Big Fish In A Small Pond
It seems like the perfect solution: hotel mogul Alex Porter will manage his sisterâs small-town bed-and-breakfast while she honeymoons. But he gets more than he bargained for when he finds himself clashing with feisty café owner Kate Nichols. Suddenly heâs organizing church outings and playing surrogate dad to the foster children Kate takes in. Alex is used to taking chargeâbut not like this! If he isnât careful, this big-city executive just might lose his heart to Mirror Lakeâs favorite hometown girl.
âFind a place to sit. Iâll be right withâ¦â
You.
Kate felt a sudden disconnect between her brain and her voice when she spotted the man standing just inside the entrance, backlit by the morning sun.
Alex Porter, in the flesh.
In her café.
Sheâd sat right next to Abby in church the day before and her friend hadnât warnedâtoldâher that Alex would be in Mirror Lake.
A week early.
Their eyes met over the counter and Kateâs heart did a backflip. As impossible as it seemed, the man was even more good-looking than she remembered.
âAbby sounded a little stressed out the last time I talked to her,â he said. The rough velvet voice had a serrated edge that immediately put Kate on the defensive. âI decided to drive up a few days early to help out.â
Kate knew better. Men like Alex Porter didnât help out. They took over. And the guy probably didnât have a clue that heâd been the cause of Abbyâs stress.
KATHRYN SPRINGER
is a lifelong Wisconsin resident. Growing up in a ânewspaperâ family, she spent long hours as a child plunking out stories on her motherâs typewriter and hasnât stopped writing since! She loves to write inspirational romance because it allows her to combine her faith in God with her love of a happy ending.
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Love Inspired!
2012 is a very special year for us. It marks the fifteenth anniversary of Love Inspired. Hard to believe that fifteen years ago, we first began publishing our warm and wonderful inspirational romances.
Back in 1997, we offered readers three books a month. Since then weâve expanded quite a bit! In addition to the heartwarming contemporary romances of Love Inspired, we have the exciting romantic suspenses of Love Inspired Suspense, and the adventurous historical romances of Love Inspired Historical. Whatever your reading preference, weâve got fourteen books a month for you to choose from now!
Throughout the year weâll be celebrating in several different ways. Look for books by bestselling authors whoâve been writing for us since the beginning, stories by brand-new authors you wonât want to miss, special miniseries in all three lines, reissues of top authors and much, much more.
This is our way of thanking you for reading Love Inspired books. We know our uplifting stories of hope, faith and love touch your hearts as much as they touch ours.
Join us in celebrating fifteen amazing years of inspirational romance!
Blessings,
Melissa Endlich and Tina James
Senior Editors of Love Inspired Books
In loving memory of Lois A. Goldsmith
June 29, 1916âFebruary 27, 2011
* * *
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
â1 Corinthians 13:13
Chapter One
âSit.â Kate Nichols took one look at her best friendâs face and pointed to an empty booth by the window. âIâll be right back with a piece of pie.â
âJust bring the whole thing.â Abby Porterâs sigh stirred the wisps of honey-blond hair on her forehead. âAnd a fork.â
Kate shot her a sympathetic look. âThat bad, huh?â
âLetâs put it this wayâfor the past twenty-four hours Iâve been seriously contemplating a destination wedding,â Abby said darkly.
âMmm. Could be fun,â Kate mused. âWhatâs the destination?â
âOh, possibly a tent in the middle of the Sahara. Maybe a remote tropical island.â Abbyâs silver-green eyes narrowed. âJupiter.â
Kate tried not to smile as she retrieved a piece of triple berry pie from the revolving dessert case near the cash register and topped it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
She set the plate and a carafe of fresh coffee down on the table in front of Abby before sliding into the opposite side of the booth. âInteresting choices but Iâm not sure I see a pattern. Whatâs the criteria?â
âThereâs only one,â Abby admitted as she attacked the pie. âSomewhere my brother canât find me.â
Kate suppressed a smile. âI hate to be the one who breaks this to you, but Iâm pretty sure the âtent in the Saharaâ thing wonât work.â
âWhy not?â