Seaside Rendezvous

By Natalie-Nicole Bates

Layne MacMartin's life should be better than ever. He's successful, handsome, and part owner of a successful resort called Seaside Escape. But nothing makes Layne happy or satisfied for very long. Not even a reunion at Highland Bay with his brothers. His solution to his unhappiness has always been to run away from his problems.

 

When sassy dancer Raven Solis saves Layne from a potentially violent altercation, all he sees is the beautiful face, the sexy body, and what he perceives as a party girl lifestyle. In other words, a totally unsuitable girl.

 

But Raven is so much more than a party girl, and by the time Layne realizes she is The One for him, will it be too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paperlate Press
• Release date: Sep 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223896173

Natalie-Nicole Bates

Natalie-Nicole Bates is a book reviewer and author. Her passions in life include books and hockey along with Victorian and Edwardian era photography and antique poison bottles. Natalie contributes her uncharacteristic love of hockey to being born in Russia. She currently resides in the UK where she is working on her next book and adding to her collection of 19th century post-mortem photos.    

Book preview

Natalie-Nicole Bates

Seaside Rendezvous

First published by Paperlate Press 2023

Copyright © 2023 by Natalie-Nicole Bates

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

Natalie-Nicole Bates asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

Natalie-Nicole Bates has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.

Second edition

This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy

Find out more at reedsy.com

Publisher Logo

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

About the Author

Also by Natalie-Nicole Bates

Chapter 1

Chapter Separator

"Did you ever feel that you don’t belong anywhere?"

Raven Solis managed a thin smile as she gave the bottle in her hand a mighty squeeze and hit the man squarely in his chest with a streak of neon orange paint.

Only every day of my life, Honey. Only every day, she said in a raised voice that likely wouldn’t carry over the techno music pumping through the club.

Not that it mattered.

Men often peppered her with inane questions.

Usually, it was the booze talking.

The questions she could handle, and mostly ignore. It was the sexist, misogynistic pigs who felt the right to spew comments about her body, her hair, her legs, her ass, and her eyes that ruined it all.

As if a few comments about her tits or ass would make her want to drop her clothes.

You know I’d never get caught dead in one of these clubs. Now, somehow, here I am, and I don’t even know how I got here, the man laughed and downed the glass of what looked to be pure vodka.

A part of her thought was to just leave the guy wallowing in his misery.

He wasn’t her concern.

Her job was to whip the crowd into a frenzy at Paint, the hottest paint dance club for hundreds of miles.

A job for the most part Raven thoroughly enjoyed.

She loved the music, the noise, and the electricity in the air.

The excitement of bodies consumed by dance and paint.

Mostly though, she loved the money.

Who would have thought that dressing up in tiny booty shorts with a tight midriff t-shirt with the word PAINT splayed across her breasts would make so much money?

Another year, maybe even as little as six months, and she would be out of here, and hopefully working as a promoter for clubs all across Nova Scotia.

Or maybe she would go to Toronto…

Montréal, or even New York.

The truth was, the world was hers to explore.

After all, nothing was holding her here, and she had the distinct feeling if she did not keep to the exact protocol set out by the manager, this job would not last much longer.

She turned her attention back to the dark-haired man wearing the expensive, hand-tailored suit that seemed to scream expensive. The suit was now ruined under layers and layers of neon paint.

She leaned closer to him and raised up on her tip-toes to get closer to his ear.

You really don’t know how you got here?

Not a clue.

This was bad.

It was clear, he was inebriated, but a prickle of suspicion had her wondering if someone might have drugged his drink when he wasn’t looking. That it wasn’t just booze making him loopy.

There were assholes and criminals everywhere.

Although it was widely assumed women were the target of date rape drugs, one look at this guy’s suit might have given some shady criminal the idea to drug and roll him in the parking lot or in the men’s room for some quick cash. Earlier in the year, the club experienced a rash of tainted drinks. The management hired more security and plastered the club with warnings. Things settled down afterward.

Do you have someone I could call to pick you up and take you home? She offered.

He tossed back his