Return to Pearl Island, Bonus Chapters (8 page)

“Oh, Joe.” She crossed her hands over her heart and sighed. “This means so much to me. I can’t even tell you. Why didn’t you tell me this was a publishing house?”

“If I had, would you have gone in?”

“No way!” She laughed.

“Exactly. I picked this place because it looks so unassuming, I knew you wouldn’t chicken out.”

“You didn’t expect her to take me on, did you?”

“I knew it was a long shot—but you know what they say: Start at the top. And damn, Maddy, you nailed it.”

“I did.” Her body sagged as realization hit her. “Holy cow, I really did.” She looked at him, overcome, then threw her arms about his neck. “Thank you!”

He returned the hug without thinking. Then the feel of her in his arms slammed into his senses on one blinding wave. He closed his eyes as the impact sucked him under. Desire delivered a second blow, sending him into a roll.

Before he knew how it had happened, his hands were in her hair and his mouth was on hers. The taste of her made joy flood his veins. Her name beat in time with the pounding of his heart. After years of starving for her, he was holding Maddy, kissing Maddy.

He tipped his head and deepened the contact, thrilling to the feel of her kissing him back the way she always had—with an eagerness to match his own. His whole body came alive as their mouths opened and mated. He wanted to lift her over the gearshift and onto his lap, slip his hands under her dress and feel her warm skin. She moaned again, and arched toward him as if wanting the same thing.

Maddy! His heart sang. He was kissing Maddy!

Good God!

His brain kicked in and his body froze.

He was kissing Maddy!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Most authors will tell you they grew up reading and started writing because they loved books. Not Julie Ortolon. Born with dyslexia, she didn’t even learn how to read until her early twenties when she discovered romance novels were worth the effort. Not until she discovered that computers have spellcheck, however, was she able to turn her favorite hobby—daydreaming romantic stories—into a career. Having her first novel hit the
USA Today
bestseller list was a dream come true.

Since then, Julie’s novels have won many awards, including two Bookseller’s Best Awards, and a Bookbuyers Best.
Almost Perfect
, book one of the Perfect trilogy, was a finalist in Romance Writer’s of America’s prestigious Rita Awards and was picked as Best Single-Title Contemporary of the Year by the readers of
Affaire de Coeur
Magazine.

You can learn more about Julie, sign up for her newsletter, or send her an email at her
Website
(
http://JulieOrtolon.com/
). She loves to hear from readers and always answers email.