Good things do come in small packages in the latest book in Lilian Darcyâs new miniseries, The Cherry Sisters!
Independent Lee knew she had a cushy life in Aspen. A great job as a ski instructor, a luxury home (well, the caretakerâs apartment, but it was right on the slopes). And a new fling with new coworker Mac Wheeler. He was handsome, athletic, sexyâthe après-ski had just gotten a whole lot better!
Only it was never meant to get serious. Sheâs pregnant. Macâs baby, conceived at Christmas. Overnight, her plans change: sheâs moving back East to work at the family hotel with her sisters. But the real shock isâ¦Mac has followed her. Yes, 1,700 miles, determined to beâ¦what? Angry? Sure. Daddy? Guess so. Husbandâ¦? Who knewâ¦
He hadnât been in touch.
He might be packing up to move back to Idaho. He would surely have heard about the job at Barrier Mountain by now. What had they ever had together that could make her believe in this kind of a future? Flowers and a veil and the promise of undying love⦠No. They hadnât been heading in that direction at all. Theyâd said nothing to each other about anything like that.
âBut we never actually ended it,â he repeated now.
âNo, we didnât.â
âAnd if you hadnât gotten pregnant, what would have happened? Were you planning to end it, before that happened?â
âNot at that point, Iââ
âNot at that point?â
âWe met at a bar in a resort town, Mac. In that situation, youâre not looking for something long-term, and you kind of assume the other person isnât, either.â
âRight.â After a moment, he added quietly, âAre you really that cynical and hard-edged? You were that ready to dump the whole thing the moment it threatened to go deeper?â
âNo! I wasâ¦really enjoying it, if you want the truth. Every bit of it.â
Scaring myself a little bit, wondering once or twice if I was being played.
The Cherry Sisters: Three sisters return to their childhood home in the mountainsâand find the love of a lifetime!
Dear Reader,
Would you describe yourself as the outdoorsy type? Or are you someone who much prefers to tuck yourself cosily away indoors during the cold of winter?
Like my heroine in this story, Iâm a mix of both. As far as Iâm concerned, thereâs nothing like fresh air and beautiful views and a good hike or swim or ski. Thereâs also nothing like that delicious feeling of coming back to a warm house and something good to eat after a bracing few hours in the open.
Lee has her life set up exactly the way she wants in this area. Sheâs a ski instructor in Colorado by day, with a very nice arrangement as live-in caretaker for an eleven-million-dollar mansion that occupies much of her free time but gives her access to an open fire, a Jacuzzi and seven bathrooms.
Yet when the story opens, sheâs not in Coloradoâsheâs back home in upstate New York, staring down a very angry Mac Wheeler, who has followed her halfway across the country to say his piece. What has happened to throw both of these characters so far beyond their comfort zone?
Well, youâve probably guessed the answer to this from the bookâs title. More important, however, how did it happen, and what are they going to do about it?
I hope you enjoy Lee and Macâs tumultuous relationship, and their equally tumultuous journey.
Lilian Darcy
LILIAN DARCY has written nearly eighty books for Mills & Boon. Happily married with four active children and a very patient cat, she enjoys keeping busy and could probably fill several more lifetimes with the things she likes to doâincluding cooking, gardening, quilting, drawing and traveling. She currently lives in Australia but travels to the United States as often as possible to visit family. Lilian loves to hear from readers. You can write to her at PO Box 532, Jamison PO, Macquarie ACT 2614, Australia, or email her at lilian@liliandarcy . com.
Chapter One
Upstate New York, March
âI am so angry with you, Lee.â Mac stood there at the bottom of the porch steps, against a backdrop of blooming crocuses in bright yellow and purple, while the still-bare trees gleamed with a coating of ice against a perfect late-March blue sky.
His hair was getting a little long, and he must have combed it back with his fingers because it lay in untidy, slightly wavy strands along the top of his head and down the back of his neck. A glint of sunlight caught his cheekbones, and the shadow above them made his dark eyes seem even darker. His shoulders looked strong and square under his shirt, and he stood with his feet planted on the ground as if ready for a fight with a grizzly bear. He was so gorgeous it almost hurt to look at him.
He hadnât told Lee he was coming, and heâd driven here, he hadnât flown. His familiar dark blue pickup was parked right there, still muddy and speckled with splashes of Colorado mountain road salt even after a journey of two thousand miles.