Sun Catcher Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copywrite

  Dedication

  By Giselle Fox

  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

  More

  Sun Catcher

  Book One

  by Giselle Fox

  No part of this e-book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews. Please note that piracy of copyright materials is illegal and directly harms the author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are a product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  © 2017 Giselle Fox - All Rights Reserved

  Dedication

  To true love, respect, passion, and fire.

  To sauciness, romance, fairy tales, and happy endings.

  To my beautiful wife; the embodiment of sexy and the greatest inspiration I could ever have.

  Other Books by Giselle Fox:

  Rock Candy

  Rare and Beautiful Things

  Slow Burn in Tuscany

  Claire and the Lady Billionaire Series:

  This is an ongoing series of steamy contemporary lesbian romance featuring one of my favorite couples, Claire and Camille. Please check them out!

  Part One

  Part Two

  Part Three

  Part Four

  Part Five

  Part Six

  Giselle Fox Amazon Author Page

  Giselle Fox on Facebook

  Gisellefox.com

  CHAPTER ONE

  It was Valentine’s day evening. Cate stepped her way over the remaining patches of snow and ice on the sidewalk and made her way around the corner to the tiny French restaurant. She was a few minutes late. It hadn’t been easy to find parking but she knew she would probably be the first one to arrive. Her boyfriend, Peter, was rarely on time for anything.

  She was greeted at the entrance by the host and was led to a cozy table by the window. The coat rack was already spilling with jackets so she removed her coat and scarf and slung it on the back of her chair.

  Cate looked around the tiny restaurant, at the candlelit tables and the luminous faces of all the couples. The woman across the narrow aisle from where she sat gave her an elated smile. Cate’s eye was immediately drawn to the modest diamond ring perched on the ring finger of the woman’s left hand and then to the tiny blue velvet box that sat on the table between her and her new fiance. Cate smiled back at the woman.

  She looked out the window of the little restaurant and wondered how long she would have to wait for Peter this time. She took a breath before pulling her phone from her purse. She already expected the worst. When there was no word she texted him. When his response came back a few minutes later, Cate sat back in her chair and sighed.

  Lost track of time. Probably an hour away. Want to come here instead?

  Cate looked around the restaurant. It wasn’t that she cared about Valentine’s Day or that it was obvious to everyone around her that there was a gaping hole in the seat across from her, it was that after being reminded practically every day that week, Peter still hadn’t cared enough to show up. She considered enjoying a fine French dinner on her own since she knew there would be nothing edible at his place. She also considered telling Peter that she would just go home. In the end, she decided to suspend her expectations and make the drive to his apartment on the other side of town. There were matters to discuss that required his input.

  When the waiter returned to pour her water, she apologized and gave the excuse that something had come up. She grabbed her coat and scarf and left the restaurant without looking back.

  ***

  “I’m sorry, babe. I didn’t see the time,” Peter said when he opened the door. He was wearing his usual hoodie and sweatpants. His hair was dripping as if he’d just stepped out of the shower.

  Cate didn’t bother raising the issue of the restaurant. If he didn’t know already that he’d royally messed up, trying to explain it to him would only make things worse. She pulled off her coat and scarf and looked for a place to hang them, deciding the handle of the door was best.

  “I’m defrosting some chicken wings,” Peter called from the kitchen. She heard the fridge pull open and the rattle of condiments on the door. He returned with two cans of beer in his hands.

  “Would you prefer the pale ale or the lager?” he asked as if he were holding up two bottles of fine French wine.

  Cate preferred neither but she took the lager since she knew Peter liked the ale. He bent and kissed her cheek and they both walked into the living room.

  Peter cleared a space on the coffee table and sat down on the couch. Cate took the armchair since the cat, Wally, was occupying the space beside him.

  “So, how was work today?” he asked.

  “Work?” Cate repeated as she sat back in her chair. It already seemed far enough away that she couldn’t really remember. “It was fine. Same as ever. How was your day?”

  Peter leaned forward and placed his beer can on the coffee table. “It was great. We beta’d the new game and I think we’ve figured out a better route for the third level. You know the one I was telling you about … where the zombies jump out of the car?”

  Cate nodded. “Yes, I remember.”

  Peter smiled. “So yeah. It was a good day.”

  Cate pulled her bag onto her lap and rummaged through it for the printouts she’d made. She laid them neatly on the table.

  “What’s all that?” Peter asked.

  “These are a few options for our holiday,” she said and began to sort through them in order of most to least extravagant. “We have the all-inclusive in Cancun, the all-inclusive in The Dominican Republic. Then there’s the cruise deal that I was telling you about, but honestly, I’m not sure I’m ready for a cruise. Maybe in thirty years.”

  Peter looked blankly at the papers and sipped his beer.

  “Then there’s something a little further down in Central America,” Cate continued. “Costa Rica and Belize.” She looked up and saw that Peter had already sat back on the couch and was scratching the cat.

  “Anyway, I think all of them have something going for them, whether it’s value or ease,” she said. She watched Peter stroke the cat lovingly for a few more seconds until a bell chimed in the kitchen. Peter clapped his hands and shot up from his seat. “Chicken’s done.”

  He swept past her. Cate heard him grumble and then close the microwave door again.

  “Needs another round of defrost,” he said when he sat down.

  Cate slid the itineraries across the table toward him. “So, is there anything that sounds interesting?” she asked.

  “Sure!” he said and took a long sip of his beer.

  Cate was happy for a moment until he didn’t say any more. “I was thinking Costa Rica,” she said. “I’m no
t that into the idea of an all-inclusive.”

  “All your meals and drinks made for you right there? Why not?” he shrugged.

  That was a good point, actually. Cate imagined herself having to figure out all their meals otherwise. She moved the Costa Rica itinerary to the side.

  “The all-inclusive in Cabo sounds like it could be nice. It’s the most ... budget-conscious of the bunch.”

  “I’m not as concerned about budget as time,” Peter said. “When is this again?”

  They’d been over this many times already but Cate pulled out her phone and showed him the dates on the calendar.

  “That’s really soon,” he said and handed her phone back to her.

  “Yes, I know. I would like to get this booked tonight or we’ll miss the deals.”

  Peter scratched his head. “I’m not sure I can take off for that long.”

  “It’s a week,” Cate said flatly.

  “It’s not the best timing for me. We’re sort of in the middle of this redesign.”

  Cate sighed.

  Peter sat forward in his seat. “What if we took a drive somewhere instead? Maybe take a day or two on either side of that weekend.”

  “It’s winter, Peter. Where are we going to drive to?”

  “I could ask Steve if he’s using his cabin.”

  Cate had been there before. It was rustic, not that rustic was bad in the summer or at warmer times of the year. But spending her holiday shoveling her way in and out of a one-room cabin to freeze for four days wasn’t exactly the holiday she had in mind.

  “It could be really nice and... I could get some work done while we were there,” Peter said.

  Cate looked at him. It would have been different if he’d said they could curl up and have a romantic time by the fire or in the big four poster bed, but here he was already talking about work and video games.

  “No,” Cate said.

  Peter sat back. A few seconds later the microwave dinged again. Both Peter and Cate stood up.

  “I got it,” he said.

  “No, I’m going to head home.”

  Peter look puzzled. “Why? You just got here.”

  She stood and looked at him for a moment. “I would like to go somewhere warm. I’ve had this week booked for months and I would like to do something... adventurous for a change. If you can’t make it, I understand.” She walked calmly to the door.

  “Aw, come on, babe. Don’t leave.”

  “It’s fine,” Cate said. “I’m seriously fine. You have stuff to do, I get it. We don’t have to do the same things, I get that too.” She moved to the hallway and pulled on her boots.

  “Okay, well. If you’re fine with it,” Peter said as he leaned against the doorway. “I just don’t want you to be upset.”

  Cate leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. “I’m not upset.”

  “Aren’t you hungry?”

  The fleshy smell of half-poached chicken wafted through the cramped hallway. “No, I’m good,” Cate said.

  “Okay, maybe see you tomorrow?”

  “Maybe,” she said. She opened the door and headed for the stairs as Peter followed beside her in his socks.

  “Shit!” he said as he noticed his cat make a beeline in the opposite direction. “I’ll call you later.” He padded after the cat.

  “Okay,” she said without looking back.

  ***

  Cate placed her keys on the granite counter top in her kitchen. She hung her coat and scarf in the hall closet and then pulled a glass from the cupboard above the sink. She took a seat at the bar with a nice bottle of Malbec and poured herself a glass. Was she mad at Peter? No, and that was the strange part. When she rolled it over and looked at it from other angles, she realized she didn’t care at all. Peter was a nice guy. There had been enough good things that made up for the fact he didn’t always show up. She was happy to take a holiday on her own terms. She decided she’d figure out what to do with him later.

  She picked her way through the stack of itineraries again. Most of them had been chosen on Peter’s behalf, so she put those to the side. She looked at Costa Rica again. She’d wanted to go there since college. A holiday on her own could be nice, she thought to herself, though she did like to be a little social. She looked down at the small black and white map on the corner of the printout and focused on the narrow country that sat just to the east.

  “Panama,” she said out loud.

  Cate had an old friend in Panama. During their senior year in college, they’d practically been inseparable. It had been a year at least since they’d corresponded, but her friend had extended an invitation to visit anytime. Cate knew her boyfriend too since they’d all met in college. He’d been a thrill seeker since day one and now worked as a writer for an outdoor magazine. He was always off somewhere, doing something amazingly adventurous. Cate was always jealous of the exciting life they lived.

  Cate didn’t have to think about it for much longer. She grabbed her laptop and wrote an email to her friend.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Oh my gosh! Look at you! You haven’t changed!” Alice called.

  Cate hustled over to the sporty little convertible with her backpack just as her friend stepped out. “You look great!” she said.

  They hugged and then stared at each other for a few long moments. “It’s been too long, girl. Way too long!”

  “I actually couldn’t believe it when I did the math,” Cate said.

  “Ten years? Eleven maybe?” Alice said.

  “At least.”

  “Okay, get in. It’ll be cooler on the road.”

  “It is really hot!” Cate loaded her pack into the small seat behind them.

  “This is nothing compared to the summer months.”

  “Well, I woke up in snow this morning, so...”

  “Yuck and yuck. Don’t miss that.”

  “Where’s Todd?”

  “Oh, he’s in Vanuatu working. He may be back before you leave but probably not.”

  “Bummer,” Cate said. “I would have liked to see him.”

  “He said to say hi and to give you a hug.”

  “Vanuatu, hey?”

  Alice climbed behind the wheel and checked her lipstick in the mirror before pulling out into the roadway. “Maybe it’s not Vanuatu. Seriously, I can never keep track. So, hungry? Thirsty?”

  Cate had eaten very little on the plane. “Yes. Is there somewhere I can take you? My treat for picking me up.

  “Not necessary,” Alice said. “Why don’t we head over to Yolanda’s. You can meet some of the other expats from my building.”

  “That sounds great,” Cate said. “I could use a drink with an umbrella in it right about now.”

  Alice gave her a sly grin. “You’re speaking my language.”

  “I really appreciate your offer to let me stay at your place but I don’t want to impose. I have a couple of other leads on accommodation.”

  Alice stared at her. “You’re kidding right?”

  “I wasn’t actually.”

  “You come all this way and you think I’m going to make you stay somewhere else? I have a spare room and an office. It’s no trouble.”

  “Well, I appreciate it.”

  “Lighten up,” Alice grinned. “You’re here now. Leave your city life behind you. You’ll be back at it soon enough.”

  Cate smiled. “You’re right. Okay, it’s done.”

  “So … where’s your man at? How come he didn’t come?”

  “I’m not sure you could call him my man, to be honest.”

  Alice glanced over at her again. “Elaborate, please. I thought you liked him.”

  “I did, three years ago. Now...?”

  “So you left him at home?”

  “I left him at his home. We don’t live together.” Cate thought briefly about the fiasco that would’ve turned out to be and was thankful she’d never gone there.

  “Oh well. Sounds like you’re ready for a change,” Alice shrugged.r />
  “I think so. I’m pretty sure he’s not going to make the cut, to be frank. But I didn’t want to deal with it before I left.”

  Alice grinned over at her. “You’re going to wait until you’re tanned and fabulous before you break his heart?”

  “I doubt very much that his heart will have anything to say about it one way or the other. We’re both fairly indifferent about the whole thing at this point.”

  “Wow, Cate. It sounds like you’ve been having a lot of fun back home!”

  Cate laughed.

  “How’s work going?” her friend asked.

  “Fine. I’m head of my division now. I completed the CPCU a couple of years ago and ...”

  Alice grinned at her.

  “What?” Cate asked.

  “I’m sure that all means something,” she laughed.

  Cate smiled. “Fine. I won’t bore you with the scintillating details of commercial insurance. I’ll just say the career part of my life is doing fine.”

  “Fine is good,” Alice said optimistically.

  “Fine is good ... for now, yes.”

  They drove along winding green roads. Cate saw flashes of blue water through the line of trees. There was more development up ahead.

  “This is the old part of town,” Alice said as they merged onto a rough stone road. The village was a mix of colorful adobe style bungalows and colonial architecture. The hillside that it was built on extended down and dropped off a line of gray cliffs.

  “My building is up there,” Alice pointed. At the top of the rise was a white stucco building.

  “Nice,” Cate said. “I bet you have a great view.”

  “Mine is pretty good. Better than some, not quite as good as others,” she said.

  They sped up the winding road to the top of the hill and pulled into a parking spot beside the building. “What I do have is parking and that’s a good thing.”

  They both got out and Cate pulled her bag from the back.

  “You travel light,” Alice said.

  “Well, bikini’s, shorts, and skirts don’t take up much space.”