âTell me something,â Laurel said. âAre you married?â
Sean cleared his throat, an uneasy expression crossing his face. âUh, no.â He took a step back. âIâd, uh, better be going now. You have a lot to take care of. You probably canât return the wedding dress, but maybe your guests will let you keep the giftsâonce they realize this isnât your faultâ¦.â
âWhat size jacket do you wear?â Laurel quickly turned and retrieved a garment bag from a hook on the back of the standing mirror. âIâm pretty sure this will fit,â she murmured as she unzipped the bag and glanced down at his shoes. She could still salvage something from this mess. âI doubt weâd be so lucky that the shoes would fit, too. Edward had really big feet.â
âNo way. Iâm not getting all dressed up so I can tell your guests that youâre not getting married,â Sean said. âIâve done what I came here to do. Iâm leaving.â
âI donât want you to tell the guests,â Laurel said. âI do plan to get married this afternoon.â
âEddie is in jail. And I donât think theyâll let him out.â
âOh, Iâm not going to marry Edward,â she said. âIâm going to marry you.â
Dear Reader,
I can't believe that the last episode in my MIGHTY QUINNS saga is finished and in your hands! When I started this project, I signed on for three books. And now, seven books later, Iâve married off all the QuinnsâConor, Dylan, Brendan, Keely, Liam, Brian and finally, Sean.
Itâs no wonder Sean was the last to find love. Heâs been the one to resist it more than any other Quinn. But when I chose Laurel Rand as the heroine of this book, I knew that Sean was a marked man. No matter how hard he tried, love was going to get him. He was about to fall very fast and very hard.
I hope you enjoy the last book in my MIGHTY QUINNS series. I canât tell you if Iâll write any more. Iâm sure there are Quinn cousins out there somewhere, waiting to find love. But for now, you can visit www.katehoffmann.com to learn more about my upcoming releases for Harlequin Books.
Happy reading,
Kate Hoffmann
SEAN QUINN sat on the front steps of his house on Kilgore Street, his chin cupped in his hand, his elbow resting on his knee. He didnât have to look down the street to know his twin brother, Brian, was approaching. But right now, he didnât want to talk to Brian. He didnât want to talk to anyone. He just wanted to be left alone.
âSean!â
âGo to hell!â he shouted as Brian strode up the front sidewalk.
âCome on, donât be that way. Why didnât you stick around? She wanted to talk to you. You just stood there like a lump.â
Seanâs fists clenched and he fought the impulse to strike out, to put a nice purple bruise on that pretty face of Brian Quinnâs. âShe wanted to talk to you,â Sean shouted. âSheâs only pretending to like me so she can get to you. Iâm not stupid. I see the way she watches you.â
Brian stopped cold, his jaw agape. A frown wrinkled his brow. Sean took a small amount of satisfaction that heâd had the rare opportunity to best his brother. When it came to the mysterious motivations of seventh-grade girls, Brian still couldnât tell when he was being hosed.
Sean unclenched his fists, knowing that he couldnât hit his brother for simple stupidity. Still, he wouldnât mind popping Brian good just for fun. Although they were twins, they didnât have much in common beyond looks. Brian was part of the cool crowd at school, always knowing how to act and what to say. The teachers loved him, the girls adored him and he had a wide circle of buddies who seemed to hang on his every word.
Sean was known for nothing more than the fact that he was Brian Quinnâs brotherâthe shy one, the dumb one, the silent one. Heâd always struggled to fit in, knowing Brianâs friends expected so much more from himâand were constantly disappointed when he didnât deliver. When Colleen Kiley started paying attention to him, he thought, for one brief instant, that he might have found someone who actually saw him for who he was. But it hadnât taken him long to realize what she was really after. He had always been able to sense when he was being manipulated or lied to.
âSheâ¦she doesnât like me,â Brian stuttered. âShe told me she likes you.â
âGet real. Sometimes you can be as dumb as a pile of dirt,â he muttered as he turned and walked to the front door. âGo ask her to the dance and see if she doesnât say yes. She doesnât want to go with me, she wants to go with you. Sheâs just using me to get to you.â
Sean yanked open the ragged screen door and stalked inside, letting the door slam behind him. He stormed through the house, past his little brother Liam, who was sprawled on the floor watching television, and past his oldest brother Conor, who had just come home from the police academy. Dylan, a high school senior, was off with one of his friends and Brendan was sitting quietly at the kitchen table, his nose buried in some dumb book about India.