Read Return to Pearl Island, Bonus Chapters Online

Authors: Julie Ortolon

Tags: #bed and breakfast, #pearl island trilogy, #galveston texas, #texas author, #galveston island, #bestselling romance, #award winning romance, #usa today bestseller

Return to Pearl Island, Bonus Chapters

BOOK: Return to Pearl Island, Bonus Chapters
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Return to Pearl Island
by Julie Ortolon
 

Copyright Julie Ortolon 2011

Published by Julie Ortolon at Smashwords, 2011

eBook format by
A Thirsty Mind

Cover Design Julie Ortolon, Copyright Julie Ortolon 2011

Cover Photos:

Copyright 2008
iofoto.com
at
BigStock.com

Copyright 2010 warrengoldswain at
BigStock.com

Copyright 2007 Yuri Arcurs at
BigStock.com

 

 

 

Dear Readers of the Pearl Island Trilogy,

 

I've always been very touched by readers' affection for this series, originally published by St. Martin’s Press. Since a little time has passed between their print release and when I re-released them as ebooks, I decided it would be fun to add an extra "epilogue" to the end of each one so that readers -- and I -- could see what's happening at the Pearl Island Inn today.

 

Well, that was great for new fans of the series who are reading them for the first time as ebooks. But what about those of you who own the original print books and have loved the stories for years? Several of you have emailed saying you wanted the bonus chapters, too.

 

So, here you go. This ebook was created especially for you, the fans of the original print editions. Each bonus chapter takes place seven to ten years after the original stories, since that's about the amount of time that has passed here in the real world.

 

As an even better “bonus” I’ve created a Website –
PearlIslandBook.com
– just for fans of this series. Use the password “Captain Jack” to access a behind the scenes account about the writing of the trilogy. You can also visit Allison’s Gift Shop – an ever-expanding area – and receive discounts on certain items just by mentioning that you’re a Pearl Island Reader.

 

 

Welcome back to Pearl Island!

 

Julie Ortolon

 

PS: I'm currently working on a short story about Chloe, Scott's niece in Lead Me On. Sign up for my
newsletter
(
http://www.JulieOrtolon.com/contact
) to receive word when it’s available.

~ ~ ~

 

NOTE: If you have not read the Pearl Island trilogy
and downloaded this ebook not realizing what it was, I hope you’ll enjoy the bonus chapters as three short stories. Or, look for the full stories available as ebooks,
Falling for You
,
Lead Me On
, and
Don’t Tempt Me.

 
Table of Contents
 

Return to Pearl Island, Part One: Chance and Rory

Return to Pearl Island, Part Two: Scott and Allison

Return to Pearl Island, Part Three: Adrian and Jackie

Excerpt from Dear Cupid

Excerpt from Almost Perfect, book one of the Perfect trilogy

Author Bio

 
 

 

 

 

Return to Pearl Island, Part One
Chance and Rory
 
Seven Years Later
 

“I can’t believe you’re so nervous.”

The amusement in Chance’s voice had Rory gaping at his reflection in the vanity mirror. “Are you serious? You know how I am about being the center of attention.”

“I thought you got over that years ago,” he said, pulling a short sleeved shirt from the closet. “You’ve been active in so many groups, like the Historical Society and the Galveston Innkeepers’ Association. You even worked with Paige on that one Buccaneer’s Ball—”

“A mistake I will never repeat,” Rory insisted, pumping a mascara wand in and out of its tube with quick agitation.

He chuckled as he tucked in the shirt, no doubt remembering all the times she’d threatened to strangle Paige’s mother. “Most of all, you’ve been one of the driving forces behind bringing Galveston back to life for two solid years. That’s involved a lot of being the center of attention.”

“Talking about Galveston and talking about me are not the same thing,” she pointed out. Doing what she could to help Galveston recover from Hurricane Ike came easily. How could she not spring into action after such devastation? The Seawall had done its job to withstand the brunt of the storm on the Gulf side of the island, but the surge had slammed into the bay, wreaking havoc throughout the historic district. When the water subsided, Galveston had looked like a Victorian matriarch, trying to survive a slap to the face with her dignity intact. Rory was still doing everything in her power to help the grand dame recover her full glory. “It’s just that nothing I’ve done involved standing before a news camera to be on a nation-wide morning show.”

“True.” Coming up behind the chair where she sat, he rested his hands on her shoulders. He looked as calm and confident as ever with his neatly trimmed hair and buttoned-down shirt tucked into khaki slacks. He may have left his suit-and-tie days behind, but his Chancellor breeding would always shine through.

“I wish Adrian were here,” she said, contemplating various shades of lip gloss and feeling lost. “He has tons of experience in front of TV cameras.”

“Considering he’s sailing somewhere in the middle of the Caribbean right now, might be a bit tough for him to swoop in and save the day.”

“I know, which is why I asked Alli to do it, but she refused. Can you believe that? Something about not wanting to look fat on camera.”

“Aurora...” He squeezed her shoulders as if wanting to shake her. “She’s eight months pregnant.”

“They could shoot her from the shoulders up.” When the squeeze turned into a massage, her whole body sagged in gratitude. “Oh, that feels good.”

“They don’t want Adrian or Allison,” he told her.

“Why not?”

“Because your brother and sister are not the ones who launched a whole Website and blog to help bring tourists back to Galveston.” He regarded her reflection with a look of wonder. “Do you have any idea how proud I am of you? When we started out, you didn’t even own a computer. Now look at what you’ve done.”

“Thanks to you.” She laid one of her hands over his. “I never could have accomplished so much if you hadn’t taught me how to use a computer.”

“Not hardly.” He scoffed. “I may have given you your first lap top, but I didn’t teach you how to do any of that graphic stuff. And I’m sure not the one who made you so business savvy about the Internet.”

“Now, there’s something I didn’t think I’d ever hear.” She laughed as she swiped on pink lip gloss. “A banker calling me business savvy.”

“Former banker.” He kissed the top of her head. “You want to know the main thing I admire about you?”

“What?”

“The fact that you never let anything, not even your own fear hold you back. So, you might be nervous, but you’re going to do great.”

“Chance, I don’t know.” Prickles of fear moved through her chest like an electrical current, the first warning sign of a panic attack. “I really, truly don’t think I can do this.”

“You’ll find a way,” he said easily.

She stared at him in disbelief. Had he forgotten how her panic attacks nearly made her pass out? Maybe so, since she hadn’t had one in years.

“Now, stop worrying about your makeup. You look fine,” he said. Moving to her side, he took both her hands and drew her to her feet. “Better than fine.” Holding her arms out to the side, he took in the light blue dress that fell to just above her knees. “You look amazing.”

“You’re sure? About the makeup, I mean. You know I normally wear only a little, but the production people insisted I do it really bold.”

He cocked his head, studying her with a teasing gleam in his eyes. “I suppose you’ll do.”

“Okay, then.” She took a deep breath, then released it in a rush trying to force the anxiety out. She didn’t have time to panic.

Glancing at the small, high window of the master bedroom, she saw the morning sunlight pressing around the draperies. Since she and Chance had moved into the basement apartment beneath the inn six years ago, after Allison and Adrian had moved out, she could hear voices out on the front lawn. People had started arriving before dawn to get everything ready for her live interview on
Good Day USA
. Not just the news crew, but many of the business owners who had benefited from her Website. She’d had high hopes when she’d started, but she’d never dreamed it would reap such results. Other tourist areas were touting her site as the model to follow. But to have a national cable channel interview her for their morning show?

“I really don’t know about this, Chance.”

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