Key Lime Coconut Curse
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About this ebook
Cole Turner has been hired to get information on Tilly. With one look, he realizes she’s innocent and a witch. Powerful warlocks and demons converge on Key West and Tilly’s life is in danger. They must focus their power to survive.
Then there’s the matter of the curse….
Virginia Barlow
I enjoy knitting, crocheting, and quilting. I love roses and the smell of gardenias. I have two large dogs who like to keep me company while I write. Beethoven is an Aussie/ Great Pyrenees mix and Mozart is a Mastiff/Collie mix. I occasionally bake when the mood strikes me. Mostly I consider cooking and baking necessary evils. My husband of forty years is my greatest fan/critic and I don't know what I would do without him. My family is my greatest support and I love every minute I spend with them. Life is a journey and I can't wait to see where it leads me next!
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Key Lime Coconut Curse - Virginia Barlow
Hi.
Carrie handed her the flowers. Some hot guy bought you roses and said to read the card.
Tilly glanced behind the perky young woman at the limo parked outside her gate. Cole stood beside it with the door open and a grin on his face. He wore a blue polo shirt and black trousers. His hair was combed back, and his sunglasses were tucked in the front of his shirt. He was gorgeous.
Tilly took the card and read.
Moonlight and roses
Your eyes of blue
A magical eve waits
For me and you….
She glanced back at Cole and waved when he lifted his hand in the air.
Tilly turned to Aunt Mable and handed her the roses. I’ll be back.
The older woman chuckled. Take your time, sweetie. If I were you, I’d see what kind of magic he had in mind.
Tilly closed the door and followed Carrie down the steps and across the front lawn to the street. She closed the gate behind her and turned to Cole. Shivers raced down her spine as she gazed up into his blue eyes.
Good evening.
He smiled.
Good evening.
She choked on the words as her heart rate accelerated. From a distance, he was handsome as the devil. Up close, he was as decadent as sin and much more tempting.
She met his heated gaze as he inspected her from the top of her head to the heels of her woven sandals. You look fantastic. Are you ready to go?
Heat shimmied into her stomach, and her breath hitched. Yes.
The tension between them crackled and sparked.
Cole took her elbow and helped her into the waiting car. His touch burned her skin.
Praise for Virginia Barlow
The Wicked Sister was fun and creative story that I really enjoyed. The story pulled me in quick and was an adventure till the end. I can’t wait for your next one. Thanks!
You can feel the emotions pouring off the page as you read. A great dark retelling of what was originally a dark tale!
I thoroughly enjoyed this unique take on a classic fairy tale. The villainess was so wicked. The heroine was adorable and admirable, and the hero was dreamy. Some humor and some nice twists thrown in, then a perfect ending, made this unputdownable.
A Fallacious Seduction is a fantastic historical western romance I couldn't put down…Virginia Barlow writes with honesty and shares what life was life for many women on the frontier.
This book will have you wanting more!
Key Lime Coconut Curse
by
Virginia Barlow
One Scoop or Two Series
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either 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.
Key Lime Coconut Curse
COPYRIGHT © 2022 by Virginia Barlow
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Contact Information: info@thewildrosepress.com
Cover Art by Debbie Taylor
The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
PO Box 708
Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708
Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com
Publishing History
First Edition, 2022
Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-4131-6
One Scoop of Two Series
Published in the United States of America
Dedication
For Amanda. You’ll always be my princess.
Chapter One
Key West, Florida
June 2018
Tilly O’Brian bent to shake an imaginary pebble from her shoe so she could get a better look at the man following her.
He was over six feet tall, with dark hair and bronzed skin. He sported dark stubble on his chin and wore designer shades, khaki shorts, a white polo shirt, and flip-flops. The man had tourist stamped all over him, but he wasn’t one. Most tourists walked up and down Duval Street and browsed the souvenirs on display with friends and family. They laughed, joked, and smiled as they shopped. They didn’t spend the afternoon alone, nursing a beer and making notes on customers entering and exiting Kuel Delights Ice Cream Parlor.
Tilly straightened and replaced her pink canvas shoe. She met the stranger’s gaze with trepidation. Who was this man, and what did he want? Men ogled her all the time, but this one was different. What kind of man cased a woman’s workplace before making his move? Tilly shook her head and quickened her pace, hoping to lose him in the crowd.
She glanced at her reflection in a passing store window and frowned. She lost count of the men who propositioned her after taking inventory of her slight frame, blonde hair, and blue eyes.
Hey, baby, want to party?
was the usual line.
Tilly shook her head. What she wanted was a normal life with a man who loved and accepted her—a talented woman with an intelligent mind. She thought she found it with Dr. Brad Charles of Bellevue Hospital, New York, but she was wrong. When she met him, she was young, naïve, and a third-year resident with stars in her eyes. When the handsome neurosurgeon expressed his interest, Tilly’s heart went into overdrive. They did everything together, to the dismay of her aunt. Six months later, Brad proposed, and Tilly accepted.
He’s a mortal, Tilly. Are you sure he’s what you want? You won’t be able to practice magic, and he won’t understand your power or what makes you special.
Aunt Mable’s dour prediction turned out to be more truth than Tilly cared to admit.
As a fledgling witch, she struggled with simple spells. Her powers consisted of lighting candles with her finger and levitating pencils. But she didn’t care. Tilly had more important things on her mind, such as being in love for the first time and practicing medicine. She never told Brad her secret, unsure how he’d take it. After what happened, she was glad she didn’t.
Tilly didn’t know if the trauma of her marriage and subsequent divorce strengthened her abilities or if turning the ancient age of twenty-five did. Either way, she was no longer naïve, trusting, or a fledgling. If Brad turned up in Key West, he’d find a new, improved Tilly O’Brian. A self-confident model with a grimoire, a new broomstick, and unlimited power. She knew her strengths and wasn’t afraid to use them. He wouldn’t walk all over her like he had in the past.
Tilly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and turned to see what her stalker would do. He paused a store length behind her and nodded in her direction. His gaze swept over her from head to toe, lingering on her long, tanned legs and breasts, then rose back to her face. Desire flashed in his eyes.
Tilly glared and crossed the street. Why couldn’t men see her mind and skill when they stared instead of blonde hair, boobs, and legs?
The stranger kept pace, glancing at the shops around them and frowning.
She made three left turns on her way home to confirm her suspicions. Another left and Tilly would be back where she started. Whoever the guy was, he wasn’t particularly good at tailing.
Tilly repressed her shiver. Ever since she left New York, her suspicious nature was on high alert. Her ex-husband promised to break her as she swept from the courtroom following their hearing. He took everything in the divorce, including the house they bought together. Tilly had nothing left but her self-respect, Aunt Mable, and her job managing Kuel Delights.
Anything out of the ordinary, and her hackles rose. She ran her damp palms down the sides of her white shorts and brushed her blonde hair out of her eyes. On impulse, Tilly entered the souvenir shop next door to Aunt Mable’s ice cream parlor and browsed the women’s tops. She kept her eye on the designer stranger through the store windows.
He stopped on the sidewalk outside and stood with his hands on his narrow hips. He glanced up and down both sides of the street before turning around. He stepped toward the shop and glanced inside.
Her gaze clashed with his through the glass, and Tilly froze. Something in his eyes hypnotized her, and she couldn’t look away. They faced each other, and everything vanished. Time ceased to exist. Like a deer caught in the bright lights of a car’s headlights, she stood mesmerized by the gleam in his dark eyes. A million thoughts ran through her mind urging her to break away, but she couldn’t. Her heart rate accelerated as she met the heat of his stare. His gaze darkened and intensified. Tilly’s breath hitched. A warning bell clanged in her head. This man wanted something from her, and the pull of his gaze chained her to the floor. The air around them crackled with energy. Memories of her life with Brad rushed through her head. Scene after scene filled her mind’s eye. Tilly blinked, willing the memories back to ashes where they belonged. Emotion clouded her field of vision, and she dashed the wetness from her cheeks with a swipe of her hand. Primal energy pulsed from the stranger as his gaze sharpened.
Tilly swallowed and lifted her chin in defiance. The memories of Brad drifted away, replaced by memories of the last six months in Key West. Image after image of Aunt Mable and Kuel Delights Ice Cream Parlor floated before her eyes. She shook her head to break eye contact, to no avail.
The stranger stepped closer to the glass. He gazed deep into her soul, past all her inhibitions and defenses, and she was powerless to stop him. He laid open her mind and read the scenes of her life as if they were a book. Tilly’s breath came fast. If she didn’t stop this guy, he’d know everything. Perspiration broke out on her forehead.
"Confractus nexum." With one superhuman effort, she shuffled backward and bumped into a rack of clothing. Her spell worked. The connection broke
The stranger dropped his gaze and turned away.
Tilly slumped against the rack, dripping with hysteria. Who the hell was this man, and what did he want? She risked a glance toward the window. The man faced the street with one hand to his head, shielding his eyes from the sun.
At least he wasn’t staring at her again. Jesus, the stranger was intense. Tilly took a deep breath and peeked from behind the