Rocky Coast Romance

A Place for Redemption

Journalist Bree Farrell heads to the village of Holiday Harbor to salvage her career. And walks straight into the arms of handsome young mayor Cooper Landry. Cooper’s fighting to keep his sleepy Maine community from the clutches of big-city developers. And Bree knows it’s a major scoop. But the longer she’s in town, the more she’s won over by the quirky townsfolk—and the charming Cooper. Will Bree ever follow her heart instead of a story and make Holiday Harbor her permanent byline?

Holiday Harbor: Where love is just around the bend

Sammy planted a sloppy kiss on Cooper’s cheek. Then he trotted away.

Cooper sat down on a nearby bench and took out his phone. While he scrolled through for the right number, Bree dropped into a chair shaped like an overturned tortoiseshell, and he could feel those penetrating eyes on him.

Without looking up, he asked, “What?”

“That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” He glanced over to find her beaming at him. “You, Mayor Landry, are a very nice man.”

“You sound surprised.”

“I am.”

He’d gotten accustomed to her firm way of speaking, so the softness in her tone caught him off guard. She was a full arm’s length away, but the warmth in her eyes reached the vulnerable part of him that had shut down. He couldn’t fathom how Bree had done that so quickly, but he couldn’t deny she’d found her way there.

This was dangerous territory for him.

MIA ROSS

loves great stories. She enjoys reading about fascinating people, long-ago times and exotic places. But only for a little while, because her reality is pretty sweet. Married to her college sweetheart, she’s the proud mom of two amazing kids, whose schedules keep her hopping. Busy as she is, she can’t imagine trading her life for anyone else’s—and she has a pretty good imagination. You can visit her online at www.miaross.com.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

What is seen is temporary,

but what is unseen is eternal.

—2 Corinthians 4:18

For Misty

Acknowledgments

To the very talented folks who help me make my books everything they can be: Elaine Spencer, Melissa Endlich, Rachel Burkot and the dedicated staff at Love Inspired Books.

More thanks to the gang at Seekerville (www.seekerville.net). Whether I’m looking for advice or just some cheerleaders, you never let me down.

My wonderful—and very patient—friends and family surround me with support and encouragement every single day. Without you, this book would still just be an idea floating around in my head.

Contents

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

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Excerpt

Chapter One

“Comin’ in to Hahliday Hahbah!”

The driver’s announcement cut through her sound-canceling headphones, and Bree Farrell glanced up from the movie playing on her tablet computer. Outside the grimy window she saw a whole lot of nothing. Then the bus lumbered over a hill, and on the other side was a town.

Surrounded by endless miles of ocean, Holiday Harbor looked like it was barely clinging to the rugged Maine coastline. Off in the distance a rotating beacon drew her eye to a lighthouse that looked as if it had sprouted from the rocky cliff it was perched on.

All very nice poetic descriptions, she thought, opening her notes file to capture her observations before they vanished. A born and bred city girl, she wasn’t crazy about this edge-of-the-world assignment her prospective editor had given her. But a long string of missteps and bad choices had drained her savings account and left her with a less than stellar reputation.

And no options. If she couldn’t wrangle a permanent byline at Kaleidoscope, she’d have to dust off her waitressing skills and move back in with her mom. Determined to avoid such drastic measures, she knew she had to make this article shine.

When the bus pulled into the center of town, she stayed in her seat, waiting for the other passengers to collect small bags from the overhead bins. While they gathered their things, she took the opportunity to jot down descriptions of them. Since it was just after noon on a Thursday, she assumed they were all here for the Fourth of July weekend. There were three Italian suit types, a few in jeans and sneakers and a dreamy young couple wearing bride and groom T-shirts.

Glancing out the window again, she decided that while it wouldn’t be her first choice for a honeymoon destination, Holiday Harbor did have a certain quiet charm about it. Far from the crowded streets of Richmond, Virginia, she’d probably feel like the clichéd fish out of water. A jolt of nerves shot up her back, and she took a deep breath to regain her composure.

She’d made some careless mistakes in her past, but she was a pro. This was her chance to prove it to everyone who’d written her off as flaky and difficult to work with.

And to herself.