Chapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19EpilogueEnjoy this exclusive excerptAlso by Iris MorlandAbout the Author
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be constructed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.Till There Was You (The Thorntons Book 6)Published by Blue Violet Press LLCSeattle, WashingtonCopyright © 2017 by Iris MorlandCover design by Resplendent MediaAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Jubilee Thornton swore when her coffeepot—the one thing she could rely on in a world full of chaos—spluttered, popped, and then seemed to breathe its last. Two tablespoons of coffee splashed into the pot below, and she was almost tempted to drink it anyway.When had her life gotten this pathetic?At the age of twenty-five, she’d never dated, never gone to college, never even left her hometown. She lived in a tiny apartment in Fair Haven, Washington, and worked at her sister-in-law Megan’s bakery, The Rise and Shine. And to top it all off, today her coffeepot just had to die, because apparently getting her caffeine fix was too much to ask.“Come on. Don’t do this to me today,” she muttered to the appliance in question as she began to fiddle with the controls. Despite trying everything she could think of to get it to start again, she had to accept that her coffeepot had finally kicked the bucket.She could wait for coffee, she told herself. She worked at a bakery that served all kind
Jubilee dumped her purse onto her bed when she arrived home, searching through all the various items for that damn list. Swearing, she dug around in her pockets, her coat pockets, even inside her shoes.No list.Hadn’t Megan returned it to her before Heath had come into The Rise and Shine? She couldn’t remember. She’d heard the bell while she and Megan had been adding things to the list, and then she’d seen Heath, and her brain had essentially turned to mush.She texted Megan, Do you have my list?To which Megan replied a few minutes later, No, don’t you have it?That meant that that list was somewhere in The Rise and Shine. Jubilee almost considered going back to look around, but that seemed like overkill. If someone picked it up, she hoped they threw it away, thinking it was trash.Oh God, she thought suddenly, what if Heath picked it up?That thought sent a chill straight through her, although it was mostly embarrassment she felt overall. She’d never live it down if he saw th
“There he is.” Megan tilted her head toward the bar. “And he’s not with anyone, either.”Jubilee smoothed her hair, fighting the temptation to check her lipstick for the thousandth time. After losing her list, Jubilee had been so concerned about who might have seen it that she’d been tempted to abandon the scheme altogether.Megan, however, refused to let her. “Who cares if someone found it?” she’d said. “You made a resolution and you’re sticking with it, woman.”Jubilee, Megan and Mark Thornton’s wife, Abby, were at a bar that had recently opened in Fair Haven. Normally they’d go to The Fainting Goat, but Jubilee hadn’t wanted Trent, or worse, any of her brothers, to find out what she was doing.Tonight would be the first time she’d ask a guy out. How had she managed to get to the age of twenty-five without doing something like this? How embarrassing.Her first “target” (Megan’s word) was Ash Younger. Ash was handsome and tall, his arms bulging through the cotton of his t-shirt.
Jubilee checked her phone for what felt like the thousandth time that day. Irritation filled her when she saw that Heath hadn’t texted her. He hadn’t texted her since theirencounterat the bar last Saturday. Now it was Friday, and Jubilee was itching to finish work and march over to his house.Or so she thought. She didn’t know if she had the balls to do that. What had she been thinking, making that bargain with him? When she’d gotten home and slept off the alcohol, she’d woken up with almost more regret than pain in her head. But she’d been so frustrated at him interfering that she’d wanted to shock him. She hadn’t expected him to say yes.She hadn’t told Megan or Abby what had happened with Heath. She’d only said that she’d decided that Ash Younger wasn’t the guy for her and she’d “try out” a different one that weekend. If Megan had sounded skeptical when Jubilee had told her this on Monday, she hadn’t tried to pry any further information from her, either.“Jubi, hey? D
“Here you go,” Jubilee said as she handed the Americano and blueberry muffin to a woman not much younger than her. “Is that all?”“I haven’t had a muffin in six months.” The girl inhaled the scent of sugar and blueberries and moaned aloud. “I’m tempted to buy all of them and eat them in one go.”Jubilee laughed. “Maybe just start with one. Although our pumpkin spice muffin is really good, too.”The girl groaned, paid for her food, and left before she could be tempted further. It was mid-morning, and the early morning rush had petered out.Jubilee drummed her fingers against the counter. She’d already wiped down all the tables and organized the baked goods in the glass case after the usual morning depletion. Megan was currently in the back finishing up a batch of bread, and Jubilee could smell it baking. Even though she’d been working here for two years now, her stomach still rumbled at how amazing it always smelled.Had it really been two years since she’d moved out of her parents
An hour into her date with Brian, Jubilee rather wished she’d stayed home. Watching some trashy reality show on TV would’ve been more exciting than listening to Brian talk about which Star Trekseries was the best one.“Enterpriseis best, butDiscoveryis my second favorite.” Brian took a swig of his pale ale, his third one for the night. “Have you ever watchedStar Trek?”Jubilee forced a smile. “No, I haven’t.”“Oh, then I need to tell you where to start. People think you should start with the first episode filmed, but I totally disagree with that.” Brian whipped out his phone and began to text her something. “I sent you the best-watching order, including all of the movies. Except the most recent movie, which was trash.”Jubilee drank her wine and considered if it would really be rude to go to the bathroom and never come back. Brian was perfectly nice, but he wasboring.He’d barely asked her anything about herself. She had a feeling if she ask