Unexpected Romance: The Place, #2

By Sophia Ursula Brady

A sophisticated, wealthy up-and-coming real estate agent. A rough, cocky boatyard worker. One is the sane choice. The other?

 

LaShanda

Nate is the perfect man for me. He treats me like the princess I am, giving me anything I desire. But then trouble comes knocking at the door … literally.

 

Sean

My life is settled. I've put the past behind me and found success. Life is good … until the past shows up in the form of a tall, caramel-colored woman just begging to be kissed.

 

An Unexpected Romance is the first part of a steamy, later-in-life, opposites-attract romantic suspense.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lights Out Press
• Release date: Sep 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223252597

Sophia Ursula Brady

Sophia Ursula Brady is the pen name for a writer of contemporary romance and women’s fiction.

Book preview

Unexpected Romance

by

Sophia Ursula Brady

Lights Out Press

Copyright 2023 by Lights Out Press.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Some characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Book cover design by GetCovers

Published by Lights Out Press

USA

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Epilogue

Other Books by Sophia Ursula Brady

Chapter 1

The Miami April Saturday was almost perfect.

My fiancé, Nate, and I were entertaining mutual clients on Nate’s boat, a Tiera 43 LE cabin cruiser. Nate had helped Diego and Amy purchase an older mansion for their new hotel, and the pair had hired me to help prepare their first event. Amy was an event planner herself, but wanted to act more as the hostess than a manager at the ground opening.

I’d been glad to accept the work until I realized they were creating a boutique BDSM hotel: very upscale and extremely discreet.

After talking to Nate about backing out, he convinced me I could handle it. It’s like any other party, he’d declared. The only thing different is there’ll be naked people flogging each other. No big deal.

Easy for him to say. He’d grown up in sketchy circumstances, while my strict Baptist parents had raised me to follow rules, written and unwritten. Taking one’s clothes of in public was definitely against their rules.

But Nate was the love of my life, and if he thought it was okay, then I’d push my doubts aside. Besides, I really liked Amy and Diego.

I love all this sun, Amy said as I refilled her glass with the Riesling I’d brought with us. I could never move back to New Jersey. She leaned back to let her face feel the warmth. Although her make-up was done artfully, small lines still etched from the corners of her eyes. Living up north had saved her from the deep squint lines many Miami residents developed in their late forties.

And I love the lifestyle, she continued. People are much more interested in fun than they are in the wintry north.

Are you sure that’s all it is, Diego said, placing a possessive hand on her hip. She turned toward him with a smile, the O-ring on her silver collar catching the glint of the sun.

I confess I don’t get the whole BDSM thing. I’d never get on my knees in front of a guy, or let them tell me what to do. I had daddy wrapped around my little finger, and I expected my marriage to Nate to work the same way. I’d just have to be a little more subtle about it because Nate definitely wanted to think he was in charge of things.

I can’t wait to get together with you and start discussing the grand opening, Amy said. It’s going to be amazing. I think we might even be able to get someone for a shibari demonstration.

A what?

Rope-tying. It’s called shibari in Japan. People use intricate knots to tie someone else up.

Very beautiful, Diego agreed. Especially when there’s contrast involved. Like black rope on white skin.

Or white on black, Nate said, tracing one of his long fingers down my bare arm. Our skin tones are almost exactly alike, although his is more reminiscent of the earth, and mine is slightly lighter.

We’re going to need to head back, Diego said. Our friends, Jamie and Carter, are coming to do a trial run of our hotel to help us iron out the kinks. You may know Jamie. He’s got a boat at this dock, too.

No, I don’t, Nate said. But if he’s ever looking for a new place, you know who to call. Nate’s teeth flashed white with his smile. He’d had them all capped as soon as he’d made enough money as a real estate agent. Let’s go into the cockpit and get this baby going. Hang onto your seats, ladies.

I quickly stowed anything that might fly away as the boat revved up. The slap of the waves against the hull and the roar of the motor made any kind of conversation impossible, so Amy and I sat back in our seats and enjoyed the ride.

It didn’t take long for us to get back to the dock. With Diego’s help, Nate quickly had the boat secure. Amy and I unloaded and made the first trip to the vehicles. Then she said she had to make a quick trip to the bathroom, so I made my way back to the boat alone. I was halfway there when I saw him.

His bare back was to me while he worked on the hull of a vintage Chris-Craft runabout. The sun and shadows played across the curves and sinews of his well-formed muscles rippling under his tanned skin. It was the body of a man much younger than the unevenly cut gray-red hair on his head would indicate.

He must have sensed me watching because he turned, giving me a glimpse of the curly patch of hair on his chest. His blue eyes were the color of the sea, and I was willing to bet they didn’t miss a thing. His low-slung jean shorts were faded and ripped, and his footwear was in much the same condition.

But it was his grin that mesmerized me. Of course it was cocky. A man like that would have no other kind. It had a hint of seduction as his gaze raked me up and down.

My nipples grew as hard as marbles, and I tried to look away, but it was as if I were caught in his