The Sweetest Summer: A Bayberry Island Novel

“Ms. Donovan knows how to tell a story that will make your heart melt.”

—Night Owl Reviews

“Impossible to put down. . . . Susan Donovan is an absolute riot.”

—Romance Junkies

“Goofy comedy, white-hot sex, and ticking-bomb pacing.” —
Publishers Weekly

“Donovan proves that she will have serious star power in the years to come.”

—Romance Reader at Heart

Sea of Love

Published by the Penguin Group

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First published by Signet Select, an imprint of New American Library,

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Copyright © Susan Donovan, 2014

Excerpt from
Sea of Love
© Susan Donovan, 2013

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ISBN 978-1-101-61844-8

PUBLISHER
’
S
NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are 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.

In loving memory of my mother, Beverly J. Flick Lewis, 1928–2013.

All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.

—J. M. Barrie,
Peter
Pan

Eighteen years ago . . .

“H
ow’s it comin’, boys?”

Clancy Flynn ignored the police chief and pretended to focus on his cruel and unusual punishment. Old Pollard didn’t really care how much bird shit they’d scraped off the mermaid statue since sunrise. He came to Fountain Square only to snicker and make sure they had suffered enough to “learn their lesson.”

Pollard didn’t have much else to do. Being a small-town police chief must be kind of lame. It probably got old walking around thinking you’re such a badass, protecting the mean streets of Bayberry Island, Massachusetts, from the evil of spray-painted cuss words.

When Clancy grew up, he was going to have a wicked awesome job. A
real
job. The kind you could get on the mainland.

“It’s going great, Chief!” Chip Bradford was Clancy’s best friend, even though he could be a brown-noser sometimes. “I got dibs on the neck up, including all her hair!”

“We’re making progress, sir.” Mickey Flaherty put his head down and scrubbed the statue’s barely covered
boobage, like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

“Looks like you got the good stuff, Flaherty.” Pollard chuckled.

“Yep, I did—everything from the neck to the sweet spot.”

“And how about you, Clancy? Did you know there are two thousand, four hundred and twenty-four individual scales in that mermaid tail?”

I do now.

“The mayor asked how you’re doing this fine morning.”

I just bet he did
.

“What should I tell him?”

Clancy held his toothbrush thoughtfully in midair. “You can tell my father that I believe this experience has already made me a better human being.”

Pollard let go with a laugh so loud it scared the birds from the bushes. That was the worst part of the situation. All the adults thought it was hilarious. His dad had laughed his ass off when he heard that the three of them were arrested for spray painting the back of Wilbury Drug & Dime and sentenced to a week of prefestival community service. He especially enjoyed hearing that the slave labor would include scrubbing every inch of the mermaid fountain with toothbrushes and a bucket of Ivory soap bubbles.

“Keep up the good work, gentlemen.”

They waited until Pollard was beyond hearing range. Mickey was the first to say something. “I hate this island. I can’t wait to graduate and get off this stupid fuckin’ rock and never come back.”

“It’s not that bad.” Chip always saw the best in everything, which sometimes annoyed the hell out of Clancy. “Besides, you haven’t even started tenth grade yet, so you should probably chill out and make the most of the time you have here.”

Mickey didn’t appreciate the positive crap either.
“Yeah, well, this week has totally sucked balls, in case you weren’t paying attention, Chipper Chippity-Chip-Chip.”

“Don’t call me that or I’ll crack you upside your dome.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

Clancy rolled his eyes. “Cut it out, assholes. The truth is we broke the law and we should pay the consequences.”

Mickey laughed. “Oh, yeah? Who are you, the Prince of Bayberry Island?”

“We spray painted Wilbury’s back wall, so we had to paint over it. That part makes sense. But you’re right. The rest of this has been complete bullshit.”

“I guess,” Mickey said.

“At least all the stuff we did made the island look nice,” Chip said.

“What are you, Martha-Chippin-Stewart?”

“Shut up, Mickey.” Chip wasn’t giving up on his quest to put a positive spin on their week from hell. “Think about it. All the flower beds are mulched and grass is mowed. The boardwalk is scrubbed and the tourist center is painted and the dune fences are repaired. And this is our last job, right? After we clean the mermaid statue, we’ll be done.”

“God, I hate this stupid mermaid.”

Mickey’s and Chip’s toothbrushes went quiet. Clancy felt his friends staring at him, so he looked up. “What’s the problem?”

“You shouldn’t say that.”

“Why not?”

“Because!” Chip’s eyeballs bugged out. “That could be bad luck. She might hear you.”

Clancy cracked up. “You’re kidding, right? Because there’s no way you actually believe this statue has magic powers to grant true love.”

“I just don’t think you should risk it,” Chip muttered.

“Please tell us you’re joking around, dude.” Mickey
pointed his toothbrush toward Chip’s face. “’Cause if you’re being serious, that means you are more of a pussy than I thought you were. You’re a pussy who believes in fairy tales.”

“Stop it!” Chip looked like he was about to cry. “I don’t know what I believe, okay, but the legend is important and it means a lot to a lot of people on this island, and we’re, like, climbing all over her right now. I don’t think this is the time to piss her off. She could put a curse on us or something.”

Clancy laughed so hard he almost knocked the soap bucket off the scaffolding. “You can’t piss off a pile of metal, okay?”

“She’s made of bronze.”

Mickey smacked himself in the forehead. “Bronze
is
a metal, you doof.”

Chip’s face was turning really red, and it wasn’t because the morning sun was heating up. “Actually, Einstein, bronze is an alloy of several metals—most commonly brass, tin, and zinc. What I am saying is that everyone should just stop bad-mouthing her.
Please.
”

Not much cleaning was getting done by that point, so Clancy decided to have some serious fun with this.

“Oh, great mermaid!” He dropped his toothbrush into the calm water of the fountain basin and put a hand over his heart. “I come to you, dear magic maiden, with an open, honest heart. I seek something true and special.” Clancy took the mermaid’s slippery, smooth hand in both of his, and touched his lips to her cool knuckles.

“If you’re not serious, you’d better stop
right now
.”

“Ignore Chip.” Mickey smiled. “Go for it.”

“Great mermaid, I come to you to ask for my first piece of ass. Please make sure her ta-tas are as nice as yours.” Clancy tweaked a strand of the mermaid’s long hair in the general nipple area.

“Oh, man. This isn’t good.” Chip began to climb off the ladder.

Clancy raised his voice and made it even more
singsongy and dramatic. “But you can forget the love part, oh beautiful one! I don’t believe in love. But I sure would appreciate that piece of ass if you can fit it into your busy schedule!”

Thunder rumbled off in the distance, which was weird because the sky had been clear.

“Uh, hey, dude.” Mickey frowned and glanced around nervously. “Maybe Chip is right and you should, you know, shut the fuck up now.”

Clancy just laughed, spurred on to greater heights of rudeness. “Oh, chick of the sea, babe of the waves! We can be real with each other, right? You and I know you’re a total made-up lie—just a way for people to make a buck around here. You’ve got nothing to do with love, and all these freaks in costumes who come to celebrate you every summer with their open hearts and open wallets are complete dumbasses!”

A gasp rose from where Chip stood on the brick walkway below. “How can you even say stuff like that? You’re a Flynn!”

“I am. So that means you can trust me when I tell you—the whole mermaid legend is a complete load of crap.”

“You’re on your own, dude.” Mickey began climbing down, too. “Later.”

“What’s the matter?” Clancy howled with laughter. “Oh come on! You guys can’t be for real! The mermaid legend has both of you whipped? Are you kidding?”

Thunder growled again, closer this time. Clancy’s buddies tossed their toothbrushes onto the brick and bolted. Clancy busted out laughing again. “Gee, was it something I said?”

Since raging against the machine wasn’t much fun without an audience, he decided to get down, go home, and grab some breakfast. He noticed that the mermaid’s cool and smooth hand was still clutched in his own.

That’s when it got weird.

A faint female laugh rose up around him, like a wispy
fog. He definitely heard it, but he also
felt
it. The sound tickled his skin and moved through his muscle and bone like a shiver, which was totally insane, because it was already above eighty.

Clancy raised his eyes to the mermaid’s face. She was gazing out to sea, as she’d been doing since 1888 when his nutso great-great-grandfather built the fountain in honor of his wife, who he swore was a mermaid. But if her eyes hadn’t moved, then why did it feel like she was staring right through him?

Suddenly, the wind picked up and rain began to pour. Clancy hauled ass down the ladder, got the hell out of there, and promised himself he’d never go back.