What was forbidden then...has become irresistible now
The last thing police chief Devin Cassidy needs is for Elodie Winchester to return home and remind him of all heâs been denied. But theyâre not teenagers now, and sheâs no longer a wealthy heiress. Thereâs nothing stopping him from taking what he wants, what heâs always wanted: her.
Elodie came home to deal with the Winchester mansion, the only inheritance she has left. She didnât expect to encounter a very grown-up Dev, or to want him as much as she ever did. He makes it clear that heâs not going to let anything stand between them again. But in this town, name is everything. And to protect a Winchester, Dev will be forced to sacrifice his reputation...including his unexpected tie to the Quinn family.
Praise for Kate Hoffmannâs The Mighty Quinns
â[Kate] Hoffmann always does a great job creating different stories for the members of the Quinn clan.â
âRT Book Reviews on The Mighty Quinns: Rogan
âA winning combination of exciting adventure and romance... This is a sweet and sexy read that kept me entertained from start to finish.â
âHarlequin Junkie on The Mighty Quinns: Malcolm
â[Hoffmann] continues to do a wonderful job with her beloved Quinn family saga. A perfectly paced page-turner, this setup novel for the New Zealand Quinns is firmly in place and off to a great start.â
âRT Book Reviews on The Mighty Quinns: Malcolm
âAs usual, Hoffmann has written a light yet compelling tale with just enough angst and long-term background story to provide momentum for the next member of the Quinn family we are most certainly going to meet.â
âRT Book Reviews on The Mighty Quinns: Ryan
âThis is a fast read that is hard to tear the eyes from. Once I picked it up I couldnât put it down.â
âFresh Fiction on The Mighty Quinns: Dermot
Dear Reader,
One of the best things about being a romance writer is the ability to travelâin my mind. When I really need a vacation, I choose a setting that appeals to me and start to write.
As I write this, itâs the middle of winter here in Wisconsin. The weather bounces between brutal (-30 windchills) to balmy (above-freezing days). I woke this morning to more snow. But later today, Iâll be comfortably sitting in July humidity on a veranda in a small North Carolina town. It almost makes winter bearable.
I hope you enjoy the next installment in the Mighty Quinns series. By the time this hits the shelves, it will be summer in Wisconsin and Iâll probably be writing a book set in the middle of a snowstorm!
Happy reading,
KATE HOFFMANN celebrated her twentieth anniversary as a Harlequin author in August 2013. She has published over eighty books, novellas and short stories for Harlequin Temptation and Harlequin Blaze. She spent time as a music teacher, a retail assistant and an advertising exec before she settled into a career as a full-time writer. Her other interests include genealogy, musical theater and vegan cooking. She lives in southeastern Wisconsin with her two cats, Winnie and Gracie.
Prologue
âSTAND UP STRAIGHT, donât chew with your mouth open, and say âthank youâ when they give you your gift.â
Devin Cassidy glanced over at his mother as they strode down the icy sidewalk. Mary Cassidyâs gaze was fixed in front of her, her lips pressed into a hard line. Sheâd worked as a housekeeper for the powerful Winchester family for as long as Dev could remember and she took her position in the household very seriously.
Every morning except for Sundays, sheâd leave the house before sunrise, dressed in a simple gray uniform, and return an hour before he went to bed. She was usually too exhausted to do more than acknowledge his existence before flopping down onto the sofa in the corner of the living room with a glass of whiskey and cool washcloth for her head. Dev would prepare supper for her and place it on a tray table next to the sofa, then turn on the television before retreating to his tiny bedroom.
When he was younger, heâd wondered why he didnât have a normal family as many of his friends didâa father, a mother, a few siblings, even a pair of grandparents. But when heâd questioned his mother, his inquiries had always been met with stony silence. âIâm your mother,â sheâd say. âI provide for you. You wonât need anyone else in the world.â
He didnât ask anymore. Heâd lived without a father for this long. They didnât need some undependable guy walking into their lives and turning everything upside down. They got by fine just the two of them.
By the time they reached the Winchester mansion, his feet and fingers were numb with cold and his nose was running. His mother examined his appearance carefully, wiping his nose with her lace-edged handkerchief and smoothing his ruffled hair with her fingers. âThe Winchesters believe children should be seen and not heard,â she reminded him.