble, Amy?

She bit her lip, glad that he remembered her name, but still wondering if she could trust him, if she should. Clearly, he noted her hesitation.

Why don’t you come back to my suite with me and tell me all about it? he suggested. When she slanted a dirty look at him, one that said, I know what you want to do with me in your room, mister, and it has nothing to do with talking, he hastened to add, I was just heading up when you bumped into me, so this isn’t a Plan B. If you need to use a phone, or the bathroom, you may do so from the safety of my room.

Thanks, but I don’t need...I don’t wish to impose on you, she said. At the last second, she wasn’t sure she didn’t need his help, but she didn’t want to bother him, or put him in danger.

It’s not an imposition if I make the offer, is it? he asked reasonably. When she shook her head uncertainly, knowing he was right, he continued, So maybe you can trust me.

Amy hesitated for a moment longer. She did need someone’s help, and he was here already, and at the opportune moment. She had to do something about what she had seen, and he might know someone who could help her. She said, trying to hide her unease, I suppose you look harmless enough.

He chuckled, unoffended by her words. Does that mean I pass muster, and you will accompany me to my suite? he wanted to know. I don’t mean to be rude or to rush you, but I have an important meeting in about thirty minutes, and I need to change, he told her.

She was instantly contrite. Oh, I’m so sorry. Yes, I’ll go with you.

He reached out for her hand, and she took it, and let him lead her over to the beautiful new high-rise closest to where they stood. Well, high-rise was a bit of a stretch...it was only ten floors, and the newspaper article she had read about it said that he had deliberately planned for a low rise resort, to allow for more intimacy, and to keep the hotel closer to its neighbors. So instead of one super tall structure, he had built three, which of course meant he was likely to rake in a lot of cash, while he could at the same time employ more people to run and maintain the properties.

She hazarded a glance around as they walked into the building. Still no sign of Karim, for which she was grateful. The property was accessed on this side by a high security fence, through which one could only gain entrance with a key card. Her rescuer spoke and the gate opened.

You don’t need a key, I see, she said, impressed by the technology.

I had it programmed for a few voices, mine included, he replied, as he escorted her out of the harsh heat of the day into the cool interior. She walked with him to a private elevator, and was soon sitting on a very expensive leather sofa in his penthouse suite. Help yourself to anything you want to eat or drink, he told her. I’ll be out in a few minutes.

Amy watched her rescuer as he walked away, glad that for a moment she could distract herself by admiring him. She found that she liked the whole package a lot. His butt filled out the shorts he wore very nicely, and in other circumstances it would have played havoc with her peace of mind. His hairy legs were long and strong, his thighs thick and hard. He had an almost military bearing, and she wished he were not just a wealthy playboy. She could use a soldier right now...a SEAL maybe, or some other hotshot GI Joe-type, to help her. She hadn’t had a chance to see him from the front, aside from his face, and she wondered if he was as delightful to look at there as well. She sighed. She would never know now, because when he emerged from his bedroom, he would be fully clothed, and all that masculine sexuality oozing from him would be completely hidden. She took another moment to complain to herself about God’s bad timing in all things related to her very sketchy love life. Then she considered her options.

Karim was no doubt still looking for her. How was she to get her things from