Blue Dahlia (The Dahlia Trilogy of The Gilded Flower Series Book 1) by Vivian Winslow Page A

blond guy with a well-formed chest and strong arms. His chiseled features make him almost too pretty to look at. Almost.
    “I’d like you to meet Sebastian Osgood, my business partner and South Africa’s big wave surfer extraordinaire. He rode one of the most epic ones off the coast of Portugal last year. He’ll be trying out one of our new eleven foot guns today.”
    Turning toward Sebastian he says, “This is Dahlia, my wife.”
    Dahlia reaches out her hand, which Sebastian takes firmly. “Nice to meet you,” she says.
    “Whoa, hey. Pleasure. Shane’s told me all about you. At least now I know he wasn’t lying.” he says.
    Shane wraps an arm around Dahlia, who smiles shyly, uncertainty filling her after hearing the word “wife” spoken aloud. It’s not a title she can so easily subscribe to now, but for all intents and purposes, that’s what she is. After all this time apart, they’re finally reaching a level of love and respect they didn’t have before. This time with him has shown her how much they truly mean to each other, allowing the hole in her heart to finally heal.
    She begins to draw in the dirt with her foot.
    “Ready to crush it?” Shane asks Sebastian.
    “Yeah, man,” he replies. “Northwest winds this morning. Surfline promises some epic waves.”
    “Excellent,” Shane says. “Everything all set for Cortes?”
    Hearing them talk about Cortes grabs Dahlia’s attention.
    “For sure. Got everything lined up and ready to go. Just want to get out there. Keeping an eye on Surfline to make sure it’s all good.”
    “Good. Maybe after that I can take my wife on a proper honeymoon.” Shane winks at Dahlia. A laugh escapes her when she recalls their honeymoon, which involved camping with other surfers before a meet. Hardly romantic.
    “Alright then,” Sebastian says, offering a friendly smile. “See you out there.” Then, looking directly at Dahlia with his green eyes, he says, “Very nice meeting you.”
    “You want to come out on the boat with me?” Shane offers, pulling her to him, “Or watch from up here?”
    Dahlia looks up at him, warming under his gaze. She closes her eyes and allows the sincerity of his feelings to wash over her. When she opens them, she feels her heart expanding with his love for her.
    Before Dahlia can respond, a curvy dark-haired girl looking barely twenty walks up to Shane. “Hey, Shane,” she says in a sing-song voice.
    Shane quickly drops his arms and runs his hand through this hair. “Hey,” he replies casually, putting his hands in the back pocket of his jeans.
    Dahlia raises an eyebrow.
    “You going out there today? You really killed it last time you came out here.” The woman eyes Dahlia and smirks.
    Dahlia’s heart begins to race, but she conceals it with a cool smile.
    “Um, D, this is . . .” he stammers.
    “Don’t bother to pretend you remember her name,” Dahlia cuts in. “I can recognize a groupie when I see one,” she says snidely.
    The girl gives her a dirty look before she turns and saunters away. Shane covers a laugh with a cough.
    “What are you laughing at? Your taste has seriously gone downhill, Shane. What the hell are you doing screwing girls like her?”
    He reaches out to pull her to him, but Dahlia steps back. “Look baby, it was just a one-time thing. Adrenalin. You know.”
    Dahlia rolls her eyes. Yeah, she knows. She hates the stereotype about surfers being man-whores, but it’s generally well-deserved.
    He steps toward her, this time managing to keep her in his grip. Pulling her to him, Shane pushes her hair out of her face and cups her chin in his hands. “You. Are. The. Only. One. For. Me.” He bends down and kisses her affectionately, slowly turning the kiss into a passionate one. Dahlia folds herself into his body, allowing his mouth to take over hers.
    When they finally come up for air, he says in a low voice. “Forever, remember.”
    Dahlia swallows, trying to catch her breath, feeling the truth to