POWER, LEGACY, AND COVER-UPS
The story is part of the Pelican Point series, a small coastal town with a delightful cast of unique characters. Pelican Point, Florida, is a quaint tourist spot that has seen better days. The story's two main characters will be architect Sebastian Cabot and romance novelist Kate Lawrence.
Sebastian Cabot has spent too many years grinding through high-stakes architecture projects that have robbed him of living life, always at the call of others, and he is finished. A letter of resignation and a move from Chicago, Illinois, to Pelican Point, Florida. His newest adventure, the restoration of a nineteenth-century estate. He’s the boss, at his own pace, and a level of peacefulness he hasn’t experienced in years.
Kate Lawrence was wrapping up her latest book tour when her fiancée, Roger, showed up with news that they were over, he had moved her things out, and booked her ten nights at the Four Seasons with room service. Kate will head to Pelican Point, Florida, and friends. She has a caretaker's cottage booked for the next six months with plans to write her next book, but what she wasn’t expecting was a grumpy architect to be working on the historical estate. He becomes the perfect character for her next book!
The story is mystery, suspense, and danger, with the good, the bad, and the ugly. I really enjoyed the story and the angst between Sebastian and Kate, who are polar opposites. He is brooding, and she is sunshine. The tête-à-tête between them adds so much humor to this story. His opinion of ‘novelist’ isn’t very complimentary, but the wittiness of Kate won’t let him get to her; she keeps showing up with fresh-baked goodies and witty comments.
Sebastian: I’m Sebastian Cabot. Architect.
Kate: I’m Kate Lawrence. Romance novelist. You know, the kind who thinks happy endings aren’t just a marketing gimmick. Let me guess, you think romance novels are shallow, formulaic, and single-handedly responsible for dumbing down literature.
Sebastian: I think they sell false hope.
Kate: Seriously, did a romance novel hurt you once? Steal your lunch money? Leave you at the altar?
Sebastian: My ex-wife used to read that stuff religiously. She’d finish a book, look up at me, and ask why I couldn’t be more like the heroes. She wanted a fantasy. I gave her real life.
Kate: Wow. You’ve been practicing that line for years, haven’t you?
Sebastian: People waste a lot of time chasing things and stories that don’t exist.
Kate: Well, thank god, I make mine up. You didn’t expect me to have a brain, did you? Fair warning, I have teeth, too. Right. Well then, I’ll leave you to your screws and brooding and spare the world another grumpy architect forced to endure the horrors of pleasant conversation.
“The kind that ends with a girl, a grumpy man, a few near-death experiences, and a happily ever after.”