Title Scandalous in Huntington Beach
Author Melody DeBlois
Genre Women’s Fiction
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb
Politician and senate hopeful Bennett Browning knows nothing about babies. When his former girlfriend dies and leaves him with a daughter he knew nothing about, he’s left scrambling until he meets Emma Kuan, his daughter’s aunt, who volunteers to be the nanny. Emma is used to keeping secrets. She and her sister have always hidden their tragic past, but she’s stunned her sister hid the baby even from her. Meeting her niece captures her heart, and she would do anything to be with her, even living with a stranger. Worried about potential scandal, Bennett and Emma juggle jobs, living arrangements, and parenting until a doctor gives them bad news about their baby girl. Then their priorities change drastically.
Watch the trailer
Excerpt from Scandalous in Huntington Beach
Heavy rain allowed Bennett’s anonymity as he kept his distance from the mourners beneath the tent at Rachel’s graveside service, his emotions a tight ball in his chest. When the service concluded, the mourners dispersed through the soaked cemetery, leaving him alone at the casket with a woman. Her resemblance to Rachel drew him. Was this the older sister he’d heard about? She was shivering, so he edged closer to share his umbrella.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said and, against his will, found himself intrigued by the face she directed at him—the faint, upward slant of her eyes, the slash of high cheekbones.
“Thank you for coming.”
He caught himself then. “I’m Bennett Browning.”
“I know,” she responded with quiet emphasis. “You’re the senate hopeful.”
“And you must be Emma?”
She raised her chin, luminous mahogany hair blowing back from her exotic features. “Emma Kuan. Rachel and I had different fathers.”
“Emma, like in the Jane Austen novel.”
“Right,” she said with a trace of sarcasm.
Had she detected his unease? Appalled, he dropped his stare to his wristwatch. “I’ve got an” “appointment with Child—”
“Child Protective Services,” she finished for him after he’d tactlessly dropped that bombshell. “The judge awarded you Rachel’s baby.”
“I didn’t know—before, I mean.” The words came out gruffer than he intended. “I didn’t know she was pregnant. She never said.” And he believed she had taken precautions.
“If it makes you feel any better, my sister didn’t tell me either.”
***
Bennett had that do-gooder thing going for him—she’d give him that. His kindness at her sister’s burial service wasn’t lost on her. She’d noticed, too, that he was handsome, but he seemed unaware of it. His dark hair went all curly in the rain, and his sultry brown eyes were at once sympathetic and then suddenly full of something she couldn’t quite name.
She respected him for all he’d done for LA’s troubled youth. He’d built a rec center, organized youth sports teams, and for a short time practiced law—working mostly pro bono. Before he became a senatorial nominee, he’d mentored small businesses. True, his accomplishments impressed her. Who wouldn’t be? But all this didn’t mean he welcomed becoming a single dad.
Then, unexpectedly, he pulled something from a shopping bag.
“Aww,” she couldn’t help but say at the sight of the snuggly teddy bear.
“I had a moment this morning and saw this in a shop window.” A helpless expression spread over his face. “Do you think Madelynn will like it?”
Emma’s chest felt as if it would burst. Still, she’d just composed herself when someone knocked at the door. A thick-figured woman introduced “herself as Riley Morgan while trying to contain the squirming baby in her arms.”
Emma’s heart melted at the sight of her niece.
“Fingers that reminded Emma of her sister’s extended from the sleeves of a ruffly pink dress. Eyes, the same chocolate brown as her daddy’s, thickly lashed and alert, took in her new surroundings, her thumb in her mouth.”
***
“Bennett was having a hard time believing any of this was real. But it was, and his baby girl would depend on him for everything. He leaned against the chair and did what Emma told him. “Better?”
She nodded and handed over the wiggly Madelynn Grace. Bennett tried his hardest to hold on, afraid he’d drop her. With that in mind, he let Emma readjust his position with a nudge of his arms that had been too far apart and a lift of his right elbow to tilt her head a little. He intuitively lowered his face and sweet-talked the baby. In turn, she blew bubbles at him.
“I think she likes me.” He allowed her to poke him in the nose.
“Looks that way.”
His heart swelled. “I promise to give you the best life I can.”
When he glanced up, all smiles, he noted Emma’s quivering lower lip. Was she thinking of Rachel? Something in the hunch of her shoulders and lowered chin made him realize he knew so little about her.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub
Barnes&Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/scandalous-in-huntington-beach-melody-deblois/1146492135?ean=9781509259489
Author Biography
Melody lives in Sacramento (the City of Trees). She writes Romance and Women’s Fiction. She’s partial to poetry, sun, rain, strong coffee, and her writing room surrounded by books. Besides California, she and her late husband lived part-time in a condo in Oregon overlooking the Pacific. That gave her a love for beach towns and whale-watching and sunsets—all the things that inspire the Love is a Beach series. The writing process fascinates her, the alchemy of layering and developing characters, the tinkering with language. There’s so much to treasure in the world: family, friends, and those random, everyday moments that make life grand. She hopes to give her readers all of that. Visit Melody's website at https://www.melodydeblois.com/ where you will find links to all of her books and her blog. Please do sign up for her newsletter.
Social Media Links
Find Melody online at: