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Category: Romance/Historical Fiction
Description: Love's more comfortable the second time around. Just as wonderful with both feet on the ground ... Winds of Destiny--Sitting alone in a bar on her fortieth birthday wasn't something Katherine Armand had ever planned. With her marriage over, better to pay attention to her career. A big-shot developer was flying into her sleepy, coastal fishing village to discuss building a resort. Katherine was a top-notch negotiator for her law firm. Anderson was eager for the land. This should be as smooth as sailing gentle Gulf waters. Except Anderson sent his top man to broker the deal ... and Katherine hadn't planned on having to bargain with Michael Whitfield, the man who had broken her heart fifteen years ago, ever again. Lizzie's Laces--Two years ago, Lizzie Rawlston left her home in Boston for Liverpool, determined to start a new life and forget all about Tony Sinclair, the handsome packet captain who had once been her best friend-and with whom she had the misfortune of falling in love. However, Tony had made it clear he wanted only one thing in life: the sea. He didn't want to be bothered with a family, or worse, a wife. Now, with Lizzie's father sick, possibly dying, Tony has appeared to bring Lizzie home. As they race against time to get Lizzie home before her father passes away, Tony and Lizzie rediscover the magic they've always shared. But when a storm blows up, threatening the ship and all of their lives, Tony will have to confront his greatest fear. Can he love Lizzie and still love the sea? Does being the fastest also have to mean being alone? The Spirit of Love--A tragic accident leaves Brynna and Travis devastated. Instead of turning to each other for comfort, they drift apart. However, they must complete one more assignment-set on an old ship, The Queen Mary, during Yule, one of the most haunted times in the Celtic calendar. It is believed souls of the dead prevail and anam cara-soul friends can visit. Will Travis and Brynna confront the spirit of love, allowing them a chance to heal and find their way back to each other? The Garden Swing--Tess Murphy loves hearing stories from her elderly patient, Emmeline. When the woman dies, she leaves a dilapidated Victorian house that may be more trouble than it's worth. But when Tess tries out an old, unique swing in the garden, she hurtles back in time, and to the arms of the house's handsome owner, Hugh MacAllister. She faces the hardest choice of her life: to return to her own time, or to stay and become a part of history. Only and Always You--Ten years ago, two hearts were broken. Will Viscount Seton and Lady Claire be able to set aside their hurt and betrayal to have a second chance at love with each other? Special of the Day--Nick Delatorre's college sweetheart who dumped him years ago is back in town. Trouble is, she's opened a restaurant next door to his and is stealing all his customers. For Nick, revenge has never tasted sweeter, and now he's going to dish it back out-a la mode!
eBook Publisher: Highland Press/A Wee Dram, 2009 2009
eBookwise Release Date: November 2009

4 Reader Ratings:

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Available eBook Formats: OEBFF Format (IMP) [301 KB]
Words: 61403
Reading time: 175-245 min.

Chapter One

Katherine Armand set the empty martini glass down and looked through the haze of smoke at the scantily dressed young women gyrating on the dance floor of the only bar in the sleepy coastal town of Driftwood, Texas. What was she doing here alone on her fortieth birthday? Did she really think she could compete with twenty-somethings? And why would she want to? Hooking up with some guy who thought she looked better at closing time wasn't exactly where she needed to be.

It hadn't helped that she'd found her studiously-inclined husband in bed with one of the Barbie look-alikes nearly a year ago. Katherine never would have thought him capable of cheating. He seemed as far removed from that scoundrel, Michael Whitfield, as she could have chosen. Did choose him for that very reason. Resolutely, she pushed away the image of dark-haired, charismatic Michael. No need to dredge those memories up from where they lay buried for fifteen years. Strange, though, that thoughts of him intruded, when the divorce was still fairly fresh on her mind. What she had thought was a rock-solid, if not passionately exciting, marriage was finished.

So here she was, starting over, with laugh lines that showed and an extra ten pounds she couldn't diet or exercise away. At least her strawberry blonde hair had no signs of gray. Yet.

She sighed and signaled the bartender for one more drink. Two remained her limit and she couldn't afford to have blood-shot eyes and a puffy face tomorrow morning. Some big client was flying into nearby Corpus Christi from Dallas and her boss, a commercial real-estate attorney, would want her to be mentally alert.

"Slow night, huh?" Danny, the bartender, asked as he set the vodka martini down in front of her.

"It seems to be," she answered, knowing he meant there weren't any older men around. Still, he had put in the second olive she liked. He really was a sweet kid. She smiled at him as she handed over a ten dollar bill.

He waved it aside. "It's on me. Isn't today your birthday?"

Katherine blinked. Either she'd been coming in here far too regularly or this 'sweet kid' was a darn sharp bartender. She remembered mentioning her birthday to some girlfriends a couple of weeks ago when they were all doing a bit of man-bashing.

"Yes, it is. Just don't ask which one."

He grinned. "My mother trained me better than that. You're still a fox. Your husband was a real jerk."

Katherine tried not to wince. One of the disadvantages of living in a small town was that everyone knew your business and didn't mind commenting on it. "Yeah, well, he's gone and I've gotten over it." Better to change the subject. "What do you think about the possibility of that fancy resort being built here?"

Danny rose to the bait. "I think it'd be great. Lots of wealthy people spending money ... the owner might even get new tables for this place." He frowned slightly. "Do you really think it will happen? Pedro Martinez has been hanging on to that piece of beach property for years."

"It might." Pedro was her boss's client who had married a pretty little thing half his age who wanted to break into show business. "Pedro wants to move to California with his new wife." She paused. "Some developer from Dallas is flying in tomorrow to start negotiations. He'll be in town for three days."

"Your boss is handling it?"

"He's assigned me to do the preliminaries." Her boss, Denson Corrothers, was a top notch attorney with a mind like a steel trap. Unfortunately, he came across like General Patton. Even though Katherine was a paralegal, her most important asset, to her boss at least, was her excellent social skills.

Danny grinned again. "Well, like I said, you're still a fox. Go sell him."

She grinned back as she got up from her chair. "I intend to do just that."