Beach House No. 9
by Christie Ridgway

When Jane Pearson arrives at Griffin Lowell’s beach house, she expects a brooding loner. After all, his agent hired her to help the reclusive war journalist write his stalled memoir. Instead, Jane finds a tanned, ocean-blue-eyed man in a Hawaiian shirt, hosting a beach party and surrounded by beauties. Faster than he can untie a bikini top, Griffin lets Jane know he doesn’t want her. But she desperately needs this job and digs her toes in the sand.

Griffin intends to spend the coming weeks at Beach House No. 9 taking refuge from his painful memories—and from the primly sexy Jane, who wants to bare his soul. But warm nights, moonlit walks and sultry kisses just may unlock both their guarded hearts....

Christie Ridgway's Bio

The SUN rose on romance for me when I was 11 years old and caught my first glimpse of that certain teen hottie on the cover of a Tigerbeat magazine. Practical even then, I realized that my chances of meeting dazzling coverboy were slim, so I wrote my own reality in a series of romantic stories (I was already dreaming of becoming a published author) that I shared with my best friend. Today, those stories are locked away in a box. The key is lost, thank you God.

It was near the SURF in Santa Barbara that I found the real man I would share my life with. We met my freshman year at college during the Halloween Dance. He went as The Wind. I didn't understand it then, I don't understand it now. However, after our first meeting he called me "Princess" when he saw me (later found out he couldn't remember my name) and I discovered he could play the "Peanuts" theme on the piano. Diplomas, first jobs, and a few years later, we married and now have two sons.

Like waves crashing onto the SAND, my dream of becoming a published author never ended. But still practical, I worked for a number of years as a technical writer and computer programmer. Then I rediscovered the joy of romance novels between rounds of Lego-building and reading GOODNIGHT MOON to my young sons. Mom had always said I could do whatever I wanted, and now I knew that I wanted to write books that provided entertainment and emotional satisfaction.

SEX (threw that in to keep you reading!) is not what my books are all about. Sure, there's sizzle on the pages but there's also drama and then there's the suspense of discovering how two people can find their happily-ever-after. I believe in those, by the way. So come on, let me tell you a love story. Let me take you to warm, sexy, and romantic California.