A Very Daring Christmas (The Tavonesi Series Book 8) Read online

  A Very Daring Christmas

  Pamela Aares

  Also Available

  in the Tavonesi Series

  Love Bats Last (Book #1, Alex and Jackie)

  Thrown By Love (Book #2, Chloe and Scotty)

  Fielder's Choice (Book #3, Alana and Matt)

  Love on the Line (Book #4, Cara and Ryan)

  Aim For Love (Book #5, Sabrina and Kaz)

  The Heart of the Game (Book #6, Cody and Zoe)

  Love in the Vineyard (Book #7, Adrian and Natasha)

  A Very Daring Christmas (Book #8, Cameron and Jake)

  No Stranger to Love (Book #9, Parker and Juliet)

  also available:

  Jane Austen and the Archangel

  A VERY DARING CHRISTMAS

  (Tavonesi Series # 8, Jake and Cameron)

  The Tavonesi Series continues with A VERY DARING CHRISTMAS, another captivating and page turning romance by USA TODAY Bestselling author Pamela Aares. Each book in the Tavonesi series can be read as a standalone.

  Flying high after winning the World Series, Jake Ryder is in the Caribbean to rehab his season-sore body and coach village children who are crazy about baseball. Running into Hollywood sensation Cameron Kelley, though, may send him packing. The heat sparking between the two of them has him rethinking his Three-Date Rule, something he swore he'd never do. But when she tries to manipulate him into a publicity stunt to fund her UNICAN project, he decides it’s game over. He's been used too many times by women with an agenda.

  A surprise invitation to Trovare Castle throws them together once more. A mysterious prince and a fatherless boy complicate their already tense reunion and they soon discover that the greatest dare is the one that leads to true love.

  A VERY DARING CHRISTMAS

  Tavonesi Series #9

  Copyright 2015 Pamela Aares

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  For information contact: [email protected]

  A Note from Pamela: The best way to be in touch is to subscribe to my newsletter. Go to PamelaAares.com and fill in your name and email in the boxes provided (and it does help to set up your email and spam filter to allow mail from me so news about upcoming releases, exclusive excerpts and special book offers don't end up in your spam folder).

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Epilogue

  Thank You

  Other Books by Pamela

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Prologue

  With labored breaths, Alia signed her handwritten will. If only the rains in the Amazon hadn’t come early. There was no hope of leaving the village, no possibility of reaching a hospital. Yet a return to civilization wouldn’t have mattered; there was nothing modern medicine could do to save her. The jungle fever gripping her had no cure.

  She could only hope that Dylan would arrive in Dominia safely. At least she’d gotten him out before the rains. Sending him away with one of the village elders had been the hardest thing she’d ever had to do. It could take weeks for them to reach Manaus and perhaps another week before they could catch a flight to Dominia.

  She wasn’t afraid of dying, wasn’t afraid of the end of her life. She’d had a good life, pursuing the research she loved, living in the jungle she loved with a child she adored. But she should’ve made arrangements for Dylan earlier. With no family of her own, she should’ve seen to making provisions in case anything happened to her. But high on the thrill of her discoveries and her life in the Amazon, she’d believed herself invincible.

  She should’ve believed the village shaman and heard the truth. But she’d been too focused on finding the cure for the very disease that would soon end her life. And the truth was, she hadn’t wanted to go back to the modern world. Her life was here, deep in the jungle.

  Her only fear was for Dylan’s future.

  She should’ve told Peter Ryder right away that he had a son. Though their one-night stand had resulted in the greatest gift of her life, saddling Peter with a child he hadn’t asked for hadn’t seemed right. But by the time she’d decided telling him was the right thing to do, she’d read online that Peter had died in a boating accident. And the deeper truth was that she hadn’t wanted a man in her life. Within months of Dylan’s birth, she’d become so caught up in her research, in their life in the rainforest, she’d never looked back.

  Until now.

  She’d sent instructions to Juan Alcedes, her colleague in Dominia, along with access codes for her savings account. But the money wouldn’t last, wouldn’t buy Dylan a safe and happy future. Juan was resourceful. She trusted that with Nonna’s help and connections, that Juan would find Aderro. His sister was a friend of Peter’s winterball teammate. Or so Peter had said.

  Family ties ran deep in Dominia. She hoped they ran as deep in the States.

  Before the Internet connection had been disrupted by the sudden storm, she’d seen online that Aderro was in Dominia overseeing the kids baseball camp he’d founded. She could only hope that when Aderro returned to the Bay Area to spend the holidays with his family, he would take Dylan safely to California. Hope that Peter’s brother, Jake, a successful baseball All-Star, would take him in, adopt him. She couldn’t, wouldn’t, think about any other outcome. The pain of her plan failing outstripped the pains telling her that her life would soon end.

  She’d found little information online about Jake. Some team photos, an interview where he stuck to comments about the team and the games. Clearly he was publicity shy. But she hoped he had the heart of an angel and the strength of the warrior he appeared to be—he’d need both for the task she’d set for him if he took Dylan on. No, when he took Dylan in. She had to think positive, give the outcome every chance to happen. God, how she wished she believed in such practices.

  The door to her hut opened and the village shaman came in with one of her steaming potions. She pushed the shaman’s hand away. The shaman nodded and then wrapped Alia in her arms. It was time. With her last breath, she prayed for Dylan’s safety and future.

  Chapter One

  A morning run through the autumn-gold vines of the Trovare vineyards did nothing to clear Jake’s head. He shouldn’t have gone out gambling and partying with his teammates the night before a batting tournament; Alex and Ryan would be ruthless. But the lure of the tables and the promise of beautiful, available women had once again eroded his better judgment.

  “You look terrible,” Alex said as Jake entered the sunny breakfast room of Alex’s home.

  Jake still couldn’t believe Alex actually lived in
a castle, even if it had been built recently and in northern California. He particularly couldn’t believe that it was in California. Alex’s father had been a man driven by dreams, and Trovare was the result of his obsession. The castle was set on a hillside, and the towers could be seen from miles around. And the vineyards Alex’s father had planted now produced the finest wines in the region. Everything about the place was a far cry from Jake’s roots in an impoverished North Carolina mining town.

  “Didn’t anyone ever tell you looks aren’t everything?” Jake chided as he grabbed a plate from the long table at one side of the room and filled it with scrambled eggs and home-fried potatoes.

  “I think he looks just fine,” Alex’s cousin Coco purred.

  Jake spun on his heel and pointed his fork at her. “Flattery will not get me to pose for your calendar.”

  Coco wrinkled her nose. Like her sisters and cousins, Coco was a beauty. He’d cast lures to her a couple of times, but she’d made it clear over the past months that her only interest in his body was to get him to take his clothes off for a fundraising calendar she’d cooked up. He didn’t care that the damned thing was intended to fund a local homeless women and children’s shelter—he wasn’t for sale. Not now. Not ever.

  His agent had had a hell of a time getting a clause in Jake’s contract limiting the PR he was required to do for the Giants, but Jake had stood firm. He owed his profession to the diehard fans of baseball—directly or indirectly they were the ones paying his salary. The team owners often forgot that fact, but Jake didn’t. The fans were the community that made it possible for him to pursue his dream and play the game he loved. Without the fans, he’d be hacking at balls in a sandlot somewhere.

  But he didn’t owe anyone his soul. What he owed the fans was to play his heart out every time he stepped on the field. He’d keep it at that.

  But just because he was allergic to PR didn’t mean he didn’t care. He’d instruct his agent to write an anonymous check to the women’s shelter. Back in his hometown he’d seen what sorts of challenges homeless single mothers faced. Hercules himself couldn’t shoulder that sort of load.

  Coco fussed under her breath. “I have better tools than flattery,” she threatened in her Italian-accented English.

  “Better watch out,” said Parker, another of Alex’s cousins, as Jake sat at the table. “If the Tavonesi women band together, you haven’t got a prayer.”

  Jake scooped a forkful of potatoes. “Never been much for prayer.”

  Alex glanced at his watch and jumped up from the table. “I’ll meet you out front in ten,” he said to Jake. “Ryan’s a stickler about being on time, and it’s a thirty-minute drive to the coast.”

  “Hold on—what about our Christmas plans?” Parker asked.

  Alex shot his cousin a grin. “I can’t believe you’re thinking about Christmas already. It’s barely November.”

  “C’mon. You’re opening the new wing here at Trovare—let’s have a big family-and-friends house party. With the excitement of your World Series win over, we need something to look forward to.”

  “Rest.” Alex pointed to Jake. “What we need is a little practice and loads of rest. Well, that and to get this year’s vintage bottled. That’s enough for me.”

  “My party-planning skills will get rusty,” Parker protested. “You’re up for a party, aren’t you, Jake?”

  Jake still had trouble believing that a world-class, hard-riding polo champion like Parker could be so focused on planning and executing parties. But he’d attended several of Parker’s events and had to admit that the guy was a wizard when it came to conjuring the perfect combination of fun, delicious food and drink, and just the right mix of guests to make Jake’s partying genes stand up and applaud.

  “There’s a rule in the South—never get caught in the crossfire of family squabbles.”

  “Coward,” Parker said with a laugh.

  “Where I come from, vendettas can go on for years.” Jake finished off his eggs and considered filling his plate again. “Besides, I’m headed to Dominia. I promised Aderro I’d help him coach the kids in his academy for a few days. A little R&R is on the docket as well.”

  “I want to reserve a room in the new wing for the party,” Coco said with a bright smile aimed at Alex.

  “For whom?” Alex edged toward the door.

  “It’s a surprise.”

  “Coco.” Alex’s tone told Jake he didn’t much like his younger cousin’s surprises.

  Coco crossed her arms. “Let’s just say it’s a matter of the heart.”

  Alex groaned. “Better tell Sabrina. She may have plans for the new rooms.”

  Coco shot Parker a look that Jake couldn’t read. “Sabrina already knows.”

  “Defeated,” Alex said with a shake of his head, evidently conceding to the Christmas party as a done deal. “Join us, Jake. Most of our cousins will be at the library opening in Rome, so there will be plenty of room. And I might need backup.”

  Jake would never get used to the fast high life of the Tavonesis. And yet they were the most warm-hearted family he’d ever met. Never once had they made him feel like a guy from the other side of the tracks. While he had Alex’s back on the field, he knew Alex also had his.

  “I dare you to join us,” Coco said with a light laugh.

  Jake’s parents would be spending the holiday in Rome, a holiday that his Major League salary made possible. It’d been his mother’s dream to spend a Christmas in the heart of the old city, and Jake was happy to be able to give the trip to her. Since his brother Peter’s death four years ago, Christmas gatherings hadn’t been the same.

  But Christmas at Trovare? Before his brain could stop him, the same voice that egged him on at the gambling tables and into the arms of beautiful women had Jake nodding his head.

  Parker’s smug smile had him wondering if he’d regret his impulsive decision.

  “How I love Laguna,” Cameron said to Sabrina as they dodged a low-tide wave and stepped up the pace of their run. “It’s the only beach in Southern California where I don’t get harassed by paparazzi.”

  “Maybe the locals hounded them out.” Sabrina kept pace beside her on the hard-packed sand.

  “Oscars should come with warning labels,” Cameron said, only half-joking. “A big red label that screams danger: possession of this statue will wreak havoc on your life.”

  Both Cameron’s and Sabrina’s lives had changed since their Best Actress Oscar wins over the past two years. Some of the changes were welcome—better roles, better contracts and more clout in an industry that often ignored the creative interests of actors.

  But no one could’ve prepared Sabrina for the downside of instant stardom. There were few places either of them could go without being assaulted by camera-wielding zealots out to get photos to sell to the tabloids for exorbitant fees. The tabloids were as much to blame as the paparazzi. Just last year Sabrina had been badly hurt at a film premiere when an idiot had grabbed her, nearly breaking her arm.

  They skirted the base of a cliff and entered the next cove. Cameron’s heart thudded at the sight of a horde of people gathered at the tide line. Every one of them toted cellphones and cameras. She stopped running.

  “It’s okay,” Sabrina said. “Look, they’re about to release a sea lion.”

  Cameron looked to where she pointed. A group of people wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase Marine Mammal Rescue Team held boards along either side of a large dog crate.

  “My sister-in-law does this sort of thing all the time. These people are far more interested in the seal release than in us.”

  She must’ve seen the doubt in Cameron’s eyes, because she added, “We can watch from here and then turn back. Three miles is my limit anyway. And I’m ready for that lunch you promised back at your cottage.”

  Sure enough, as the rescue crew opened the door to the crate, the crowd cheered and snapped photos, all eyes on the happy sea lion bounding into the ocean.

  Sabr
ina tapped Cameron on the arm. “Let’s skedaddle, just in case.”

  “Words of wisdom,” Cameron said, glad to return to the more deserted stretch of coast to the south and even happier to safely reach the confines of her tiny seaside cottage.

  They polished off the sandwiches and salad she had prepared.

  “Running makes me ravenous.” Cameron sighed. “Let’s take our iced tea down to the point. Maybe we’ll see the dolphins.”

  They grabbed sun hats and wandered down to the end of the property overlooking a small cove. The sun danced on the calm ocean, and a light breeze sent shivers of tiny points of light scattering toward the horizon.

  “I’d love if you came up to Trovare for Christmas this year,” Sabrina said over the sound of gently lapping waves. “Unless you’re spending Christmas with your mother?”

  “She’s spending the winter on the yacht of soon-to-be husband number five,” Cameron said, wishing that the longing in her heart hadn’t crept into her voice.

  It’d been five years since she’d spent a Christmas with her mother. That was the price she paid for being the daughter of a former Hollywood sex symbol more focused on the attention of men than family. Her mother hadn’t made a film in over ten years, but that fact hadn’t eased her narcissism. The only time Cameron heard from her mother these days was when she called to ask if Cameron could help her get a part in a film.

  If Cameron’s father hadn’t died young, maybe the arc of her life would’ve been different. Maybe they’d have had a family life. Maybe she wouldn’t have had a string of stepfathers. She’d never know.

  “All the more reason to come up and spend the holiday with me and my family,” Sabrina said. “It’ll be low-key this year, just a few of us. Most of my cousins are off in Italy. And Kaz will be in Japan for a family wedding. I get to go with him, stay long enough to meet the extended family, but I have some publicity events here around the holidays, so I’ll be back midmonth.”