In all his life, Justin has never felt more emotionally out of control. Even when Jayne and his mother had died, he’d been able to focus, to put all his energy into raising the kids, to his job, and to help Igor and Leah work through their grief. But this was different.This was pain on a whole new level. It was something for the love of God so different he couldn't fathom.Seeing her at the pizza with the fireman had broken him up inside. She was on a date.Enjoying herself. Talking, laughing. Sharing her life with another man.He called Allena Friday morning, longing to hear her voice and talk, but it went to her voicemail. He texted, and she didn’t respond. It galvanised him into action, and on Friday afternoon he went back to the O’SullIgor hotel, only to discover she’d checked out. Gone. Run off with her fireman.Man, I’m an idiot.Pain set in, lodging in his chest like a knife. And jealousy—the unrelenting kind that made his gut churn and his heart ache behind his ribs.He hurt
Tess and Mitchael suddenly appeared at the door. “Ah—how about you guys take this conversation into the living room, and Michael and I will watch the kids, okay?” Tess suggestedand quickly gathered the children together. “Go on, off you go.”Allena was gone in a second, and he followed without thinking. When they reached the living room, she stopped by the fireplace and swivelled, facing him with her hands on her hips.“You thought I’d left town with Bobby?” she askedDiscomfiture crept up his neck. “He did have his arms around you the last time we were together.”“He was saying hello,” she defended. “That’s all.”“You said you liked him,” he reminded her. “And you told me to leave so you could be alone with him, remember?”“I was mad at you for your dumb marriage proposal,” she said, huffling. “I’m still mad at you,” she mumbled, flapping her hands. “But that doesn’t mean I would run off with a man I only just met in person for the first time.”“I didn’t know what to think,” he offer
Allena grabbed a stiff brush and began grooming Star with long, methodical strokes.Grooming her horse always relaxed her, and she needed to relax big time. If only her brainwould comply and stop thinking about Justin and his thoughtless, hurtful, meaningless, and impossibly inappropriate declaration of love. It was a low act. And if she had any sense, she would forget all about it.Justin didn’t love her. He couldn’t possibly. Once she was done grooming, she went to grab the hay net, deciding she wasn’t in the mood to go riding. The net was empty, as was the drum that usually contained a hay bale. She looked up to the hay loft and sighed, thinking she probably could get one of the ranch hands to throw down a bale. Instead, she left Star tied up in his stall and climbed the wide ladder to the loft. The scent of sweet hay shot up her nose, and she sneezed a couple of times, then grabbed one of the bales by the twine and tossed it down.“Do you need some help?”She looked down and spot
One month Later “You know,” Leah said as she fluffed the ivory tulle around the skirt of Allena’s gown, “this really is the most stunning dress.” Allena glanced at her reflection in the long mirror, taking in the beauty of the long ivory satin gown. With its off-the-shoulder style and princess-line bodice, it was incredibly flattering. She smiled, looking at her soon-to-be sister-in-law. “I know. I feel stunning wearing it.” Tess came around to face her, holding a hairpin encrusted with tiny pearls. “Mom asked if you wanted to wear this—she wore it when she married your dad. That was the day we became sisters.” Allena’s eyes filled with moisture, and Leah grabbed a linen handkerchief she had tucked in her purse. “No tears,” she chided gently. “Or I’ll have to redo your makeup.” Allena blinked and took a steady breath. “I can’t help it. I’m so happy, and it’s all a little overwhelming.” It had, in fact, been something of a whirlwind since she’d accepted Justin’s proposal. They’d
Lea Carloth was placing dust sheets on the furniture in the now deserted northern wing of Brathellae Castle when she heard the sound of a firm footfall on the stairs. Goosebumps peppered her skin like Braille, and a cold draught of air circled her ankles like the ghost of a long-dead cat. No such things as ghosts. No such things as ghosts. Her old childhood chant wasn’t working any better than when she first came to live in the Scottish Highlands castle as a frightened and lonely twelve-year-old orphan. Taken in by her great-aunt, who had worked as a housekeeper for the Borthman family, Lea had been raised in the kitchen and corridors of the castle. In the early days, downstairs had been her only domain, upstairs was out of bounds. And not just because of her limp. Upstairs had been another world—a world in which she did not and could not ever belong. “Is anyone th-there?” Her voice echoed in the silence, her heart thumping so loudly she could hear it booming in her ears. Who would
WTF? Why had she even mentioned such a thing? Maybe it was time to stop reading paperback romances and start reading thrillers or horror novels instead. Lea could feel a hot flush of colour flooding her cheeks and bent down to straighten the items in her basket to disguise it.“Of course not, are you insane?” No. Of course not. Her voice was part laugh, part gasp, and it came out shamefully high and tight. Her? His bride of convenience? No way! She wouldn’t be a convenient bride for anyone, much less Dave fucking-playboy-Borthman.A strange silence crept from the far corners of the room, stealing oxygen particles, stilling dust motes, stirring possibilities...Dave walked back to where she was hovering over her cleaning basket, his footsteps steady and sure. Step. Step. Step. Step. Lea slowly raised her gaze to his inscrutable one, her heart doing a crazy tap dance in her chest. She drank in the landscape of his face—the ink-black prominent eyebrows over impossibly blue eyes, the patri
“Can you say no?” Lea’s best friend, Iris, said on the phone later that evening. “I'm not sure if you can say no. What I’m sure of is that you’ll get your heartbroken for sure.”“Of course not.”"Yes, I am one million percent sure; the man is rich, handsome, and hot. Girls like us? Fall for that every time. And he will break your heart a fucking million times, Lea.”“But it will break my heart to see Brathellae sold,” Lea said. “This is the first real home I’ve ever had. I’ve spent the last fourteen years here—it’s made me who I am today. I can’t bear the thought of it going out of the Borthman family. It belongs to Dave and Mary now. It was wrong of the old man to make his will in such a way.”“Do you know why he did it that way?”Lea sighed so heavily that her shoulders slumped. “Dave has made it pretty clear over the years that he has no intention of settling down again. Losing his ex was such a terrible shock to him—as it would be to anyone. I’ve overheard a few conversations wher
The frown on Lea’s brow deepened. “So, who will your heir be? Or will you eventually leave Brathellae to a nephew or niece if, after all, Mary has two?Dave hadn’t gotten to thinking that far ahead. His sole goal had been rescuing Brathellae from being auctioned off to settle his sister’s doing all the things in the world to make him a responsible husband. Marrying to save the estate was a big enough step; siring an heir was a giant leap he wasn’t sure he was ready to even consider. Yet. He gave one of his carefully rationed smiles. “I don’t suppose you’d like to help me with that?”Her cheeks burned a fire engine red, and her plump, rosy lips flattened to a thin, disapproving line. She rolled her eyes in exaggeration and even shook her head, like it was the most absurd thing to do. “No way in hell, I'll help you with that.” Her tone was as starchy as a prim and proper schoolteacher’s.“Only joking.” It was no joking matter, but he refused to think about having a child. Hadn’t he done