Yours Until Morning

By Felicity Collins

​​Combining a steamy romance with all-too-human characters, Felicity Collins’s Yours Until Morning is a captivating tale about fighting to support the person you love.

Defying her naysayers, Amber Carlyle has worked hard for her social media correspondent position at New Day America. Never mind she’s been in the position for five years running. So when she lands the opportunity of a lifetime to be co-anchor on national television, she’s ready to prove she’s got what it takes. All Amber needs to do is convince the handsome, media-wary billionaire she ghosted six months ago to do an interview with her.

Bastian Howard is quick-witted and not afraid to speak his mind. He’s also caring, attentive, and has a total soft spot for Amber. So when she shows up at his office unannounced offering him an interview on her news network, he can’t say no. This may be the only chance Bastian has to get the truth from Amber.

With her career hinging on the success of the interview, Amber can’t allow her lingering feelings for Bastian to get in the way. But as the two grow closer in preparation for the interview, Amber must ask herself how far she is willing to go to get what she wants.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bryant Street Shorts
• Release date: Oct 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9781094422916

Book preview

Chapter 1

You can’t fire me, I quit! Kristina, the co-anchor of New Day America shouted at the camera. Standing off to the side, Amber Carlyle watched in horror as the morning news legend backed her chair away from the anchor desk, surged to her feet, and stormed off the set.

Amber’s body went numb. Even her thoughts shut off as the disbelief washed over her. The set turned quiet. It was the sort of tense silence that stretched on forever. Seeming to suck in everything in its path: ad dollars, careers, reputations, dignity. All made worse by the fact that they were currently live on the air. Millions of Americans were watching Kristina’s empty chair swivel aimlessly.

Somebody has to step in, Amber thought desperately.

Surely a producer would cut to commercial. Or the weatherman could rush out to start reading the weather forecast. As awkward as either might be, it couldn’t possibly get any worse.

Without warning, the main camera rotated, stopping to focus on Amber.

No. Oh God no.

Amber’s segment had been scheduled right after Kristina’s. But there was nothing on the teleprompter to guide her through this disaster. And nothing in her years of journalism school, her stint on local news, or her time at New Day America could possibly have prepared Amber for this moment. Nobody quit their anchor position at morning news. Even if they did, they definitely didn’t quit live on air in front of millions of viewers.

Sweat formed on her brow. Under the intense glare of the studio lights, Amber could feel the heat practically set her skin on fire.

"Carlyle, say something," her news producer yelped into her ear.

The sudden, unexpected sound of her producer’s voice almost made her jump out of her stilettoes. Amber rarely needed prompting from her producers and right now, she’d give anything to take off her earpiece and rush off the set.

Mortified, Amber’s gaze darted beyond the camera to the camera operator, whose eyebrows had raised right up to his receding hairline. Camera operators were usually expressionless. The look of shock on Larry’s face said it all. They were all screwed if they didn’t find a way to salvage this.

Right now, the show needed her to get it together.

Heart pounding, she plastered a smile on her face and looked directly into the camera. Hello there, America.

Somewhere through the fog of her own frantic thoughts and the roar of the silence, Amber heard her producer groan in despair.

No doubt, she had given the worst segue in TV news history.

Amber cleared her throat, determined to try again. She shifted her posture, trying to appear as relaxed as possible. But the movement felt so stiff that she knew the audience at home would notice. Legs shaking, anxiety rippled through her and a cold dread skittered down her spine. She sucked in several deep breaths to steady her nerves.

Thank you for joining us this morning. As you can see, Kristina forgot to have her morning coffee, she quipped, hoping that her tone was casual enough for the audience to get in on her attempt at a joke. I’m sure a lot of us are grouchy in the morning until we’ve had our regular dose of caffeine. Now, on to this morning’s headlines…

Amber had no idea how she managed it, but she got through the headlines and her own segment. When it was over, she rushed off the set towards her dressing room, nearly tripping over the wires on the floor in her desperation to get out of the line of fire.

As she dashed down the hall, her producer, Roger Evans poked his head out of the control room. Carlyle, we need to talk. Now.

Her heart hammered. It was never a good sign when Roger wanted to talk. Maybe she’d handled Kristina’s sudden departure so badly that they were going to fire her. That would be the exact sort of mess she’d get into. A classic Amber move. Unceremoniously getting the boot after the beloved co-anchor quit on live television.

Nobody will even notice I’m gone, she thought despondently. After five years as the social media correspondent, getting canned was probably inevitable. It was the most thankless job in morning news. All she did was read social media posts on air. And after her less than stellar performance under pressure this morning, this was probably the end of the line.

Swallowing hard, she stepped into the control room on shaky legs. The place was in chaos. Most of the producers were shouting into their headphones, rattling off orders to the on-air talent they watched on the video monitors. Meanwhile the rest of the staff was running in and out of the control, seemingly trying to locate Kristina. Only Roger appeared calm. At least, calm compared to the rest of the news show staff.

With a grim look on his face, Roger steered her to a relatively quiet corner of the room.

What on earth is happening? Amber asked, fighting to keep the note of desperation from her voice. Tell me that was a publicity stunt.

The producer adjusted his glasses as he shook his head. No. Kristina really quit. She’s out.

What? Her eyes widened. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Kristina had been at New Day America for almost twenty years. The show was an institution. Kristina Jeffers was an institution. Why would she quit on air like that?

This isn’t public yet so don’t say I said. Roger glanced around, making sure they weren’t overheard. The network was negotiating a new contract with Kristina.

She wanted more money?

God, if only. He ran a hand through his thinning white hair in frustration. Kristina wanted the studio to hire her new boyfriend. Give him a senior position at the show. She wanted that written into the contract.

Amber’s mouth fell open. Her boyfriend in a senior role? He has zero experience in television.

Yeah, and he’s a total incompetent. Kristina’s been trying to foist the guy onto us for months, Roger took his glasses off and scrubbed a hand across his weathered face in frustration. See, this is what happens when you never say no to the talent. They start to think we’re here to babysit their significant others.

A pang of envy went through her. In all the years Amber had worked at the show, Kristina had been lucky in love, or unlucky depending on how you looked at it. To Amber, the legendary news anchor was lucky. Married and then divorced, followed by a string of handsome, doting boyfriends. Kristina had seen marriage and dating as one whirlwind romance after another. A sensuous adventure. Meanwhile, Amber freaked out by date three and bolted before things got serious. Relationship anxiety had turned her love life into a revolving door of guys she ditched early and often. The moment she got a sense that things might turn serious Amber bailed. Companionship was one thing, but commitment? That meant putting her heart on the line. Giving someone the chance to see that deep down, she could only disappoint them. That letdown was inevitable since she refused to get into a situation where she lost control. Lost herself. The truth was, when it came to relationships, Amber was stuck in a rut of her own making. She was her father’s daughter after all. The small town girl who couldn’t live up to expectations. Any relationship she got involved in seemed doomed from the start. Just like her parents’. For her, it felt impossible to let go and live in the moment. Fear of an inevitable breakup kept her frozen with fear. She wondered what it must be like to be so enamored with someone that nothing else mattered. Not even the pain of the past.

But she kept those thoughts to herself and asked, Does that mean Kristina is unemployed now?

According to her, she got a better offer from another network, so my guess is she’s taking it. She probably left to pack her bags for her move out to California with her boyfriend. Roger grimaced and then his expression turned momentarily sheepish. Me telling her to get her act together this morning must have been the last straw.

What’s the reaction like? she pressed anxiously. The outside response would likely make or break the next few years of her career. Bad?

Social media is losing it. Kristina’s walk off is the number one trending topic on just about every platform. Rival networks are eating it up. This is the best chance they’ve ever had to catch us in the ratings. Roger put his glasses back on and crossed his arms. The worst part is that UBC network executives are freaking out. And when they freak out, heads start to roll if there isn’t a solution. They’ve put me in charge of fixing this mess.

Where does that leave us? The show? Our jobs?

The show isn’t going anywhere. It’ll be here long after we’re retired, he explained. Anyway, Lara’s flying back to New York as we speak, so we’ll at least have a co-anchor for the rest of the week.

Lara Chen was the show’s other co-anchor, as legendary a figure in broadcast news as Kristina Jeffers. Okay, that’s good. Lara’s presence will calm things. Our audience loves her.

"Yeah, but the show thrives with two lead anchors. New Day America has always had co-anchors. Always. Roger’s shoulders sagged and he looked so defeated that Amber’s stomach tightened. We have to get a replacement ASAP."

Her unease vanished, replaced by a ripple of excitement. This was her chance. After all these years languishing as the social media correspondent, she could finally prove the naysayers back home wrong. Finally have the successful career she had always wanted. I can do it.

Roger gave a dry, humorless chuckle and waved his hand dismissively. No offense Carlyle, but you’re not even up for consideration here. You’re a no name.

Hey, I did a decent job today considering how blind-sided we were, she pointed out.

You managed not to puke on yourself during a live broadcast, Roger said with a roll of his eyes. Congratulations.

No matter how excited she was at the opportunity, Amber knew she was going to face an uphill battle. Despite her experience in front of the camera, the truth was, she was still a small town girl. The cutthroat world of national news intimidated even the most hardened TV veteran. It terrified her every single day. Especially right now.

But she wasn’t going to give up on her dream. She was prepared to fight for herself and show her boss that she could do this job better than anyone. "I know New Day America like the back of my hand. I wouldn’t need to learn the ropes. I’m ready to dive in no problem."

Roger scrutinized her and gave a slow nod. Okay. Fair point. Plus, you didn’t completely break under pressure. So, prove that you’ve really got what it takes. Get me an interview that will blow my socks off.

Amber threw her shoulders back, trying to project confidence. Who do you want me to interview? The mayor? The governor? The president? I can interview anyone.

No. That’s what everyone would expect us to do. Roger shook his head and glanced over her shoulder at the video monitors on the far wall. Him. I want you to interview him.

She turned to follow his gaze, her eyes landing on the monitor playing footage that made her heart stop. It was video of one of the richest men alive – arrogantly striding into a congressional hearing. That footage was practically a piece of American history because it was one of