âI can take care of myself.â
Kelly met his gaze. âYour uncle taught me self-defense when I was a kid.â
That hadnât occurred to Ben. On the other hand, it wouldnât save her from a bullet.
âShow me.â
Kelly stood reluctantly. âI donât think this is the best idea.â
He grabbed her arm.
The next thing he knew, sheâd kneed him in the groin and her hand was flying toward his nose. Ben jerked backward and caught her wrist.
He stared into her determined blue eyes and wondered how many people underestimated Kellyâ¦and if he was one of them.
He broke eye contact, glancing down at her body. Her breasts stood out against her sweater, and the way he held her arms accentuated each curve. The discomfort in his groin turned into a different kind of ache.
Damn.
Dear Reader,
I know a couple who met in high school and have been happily married for thirty-five years. They have three great kids and two beautiful grandchildren. While my friends have grown and changed over the years, theyâve also promised to grow and change together, instead of separately. Imagine being a romantic inspiration to your own family, and youâll have a good idea of this marriage.
I also know couples who went their separate ways because they were wrong for each other, or because they werenât ready to make a real commitment. Iâve often wondered what would happen if they met again after the years had changed them. Would they fall in love a second time and be able to make things work out? And how would they make things work? Thatâs the story I wanted to tell in Honor Bound, though sometimes my characters were reluctant to admit what their hearts were telling them.
Because I love both romance and puzzles, I challenged myself to set Ben and Kellyâs reunion against the backdrop of a mystery. Theyâve each experienced some of the worst life has to offer, but maybe they can rediscover the magic that brought them together in the first place.
I hope you enjoy reading about Ben and Kelly as much as I enjoyed telling their story. May you find the magic thatâs right for you!
Sincerely,
Julianna Morris
P.S. I enjoy hearing from readers! Please contact me
c/o Harlequin Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON, M3B 3K9, Canada.
Julianna Morris has an offbeat sense of humor that frequently gets her in trouble. She has also been accused of being interested in everything. Her interests range from oceanography and photography to traveling, antiquing, painting, walking on the beach and reading (mysteries and most other fiction and nonfiction).
Julianna loves cats of all shapes and sizes. Her familyâs feline companion is named Merlin, and like his namesake, Merlin is an alchemistâhe can transform the house into a disaster in nothing flat. And since he shares the premises with a writer, itâs interesting to note that he is particularly fond of knocking books onto the floor.
For Mom.
Youâre always in my heart.
PROLOGUE
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
Sand Point, Oregon
âLISTEN TO ME, BABY. You gotta quit that job,â Shanna James said, snapping her gum as she navigated the curves of the coastal road. âItâs crappy pay, anyhow. Youâll do better once you get some of that college learning.â
Kelly sighed and stared ahead. âI want to help with the expenses.â That was part of the reason; the other part was that she needed the distraction to keep her mind off Ben and wondering what sheâd done wrong.
âIâm making good money. I can handle things.â Her mother took one hand from the wheel and fluffed her hair. Still in her mid-thirties, Shanna was an attractive woman, though Kelly thought sheâd be prettier if she wore less makeup. âYou know, Iâm sure Nate is the one. Weâll probably get married real soon.â
âThatâsâ¦nice.â Kelly didnât say anything else. Her mom was always sure her latest boyfriend was âthe oneâ and that they would get married âreal soon.â
But it never lasted.
Shannaâs first broken heart had come courtesy of Kellyâs father. Heâd gotten her pregnant at eighteenâthe same age Kelly was nowâbefore disappearing from the picture. Kelly didnât even know his name, though sheâd sometimes seen her mother crying over an old high-school yearbook. Shanna claimed they were supposed to get married after he finished his Marine basic training, but she never heard from him again.
Kelly had been so sure it would be different with her, that her first love was real and true and would last forever. But now it seemed the only difference was that she hadnât ended up pregnant.
âYou do good at your classes and donât worry about working right now. Take that computer stuff,â Shanna continued. âHell, I donât frigging care, as long as it ainât schleppinâ drinks. You got the ass for it, sweetie, but I donât want you working at a roadhouse the rest of your life. Itâs fine for me,â she added quickly, âbut not for my baby.â