Sun, sand, and super hot kisses lead to a beach fling.
Darcy Trent is lucky Cooper Hudson is on hand to sweep her off her feet—literally—when she nearly drowns while swimming in the ocean. But life-saving aside, Mr. Perfect's timing stinks: Darcy's career is about to take her to the complete opposite side of the Atlantic. Still, a little summer loving with the tall, blond and sexy former cop is far too tempting to pass up.
When his plans to enter the Secret Service went south thanks to a bum knee, Coop retreated to the family beach house to mull his future. Romance is the last thing on his mind, until he fishes a curvy brunette out of the sea. Now, spending time in Darcy's arms seems like the ideal distraction, even if it is just for a week.
But with Darcy's departure date fast approaching and their careers on the line, can they realize in time that their beach fling might become the real thing?
Excerpt
“Thanks for the rescue. If you hadn’t grabbed me, I’d still be doing somersaults underwater. In my book, that qualifies you for hero status.”
An unreadable emotion flickered across his eyes so fast she almost missed it. In a low mutter, he said, “Don’t call me a hero.” He hit the hard-packed sand at the edge of the water and stopped walking.
Modest, heroic and gorgeous. And it didn’t take even a fraction of her eight years of training in cultural anthropology to figure out he was attracted to her. They’d long since hit land, and yet he made no move to put her down. Not that she was complaining. She’d happily continue to sit cradled in his arms. It gave her an up-close view of his chiseled cheekbones, sharp enough to etch glass. Her fingers brushed through the salt-spiked tips of his blond hair. No doubt about it: she’d found the man candy Trina had promised. One bite of him would be as sinful and addictive as a chocolate honey truffle.
“Well, I can’t call you Mr. In-The-Right-Place-At-The-Right-Time.” When his lips curled up showing off his dimple, Darcy’s interest kicked up a notch.
“Good point. I’m Cooper Hudson. Coop, to my friends.”
“Darcy Trent.”
“It’s been a long time since I met an ocean virgin.”
“Oh, but only in the aquatic sense, I assure you.” What? Why wave her long-vanished virginity under his nose? Now he probably thought she had the morals of an alley cat. But hearing the hottest man she’d ever seen use the word virgin threw her for a loop. Not the standard nice-to-meet-you conversation, by a long shot.
He flashed an easy smile. “Don’t worry. I hadn’t planned on delivering you as a virgin sacrifice to appease the volcano gods over at the mini-golf course.”
Okay, now Darcy could add funny to the list of his overwhelming awesomeness. Maybe she really had blacked out and was hallucinating her ideal man while unconscious, underwater. What else could explain such perfection?
“Darcy, what happened?” Trina’s yell preceded her appearance in front of them. After a quick yank upward to her scrap of a top, she rested her hand on Darcy’s leg. “Why’s he carrying you? Did you get stung in the foot by a jellyfish? ’Cause if you did, I’ll pee on it. That’ll take the sting away.”
That certainly settled the whole am-I-hallucinating question. Never, ever would Darcy fantasize about her best friend peeing on her. The situation had to be real. And if Trina in all her adorable annoyingness was real, then her hot hero hunk had to be real, too.
To her dismay, Cooper lowered her to the ground.
“Your friend’s fine,” Cooper announced. “A wave almost rolled her, so she’s a little shaken up, but uninjured.”
“You keep your distance,” Darcy warned with a hand raised to keep Trina at arm’s length. “Don’t even think about peeing on me. Not even if I get attacked by an entire school of jellyfish.”
Trina wrinkled her nose. “Okay, but if the situation arises, just remember that I would be willing to make that sacrifice.”
“Friendship is a beautiful thing.” Cooper’s sardonic tone belied the sincerity of his expression.
Professional Reviews
Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
Need an awesome summer beach or poolside read? Look no further, Love At High Tide by Christi Barth absolutely fits your needs! I flat out loved the quirky characters, the funny dialog, the intriguing side story, and the sexy romance.
Having just completed her PhD, Darcy Trent is spending a week at the beach with her crazy best friend intending on relaxing as she makes a huge life decision. Never on her first day does she expect to be saved from near drowning by a hot as hell man. Darcy decides this week is the perfect time for a summer fling and she's hoping he can convince her rescuer to join her.
Cooper (Coop) Hudson can believe his luck when he saves a beautiful woman from a crashing wave. He doesn't expect the sudden desire but he's glad he's feeling something, anything again after the events of recent months. He'd really like to get to know her better; he just has to figure out how.
I love when couples meet by accident spurring that rush of lust and want. I love it even more when they both decide not to fight it to go with it like Darcy and Coop. Unfortunately best friends, relatives, and creepy Russian dudes have a way of interrupting the best laid plans or at least the best plans for getting laid.
What I loved most about this book was the easy and amusing banter between Darcy and Coop. I very much enjoyed the Darcy's zany friend, Trina and her harebrained scheme to become a private investigator by observing the people on the beach and eventually tailing one she was suspicious of getting the two women into way more trouble than they ever expected. The build-up, the anticipation and the interruptions that forced Darcy and Coop into slowing down making their first encounter that much more volatile and enjoyable. In addition it was hard to ignore how easy these two both shared so much of their lives, their disappointments, and their dreams with each other despite just meeting. It was obvious from the start that they had a special connection that just grew stronger in the week they were together.
This is a short story and yes it moved at a rapid pace but I NEVER felt cheated. The story is strong, the writing superb, the character beyond enjoyable, the loving is hot and sexy with a touch of sweet, and the ending is more than satisfying. Christi Barth packs a whole lot of oomph into this book and I'm already hoping we'll see a sequel!
Cocktails and Books
This was a super cute summer read. I loved the setting in Ocean City, Maryland. Two best friends vacationing together at the beach for a week was a nice little fantasy for me to read about. Add to that a hot guy and you've got a great summer romance story!
Darcy definitely had all of her ducks in a row--or at least it seemed like it--but her friend Trina's quirky habit of trying out a new career every month was kind of charming and entertaining. I loved that Trina got a little zany & took straight-laced Darcy right along with her! Thank God Coop always comes to Darcy's rescue. His life-saving skills come in handy quite a few times throughout this book. Coop also some other VERY valuable skills....I'm just going to say, he and Darcy are lucky they didn't slip in the shower.
I would recommend this book. It would be a great beach read. It was a fun story--it contained some "serious" issues to keep it interesting, but not so much that it weighed the book down.
