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Be My Forever Bride
Martha Kennerson
He vowed to love and cherish her…It was like something out of a fairy tale: Being swept off her feet, then eloping with her one true love, Houston oil tycoon Brice Kingsley. Then a devastating diagnosis and a threat from her past forced Brooke Smith Kingsley to leave the man she loved. Now she has a chance to make things right, but only if she can keep her secret—and her distance—from her irresistible husband.Though he couldn’t accept Brooke’s reasons for running away, Brice never gave up on her or their marriage. And with the beautiful tax attorney back in his life, re-igniting passion stronger than before, he can’t bear to let her go ever again. Even as a revenge-seeking blackmailer schemes to bring down the Kingsley empire, Brice will fight for their future—a love that’s now and forever.
He vowed to love and cherish her...
It was like something out of a fairy tale: being swept off her feet, then eloping with her one true love, Houston oil tycoon Brice Kingsley. Then a devastating diagnosis and a threat from her past forced Brooke Smith Kingsley to leave the man she loved. Now she has a chance to make things right, but only if she can keep her secret—and her distance—from her irresistible husband.
Though he couldn’t accept Brooke’s reasons for running away, Brice never gave up on her or their marriage. And with the beautiful tax attorney back in his life, reigniting passion stronger than before, he can’t bear to let her go ever again. Even as a revenge-seeking blackmailer schemes to bring down the Kingsley empire, Brice will fight for their future—a love that’s for now and forever.
MARTHA KENNERSON’s love of reading and writing is a significant part of who she is, and she uses both to create the kinds of stories that touch your heart. Martha lives with her family in League City, Texas, and believes her current blessings are only matched by the struggle it took to achieve such happiness. To find out more about Martha and her journey, check out her website at www.marthakennerson.com (http://www.marthakennerson.com).
Also By Martha Kennerson (#ue6cc7da0-edd9-51fe-8c4e-a47008de4e4c)
Protecting the Heiress
Seducing the Heiress
Tempting the Heiress
Always My Baby
An Unexpected Holiday Gift
Be My Forever Bride
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Be My Forever Bride
Martha Kennerson
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08073-6
BE MY FOREVER BRIDE
© 2018 Martha Kennerson
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Brooke stood in front of Brice’s office door, pushed out a quick breath and raised her balled fist to knock, only she couldn’t do it. She was suddenly hit with the memory of the first time she’d met Brice, in this very office.
She walked into the office to find the most handsome man she’d ever seen wearing an expensive-looking gray suit and wireless headphones staring at his computer. “Excuse me,” Brooke said as she walked up to his desk, waving to try to get his attention.
Brice removed his headphones and quickly got to his feet. “May I help you?” His eyes roamed her body. Brooke fought the urge to look down to make sure her black pencil skirt, matching jacket and white blouse didn’t have a stain or something on them. She was extremely happy she’d worn her five-inch heels to raise her five-foot-seven-inch frame, because she just knew he had to be over six feet tall.
Brooke looked up at the handsome man with a sparkle in his eyes and a smile, hoping her nervousness wasn’t showing.
Dear Reader (#ue6cc7da0-edd9-51fe-8c4e-a47008de4e4c),
If you have read any of my work, you know how much I love showcasing unique family dynamics in a great sexy romance. The Kingsleys of Texas offers that and so much more.
In Be My Forever Bride, soon-to-be divorced couple Brice and Brooke Kingsley are forced to work together to ensure their company’s financial standing with the IRS remains positive. In the process, secrets and lies are exposed, forcing this couple to reevaluate all their previous beliefs.
Please let me know how you liked Brice and Brooke’s story. I love interacting with my readers. You can contact me on Facebook or Twitter, @kennersonbooks (https://twitter.com/kennersonbooks?lang=en).
You’ve seen glimpses of Morgan Kingsley throughout the series. Coming soon is his full story.
Until then,
Martha
As a writer, it is very important to me that my stories come from a place of real love and are based in some truths. I’d like to dedicate this story to my friend and muse, Danielle. Thank you for allowing me to share parts of your truth and journey. You have been a real inspiration.
Acknowledgments (#ue6cc7da0-edd9-51fe-8c4e-a47008de4e4c)
I would be remiss if I didn’t thank my online resources AboveMS.com (http://www.AboveMS.com) and NationalMSSociety.org (http://www.NationalMSSociety.org) for all their valuable information.
Contents
Cover (#ub82fe153-31ed-5fcf-81bf-d8fee101e2c5)
Back Cover Text (#u77b2d300-51a9-541b-8438-12294e378eb8)
About the Author (#ud0d9b228-275f-5a8b-956a-0d1e93280f00)
Booklist (#uc5e98982-ae8f-5845-86bf-0cf415c5eb47)
Title Page (#ua1e68bcc-b3d6-5056-ba71-a91fbbc63e74)
Copyright (#u4e82f96f-d87c-5613-ae57-0c4c316824d6)
Introduction (#uc25d9dfd-2caf-5ea8-a0e0-57055c99d935)
Dear Reader (#u0f4a5292-6ad3-55c0-880f-85b7e545da2c)
Dedication (#u5540fe2b-66ad-55eb-a0fd-9c40c9359aca)
Acknowledgments (#ue1bed80e-c622-504b-ae6c-3e25afa7b730)
Chapter 1 (#u023bf92e-5fe2-59d9-8076-93eeb54e470d)
Chapter 2 (#ued118abb-c4c9-5b16-b332-73b12e4e1e2e)
Chapter 3 (#u40214878-2bdc-5f93-b808-587598f000bb)
Chapter 4 (#u35476966-fd0f-5313-a257-19c7f594bc14)
Chapter 5 (#u23e6ba5c-06d2-5e7d-bf3e-0af3b378daa3)
Chapter 6 (#ud9f6395f-1994-5df0-ae81-17eee2bf1eeb)
Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 1 (#ue6cc7da0-edd9-51fe-8c4e-a47008de4e4c)
Brice Kingsley stood, flexing every muscle in his body to ensure he remained upright. Thanks to the news he’d just received, Brice was like a volcano ready to explode. The most conservative in his opinions and dress of the Kingsley brothers—CFO of his family’s multi-billion-dollar oil and gas corporation—had traded in his usual business attire for a more casual look: blue jeans, a black button-down shirt and black leather loafers. He’d finally decided to take his brothers’ advice to move on with his life and get past the fact that he’d be divorced soon. His first step was drinks with a few good friends and a couple of very beautiful women.
Brice flew out of his chair, which slid backward when he leaned forward and gripped the table with both hands as if he was holding back his desire to attack. The internal battle he was fighting between disbelief and rage had marred his features.
“What the hell did you say?” The words were out of Brice’s mouth before he could stop them.
There were audible sighs from those sitting down and squeaking from chairs moving before the room fell silent. Brice looked down the long mahogany oval table, past the surprised faces of his eldest brother and two cousins. They sat wide-eyed in the large wingback chairs, staring at the target of his question.
The fair-skinned, wrinkle-free woman pushed her chair back and rose slowly. The shimmery gold gown she wore showcased an immaculate figure of a woman that didn’t look anywhere near her fifty-four years. Victoria Kingsley, the matriarch of the family and CEO of Kingsley Oil and Gas, glared back at her third son.
Remembering whom he was speaking to, Brice straightened, returning to his full height of six feet, his hands fisting at his side. “What I meant to ask, was how could you make such a decision without discussing it with me first?” Brice knew better than to ask such a ridiculous question, but in his current state of shock and disbelief he really didn’t know what else to say.
“Victoria, maybe I should—”
Victoria presented the palm of her right hand, stopping her sister, Elizabeth Kingsley, the more reasonable of the two when it came to handling their respective children by most accounts, from interfering and offering up what she knew would be a more sedated explanation for her decision.
Victoria exhaled noisily, collapsed her hands together and held them in front of her. “Let me see. The last time I checked, I was the CEO of Kingsley Oil and Gas and one of two—” she wiggled two fingers “—majority stakeholders. My decisions aren’t up for discussion unless I say they are. This is a notification period. Brooke starts tomorrow!”
Brice knew how his mother ran her company, but he still couldn’t understand how she could do something that she knew would be hard for him to handle. “I understand that, Mother, but this is my life we’re talking about.”
Victoria moved to the glass bar that sat in the corner of the room and poured herself a shot of Macallan whiskey. “No, what I made was a business decision. You’re making it personal, son.”
“So, your bringing Brooke back to work here isn’t personal?” he asked, his tone hard. Twenty-seven-year-old Brooke Kingsley was a tax attorney, finance wizard and Brice’s soon-to-be ex-wife.
Victoria took a sip of her drink. “Of course not. You know I don’t do personal when it comes to business.” Her eyes zeroed in on her sister. “Not anymore, anyway. Brooke is excellent at what she does and she knows our company. There are too many people coming after us. The IRS is just the latest. With Keylan going back on the road with the team and taking Mia, another one of our valued employees, with him—”
“Of course he’ll want his wife...his new family by his side. How many times did Alexander ever take a trip without you?” Elizabeth interjected, looking over her shoulder at her sister.
“I can remember one time in particular and so should you.” Victoria looked down at her bare ring finger and tossed back the rest of her drink.
Elizabeth turned away and muttered, “I do. Sorry, Victoria.”
Victoria poured herself another whiskey and her sister a glass of wine. “The point is we need people we can trust, helping with this fight.” She smiled down at her sister and handed her the wine.
“Are you sure you can trust her?” Brice knew his question was coming from a place of hurt and anger, but it was the only ammunition he had left.
Victoria returned to her seat. “May I?” Elizabeth asked.
“Please.” Victoria raised her glass.
“Brice, darling, I understand that you might be a little apprehensive about having Brooke around again, but we need her help. Maybe you two can work out your issues,” she replied, her smile faint.
