Thrill Ride

by Amy Ratcliffe

Genres: Contemporary Romance; Romantic Comedy

Synopsis

Business meets pleasure at a family-owned theme park sexy, fun-filled debut from the Editor-in-Chief at Nerdist, as a thrill-ride designer shows a straitlaced suit the lighter side of life—and discovers a whole new perspective of her own . . .

From Nerdist Editor-in-Chief and “Queen of the Geeks”

Charlotte Gates grew up in a land of fairy tales and mythological creatures—literally—spending her childhood at her aunt and uncle’s theme park, Lands of Legend. It’s no surprise that she eventually landed her dream job designing thrill rides for a massive, global company. The surprise comes when she’s laid off—and catches her now ex-boyfriend cheating. With her boss. Worse, back in her Ohio hometown Charlotte finds that Lands of Legend is struggling. To stay open, they’ll have to work with an investor . . .
 
To Charlotte’s horror, Gregory Binns not only doesn’t know the difference between a theme park and an amusement park, he’s also never been on a roller coaster. Even more troubling, she’s certain his ideas will ruin Lands of Legend’s uniqueness. So, Charlotte sets out to make sure buttoned-up Gregory experiences the magic firsthand. Opening the park’s new themed area, Under the Waves, is the perfect opportunity—which brings Charlotte to her next surprise . . .
 
As Gregory loosens up—even ditching his tie—Charlotte begins to see him in an attractive new light. She even catches herself fantasizing about what a life with less work and more Gregory would be like. But when her old job makes her a tempting new offer, she’s faced with a decision: reclaim the career she worked her whole life to build, or sit tight for a thrilling new shot at love . . .
 

Release date: March 25, 2025

Publisher: Kensington Books

Print pages: 336

Sample

Charlotte Gates took a deep breath and prepared to scream. The roller coaster smoothly approached the apex of the hill, nary a loud creak to be heard on the shiny silver track, and no, not everyone loved this sensation, but she couldn’t get enough. To teeter at the top of a roller coaster, waiting for the inevitable pitch downward and twist of her gut brought her peace. Letting loose a scream from deep within, bubbling up from the diaphragm and just exploding. In those few beats before the roller coaster raced ahead to its next twist or loop or corkscrew, she felt like anything was possible. Worries about how she lost her job, her next paying article, her next bill, her next next next . . . it all fell away, chased to the outskirts of Charlotte’s mind by that sense of lightness and freedom.

Charlotte pushed out a howl as she seemed to hang in midair above her seat for a moment too long before the cart tore down the hill at an unimaginably sharp angle. The rush of air cut the layer of humidity present in Orlando even in early January. It was an unorthodox time of year to debut a new ride, but the Cosmic Catastrophe Coaster had been a long time in the making, with Wonder World pushing the opening more than once. Now it was here and it was glorious. The cart sped around a tight corner, looping unnervingly close to the water below, sun sparkling off its unnaturally aqua-tinted surface. This was Charlotte’s fifth ride on the complex, first-of-its-kind coaster, pushing even her iron stomach to lurch. But getting to know this coaster’s nuances came with her job.

As a theme park reporter, her brand of research included everything from knowing how many water fountains the queue had to how likely this roller coaster would make a novice turn green. She regularly got asked questions like “But no, really, how scary is it even if I don’t like roller coasters?” and “What if I don’t like going upside down?” and “Will I feel claustrophobic in the over-the-shoulder restraints?” in every possible variation. When she couldn’t rely on her admittedly skewed perspective of “intense” as it applied to a theme park ride, she brought a not-super-into-roller-coasters friend—read: plied said friend with their choice of theme park snacks—with her to gauge their reaction and interrogate them about their every thought on the ride as she took notes. One of those friends had stopped answering her texts.

Cosmic Catastrophe raced around its last corner and started the slow approach back to the launch point, a cavernous building themed to look like the galactic headquarters from the Cosmic Thrill movie franchise. She appreciated when a theme park included intellectual property in a thoughtful way like this. Charlotte pushed away the restraint bar and stepped out of her seat to the loading platform. Loosely pulling her chestnut strands into a messy ponytail and adjusting her romper, she took her time, a luxury on preview days like today without the usual crowds. And she needed that time. That fifth trip left her a little wobbly around the edges and she needed to find solid footing and water. She practically salivated thinking about the ice-cold bottle of water she’d shoved in the locker before her ride.

Charlotte nudged the exit gate on the loading platform, the promise of hydration (so, so necessary in Florida) putting a bounce on her step. Focused on getting to her locker as quickly as possible, Charlotte didn’t notice the figures looming at the end of the exit corridor.

One of them called out, “Charlotte! I was hoping I’d catch you.”

Well, shit. Charlotte clocked her surroundings even though she knew she had only one way out of this area. She breathed, doing her best to pull her stomach out of the pretzel it knotted itself into.

His voice had that effect.

“Chad. I didn’t expect to see you today.” Charlotte hoped it didn’t sound too much like she was pushing words through her gritted teeth. His blond hair was wavy, only slightly ruffled. There wasn’t a sign of sweat anywhere on his face even in a long-sleeved shirt, tie, blazer, and pants. Chad Sandusky had the absolute nerve to be one of the ten people in the world who glowed in heavy, humid weather and looked as handsome as ever on this eighty-degree day. A tall man was with him, also in a suit but not faring so well in the heat. He had longer black hair with delicate curls forming in the sweat around his hairline. Dashes of red colored the tops of his cheekbones, and when Charlotte looked up, unreasonably deep green eyes with light gray flecks met hers. The brief glimpse sent a jolt down her spine that she couldn’t attribute to the coaster. His tailored suit indicated he was an executive, but he wasn’t someone Charlotte had seen around before.

“I’ll email you later, Chad. Nice to see you,” the striking stranger said and nodded at Charlotte, seemingly using this run-in as a chance to escape.

“Sounds good, Gregory. Thanks for coming by.” Chad shook his hand and turned his full attention back to Charlotte as Gregory left. “Sorry, wrapping up a little business; you know what it’s like. And even if it’s the competition, it’s a big day for Nia’s team. They’ve been working on Cosmic Catastrophe for a while. I wouldn’t miss supporting it,” Chad enthused.

Charlotte wouldn’t snort. She wouldn’t. “How kind of you.”

“So how have you been since . . . you know,” Chad said.

Since you ruined my ability to trust another partner ever again when you cheated on me, just after I got laid off from my dream job? That’s what Charlotte screamed in her head. Did she scream that only in her head? Chad stared at her, clearly waiting for an answer, so yes, that had been her inside voice. Small blessings.

“I’ve been keeping busy enough between freelance gigs, covering things like this opening for Ride Report and a little consulting, and helping with the family business,” Charlotte babbled, putting a hopefully not too fake positive tone in her voice. She really did enjoy the work she was doing, even if it wasn’t as satisfying or as prestigious as her old job at DreamUs, and she wanted Chad to know she was fine without him. “Definitely taking advantage of this time to explore some opportunities,” she added.

“Oh, you’re back in Lake Sterling? Lands of Legend is lucky to have you! I’m sure your family is thrilled. They always wanted you to stay there.” Chad smiled broadly.

Sure, Chad. He’d never seemed to think much of Lands when they were dating. In fact, he’d insulted the park more than once by pointing out its modest acreage and how Charlotte was lucky to dodge a lifetime of trying to improve the park. Yes, while Charlotte had chosen to walk away from Lands to pursue work at DreamUs—much to her aunt, uncle, and cousin’s disappointment—it wasn’t because she didn’t love the theme park.

Charlotte had not intended to tell Chad she’d moved back to her hometown and gone back to working for her aunt and uncle as a consultant at Lands; she knew he’d see it as a defeat, a move of desperation. And sure, Charlotte was a little desperate. Losing her creative producer position at DreamUs had been a blow. She felt unmoored, confused. She felt like a failure. She’d tied everything she was into her work. Running to the safe harbor of her home, her family, and Lands of Legend seemed like the obvious solution—at least in the short term. But Chad wouldn’t see it that way.

She wrapped her arms around herself defensively, as if the gesture would somehow extend to her family and Lands of Legend. “It’s been nice to be back, especially since Aunt Marianne and Uncle Frank want to retire soon. And they’ve been so receptive to my feedback and so welcoming. I’ve loved getting back to my roots.”

Charlotte would not point out the park’s lackluster performance this season or the previous year’s abysmal attendance or the laundry list of improvements she’d recommended that the owners, her aunt and uncle, simply didn’t have the budget to address. Never mind the ones her cousin Emily, the park’s day-to-day manager, straight up ignored. All facts not relevant to this conversation.

“Of course they’re listening to you. With your experience how could they not? I can’t wait to see your fingerprints on the park,” Chad said. As if he would ever visit Lands on his own. She had to drag him to the park during the single time he visited Lake Sterling, and then he proceeded to embarrass her all day with not-so-veiled cutting remarks about, well, everything.

“How are you?” Charlotte practically screamed, wondering the whole time why those words came out of her mouth. She wanted to change the subject, but why did she ask that? Stupid Midwestern politeness.

“Fantastic! I got that promotion so I’m leading the new themed area development at our new Paris location. I’ll be leaving soon and spending most of my time in France for at least the next few years.”

Well, the part about him being out of the country was a plus, even if rage and envy clawed at Charlotte’s lungs. She’d desperately wanted to work on the Paris project. The chance to break ground on a new DreamUs park and be involved from the beginning? It was everything a theme park designer could want. Charlotte had daydreamed about possible storytelling and experiences for Paris that would give her a theme park legacy, a place in the hallowed halls of visionary Dream Mechanics who everyone in the industry knew and admired. The difference she could make in creating other worlds for the park guests and be recognized for it! At least she’d have a strong connection there in Chad.

She swallowed her jealousy. “Congratulations. Any particular ride you’re excited about?”

Chad smirked, his mouth covering up his perfect, straight teeth. That asshole actually smirked. “Now you know I can’t tell you any secrets, especially since you’re a theme park reporter these days,” he said, condescension oozing through his words.

The time to end this punishing conversation had more than passed. She should have pretended she needed to go to the bathroom as soon as she saw him and ran past. Instincts were worth listening to sometimes. Who knew?

“Yeah, of course. Totally understand.” Charlotte nodded. “Best of luck on the project. And speaking of my reporting, I’m sorry to cut this short but I have an interview to get to.”

“I loved seeing you. Stay in touch? Who knows, maybe next time you’ll be reporting on a ride I worked on and interviewing me about it!” Chad chuckled while he adjusted his tie. “Speaking of, I’ll keep you in mind if anything opens up for my team in Paris. Wouldn’t want to lose your talent to Lands of Legend forever.”

Charlotte hated the feeling of hope that made her stomach leap—working on Dreamland Paris would be huge. She would not appear desperate. “I’d appreciate that. You know how to get in touch.”

She nodded and gave Chad a tight smile and speed-walked to the lockers, rolling her eyes as soon as she turned her back. When Charlotte said best of luck, what she really meant was she’d be okay with him falling into a ditch and remaining there indefinitely. Who would miss him? He could have survival supplies—she wasn’t a total monster. However, never having to worry about seeing him again would be a relief. But if it meant returning to DreamUs, especially in Paris, she’d swallow her pride and loathing.

She arrived at the lockers by the ride’s exit, punched in her number, pressed her fingerprint to the keypad, and stepped over to the now opened locker. After pulling out her backpack with a touch of unnecessary aggression, Charlotte uncapped her water bottle and drank. As the cool water slid down her throat, she rested her back against the wall of lockers and squished her eyes shut as if to press that entire run-in out of her memory. Scrunching her nose, Charlotte thought of what her best friend, Melanie, would say. She breathed deeply and whispered to herself, “Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t give one more tear to that asshole.”

Especially not now. Not when she had work to do. Professional, respectable, paying work. But seeing Chad reminded her of everything she’d lost six months ago.

After years of work at DreamUs, she was just let go. Layoffs, they’d said, citing a variety of economic and cost-cutting reasons. She knew layoffs weren’t uncommon in the Dream Mechanics division; she’d seen it happen to colleagues. Sometimes temporary, sometimes not. Still, she thought she was too valuable an employee to be susceptible to those waves of layoffs and had asked her boss, Jeni, over and over again, why me? She thought Jeni might give her an actual answer beyond the corporate spiel. But she refused to give her one, legally probably couldn’t, and when Charlotte had tried to pull the “hey, we’re friends” card a couple of weeks after the layoffs, Jeni still ignored her.

That silence hurt as much as losing her dream job; Charlotte had thought she and Jeni were actual friends. And on top of it all, her boyfriend Chad, who hadn’t been at the company as long as her, kept his position and didn’t seem to understand Charlotte’s hurt emotions.

“Charlotte, it’s not like they made a decision to personally attack you and, in your words, ‘ruin your life.’ It’s a business. They had to cut some fat,” Chad had told her, somehow missing the part where he equated her with being “some fat.” “You know these waves of layoffs happen from time to time and they rehire when they have new projects. Anyway, it’s their loss. A competitor will scoop you up in no time and you can probably leverage all your experience at DreamUs for a more senior title and better pay.”

His words had briefly comforted her, until she discovered no one across themed entertainment seemed to be hiring. Charlotte had hit up every one of her contacts in Los Angeles and in other theme park hubs like Orlando the week after she got let go. Two months later, nothing had changed. Everyone she spoke with respected her and loved her work, knew she was a gem, but sorry, they didn’t have a place for her. Dejected after yet another lunch that ended in, “I wish I could help, but I just don’t have anything right now,” Charlotte abandoned her list of errands—Chad thought her unemployment left time for her to handle every household-related matter for their small bungalow in Burbank and she hadn’t corrected him—and headed home.

Walking through the door early was one of Charlotte’s best and worst decisions.

Chad wasn’t clothed and he wasn’t alone; Jeni was with him. Yes, former boss/friend Jeni. Which explained a lot of things, really.

Charlotte turned on her heel and left without saying a word, despite Chad chasing after her. Mostly she remembered how he caught his foot in a pillowcase—the pillowcase for her favorite, squishiest-in-all-the-right-ways pillow—as he ran toward her. He didn’t fall, because of course he didn’t, but he somehow pulled the pillowcase off with his foot and it dragged behind him as he staggered toward Charlotte. The end of three years represented by a seafoam-green pillowcase wrapped around Chad’s foot, sliding inelegantly across the floor.

She moved out as quickly as she could and did the only thing that felt right: coming back home. A thirty-three-year-old running back to what she knew. To Ohio. Back to Lands of Legend. For now.

Charlotte took one more deep breath and consulted the calendar on her phone; what she’d told Chad about having an interview coming up was true. She made her way down a plain concrete hallway toward the ride’s exit—exit areas sometimes got the same attention to theming as the rest of the ride, but not here—and back into the frankly too brilliant for January sun. While digging her oversized sunglasses out of her equally oversized bag, she headed toward the Cosmic Wonders building for her interview with the coaster’s art director. Afterward, she found a seat inside the blissfully air-conditioned space and pulled out her laptop while her thoughts about Cosmic Catastrophe were still fresh. The embargo for reporting on the coaster’s opening was up in two days and Ride Report, the outlet paying her to write this story, needed her finished article as soon as she could so they could edit and schedule it.

“Charlotte!”

She turned her head and grinned at her best friend. “Hey, Melanie!”

“Leave it to you to be working in a theme park on a beautiful day,” Melanie replied. “You know, life is happening here—rides, churros, me. You don’t need to work all the time.”

Melanie’s tone was light, but it wasn’t the first time Charlotte had heard that advice from her.

“I know, but I want to be prepared to turn this article in as quickly as I can,” Charlotte answered while she saved the document and closed her laptop. She stood up to hug Melanie. Charlotte hadn’t seen her fellow theme park reporter and friend in person in far too long. They’d first met when Charlotte was still working at DreamUs and had hit it off from the beginning. Jeni was concerned about Charlotte getting close with a theme park reporter, but it wasn’t like Melanie was the type to dig for “scoops” or be sneaky for the sake of getting an article up on the internet first. Their friendship really developed once Charlotte was laid off in July and had an abundance of free time. She started to realize her work-martyr ways and, once she began to work on herself, she became a better and more available friend. Despite the hurdle of long distance, she and Melanie had become close. “I know intense roller coasters like this one aren’t your favorite.” She squeezed Melanie’s shoulder. “How are you doing?”

“I rode it once and I consider that a win. I kept my eyes open, even during the loops!” Melanie pulled away and struck a defiant pose, her long platinum-blond hair, streaked with purple and green, in a braid that whipped over her slightly sunburned shoulder. Her friend looked as stylish as ever in a cute sundress with lacy shorts underneath. While Charlotte went for comfort first with rompers, hoodies, her favorite sneakers, and ponytails for days, Melanie blended fashion and comfort in a way that made her stand out in any crowd.

Melanie claimed she’d try any ride once, but that rule didn’t usually apply to anything that went upside down or more than twenty miles per hour. Charlotte had once witnessed Melanie have a total meltdown about an unexpected but totally planned and safe drop in a ride. So, this marked huge progress. Melanie usually focused her theme park coverage on food and drinks. She’d built an impressive following on social media and her own blog with her photos and exceedingly honest opinions about everything from flavored popcorn to the more upscale restaurants in the theme park scene. Her training as a chef and history working in fine dining kitchens gave her a unique perspective among theme park food bloggers. Mel lived near the parks in Orlando, so she dropped by at least three times a week. And now she was expanding her portfolio beyond food to write more about rides.

Charlotte would not comment on how out of sorts Melanie looked despite her cute outfit. She thought Melanie was brave to face her fears, but she certainly wouldn’t have thought any less of Melanie if she’d opted out. Thrill rides weren’t for everyone.

“That’s amazing! Look how far you’ve come. Ready to go on Interstellar Screamer with me next?” Charlotte joked.

Melanie’s eyes expanded to at least twice their usual size. “Nope, nope, nope. Forever going to be a nope.”

Charlotte laughed. “Well, the invitation stands if you ever change your mind. Have you started your interviews yet?”

Early press events like this usually included a handful of interviews with the people who’d worked on developing the ride from its inception, or maybe the sound designer for the entire attraction, or sometimes the food and beverage geniuses who concocted treats and drinks themed to the ride that would be sold in the ride’s area of the park.

“I haven’t, but I wanted to find you for a different reason.”

Charlotte could tell from Melanie’s cautious expression that her friend was holding back. “Because you haven’t seen me for a month and missed me terribly?”

“Yes, of course. But also Chad’s here.” A sharp edge punctuated Melanie’s last two words.

“Ugh,” Charlotte spat out. “Yeah, I know. I just ran into him slash got cornered by him. He couldn’t wait to tell me about his new promotion.”

“Right? I think I talked to him for less than two minutes before he found a way to bring it up!” Melanie rolled her eyes.

Charlotte grimaced. “He told me he was here to support the Wonder World team, but it felt like he wanted to specifically find me so he could gloat about his promotion and sneer at my current career. Or, probably in his opinion, lack of a career.”

“Would that surprise you?”

Charlotte sighed. “No, not even a little.”

“Did Chad mention anything else?” Melanie had a questioning, almost cringing look on her face.

Uh-oh.

“Anything else like what?” Charlotte went on guard. “He said he’d be out of the country for a while to work in Paris, but that was about it.”

“Ah. I’m sorry to be the person to have to tell you this—”

Charlotte interrupted. “Melanie, what is it?”

“It’s about Chad and Jeni—”

“No. No. I refuse to hear any more.” Charlotte covered her ears with her hands to show she was serious.

Melanie looked apologetic as she gently pulled Charlotte’s hands away and held them. “Ignoring something doesn’t make it not happen, you know. Being informed is good, especially when the information is coming from a kind person with your best interests at heart—that’s me.”

“You’re right,” Charlotte grumbled. “Tell me.”

“They’re moving to Paris together.”

Charlotte looked down at the swirling stars on the carpet and took a moment to process. “I thought you were going to say they’d gotten engaged, so all things considered, them moving in together, even if it is to Paris, the most romantic city in the world, isn’t so bad.”

“Wellllll,” Melanie said in a high-pitched voice. Charlotte felt her gut drop as she leveled an inquisitive look at her friend.

“Yeah, you can guess,” Melanie said.

“I’m shocked he didn’t shoehorn that bit of news into our conversation, too. But hey, you know, good for them. I suppose? They’d better not invite me to the wedding is all I’m saying.” Charlotte tried so hard to play it cool, to let this news bounce in and out of her mind without snagging on her anxieties. She would not dwell, damn it. It’s not that she was lost without Chad. She’d cared for him, even loved him in a way, but their relationship had been about two people on a similar path with aligned goals who enjoyed each other’s company and bodies. They moved in together out of convenience more than a burning desire to spend more time together.

But he’d found sparks with Jeni—sparks he didn’t have with Charlotte and that made her feel less than in a way she didn’t want to feel right after being laid off. The betrayal a mere month after that huge life change upended Charlotte’s entire world. Jeni and Chad insisted their relationship had nothing to do with Charlotte losing her job, and she knew that was true. Still. She couldn’t stop herself from wondering, then and now, six months later. At least she’d learned a valuable lesson about not dating coworkers and drawing a stronger line between work and life.

“Oh, they’re eloping in Paris so no worries there.”

Charlotte contorted her face to keep the tears at bay. She knew a wedding would happen, maybe not at this lightning-fast speed. She fucking knew it. Melanie put her hand on Charlotte’s arm and gave a gentle pat. “I’m sorry I plopped that news into your lap out of nowhere, but I had to make sure you didn’t hear it from someone else. How about we take a walk and get some drinks? I know exactly what you need.”

Charlotte scrunched her nose and took a deep breath. “Only if we walk through the gift shop to maximize our time in air-conditioning.”

She put all the Chad revelations from this trip to the back of her mind. For now, or maybe for forever. Who could say? Right now, she needed to focus on relief in the form of cold air on her skin, her friend, and a frozen apple slushie topped with a lemony foam.

As Charlotte rolled her suitcase through the Orlando airport the next morning—both the best airport because of the theme park shops where she could grab her favorite snacks one last time and the worst airport because of all the wrung-out crowds who had been to those theme parks—she mentally planned her day back in Ohio. While she longed to hang around and soak in Wonder World’s atmosphere and take one more ride on the Cosmic Catastrophe Coaster, she chose an early flight so she could get home and work. She had to turn in her article to Ride Report since getting a story up first on the internet, or at least in the first wave of stories, mad. . .