Taking both her hands in his, Matt looked into her eyes.
âJane, nothing that you discover about the person you were in the past will change the person youâve created. The person Iâve come toââ
Matt stopped speaking. Had he been about to tell Jane that he loved her?
He was aware of Janeâs slender hands in his, her eyes gazing up at him, still glistening with unshed tears. His arms ached with the urge to pull her to him, to cradle her against his chest; his lips longed to feel hers beneath them. But that wasnât love. It was desire. It was a need to connect that went so deep, it burned the pit of his stomach. Love existed for other peopleâ¦.
But not for him.
Dear Reader,
While taking a breather from decorating and gift-wrapping, check out this monthâs exciting treats from Silhouette Special Edition. The Summer House (#1510) contains two fabulous stories in one neat package. âMarrying Mandyâ by veteran author Susan Mallery features the reunion of two sweethearts who fall in love all over again. Joining Susan is fellow romance writer Teresa Southwick whose story âCourting Cassandraâ shows how an old crush blossoms into full-blown love.
In Joan Elliott Pickartâs Tall, Dark and Irresistible (#1507), a hero comes to terms with his heritage and meets a special woman who opens his heart to the possibilities. Award-winning author Anne McAllister gets us in the holiday spirit with The Cowboyâs Christmas Miracle (#1508) in which a lone-wolf cowboy finds out heâs a dad to an adorable little boy, then realizes the woman whoâd always been his âbest buddyâ now makes his heart race at top speed! And count on Christine Rimmer for another page-turner in Scrooge and the Single Girl (#1509). This heart-thumping romance features an anti-Santa hero and an independent heroine, both resigned to singlehood and stranded in a tiny little mountain cabin where theyâll have a holiday theyâll never forget!
Judy Duarte returns to the line-up with Family Practice (#1511), a darling tale of a handsome doctor who picks up the pieces after a bitter divorce and during a much-needed vacation falls in love with a hardworking heroine and her two kids. In Elane Osbornâs A Season To Believe (#1512), a woman survives a car crash but wakes up with amnesia. When a handsome private detective takes her plight to heart, she finds more than one reason to be thankful.
As you can see, we have an abundance of rich and emotionally complex love stories to share with you. I wish you happiness, fun and a little romance this holiday season!
Karen Taylor Richman
Senior Editor
To Dar: For housing me and for your company on so many of
my research trips, but most of all for your support and friendship on this trip called Life. And to Dad: For everything you shared with me, from creating a window display to potato stamping, but especially for your encouragement and for teaching me that the worst four-letter S-word is, âcanât.â I miss you.
is a daydream believer whose active imagination tends to intrude on her life at the most inopportune moments. Her penchant for slipping into âalternative realityâ severely hampered her work life, leading to a gamut of jobs that includes, but is not limited to: airline reservation agent, waitress, salesgirl and seamstress in the wardrobe department of a casino showroom. In writing, she has discovered a career that not only does not punish flights of fancy, it demands them. Drawing on her daydreams, she has published three historical romance novels and is now using the experiences she has collected in her many varied jobs in the âreal worldâ to fuel contemporary stories that blend romance and suspense.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
âSilver bellsâ¦â
The first strains of the Christmas song brought an instant frown to the woman standing at the glass counter. She stared blankly at the burgundy-and-tan scarf draped across the palm of her hand as she heard âItâs Christmas timeâ¦â
Hot, unreasoning anger sent blood pounding through her ears, drowning out the rest of the tune. Her fingers crushed the silk scarf as she turned toward the figure on the other side of the counter.
âDonât you think this is just a little ridiculous?â
The salesperson, a girl in her late teens with short, tousled red hair, jumped and turned from the display of necklaces she was straightening.
âIâm sorry.â She blinked. âAre you, um, having a problem finding what you want?â
âWhat I want is to shop in peace, without being assaulted by shamelessly blatant attempts to whip the public into a seasonal buying frenzy at such an absurdly early date.â
The girl responded with a blank stare.
The womanâs fingers tightened. âI donât suppose that you could do anything about changing the piped-in music?â