Excerpt: Butterfly
in Frost by Sylvia Day
Roxy bounces on her feet with excitement. “Les and Marge
sold their house.”
I blink. “I didn’t know they were selling.”
She laughs and heads toward the front door. “That’s the
thing. They weren’t.”
“Wait, what?” I hurry after her as she steps outside.
I look to the right at my home, a lovingly restored
butterfly-roofed midcentury, then on to the traditional house just beyond it
that belongs—belonged—to Les and Marge. Including Roxy’s, all three of
our homes have unique lots set between the homes that line the street and the
Sound, affording us unhindered views of the water as well as exceptional
privacy—all within a twenty-minute drive of the airport.
Roxy shortens the length of her stride to allow me to
catch up, then glances over at me. “The day after you flew to New York, a Range
Rover pulled into their driveway, and the guy inside offered them cash to
close—and move out—in fourteen days.”
My step falters, and Minnie gets momentarily tangled in
her leash. The dog shoots me what I would describe as an irritated look, then
keeps trotting forward. “That’s crazy.”
“Isn’t it? Les wouldn’t say how much the offer was, but
I’m thinking it was huge.”
We march up the inclined driveway, my head tilted back to
take in the houses scaling the hillside. Designed with big windows to maximize
the view, the homes have a look of wide-eyed wonder. Our little stretch of the
Sound used to be a secret, but with the housing boom taking over Seattle and
Tacoma, we’ve been discovered. Many residences are undergoing major renovation
to suit the tastes of new owners.
Reaching the road, we turn left. To the right is a dead
end.
“Well, if they’re happy,” I say, “I’m happy for them.”
“They’re overwhelmed. It was a lot to happen all at once,
but I think they’re happy with their decision.” Roxanne stops when Bella does,
and we wait as the two dogs mark one of their usual spots on the gravel edging
the asphalt. There are no curbs on the streets in our neighborhood and no
sidewalks. Just beautiful lawns and a profusion of flowering shrubs.
“We all tried prying information out of them,” she goes
on, “but they weren’t sharing anything about the sale.” She gives me a sidelong
glance. “But they did share a bit about the buyer.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because Mike and I both think the buyer is someone
famous. A film director maybe. Or an artist. Can you imagine? First Emily, a
bestselling author. Then you, a reality-TV surgeon. Now this guy! Maybe we’re
sitting on the new Malibu—beachside living without wildfires or state income
tax!”
The mention of Roxy’s husband, Mike, coaxes an inner
smile. A New York transplant like me, he adds a welcome touch of the life I
left behind to the reality I’ve since created for myself—a reality that’s just
been rocked by the loss of neighbors I like.
“What are the clues you’re working with?” I ask, deciding
to play along. If I’ve learned anything the past year, it’s to accept the
things I cannot change. A tough task for a control freak like me.
“Les pointed out to this guy that he hadn’t even seen the
inside of the house. The guy said he didn’t need to. He knew already that ‘the
light is perfect.’ I mean, who would say that? Gotta be someone who’s in visual
arts, right?”
“Maybe,” I agree tentatively, disquieted by the
unexpected conversation. The road rises sharply before us, the incline steep
enough to put a little burn in my thighs. “Doesn’t mean he’s famous, though.”
“That’s the thing.” Her words carry a note of
breathlessness. “Les wouldn’t give numbers, but he did say it was crazy the guy
didn’t just buy that huge compound at the end of the street. That house is
listed for three and a half million!”
My mind staggers at the thought. Les and Marge have—had—a
beautiful home, but it’s not worth anywhere near that much.
“I think I saw the buyer once through that big arched
window in the living room,” Roxy goes on. “The blonde with him was a looker.
Supermodel skinny with legs for days.”
I’m panting when we reach the top; Roxy, who hits a gym
most days of the week, is not.
A quarter mile farther, there’s a street to the right
leading to Dash Point. Beyond that and straight ahead, the road slopes back
down and around until it’s at water level. Redondo Beach is there, as is
Salty’s, a restaurant on stilts in the water with expansive views of Poverty
Bay and beyond. I’m about to wax poetic about Salty’s seafood chowder when a
runner dashes around the corner at a full sprint. His sudden appearance rattles
me. A closer look makes me freeze midstride. My breath locks in my lungs.
There are too many things to register at once, so my mind
attempts to absorb the whole man. Dressed only in black shorts and shoes, he is
a visual feast of deeply tanned skin, intricate sleeves of tattooed art, and
sweat-slicked, flexing musculature.
And his face. Sculpted. Square-jawed.
Brutally, breathlessly handsome.
Roxy, now a few feet in front of me, gives a low whistle.
“Hot damn.”
***
About the Book
Title: Butterfly
in Frost
Author: Sylvia Day
Release Date: August
27, 2019
Publisher: Montlake
Romance
Summary
Once, I would never have imagined myself here.
But I’m settled now. In a place I love, in a home I renovated, spending time
with new friends I adore, and working a job that fulfills me. I am reconciling
the past and laying the groundwork for the future.
Then Garrett Frost moves in next door.
He’s obstinate and too bold, a raging force of
nature that disrupts the careful order of my life. I recognize the ghosts that
haunt him, the torment driving him. Garrett would be risky in any form, but
wounded, he’s far more dangerous. I fear I’m too fragile for the storm raging
inside him, too delicate to withstand the pain that buffets him. But he’s too
determined…and too tempting.
And sometimes hope soars above even the iciest
desolation.
My Thoughts…
From the first meeting of Garret Frost I was
curious at what would cause a man to think he should act like he does. He approaches his neighbor in a more than neighborly
way and I was so confused. Then things
start to come together. I started
figuring things out and loving how he was dating his neighbor. He was sweet, he was attentive, and he was
winning me over. Then the ending
happened, WOW!, I realized how clueless I really was. The twist at the end was perfect.
This is my first Sylvia Day book. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I loved the
cover, loved the synopsis, so I thought I would give her a chance. I am so very thankful that I did. I started the book wondering what I was
reading. I kept turning pages learning
more about the characters and loving them together. The ending is what really got me. I had no clue, not even an inkling of where
this story was going to end. I am now
a fan of Sylvia Day’s. I am excited to
read more of her work.
Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads
Purchase your own copy on Amazon
or Barnes
and Noble
Author Biography
Sylvia Day is the
#1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, #1 Sunday
Times, #1 Der Spiegel, and #1 international bestselling author
of over twenty award-winning novels sold in more than forty countries. She is a
#1 bestselling author in twenty-eight countries, with tens of millions of
copies of her books in print. Visit the author at www.sylviaday.com.
Buy Link
Social Media Links
Website: https://www.sylviaday.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorSylviaDay
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SylDay
Instagram: http://instagram.com/sylvia_day
Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/list/19823.Sylvia_Day
a Rafflecopter giveaway
![A Love So Sweet (Sweet with Heat: Weston Bradens, Book 1) by [Cole, Addison]](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7823/40542770743_60abfa175d_o.jpg)
