Damsel in distress...or veiled threat?
Bernadette Morgan left her cheating fiancé moments before they were supposed to marry in the society wedding of the year. Now sheâs stuck in Runt River, Ohio, with a broken-down car and a tattered wedding dress. All she wants is a place to hide. But what she finds are a handsome mechanic, a little boy and family secrets that could change everything. Because the toddler Liam Wilsonâs raising is actually her cousinâs child. And sheâll do anything to protect him from her politically ambitious family, even if that means rejecting the possibility of love with Liam...
Bernie looked younger without the makeup.
She had faint freckles spattered across her nose, he noticed for the first time. In that moment under the fluorescent bathroom light, Liam found himself wishing that he could close the distance between them. It would be the most natural thing in the world to slide an arm around her waist and kiss the top of her head. He pulled his thoughts away from the precipice.
Bernie was a part of the cutthroat world he was trying to protect Ike from. One word from her would bring her familyâs legal team down on him, and Ike could very quickly be swept away. Attraction shouldnât factor into this, and entertaining these feelings would only blur his perspective. He needed to be careful. Having the Morgan familyâs undivided attention could be a dangerous thing.
Except that he was feeling something for this womanâsomething he hadnât felt in a good many years. Was it just that he was lonely, or was it their combined effort in sorting out Ikeâs scrapes? Whatever it was, he needed to keep it in check.
Dear Reader,
This book began with an image I had in my mind of a bedraggled bride driving up to a service station in Small Town, USA, in a classic Rolls-Royce. Her makeup would be smeared. Her hair would be a mess. Her dress would be dusty and possibly even a little torn. Sheâd get out of the car, walk up to the stunned mechanic and say âI canât believe I made it. It stopped twice on the highway on the way here. Can you take a look?â
But who was she? And what was she doing in Small Town, USA? And if that stunned mechanic happened to marry that bedraggled bride, what a fantastic âhow we metâ story! A novel was born.
I hope that you enjoy this story as much as I loved writing it. And if you like sweet romance that tugs at the heartstrings, come check out my other novels in Love Inspired and Harlequin Western Romance. All of my books are wholesome, so you can trust them, no matter which line they are published under.
If youâd like to connect with me, you can find me at my blog, patriciajohnsromance.com, or on Facebook. Iâd love to hear from you!
Patricia Johns
PATRICIA JOHNS writes from Alberta, Canada. She has her honors BA in English literature and currently writes for Harlequinâs Love Inspired, Western Romance and Heartwarming lines. You can find her at patriciajohnsromance.com.
To my husband, who inspires the romantic in me. And to our little boy, who once upon a time was a toddler who liked to share cookies.
CHAPTER ONE
BERNADETTE âBUNNYâ MORGAN could hear the murmur of voices from the Manhattan cathedral where her family and friends already waited. Ten minutes from now, sheâd be walking down that aisle on her fatherâs arm to the traditional wedding march. Sheâd imagined this moment a thousand times since theyâd booked the cathedral two years ago. Weddings of this caliber didnât come together in a heartbeat. Everything from the choice of the groom to the color of the scented beads in the dressing rooms took careful planning.
Each element of this wedding was traditional. It had to be perfect, as her mother so kindly pointed out, since the media would be picking it apart. This wedding would be on all the society pages and blogs...but her mother, Kitty, had taken care of most of those details for her from the flowers adorning the church to the Rolls-Royce they would drive away in. Her father had been less inclined to hand over his antique Rolls, but what Kitty wanted, Kitty got. And Kitty demanded perfection for her daughterâs wedding.
Thankfully.
Bernadette loved that car, and she liked the idea of driving off with Calvin toward the Four Seasons Hotel, their security entourage flanking them. It would be the first glorious foray of Mr. and Mrs. Calvin McMann.
âWe want them to think of the Kennedys when you drive off,â her mother had told her. âRegal. American royalty. We might not be there yet, but we can put a picture in their minds. I want them to think Jackie Kennedy. So remember, sweet, demure and classic. Always classic!â