Carter
A.M. Salinger
(Twilight Falls #2)
Publication date: January 31st 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Carter’s carefree, movie star lifestyle comes to an abrupt end when he becomes the guardian to a little girl he has never met before. Will his hot new neighbor Elijah prove to be the one thing he and Maisie need to make their family whole?
Carter Wilson has it all. A dazzling career, fame, fortune, and women falling at his feet. All that changes the day he becomes the guardian to his newly orphaned niece. When he moves to his hometown of Twilight Falls to give Maisie the stable life she deserves, the last thing Carter expects is a hot neighbor who is soon making him wish for things he has never wanted before.
After abandoning a promising career in Europe to fulfill the vow he made to his grandmother, pastry chef Elijah Davis is determined to make his new bakery business a success. What he doesn’t need is a distraction in the shape of the hunky movie star next door and the little girl who is fast worming her way into his heart.
But when an old flame chases Elijah to Twilight Falls and a bitter movie producer threatens to expose Carter’s secret bisexuality, both Elijah and Carter realize they will have to fight dirty if they want their relationship to survive.
Discover Carter and Elijah’s story in the bewitching second novel in Twilight Falls, the new series by the author of the bestselling, contemporary romance series Nights.
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EXCERPT:
Elijah Davis finished polishing the shiny, new stainless-steel work tables in the
center of the kitchen and took off his apron. He turned in a slow circle and studied
the industrial-sized ovens, the commercial proofer, the chiller, the walk-in freezer,
the shelves holding trays, tins, pans, and racks, and the professional mixers sitting
on a counter with a critical eye.
A slow grin split his face. He’d finally done it.
The swing door opened. A young woman with short, pink and blue hair and
half a dozen piercings strolled in, a tired smile on her face.
“I think we’re ready,” Sam Harris said with a confident dip of her chin.
She joined Elijah and stared around the lovingly restored kitchen. The
butcher’s block they’d bought for a bargain at a garage sale a month ago had
come up beautifully after some sanding and took pride of place between the metal
tables in the middle of the room. They’d spent one weekend stripping decades of
greased-up paint from the cabinets and cupboards before whitewashing them and
applying thick coats of cream and duck egg blue. The colors matched the bakery’s
new facade and the shop’s gaily decorated interior.
La Petite Bouche Gourmande was officially opening for business tomorrow.
“Bet you’re excited,” Sam told Elijah with a grin, exposing a slightly crooked
tooth.
“So much so I don’t think I’m gonna sleep tonight,” Elijah admitted fervently.
“Well, I’d offer to help you with that, but you like dicks and I like pussies, so
our work affair is unfortunately doomed before it can even begin.”
Elijah chuckled at her deadpan expression.
It still surprised him how completely wrong his first impression of Sam had
been. When he’d first laid eyes on her on the day she came to interview for the
position of his bakery manager, he’d already resigned himself to hiring somebody
out of town for the job.
Although Twilight Falls wasn’t exactly famous for producing pâtissiers, he’d
hoped to at least find someone competent enough to handle a basic kitchen and a
cake shop.
Elijah’s heart had sunk when Sam had walked into the office above the
bakery and sat down on the other side of the desk, a faintly mutinous expression
on her flushed face. He’d told himself he would indulge her since she was the last
interviewee of the day and had nearly fallen out of his chair after she correctly told
him the steps required to make macarons five minutes later.
It was afterward that Sam told him she was so used to people assuming she
was unreliable because of her appearance that she normally went in with all guns
blazing.
Elijah had given her the job on the spot.
“It still feels strange, you know,” Sam mused. “When I first saw your ad, I
didn’t believe my eyes for a second. Why would a renowned pastry chef leave a
Michelin-star restaurant and a successful career in Paris to open a bakery in the
back end of nowhere?” A teasing light warmed her face. “And not just any pastry
chef, but a hot one, with a body like Adonis.”
Elijah pressed a hand to his heart with an expression of fake shock. “You
think I’m hot? And that I look like Adonis?”
Sam rolled her eyes. “I take it back. Your ego doesn’t need any more
inflating.”
They closed up shop a short while later.
“Be careful,” Elijah told Sam as she climbed on her moped.
She saluted and headed off in the night. Elijah watched her until she
disappeared and turned to gaze at the bakery’s facade. A melancholic feeling
swirled through him as he studied the freshly painted shop sign.
La Petite Bouche Gourmande had been one of his favorite children’s books.
His most vivid memories of his maternal, French grandmother were of her reading
it to him during the long summers his family spent in France when he was growing
up.
“Because I made a promise to someone very important to me,” Elijah said
quietly, finally answering the question Sam had asked him.
Elijah’s grandmother had come to Twilight Falls only once, when he was
fifteen. She had immediately fallen in love with the picturesque town, which was
as different from the sleepy French village she had spent most of her life in as
night was from day. It was during that trip that they’d spoken of his future and
Elijah had first told her his dreams of going to Paris to study to be a professional
pâtissier, a dream he had so far hidden from his own parents. His grandmother
had been quiet for some time as they strolled through the town. Then, she’d
stopped and pointed out a charming coffee shop.
“Like that,” she’d said in her heavily accented English. “You should come
back and open a bakery here just like that, in this beautiful place.” She’d gazed at
the forested valley draped in autumnal colors that surrounded Twilight Falls,
before beaming at him. “You will be happy here. I can feel it.”
She had planned to visit again but had fallen ill shortly after his seventeenth
birthday and passed away on the night Elijah and his mother arrived in France to
see her. They’d spent a couple of weeks after her funeral organizing her affairs
before returning to Twilight Falls with a box full of her personal items. Among them
had been the book she had read to Elijah when he was still a boy and the one
thing of hers he’d taken with him when he’d left for Paris a few years later.
It was close to eleven by the time Elijah got home. His parents were away
on their long-awaited world cruise and had given him the keys to their house while
he settled back into town and looked for his own place. He parked his vintage,
pea-green Citroën DS on the driveway at the end of the cul-de-sac where they’d
moved to and was climbing the steps to the front porch when a child’s faint cry
reached him.
Elijah turned and was surprised to see lights in the pretty, white clapboard
house across the way. His father had given him the impression the place was
empty. Not that it bothered Elijah to have neighbors. The properties on the estate
had generous plots and were mostly occupied by retired folks.
A shadow moved across a window on the second floor.
From the distance, Elijah made out the figure of a man rocking a little girl
with blonde hair in his arms. The man stopped and turned to look straight at him.
Elijah flushed at being caught staring. He realized belatedly that the guy
probably couldn’t see him where he stood in the dark. He twisted on his heels and
headed inside his parents’ house, curious as to who it was who’d moved in
opposite him.
Carter by A.M. Salinger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is book #2 in the Twilight Falls series. This story can be read as a standalone novel. To avoid spoilers, and to understand the series better, I recommend reading this series in order.
Elijah hears sounds from his neighbors home that worry him. A child is crying and he does not know why. Does he do something? Stand by? This is a defining moment.
Carter has been hit with some of life's true setbacks. When he and Elijah both have surprises from their past thrown at them - can they come together and make a future? What does it take to give someone your heart?
I could not stop reading this. Every page had more and more I needed to know. I loved all the very sexy times, and the sparks were flyin'! This one has it all heart, heat, and hurt. I was so pleased that this story gave me a little bit of it all. I am hopeful for the next installment of this series.
***This early copy was given in exchange for an honest review only.
View all my reviews
Author Bio:
Ava Marie Salinger is the pen name of an Amazon bestselling author who has always wanted to write scorching hot contemporary romance. In 2018, she finally decided to venture to the steamy side. NIGHTS is the first of several sizzling series featuring sweet, sexy men with dark pasts and a whole lot of love to give to the ones brave enough to fight for their hearts. When she’s not dreaming up hotties to write about, you’ll find Ava creating kickass music playlists to write to, spying on the wildlife in her garden, drooling over gadgets, and eating Chinese.Want to be the first to know about Ava’s new releases and get access to exclusive content, sneak previews, sales, and giveaways? Then sign up to her Reader Group here and join her VIP Facebook Fan Group here.
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