Wooing The Wedding Planner

No more wedding marches for her!

Wedding planner Roxie Honeycutt can make happy-ever-after come true for anyone except herself. Freshly divorced and done with love, she’s okay with watching clients walk down the aisle. What’s not okay? Sharing a charming Victorian house with accountant Byron Strong. He’s frustratingly sexy and seemingly determined to keep her confused.

Roxy thought Byron’s expertise was numbers, yet somehow he sees her for who she really is. Somehow he understands the hurt she hides behind a trademark smile. Suddenly romance is tempting again, even if it means risking another heartbreak.

What was wrong with the old Roxie?

His words had stuck with her. And his kiss.

It was difficult to forget a kiss like that, especially coming from someone...well, someone like Byron. She’d spent more time than she’d like to admit trying not to think about the kiss—about how sweet it was. She’d forgotten kisses could be so sweet. She’d tried extra hard to forget how his lips had lingered. And how in lingering he’d awakened starbursts inside of her. Small starbursts of eternity.

Roxie frowned deeply now. Being touched... It had been so long since she had really been touched. The hollowness in her had turned into a resounding ache, and for a few moments, she’d thought about bringing Byron’s mouth back down to hers. For a few moments, she’d craved more than his companionship. She’d craved the contact. The promise of heat that came with it.

But had she wanted it—had she wanted him—for the single reason that heat could erode loneliness? There was trust there. There was affection. For those small starbursts of eternity, there had been longing and the promise of flame. It had been too long since she’d felt the sheer, electrical pulse of new chemistry.

Why did it seem like so long since she’d felt the flame? The passion?

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Roxie’s story! Or is it Byron’s story? In the grand scheme of things, it’s really both. This in fact was my plan, or scheme, all along, you see—to get these two kids together. They both may hate me for how it all came about—the deep-rutted forays they had to scale to get to the first page of Wooing the Wedding Planner. Can you lose sleep over the fate of people who live solely in your imagination? Why, yes. I’m convinced that all my characters hate me at some point, which is why I push, cajole...sometimes drag them to that place they reach at the end of their journey, as we see it—the completion of their story and the happy ending they deserve.

We all have people in our lives who have been through their fair share of tribulations and deserve nothing less than a happy-ever-after. Or perhaps just peace. For me and everyone who knows and loves them, in fiction and reality, Roxie and Byron are two such people. And it’s my profound pleasure to say that they do find happiness and peace in the end...after, of course, plenty of pushing and cajoling from their sadistic plotter—that’s me!

Wherever it does find you—on a subway bench, riffling through pages in a bookshop, on your lunch break or simply tucked up in bed after a long day—I hope you enjoy Roxie and Byron’s journey. Look for more books in my series with Superromance coming soon!

Love,

Amber Leigh

Wooing the Wedding Planner

Amber Leigh Williams

www.millsandboon.co.uk

AMBER LEIGH WILLIAMS lives on the US Gulf Coast. A Southern girl at heart, she lives for beach days, the smell of real books and spending time with her husband, Jacob, and their two young children. When she’s not keeping up with rambunctious little ones—and two large dogs—she can usually be found reading a good romance or cooking up something new in her kitchen. Amber is represented by the D4EO Literary Agency. Learn more at www.amberleighwilliams.com.

To my tribe—those who fall asleep reading and those who dream in pages. Wishing you a sea of endless books to sail and soothe you through this life.

And to those who waited for Byron’s story. Cheers!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

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

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

MONDAYS SUCKED ENOUGH without the grim implications of Valentine’s Day.

Byron Strong thought seriously about calling in sick. Then he remembered what had happened the last time he’d done just that. Not a half hour after he’d vetoed the workday, he found his father, mother and two sisters on the threshold offering him a bevy of pity food and head patting.

Byron cringed. No. Not the head patting. The idea chased him from the seductive warmth of flannel sheets and into the shower, where he confronted the scalding spray, head up and shoulders back.

His ritual morning routine helped dull his unmotivated subconscious. He made himself a double espresso with the top-rated espresso machine he’d splurged on—money very well spent. Meticulously, he did all the things any other sane man in his shoes would’ve liked to skip today of all days—shaved, brushed, flossed... He checked the weather before choosing khaki slacks, a black tie and a black sports coat. He stuffed his dress shoes in his briefcase before donning his favorite Nike running shoes and an overcoat and hoofing it to work.