Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Problem: Crystal Cove, #5
    The Problem: Crystal Cove, #5
    The Problem: Crystal Cove, #5
    Ebook88 pages1 hour

    The Problem: Crystal Cove, #5

    By Tawdra Kandle

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A cursed bracelet. A marriage of convenience that is highly inconvenient. And a town full of hopeless romantics. 

    I have three big problems. 

    One: I received a beautiful bracelet as a birthday gift from my aunt, which doesn't sound like such a terrible thing . . . until I learn that this antique jewelry comes with a fun bonus: owning it means I'm going to fall in love. And being notoriously gun-shy, that's something that I can't risk.

    Two: In an effort to get rid of said bracelet, I just might have ended up a little bit married to my long-time best friend, Blake. It's a complicated story that involves booze, blackjack and Vegas. Enough said. 

    Three: Now I'm holed up in my cousin Abby's hotel in Crystal Cove, Florida, hoping to hide from Blake, ditch the cursed bracelet and get back to my real life. But the residents of this small beach community seem to be conspiring against my plans. It's almost as if they want me to fall in love and stay married to Blake. 

    But that's never going to happen. Or is it?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTawdra Kandle
    Release dateApr 20, 2020
    ISBN9781393264651
    The Problem: Crystal Cove, #5
    Author

    Tawdra Kandle

    Tawdra Kandle writes romance, in just about all its forms. She loves unlikely pairings, strong women, sexy guys, hot love scenes and just enough conflict to make it interesting. Her books run from YA paranormal romance through NA paranormal and contemporary romance to adult contemporary and paramystery romance. She lives in central Florida with a husband, kids, sweet pup and too many cats. And yeah, she rocks purple hair.

    Read more from Tawdra Kandle

    Related to The Problem

    Titles in the series (5)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Soul On Sale

      Aug 10, 2022

      I was waiting for the call at the telephone booth. I’d been waiting for fourteen or seventeen minutes and finally, I decided to leave. It was pointless. I only had a 20-dollar bill on me and no coins for the slot. Hard rain was coming, some type of s

      9 min read

    • Article

      A Good Samaritan

      Dec 6, 2022

      It was hot that day, hot for the morning and hot for April and with a stickiness in the air that suggested something had to break. I was headed up the street to ask my neighbor Meech to give me a jump when I heard a scream come from the fourplex next

      10 min read

    • Article

      The Bathroom

      Jun 10, 2024

      Content Disclosure: Sexual Innuendo The garage light flips on like a flashbulb, freezing me in a mug shot. “Del, you out here?” my wife says sleepily as she steps down the cement riser. She looks at me standing before the window; then her attention i

      12 min read

    • Article

      Dating? We All Make Mistexts

      Jun 9, 2022

      Dating? We All Make Mistexts
      2 min read

    • Article

      Not That Story

      Oct 28, 2017

      Not That Story
      7 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Jan 1, 2021

      “Psst, I need to talk to you.” My best friend, looking super excited, is pulling me toward the nearest classroom. It’s empty, and she shuts the door. “This is really big. I made a time machine, and it can take our brains back in time if you know how

      7 min read

    • Article

      Proverbs Of A Faceless Time

      Dec 1, 2023

      Proverbs Of A Faceless Time
      9 min read

    • Article

      Mature Adults In Your Area

      Aug 8, 2022

      I would say that I don’t normally do this kind of thing, except that on and off over the months and years, I’ve done “these kinds of things” too many times for that to be true. So yeah, I go on dates from time to time. This recent guy wouldn’t choose

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Stranger in My Yard

      Mar 25, 2023

      The Stranger in My Yard
      4 min read

    • Article

      A short BREAK

      Apr 16, 2024

      A short BREAK
      5 min read

    • Article

      From A Stranger, The Encouragement To Keep Trying

      Nov 7, 2022

      I am standing in line at the used bookstore. I am leaving town the next morning and have crammed an afternoon of errands into the next hour. In my mind I am already checking off this errand, striding out the door on the way to the bank, dry cleaner,

      3 min read

    • Article

      The perfect DRESS

      Sep 7, 2021

      The perfect DRESS
      6 min read

    • Article

      Tomorrows

      Mar 15, 2022

      The night, as most nights, was like a dream. At ten, once I’d fed the dog the last scraps off the stove. Once I’d cursed the cat for scratching up my mama’s antique furniture, then welcomed him back into my arms. Once I’d slicked my hair into a ponyt

      26 min read

    • Article

      Now That I’ve Arrived

      Dec 30, 2020

      Now That I’ve Arrived
      5 min read

    • Article

      A short BREAK

      Jun 2, 2021

      A short BREAK
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Space Between Us

      Oct 9, 2019

      The Space Between Us
      8 min read

    • Article

      Time & Other Poems

      Sep 1, 2024

      Isn’t it annoying, how you can read allyou want about the past, but not go there?Collect whatever you want from back then,whenever, put it on a shelf. You can evendecide you like a time period, hit up eBayor Craigslist, and in no time you can havealm

      7 min read

    • Article

      Klara

      May 21, 2020

      Klara
      28 min read

    • Article

      The Duplex

      Jun 9, 2020

      I moved to Los Angeles to sing. When was this? August? June? I was twenty-nine, and those were shapeless months, when the days blended together and I refused to pull them apart. My landlord was unusually close to her adult son. His name was Jeffrey,

      21 min read

    • Article

      All Of Us Here

      Jun 4, 2020

      All Of Us Here
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Leather Coat

      Apr 4, 2024

      The Leather Coat
      6 min read

    • Article

      Love, Lust, and More

      Feb 12, 2020

      Fleetwood Mac was singing She is dancing away from you now, and I squirmed in my seat. Kabir was rubbing my thigh as he drove, a gesture I once thought was reserved for me. Bah! I also used to think he only took naked selfies in bed with me, but then

      11 min read

    • Article

      Bodger’s Christmas Special

      Dec 18, 2018

      I’ve always been a member of the same scooter club. Which one? Doesn’t matter, you’ll not know us, we’ve never really gone in for badges and polo shirts. Just take my word for it. Maybe ‘club’ is the wrong word, we’re a group of mates who’ve hung aro

      6 min read

    • Article

      After “The End”

      Oct 10, 2022

      I walked down the road with a hunched back and a wet cigarette in my mouth—the fire had died a while back. My hands were tucked into the pockets of my jacket, and my hair fell over my face, limiting my sight. But I wasn’t really seeing where I was go

      10 min read

    • Article

      The Homeless Angel

      Oct 18, 2018

      "Just as craving crystallizes into anguish, so does understanding flower into letting go." -- Stephen Batchelor, "Buddhism without Beliefs" I walk into the new CVS pharmacy in my neighborhood to buy a birthday card and the first thing that happens is

      3 min read

    • Article

      Longer on Moon

      Sep 22, 2022

      Longer on Moon
      19 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Problem

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Problem - Tawdra Kandle

      Prologue

      The light streaming in through a gap in the curtain woke me, and the very first thing I saw was that blasted bracelet, still resting lightly on my left wrist.

      God. I groaned out the word, burying my face in the pillow briefly. It took me a minute to remember where I was.

      Vegas.

      I turned my head to glare at the bracelet, and it was then that I saw another piece of jewelry. But this one didn’t look at all familiar. As a matter of fact, it was downright foreign, and when my addled, foggy brain took hold of what it was, terror gripped my heart.

      It was gold, it was round, and it was on the fourth finger of my left hand.

      Before I could slide into a full-out panic, I heard a soft snore and felt the sheet over me tighten as the person in bed with me turned over.

      The person in bed with me? Who the hell was in bed with me?

      I forced myself to be brave and ventured a peek. When I saw the dark auburn hair, messy and curling, and the layer of scruff on the strong jaw, everything began to come back to me—and I wished it hadn’t.

      My heart was thumping so hard, I was sure it was going to wake up my—no. I so wasn’t going there. What I had to do now was get the hell out of Dodge and fast. There wasn’t a second to lose.

      I slithered out from beneath the covers and planted my bare feet on the plush carpet. The rest of me was just as bare as my feet, as it turned out, and I cringed a little as I sprinted for the door that led out of the bedroom and into the front room of the small suite. I paused only to grab my small suitcase and to scoop up random pieces of my clothing that littered the floor of the bedroom.

      Once I’d made it to the other side of the door, I quietly shut it behind me, praying that the soft click didn’t wake sleeping beauty. The last thing I wanted to do right now was to have a long conversation about the mess we’d gotten into last night. I wasn’t ready to think about it. Not yet.

      Frantically, I pulled on underwear, a bra, the jeans I’d worn yesterday and a T-shirt I found in my bag. With trembling fingers, I raked my wavy brown hair off my face and pulled it up into a sloppy ponytail.

      Once I had everything back in my small and sophisticated Coach duffel, I draped the long handle of my crossbody purse over my head and left the suite, stepping out into the hallway with a measure of . . . relief? Regret? Maybe a bit of both.

      The elevator came quickly to my floor, and it was blessedly empty. I wasn’t in the mood to ride down eighteen stories with anyone who might expect me to be social. Once in the lobby, I made a beeline for the front desk.

      Good morning. How may I help you? A perky blonde smiled at me, her long manicured fingers poised over the keyboard, ready to jump into action on my behalf.

      Hi. Um . . . I took a deep breath, trying to think of the best way to phrase my request. I’m in room 1863. I was staying there with my—uh, friend. But I was just called away unexpectedly. I have an emergency situation. I nodded, as if it to convince this chick I was telling the truth. Why it mattered that she believed me, I couldn’t have explained.

      Oh, I’m sorry. Front desk Barbie tilted her head in sympathy.

      Yeah, well . . . my friend was still asleep, so I’ll get in touch later and explain why I had to leave. Sure, I would. But I’m going to go ahead and pay the bill for the hotel. Oh, and keep my card on file in case my friend wants to grab breakfast or something, all right?

      Certainly. She’d tapped in my room number when I’d mentioned it. Now her gaze flickered to me and then back to the screen. All right, then, Ms. Lockhart. I’ve run your card for the balance of the stay, and I’ve left the account open, in case there are any late room charges. We’ll email you your receipt.

      Thank you. At least something was going smoothly. I need to get a taxi to the airport. Can you remind me where the stand is?

      She pointed across the expansive lobby. Through those glass double doors. There’s a guy there who’ll give you a hand. Have a safe and pleasant trip home, Ms. Lockhart. And that you for staying with us.

      Thanks. I all but sprinted for the doors, my bag bumping against my legs. Skidding to a halt by the taxi stand, I pointed to the street.

      I need a cab, please. I’m going to the airport, and I need to get there fast.

      No problem, miss. The man tapped something on his tablet. What time is your flight?

      Shit. I don’t know. I haven’t booked it yet. It’s an emergency situation. I repeated the same phrase that I’d given the front desk clerk.

      If you’d like, we can help you find a flight. Patty in the concierge department would be happy to give you a hand, if you’ll step back inside—

      NO! I spoke much more loudly than I’d intended, and the man jumped in surprised. I mean, no, thank you—I can do it myself. Just call me a taxi, please, and I’ll work out something before it gets here.

      I tugged out my phone and pulled up my favorite trusty travel app. Scrolling through the options, I began to book a trip back home to California, but then I hesitated. If I went back home, he’d find me easily, and then I’d have to deal with exactly what I was running from now. I needed more than a few hours to figure out what the hell I was going to do. I had to fly somewhere he wouldn’t think to follow.

      Several options popped into my head, but none was good enough . . . until I remembered an email I’d received just last week from my cousin Abby. In it, she’d raved

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1