A former navy SEAL undercover...and into temptation
Going undercover at the historic Poppy Gold Inns should be easy for former navy SEAL Gabe McKinley. But itâs not. He needs to find out whoâs sabotaging his familyâs company...and his prime suspect is the resortâs lovelyâand fiercely protectiveâmanager, Tessa Connor.
The more he gets to know herâand the more they get under each otherâs skinâthe more Gabe doubts that Tessa could be the culprit. But has his military focus been compromised by his need to kiss her blind? Because as they get closer to danger, Gabe risks the one thing he fears: falling for Tessa.
What if somebody was watching one of them?
Unable to think of anything else to divert suspicion, Tessa rose on her toes and pressed close to Gabe.
âTessa?â he whispered again, this time against her mouth.
âHuman-shaped shadow across the way,â she mumbled.
Instantly his arms pulled her tight. He turned, making their profiles more visible to the garden, and gave her a thorough kiss.
He touched her lips with the tip of his finger. âSleep well.â
His eyes glittered in the light spilling out of the living room and Tessa could have sworn it was from laughter. A minute later he released her and Tessa grabbed the door frame for support.
Gabe McKinleyâs social skills might be rusty, but he knew how to kiss in no uncertain terms.
Dear Reader,
I loved visiting the California Gold Country as a child. One of my earlier novels is set in this beautiful region, and Iâve always wanted to return to it as a location. So I created Poppy Gold Inns, a bed-and-breakfast complex in the historic district of a former gold-mining town called Glimmer Creek.
Undercover in Glimmer Creek grew out of this setting, and is about the manager of Poppy Gold, who has returned to her childhood home following her motherâs untimely death. Tessa is strong, idealistic and devoted to the business that helps support her family and hometown. But what does an idealist do when she meets a cynical former navy SEAL whoâs trying to catch the culprit stealing corporate information from her clients?
Classic Movie Alert: It probably isnât old enough yet to qualify as a classic, but I enjoy the 2001 film The Majestic, about another cynical man who is transformed by love and the good-hearted people in a small town. Check it out!
I enjoy hearing from readers and can be contacted c/o Harlequin Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON M3B 3K9, Canada.
Julianna Morris
JULIANNA MORRIS grew up in a large, active family that was always competing, which included playing word games such as Perquackey and Scrabble. She also read voraciously, bringing stacks of books home every week from the library. Julianna hasnât lost her love for games or books and takes them with her even while exploring places such as Glacier National Park and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Of course, her computer is always packed as well, because inspiration is never far away in such beautiful locations.
To Eli, thank you for your service.
CHAPTER ONE
TESSA CONNOR KNELT on the hardwood floor and looked at the cat under the four-poster bed. âPlease come out, Mr. Fezziwig.â
Mr. Fezziwig yawned and continued bathing himself. He felt the room was his exclusive property and the people who rented the deluxe bed-and-breakfast suite were merely servants who catered to his whims.
âBelieve it or not, the guests coming to stay tonight donât like cats,â Tessa said. âI know you think thereâs something wrong with their opinion, but twenty-five years ago they honeymooned in this room, and theyâre sentimental about it.â
The enormous brown tabby yawned.
âI understand how you feel, but you have toââ
âTessa, I want you to meet the new maintenance employee,â interrupted her father.
Tessa straightened and looked toward the door where her dad stood with a tall, unsmiling man.
âHey, Pop.â Tessa got to her feet and walked over to shake hands with the new guy. Lord, he had the most gorgeous gray eyes sheâd ever seen...and the hardest to read. âYou must be Gabe McKinley. Welcome to Poppy Gold Inns. My father is a terrific boss. Youâll enjoy working with him.â
âThankfully, these days I mostly mulch flowerbeds and jockey a lawn mower around,â Liam Connor declared. âTessa handles everything at Poppy Gold except maintenance.â
They exchanged an affectionate look, yet a familiar stab of sorrow went through Tessa. Sheâd always expected to take over Poppy Gold when her parents retired, but then her mother had died a year and a half ago. She still remembered feeling as if the world had stopped turning, and it had been even worse for her father. For months heâd gone around in a shocked fog, barely eating or sleeping. When heâd decided running the business alone was too much for him, sheâd resigned from her position in the contracts division at her grandfatherâs company in San Francisco to help out. Poppy Gold wasnât just a business to herâit was home.