{Blog Tour & Giveaway} Wind Chime Café (Wind Chime #1) by Sophie Moss (@SMossWrites)

When single mother, Annie Malone, purchases a quirky Main Street café on Heron Island, she thinks she's finally turned her dream of opening her own restaurant into a reality. Hearing rumors that a developer is about to build a five-star resort on the sleepy Chesapeake Bay island, she plans to transform the café into a premier upscale bistro. But Navy SEAL, Will Dozier, has no intention of selling his grandparents' property to a developer. Back on Heron Island for the first time in ten years and secretly struggling with PTSD, Will decides that a fling with the new girl is the perfect way to help him "get his head straight." The last thing Will expects is to fall in love...with his hometown and with Annie. But Will's life and career are in San Diego with the SEALs. Can Annie's love and the healing magic of the island be enough to convince him to stay?

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After her young daughter Taylor witnesses a horrific crime in the big city, Annie Malone escapes with her to Heron Island.  She is going to open up her very own restaurant and hopefully help Taylor heal and grow up in the safety of a small town.

But Will Dozier makes her think thoughts that she really can’t afford to and she is determined to stay away from him and concentrate on rebuilding her life.

“Your daughter’s busy with school right now, so you don’t have to explain anything.” “But I’d have to tell her later. We don’t keep secrets from each other.” Will studied her for several moments. “You tell your daughter everything?”

“Yes.”

“Everything?”

 “Yes.”

Will leaned in and brushed his lips over hers. Before she could react, before she could do anything, he eased back and winked. “Let me know what she has to say about that.”

Will has come back to his hometown after the death of his grandparents.  Their home has served the town as the Inn and beloved landmark for generations. His original plan was to sell it and return to his job as a Navy SEAL in San Diego – but a gorgeous redhead and her sweet daughter may just make him change his mind.

“When she leaned back, her red hair splayed over the pillow, her green eyes watching him curiously over the rumpled sheets, he felt his heart skip a beat. Two weeks isn’t going to be enough. He dragged his shirt over his head. Shit. It had to be enough. It was all he had to offer.”

Wind Chime Café really took me by surprise and I love when that happens!  The characters were both tender and real and the story was sweet and achingly romantic. 

Sophie is the kind of writer that engages all of the senses and had me smelling the salty air, chasing the butterflies and listening to the wind chimes on the harbor.  She reminded me of how sweet love can be all over again…

Rating:

Exclusive Excerpt - 

Annie gazed up at the wind chimes. “I can’t remember when I first started making them, but the sound always made me feel like I was home. Every time we left, I brought them with me, like I was bringing a little piece of that place with me. I know it’s silly, but I used to dream of living in a house with a porch so I could hang wind chimes all over it.”

“It’s not silly,” Will said.

She looked back at him.

“Is that why you moved here?” he asked. “To put down roots?”

“I moved here to get Taylor out of D.C.,” Annie said. “I wanted a place where we could start over. But, yes, I want to stay here. I want us to build a life here, to make this island our home.”

“I like the café,” he said quietly.

Annie blew out a breath. “Thanks, but it’s only temporary.”

“It suits you.”

“You don’t even know me.”

He reached up, cupping his hand lightly around her small chin and tipping her face up to his. “I would like to get to know you.”

“I told you,” she said, trailing off when he slipped his other hand around her waist.

Will watched something flicker deep in her eyes. He could feel it, the tension simmering between them.

She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

He had no doubt about that now.

“Come over tonight at sunset.” He pulled her closer. “Bring Taylor. I’ve got fifty acres of shoreline we can walk. I bet you’ll find all kinds of things to make wind chimes out of.”

She started to shake her head, and he bent down until his lips were a breath away from hers. “Say yes,” he murmured.

“Will—”

He touched his mouth to hers.

He couldn’t help it.

He needed to taste her, to feel her soft lips mold with his.

It was only supposed to be a persuasion tactic, a little tease to entice her to say yes. But when her palms skimmed up the muscles of his chest and her fingers curled around his shoulders, he felt something inside him shift out of balance.

The wind chimes danced, singing their sweet song as her lips moved under his, warm and soft and eager.

He deepened the kiss, and inhaled the scent of her—vanilla, apples, cinnamon.

Annie.

He wanted more of her, all of her. Her soft breasts pressed into his chest. He could feel the warmth of her thighs in those barely-there leggings brushing against his. He dipped his fingers into her silky red hair. He wanted her out of this sweatshirt, out of these clothes. He wanted to run his hands over every inch of her body.

Annie pulled back, suddenly. Cold air filled the space between them. But when she lifted her eyes back to his, and he saw the desire swimming in them, he was lost.

“Say yes,” he breathed.

She unwound her arms from his neck, placing her palms on his chest. His heart pulsed into her hands. He felt desperate and thirsty, like he’d been traveling for miles and all he wanted was to stop. Right here. And rest. With her.

He kept his arms around her waist, holding her against him, unable to let her go. “Say yes.”

She wanted to say yes. He could see it in her eyes. Why was she being so stubborn?

“I can’t.”

“Why?” He needed a reason. He wasn’t walking away until she’d given him a reason.

“Because you’re leaving,” she said quietly.

About The Author - 

Sophie Moss is an award-winning author of four full-length romance novels. Known for her captivating Irish fantasy romances and heartwarming contemporary romances with realistic characters and unique island settings, her books have appeared twice in USA Today. As a former journalist, Sophie has been writing professionally for over ten years. She currently lives in San Diego, California, where she's working on her next novel. When she's not writing, she's walking the beach, testing out a new dessert recipe, or fiddling in her garden. Sophie loves to hear from readers. Email her at sophiemosswrites@gmail.com or visit her website sophiemossauthor.com to sign up for her newsletter.    

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