The Wedding Party Collection. Кейт Хьюит
will be mountains of presents to open when we fly home—between your mother and Demetra, I don’t doubt that. But I’ve had the best gifts already. You, the fact that T.J. swam today and that he laughed while doing it.”
The groom cupped her face in both his hands and stared down at her with gleaming blue eyes, his touch warm and tender. She turned her head and kissed the arch of his thumb. Never had she been happier.
“I love you,” Damon told her, his voice fierce. “Have I told you today?”
“Yes, but I’ll never tire of hearing it.”
“And I’ll never tire of the wonder of finding you and my son”
He bent to kiss her.
Rebecca’s toes curled into the soft sand. The familiar flare of desire flickered within her. The celebrant gave a cough. For a moment Rebecca thought Damon was going to ignore the man. Then he murmured, “Later” against her lips and drew away. The wide white pirate smile he flashed her held a promise that made her tingle.
“Dearly beloved,” the celebrant intoned. “We are gathered here today to celebrate a wedding, the love of two people for each other…”
Soula Asteriades smiled from ear to ear as she made her way to the deck where the sound of festivities could be heard.
Her eldest spinster sister, Iphegenia, was ensconced in a large comfortable chair with plenty of cushions supporting her. The younger, Athina, was playing tavli with Johnny. Soula’s three brothers and their wives and children and grandchildren were scattered across the deck, some of the little ones playing in the peculiar long, skinny pool her son had built. Savvas and his bride-to-be shared a lounger, their heads close together like a pair of lovebirds.
“Look, a photo,” Soula announced, holding up a cell phone. “The first photo of my eldest son, his new bride wearing a beautiful white dress—no sign of scarlet in sight—and their son, my first grandson. This is a miracle for which I claim no responsibility.”
As the family surged forward, happiness swamped her. She tilted her face to the heavens and knew somewhere out there her beloved Ari was watching, celebrating with her.
If you enjoyed the eBook you just read, then you’ll love what we have for you next month! More passionate, sexy stories from Harlequin Blaze, Silhouette Desire and Harlequin Presents. Look for new titles at your favorite eRetailer on the first of the month!
Cindy Kirk
MS. RIGHT…WAS RIGHT UNDER HIS NOSE!
Betsy McGregor is down on her luck—and pretty down on love, too. Besides being out of work for so long, she’s also harbored a secret crush on Ryan Harcourt since forever. When she finally lands a job, Betsy finds herself not only working for the handsome lawyer she’s always loved, but also agreeing to play matchmaker for him. And vice versa!
But the more time Ryan spends trying to find Betsy a match, the more he realizes he really wants her for himself. Could true love have been right in front of him all along? If Ryan can ever get Betsy to admit her real feelings, they could just find themselves saying “I do” this Valentine’s Day.
From the time she was a little girl, CINDY KIRK thought everyone made up different endings to books, movies and television shows. Instead of counting sheep at night, she made up stories. She’s now had over forty novels published. She enjoys writing emotionally satisfying stories with a little faith and humour tossed in. She encourages readers to connect with her on Facebook and Twitter, @cindykirkauthor, and via her website, www.cindykirk.com.
To Harlequin Editor – and fellow dog lover – Shana Smith, who I’ve had the pleasure of working with on this book. Thanks for all your help in making this story the best it could be!
Elizabeth “Betsy” McGregor had been out of work for six weeks, three days and twelve hours. With Thanksgiving closing in, Betsy knew if she didn’t get a job before the holiday season began, she might as well forget about finding one until after the first of the year. Her desperate straits had smacked her in the face last weekend when she’d put pen to paper and determined she only had enough money for one more rent payment. That was the only reason she’d agreed to interview for a position with Ryan Harcourt’s law firm.
Okay, perhaps the medallion she’d dropped into the pocket of her suit jacket this morning had something to do with her decision. She’d been trying to decide if she should keep the interview or cancel when she found the octagon-shaped copper coin while cleaning out her great-aunt’s home. After reading the accompanying note her recently deceased aunt had addressed to her, Betsy had been seized with a certainty that her luck was about to change.
No matter that the percentage of unemployed in Jackson Hole was on the rise or that the holidays were just around the corner. According to Aunt Agatha, the medallion would bring her not only good luck, but also love.
She snorted. It would take a lot for a tarnished metal coin engraved with ivy, a few hearts and some funny French words to send love her way. Luck, she could believe. But love?
Betsy had never been one to lie to herself. Not only was she rapidly approaching thirty, but she was also the epitome of the word average. Average height. Average weight. Average looks. Even her hair was average. Instead of being a rich chestnut-brown like that of her best friend, Adrianna Lee, the strands hanging down her back were a mousy shade of tan. It figured that her eyes couldn’t be a vivid emerald green—like Adrianna’s—but instead were a dusty blue. Not light enough to be interesting nor dark enough to be striking.
Her features were arranged nicely enough, although if she could wave a magic wand, the sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose would be banished forever. The only good thing Betsy could say about her appearance was that she was so ordinary she could blend in anywhere.
She pulled the key from the ignition, accepting the truth but irritated by it nonetheless. She didn’t want to be ordinary. Or to blend in. Just once she’d like to be the type of woman who turned heads when she walked down the street. The type of woman a man would see and immediately want by his side. The type of woman a man like Ryan Harcourt could love.
Heat flooded her face at the realization that she was still as foolish as she’d been at age ten when she’d secretly vowed to marry the slender dark-haired boy with the slate-gray eyes.
It hadn’t mattered that he was five years older or that all the middle school girls drooled over him. Unlike most of her brother’s friends, Ryan had always been nice to her. She vividly remembered the day he’d come across some boys taunting her, saying horrible things and making her cry. Ryan had not only run them off, but he’d also walked her home. That was the day she’d fallen in love with him.
That’s why working for him made absolutely no sense. Seeing him every day would be a dream come true and her worst nightmare. He’d be nice to her. She didn’t doubt that in the least. But to have someone see you as only an employee when you yearned for him to see you as a desirable woman, well, it was bound to be difficult.
Still, she’d had a lot of experience handling challenging situations. Hadn’t she survived a childhood with an alcoholic mother and an absent father? The bottom line was she needed a job. She had to have money