Secrets of Moonlight Cove: A Romance Anthology Read online

  Secrets of Moonlight Cove

  A Romance Anthology

  Nicobar Press

  Riverside, California

  www.NicobarPress.com

  Nicobar Press

  www.NicobarPress.com

  First publication, October 2016

  Maggie’s Mystery Man © 2016 Barb DeLong

  Once Upon a Love Letter © 2016 Jaimee Friedl

  Mr. Valentine Comes to Town © 2016 Al Reid

  Surprise Deliveries © 2016 Shauna Roberts

  Lily’s Pad © 2016 Kathleen Rowland

  Second Time Around © 2016 Janna Roznos

  All rights reserved

  Cover image © Glenn Nagel | Dreamstime.com

  Cover design © 2016 Shauna Roberts

  3-D box set design: dhananjayaeffec | Fiverr.com

  Book design: Steve Friedl

  ISBN-13: 978-1-938125-44-7

  All rights reserved

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyright materials. Your support of the authors’ rights is appreciated.

  Table of Contents

  Mr. Valentine Comes to Town

  Maggie’s Mystery Man

  Once Upon a Love Letter

  Surprise Deliveries

  Second Time Around

  Lily’s Pad

  Valentine’s Vacation (epilog)

  Authors’ Notes

  Mr. Valentine Comes to Town

  by A.G. Reid

  Chapter One

  The problem with being immortal is that you can’t vacation in the same place very often. Usually, a couple of weeks every decade was all Valentine allowed himself. More than that, and people started asking too many questions.

  Moonlight Cove. His research told him this location was ideal for his needs. A coastal city with a Mediterranean climate, extended dry summers and short wet winters. The structures, though old, were well maintained. Best of all, Moonlight Cove had a transient tourist population.

  Valentine observed Erica and Brett, who had just come out of the hardware store across the street. His research indicated their paths would converge here over the next few days.

  It was obvious they had just met. She was in her mid-twenties with reddish-brown hair full of long, unmanageable curls. Valentine smiled as he watched her push some loose strands of hair into place. She was a little nervous but not in a bad way.

  Brett was a little taller than Erica, he still maintained the muscular tone that he’d had in the military. His black hair was combed straight back to touch his shirt collar. Brett helped Erica with a stubborn lock of hair that would not stay in place. Valentine’s smile grew as he watched them. They had potential. They just couldn’t see it yet.

  Valentine took the last sip of coffee. The waitress stopped by his table. “I’ll have another cup of this.” His gaze remained fixed across the street on Erica and Brett.

  “You must really like coffee. This is pretty strong stuff, it’s called Fisherman’s Lightning. Most people stop at two, that’ll be your fifth cup.”

  Valentine, realizing the waitress was speaking to him, shifted his attention to her. She was young, a year or two beyond twenty. Her hair was reddish blond, so light it reminded him of the blush of apricots. He studied her eyes for a moment, they were hazel and he could not decide if they held more green or brown. He glanced at her nametag then returned her smile. “I find it invigorating, Mindy.”

  “That, I can guarantee.” She reached for his cup and saucer.

  Valentine watched Mindy return to the counter. Her ponytail bounced in rhythm to her footsteps. A group of staff had gathered in front of the TV monitor near the coffee station, watching the morning news broadcast. Mindy stopped to join them.

  Valentine glanced again towards the hardware store across the street. Erica and Brett were gone.

  Mindy returned with the coffee. “Did you hear about Is Brea, that village in Ireland? Everyone there is getting married.” She set the coffee near his hand. “It’s been in the news all week.”

  Valentine swallowed, then cleared his throat. “It has? All week?” His last assignment had been there. The outcome was complicated.

  Mindy’s cheeks flushed bright pink. “My friend and her fiancé are flying there to get married. It’s so romantic.”

  Valentine swallowed again, then coughed. “I’m happy for you, I mean them. Well, for everyone.”

  “While I was at the counter, they were reporting on the first tour bus to stop in Is Brea. People are flying in from all over the world just to get married. It’s so amazing, don’t you think?”

  “I really don’t know what to say,” Valentine said.

  The cashier at the counter called to get Mindy’s attention.

  Mindy glanced over her shoulder at her work mates still huddled around the TV, then returned her gaze to him. “There must be another bus. Do you need anything else?”

  “No, you have been quite thorough.” Valentine picked up his coffee cup.

  Valentine was halfway done with his coffee when Mindy returned. “Humm, Mr. Valentine?” She looked up from the name printed on a sealed envelope she held. At his nod of acknowledgement, she handed it to him. “There’s someone at the counter who asked me to give this to you.”

  Valentine glanced past Mindy. A Cupid in standard uniform, light gray suit, white linen shirt, thin black tie and black mirror-polished shoes perched on a stool. Cupids were, in physical appearance, androgynous. The Cupid leaned back on the counter with one elbow resting on the edge and gave Valentine a relaxed two-finger salute.

  Valentine returned a curt nod to the Cupid then looked at the envelope. He raised it to his nose. He breathed in its scent, the barest hint of fresh-cut lavender, and behind that, a fading tingle of cinnamon. He’d recognize her handwriting and fragrance anywhere. He opened the envelope and unfolded the crisp white paper inside. The letter was short, succinct.

  Valentine

    My office, now!

      Venus

  Valentine smiled, he loved the way she wrote his name. He returned the note to its envelope and secured it in his inside jacket pocket. He placed two large bills under the saucer and strolled over to the Cupid.

  “Valentine.” He extended his hand in greeting.

  The Cupid clasped his hand in a firm grip. Valentine had forgotten how strong Cupids were. He was sure some of the bones in his hand had rearranged themselves.

  “Marcella,” she said glancing out the door at the main street. “Just passing through town?”

  “No, vacation,” he said.

  “There’s a large city to the south not far from here, Los Angeles,” she pointed out.

  Her statement felt like an unspoken question to Valentine. This meant Marcella was young as Cupids went, maybe a thousand years old give or take two hundred years. The young did enjoy places full of distractions. Of course that could just be the nature of a Cupid as well. He decided to answer her question, unspoken or not, and provide her with something to think over.

  “I prefer small towns, they’re more intimate.” Valentine considered his preference and why he held them. “Time is a funny thing and you should prepare yourself for it. Somewhere down the length of that long path you become not the same person you started out being.”

  Marcella tilted
her head to one side. “That’s interesting, your second statement. As you put it, time could be a stand-in for life.”

  “True,” Valentine said. But, what changes would life have without time?

  “And the length of the path is life as well,” Marcella added.

  Valentine tapped his chin with his forefinger. “I like to think of it as an accumulation of experiences.”

  “So, in the end you change.”

  “Consider it an achievement and there would be no end,” Valentine said.

  Marcella smiled. “If that’s what you meant you could have used fewer words. Time, Experiences and Achievement.”

  “I prefer the longer way. It has more imagery.”

  “I’d still prefer Los Angeles.”

  Valentine only smiled in response. He straightened his jacket. “Shall we go then?”

  “The limousine is to the side of the café.” Marcella gestured over her shoulder with her thumb.

  Valentine followed her outside, then around the corner.

  The car she led him to was, as expected, nondescript, with no markings or emblems to indicate make or model. A brief glance would register in the mind of an onlooker as unremarkable, though luxurious.

  Marcella held the rear passenger door open for Valentine.

  “I’d rather sit in front,” Valentine said.

  “The back is more comfortable, sir,” she said.

  “Yes, it is. All the same I’ll sit up front. Also, please use my proper name.” Valentine opened the front passenger door himself and got in. Marcella’s habitual routine interrupted, she paused, then closed the back door. She walked around to the driver’s side and got in.

  “Though it’s a short drive I like sitting up front to watch the Transition,” Valentine said.

  “I never get tired of seeing it sir. Sorry, Valentine,” Marcella said, as she smoothly turned onto the main road.

  The limousine crested the hill outside of town, then dropped out of sight into a small coastal valley on the other side. Marcella squeezed a button recessed in the steering wheel.

  A bright purple orb of energy shot out of the front grille of the car, landing on the road five hundred feet ahead of them. As they sped towards it, Valentine watched with admiration and a bit of wonder as the orb expanded into a large translucent purple bubble. The car pierced its surface and the bubble popped out of existence, taking the limousine and its two passengers away from this world.

  Chapter 2

  Before Valentine entered Venus’s office building, he turned around to look at the courtyard. It was always spring here. He breathed in the fresh scent of new grass. Birds were busy with the activities that would create mating pairs, the trees alive with their distinct songs. Bees carried pollen from flower to flower fulfilling their bargain to bring forth the next generation of flora. It all made sense, he mused. He was glad that humans were not this trouble-free.

  Venus: now that was more complicated. Could she not be aware of how he came to feel about her? Her actions hinted she did but they were subtle yet flirtatious. No words were spoken to make it real.

  Valentine considered what he knew about her past relationships. Loves had come and left or been killed. No one began a relationship without hope, not even a goddess. Each disappointment and heartache became a stone in a wall she stayed behind. He could understand that. That didn’t make it easier to stand outside searching for a weakness in its construction.

  He pushed the large wooden door open and walked in, following the hallway to Venus’s office. The rose-streaked marble in this building had the unusual property of allowing the sunlight to pass through it, immersing the interior with a soft pink light. Valentine stopped when he reached the receptionist stationed in front of Venus’s office. The desk, a curved semicircle of polished cherrywood glowed richly in the rose-tinted light.

  Venus’s receptionist, Angelo, was an organizational genius and was one of a handful of humans who worked here because they excelled in their particular vocation.

  He looked up as Valentine approached his desk. His natural blue eyes looked violet in the pink light. “She’s expecting you,” he said, trying to stifle a yawn.

  “Sleep well last night?” Valentine asked.

  “Overtime, lots of it.” Angelo folded his arms across his chest.

  “When did that start?” Valentine asked.

  “Hmm, recently.” Angelo leaned forward. “Can I ask you something before you go in?” He rested one arm on the desk .

  “Always,” Valentine said.

  “You are on vacation, correct?” Angelo asked.

  “You know I am. I gave you the request weeks ago,” Valentine said.

  “You do know what being on vacation means?” Angelo leaned back in his chair.

  “Yes, it is a time to enjoy yourself. It can be difficult at times to define exactly where work ends and a vacation begins. Especially if it is a fascinating assignment or, something out of the ordinary presents itself on vacation.” Valentine said.

  Angelo rubbed his forehead then ran his hands through his thick black hair. “I’m not sure I understand.”

  “In principle, with work you are assigned a project at a specific location,” Valentine said.

  “Precisely.” Angelo nodded.

  “With a vacation you are free to pick your own location.” Valentine said.

  “Of course.” Angelo tried to lean further back in the chair but it was already at its limit.

  “And to enjoy the time there. So, if any likely romantic situation could be helped along then the vacation becomes more pleasurable.” Valentine smiled as he thought of Erica and Brett.

  Angelo let out a breath he had been holding as a light on his console started blinking. Venus’s line. Angelo pushed the button. ”Yes, he’s here,” he said into his headset.

  Looking up at Valentine he said, “Go right in, Valentine, she’s expecting you.”

  Valentine entered Venus’s office. Her taste clearly ran more towards Italian Renaissance than the Classical Greek of the exterior. A tiled mosaic floor stretched from wall to wall, dominated by a large yellow-gold sunburst in the center. The rest of the floor provided the impression of a field of flowers nurtured in the light of the sun.

  At the far end of the room Venus waited for him. She sat at a simple rectangular refractory table that had four sturdy oak legs, which served as her desk. Silhouetted in the light of the window behind her, Valentine thought she looked as delicate as a glass vase. He knew appearances could be misleading. If Venus were made of anything it would be diamond, or better yet, titanium. Not glass.

  Her dark black hair was braided with a golden ribbon that glinted in the light from outside. The braids were pulled back and fell to the middle of her back. She looked up from her computer screen and smiled at Valentine as he shut the door behind him.

  He returned her smile. His sight seemed be absorbed gradually into her dark rich brown skin that held an aura of a reddish blush. Valentine rubbed his chin trying to remember why he was here. He heard the rasping sound of whiskers. He winced at the realization that he had forgotten to shave. He smoothed back his wavy brown hair as best he could. He pulled on the corners of his jacket to smooth out the wrinkles.

  The matched pair of Dantesca chairs in front of the desk had a distinctive X profile from his point of view. He crossed the room and took a seat in one of them. “Is there an emergency?”

  Venus held her hand up, signaling Valentine to stop talking, “Yes there is.” She reached into a desk drawer and placed a golden apple on the desk between them.

  “Is that, The Apple?” he asked.

  “It is. I find it useful to look at and remind myself of unintended consequences,” she said.

  “Do you require my assistance with a project?”

  “Can you recall what we talked about the last time you were here?” She tapped her finger on the desk as she looked at Valentine.

  “You mentioned my high numbers of completed cases,” he said.


  “Actually, I said I should demote you for incompetence if you did not have the highest number of completed cases,” she said.

  “There was that,” he agreed.

  “You are on vacation,” she said. “But, you spent the weekend in the library.”

  “I mean this with all respect, Venus, technically my vacation didn’t start until today.”

  “With anyone else, and I do mean everybody but you, spare time in the library would not concern me. But I do not want any more surprises.”

  “I confessed my surprise to you as well about the last case, if that’s what you mean,” he said.

  Venus pressed her lips together, then spoke. “Our statisticians still haven’t calculated the extent of the fallout from that action.”

  “Action, yes there is that as well.”

  “A whole town…” she began.

  “It was a very small town,” Valentine added.

  Venus placed her hands flat on the desk and leaned towards Valentine. “Everyone is getting married.”

  “Except for those already married,” he offered.

  Venus closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, “Two individuals, love at first sight, easily explained or at least not questioned.”

  “Of course,” he said.

  Venus clenched her hands into fist on the desktop. “This has never happened before. There is no way this could have happened.”

  “Yes, well I agree…” Valentine began.

  “It has gained worldwide attention.” Venus tightened her fists hard enough that her knuckles turned white.

  “Yes, but…” he said.

  “It has generated too much attention. Human scientists are looking for an explanation.”

  Valentine was silent for a moment. “Are you planning to undo this?”

  “No. We are not in the business of undoing love,” she said. “Also, we are not in the business of instantaneous love affecting a whole town.”

  “I have offered my help,” Valentine said.

  “We do not know how you did this. You do not know how it happened. So, you will help by doing nothing.” Venus sat back in her chair and folded her hands, “Which brings us back to the library.”