âIâve been nothing but trouble for you.â
Brenna dragged in a breath, scented with Joshâs citrusy aftershave, and shook her head. âYouâre no troubleâ¦â
His arms tightened around her, pulling her closer. His heart pounded fast and hard; she could feel the beat of it in sync with hers. âYou donât sound convinced.â He eased away slightly. âYou worked so hard on the wedding and reception.â
âMaybe itâs not turning out so badly,â she said. Then her breath caught as she realized her faux pas. âI meanâfor everyone else. Obviously it hasnât for you.â
âBrennaâ¦â He slid his fingertips along her cheekbone to the curve of her jaw. Her skin tingled everywhere heâd touched her.
His blue eyes darkening, he murmured, âMaybe itâs not turning out so badly for me either.â Then he leaned forward, as if he intended to kiss her.
Dear Reader,
I hope youâve been enjoying my American Romance miniseries, THE WEDDING PARTY. But if Forever His Bride is the first book youâre reading, donât worry. Youâll have no problem following along as all four books happen simultaneously. Iâm having so much fun writing this series.
The heroine of Forever His Bride, Brenna Kelly, is very special to me because Iâve been herâthe bridesmaid with the biggest dress size. (Note to self: never agree to be bridesmaid for a Barbie-size bride with all Barbie-size friends. Except me.) Brenna is self-confident, strong and perfectly content with her body. She wouldnât crash diet or try to jog herself into a smaller dress. (I shouldnât have either; my knee still hurts.) I found so much satisfaction writing Forever His Bride where the real woman gets the perfect guy. Brenna is my heroine. I hope sheâll be yours, too.
Happy Reading!
Lisa Childs
Bestselling, award-winning author Lisa Childs writes paranormal and contemporary romance for Harlequin/ Silhouette Books. She lives on thirty acres in west Michigan with her husband, two daughters, a talkative Siamese and a long-haired Chihuahua who thinks sheâs a rottweiler. Lisa loves hearing from readers, who can contact her through her Web site, www.lisachilds.com, or snail mail address, P.O. Box 139, Marne, MI 49435.
As the first notes of the wedding march played, Dr. Joshua Towers closed his eyes. His gut twisted, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. God, heâd made a mistake. A terrible mistake.
The music stuttered, the verse died away, and a murmur arose from the guests. Had the old lady playing the organ had a heart attack? He lifted his lids and looked over at the woman, who wore a wide-brimmed hat bedecked with flowers. Although her hands were frozen above the keys of the old organ, she appeared fine. Her gaze met his, then slid away.
Josh turned toward the pews in front of him, noting all the people watching him as he waited at the altar. Like the organist, their gazes dropped from his. What the hellâ¦? Werenât they supposed to be facing the back of the church, where the bride was about to come down the aisle, holding the arm of her older brother, who was giving her away?
But Mollyâs brother stood alone in the aisle. Unlike everyone else, Clayton McClintock wasnât staring at Josh. The dark-haired man focused instead on one of the bridesmaids, probably the blonde. Josh turned toward the bridesmaids, too, but his attention was drawn to the red-haired maid of honor.
Brenna Kelly returned his look, her wide green eyes warm with concern. For him? Despite weeks of e-mails and phone calls regarding the wedding, she barely knew Josh. But then again, she probably knew him better than his bride did. Brenna had been the one handling the wedding details. Heâd thought his bride had been too busy, but maybe she just hadnât cared. Did Brenna Kelly care?
As she drew in a shaky breath, her breasts strained the bodice of her strapless red satin dress. The red should have clashed with her bright auburn hair, waves of which flowed around her bare shoulders. But instead the crimson satin highlighted her alabaster skin, glowing with myriad colors from the sunlight streaming through the arched stained-glass window behind them.
Guilt tightened the knots in his stomach and he closed his eyes in shame, breaking the connection between himself and Brenna Kelly. There he was, in church, about to marry another woman. It didnât matter that Molly McClintock had apparently changed her mind. Josh had no business ogling his fiancéeâs best friend, her maid of honor. Maybe he had no honor.
A hand closed around Joshâs shoulder, squeezing. âGod, man, Iâm sorry,â the best man murmured in a hoarse whisper.
Josh turned his head toward his friend and narrowed his eyes, trying to gauge Dr. Nick Jamesonâs sincerity. Heâd known Nick since they were in preschool, and together theyâd fought playground bullies, chased girls and crammed all night for tests. Because theyâd known each other so long, they were more like brothers than friends, so they were always honest with each other. Nick had thought that Josh was even crazier for proposing to a woman he hadnât known that long than heâd been in marrying his first wife, whoâd left Josh when their twin boys were just babies. Nick had been right about both women. But he was such a good friend that he genuinely was sorry.