Inconveniently Wed!. Jackie Braun

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      JACKIE BRAUN is a three-time RITA^® Award finalist, a four-time National Readers’ Choice Award finalist, and a past winner of the Rising Star Award. She worked for nearly two decades as an award-winning journalist before leaving her full-time job to write fiction. She lives in mid-Michigan with her husband and their two sons. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.jackiebraun.com

       Myrna Mackenzie on Jackie Braun:

      ‘Jackie Braun writes a book with plenty of emotion and a touch of sizzle…From the moment Serena and Jonas stepped onto the page in INCONVENIENTLY WED! I was hooked. Serena is fun and funny, and Jonas is the man every woman wants to wake up next to.’

       Serena’s blog prior to the girls’ wild Vegas weekend

      New York might be Frank Sinatra’s kind of town, but Vegas is mine, baby. You’ve got to love a place where you can eat, drink and dance whatever the hour. Being outrageous isn’t frowned on there. It’s practically a must. Forget slots and cards. I’ve never been lucky when it comes to games of chance. But sign me up for the sights. Every colour looks better in neon. Well, maybe not that hot pink I tried on my hair a few years back.

      I hope my friends are up for a wild good time—especially Jayne. She deserves one after what her ex-fiancé did to her. Another good reason to steer clear of the altar. Men—even the seemingly good ones—often turn out to be jerks. But that’s behind her now, and I’m betting on Vegas to help her forget—at least for a while. Perfectly level-headed and otherwise reserved people go nuts while they’re in Vegas. Levelheaded and reserved are descriptions that could apply to my friends. I, on the other hand, have never been mistaken for either. We’re going to have a blast!

      Meet the girls:

       Alex

      SAVING CINDERELLA!

      by Myrna Mackenzie

       June

       Molly

      VEGAS PREGNANCY SURPRISE

      by Shirley Jump

       July

       Serena

      INCONVENIENTLY WED!

      by Jackie Braun

       August

       Jayne

      WEDDING DATE WITH THE BEST MAN

      by Melissa McClone

       September

      Dear Reader

      Writing is usually a very solitary profession, so I jumped at the chance to be part of the Girls’ Weekend in Vegas continuity series with fellow authors Myrna Mackenzie, Shirley Jump and Melissa McClone.

      We put our heads together, electronically speaking, for several weeks to come up with the overall concept. Then, as we wrote our individual books, we kept in touch via e-mail to exchange information on our characters and to share how our stories were—or in some cases were not—coming along.

      At times I found it difficult to keep our timelines straight and the details clear as our stories intersected and our characters interacted. But I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. In a way, the four of us had our own Girls’ Weekend in Vegas—though it lasted a bit longer than that, involved more work than play, and we never got to set foot on the Strip.

      I hope you enjoy Serena and Jonas’s story—and don’t forget to pick up Melissa McClone’s book next month to find out how the series ends!

      Best wishes

       Jackie Braun

       My thanks to Melissa, Shirley and Myrna for including me in the fun.

      Chapter One

      FOR a woman like Serena Warren, Las Vegas was heaven. Everything about the place was outrageous and over the top—just like she was. Too bad she was only there for the weekend. She’d come on a sisterhood mission of sorts, with her three friends—Molly Hunter, Alexandra Lowell and Jayne Cavendish—after Jayne’s fiancé had turned out to be a lying, cheating, son of a…jerk.

      They’d kicked up their high heels on Friday night and most of Saturday. Even Jayne had managed to have some fun. She’d gone to a salon and had her trademark long locks snipped off into an adorable short do that would have left her ex suitably appalled. But as Saturday wound down, so did Jayne.

      Even though the friends had planned a second storming of the Strip, Jayne decided to spend the evening in the hotel’s spa and pool complex. And Alex, her roommate for the evening, had opted to stay with her—not only to keep Jayne company, but because she had a lot of thinking to do herself. The owner of McKendrick’s, the resort where they were staying, had offered Alex a job. It was an incredible opportunity, but if she took it not only would she have to move to Las Vegas, she would have to stay behind when the others returned to San Diego the following day.

      “Tear up the Strip on our behalf,” Alex instructed after Molly and Serena had offered to share some spa time, too.

      “Are you sure?” Molly asked.

      “Positive,” Jayne said. “There’s no reason the two of you shouldn’t go out and have a good time.”

      The smile Jayne offered was genuine, even if it didn’t quite reach her eyes. None of her smiles did these days.

      “All right. If you insist.” Serena grinned wickedly. “Las Vegas won’t know what hit it when we’re through.”

      “Dear God, what have we done?” Alex muttered in mock dismay. “This town will never be the same.”

      Jayne was more circumspect. “Try not to do anything too crazy. Especially you, Serena.”

      Serena blinked innocently and held up two fingers. “Scouts’ honor. I won’t do anything you wouldn’t do.”

      Her quasi-promise was already forgotten an hour later, as she and Molly stood on the patio of one of the Bellagio’s crowded lounges, watching its famed fountains as they waited for a table to open up.

      “I wonder if I’d get arrested for dancing under the spray,” she mused aloud.

      Molly was used to her friend’s antics and merely rolled her eyes. “Let’s not find out, okay?”

      “I’m not saying I plan to do it.” Serena lifted her shoulders. “Just wondering, that’s all.”

      “I wish Alex and Jayne had come out with us.”

      “I know. Do you think Jayne’s having a good time?”