Jordan's Dream: Mountain Men of Cupid Lake, #5

By Kate Stone

Who says love at first sight never lasts?

 

Nathaniel is driven to make the world a better place. He's never had time for relationships, never mind love.

 

Jordan has returned home from college, cringing at the thought everyone will remember her as the flighty young girl she was. But how can she prove she's a mature, thoughtful person when she's already falling for the first man she met?

 

From the moment these two meet, their chemistry is off the charts but Jordan has a secret that could ruin everything. Can she overcome her past and allow herself to fall in love with Nathaniel or will history repeat itself?

 

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Jordan's Dream, the fifth book in Kate Stone's Mountain Men of Cupid Lake series, is a new adult instalove romance with an alpha male who will do anything to win his woman...and make her his. Of course these two have a happy ending, with no cheating and no cliffhanger. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kate Stone
• Release date: Jun 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201659790

Book preview

Jordan’s Dream

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by

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Kate Stone

Copyright 2021, Kate Stone

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, transmitted, or distributed in any printed or electronic form by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of Kate Stone, except in the case of brief quotations embodied within reviews and other non-commercial uses allowed by copyright law.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

For Mr. Stone, who makes all my dreams come true.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Jordan

Chapter 2: Nathaniel

Chapter 3: Jordan

Chapter 4: Nathaniel

Chapter 5: Jordan

Chapter 6: Nathaniel

Chapter 7: Jordan

Chapter 8: Nathaniel

Chapter 9: Jordan

Chapter 10: Nathaniel

Chapter 11: Jordan

Chapter 12: Nathaniel

Epilogue: Carrie

Other Books by Kate Stone

About the Author

ABOUT THIS BOOK

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Who says love at first sight never lasts?

Nathaniel is driven to make the world a better place. He’s never had time for relationships, never mind love.

Jordan has returned home from college, cringing at the thought everyone will remember her as the flighty young girl she was. But how can she prove she’s a mature, thoughtful person when she’s already falling for the first man she met?

From the moment these two meet, their chemistry is off the charts but Jordan has a secret that could ruin everything. Can she overcome her past and allow herself to fall in love with Nathaniel or will history repeat itself?

Chapter 1: Jordan

I took a long sip from my glass, steeling myself for the conversation ahead. I set the glass on the counter, inhaled deeply and forced a smile. Then I walked over to the kitchen, nervous as could be but at least possessing enough courage to do what I needed to. I sure as heck didn’t want to but what I wanted and what was right were two different things.

Kane looked exactly how I remembered him. Tall, muscular, ruggedly handsome with dark hair and a full beard and moustache, he looked every bit the stereotypical mountain man. He wore a business casual outfit today, complete with tie and loafers, rather than the flannel shirt, overalls and fishing boots I remembered but the ensemble did nothing to detract from the powerfully attractive figure he presented. That was the problem, the whole reason there was something I needed to do in the first place.

There was a time, not so long ago, when I found him irresistible. Now, although he looked every bit as handsome as he did before I left, more handsome, in fact, with his old surly glare replaced with a bright, animated smile, I no longer felt the same emotional pull. Time away from the lake had matured me. I was no longer the naïve schoolgirl I was at nineteen. I no longer found myself in the midst of extraordinary infatuations that made me behave in the most immature way possible and embarrassed my friends and my family like nothing else did.

I could only hope he and Chloe would see it that way.

They looked up as I approached. Kane stared at me for a moment, his brow furrowed. Then his eyes lit up with recognition and he lifted an enormous hand in greeting. Jordan! he called out. I didn’t recognize you for a moment. You’re all grown up now!

I laughed, cringing at description, and extended a hand. He slapped it away and wrapped me in a crushing bear hug, lifting me off the ground and driving all the air out of my lungs. He set me down a moment later and I gasped and stumbled into him for a second before regaining my balance. I expected coldness for how I’d behaved a few years ago and instead I got a big bear hug? Hell, I would have killed for one of those bear hugs between the ages of seventeen and twenty!

Trying to steal my husband again? Chloe said, smiling at me and arching an eyebrow.

My face went white. Damn it, that was the whole thing I needed to apologize for. My heart felt like it would explode from my chest and I lifted my hands and began to protest but, seeing my reaction, Chloe lifted her own hands and said, Oh my God, totally joking! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean that! Her face flushed bright red and she looked so cute I could understand why Kane fell for her.

Seeing her own embarrassment drove mine away and I laughed. It’s okay. I breathed out a sigh of relief. In fact, I was coming over here just to say I hoped my immaturity back then was—

Wait, wait! Kane said, eyes staring at his wife in mock disbelief. "Did you just make an inappropriate joke in front of our friends?" His mouth dropped in a comical O and I burst into laughter.

"You just committed the social faux pas? He turned to another couple standing near the big bay window overlooking the lake. Tanya! Michael! You won’t believe it! Chloe embarrassed herself in front of company and not me!"

Chloe, her face now the color of a ripe tomato shoved his arm, which didn’t move Kane at all, and yelled, Stop! Oh my God, why are you such a jerk? She turned to me. You know what, you can have him.

I giggled and replied, I don’t know if I could handle him. I’m still trying to catch my breath from that hug.

I came over to apologize for my younger self’s behavior,