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Saving Cinderella!
Myrna Mackenzie
Dare to dream… these sparkling romances will make you laugh, cry and fall in love – again and again!She only came to Vegas for the weekend…will she stay long enough to walk up the aisle?Alex Lowell has come to Las Vegas to have fun with her three best friends. She’s given up on love and finding Prince Charming – the only date she wants is one at the spa with the girls! Alex’s R&R is cut short when the hotel concierge goes into labour and she spontaneously jumps in to help, landing a job offer from hotel owner Wyatt McKendrick.Wyatt is cool, sexy, and makes Alex want to break her ‘no man’ rule…
GIRLS’ WEEKEND IN VEGAS
Four friends, four dream weddings!
On a girly weekend in Las Vegas, best friends Alex, Molly, Serena and Jayne are just supposed to have fun and forget men—but they end up meeting their perfect matches! Will the love they find in Vegas stay in Vegas?
Find out in this sassy, fun and wildly romantic mini-series all about love and friendship!
Meet the girls:
Alex
SAVING CINDERELLA! by Myrna Mackenzie June
Molly
VEGAS PREGNANCY SURPRISE by Shirley Jump July
Serena
INCONVENIENTLY WED! by Jackie Braun August
Jayne
WEDDING DATE WITH THE BEST MAN by Melissa McClone September
Dear Reader
Las Vegas is a city that practically explodes with sights, sounds and sensation. Everything happens fast. It’s exciting…and in most cases, very temporary.
That was what Alexandra Lowell was expecting. She was going to Las Vegas for a short, no-regrets weekend with her friends.
But then trouble came calling. Wyatt McKendrick, a rich, gorgeous loner, stepped into this book and made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. One that would keep her in the city temporarily. Fighting her attraction to him all the way.
So I had to wonder…What would happen when the hourglass emptied and these two allergic-to-love people finally said goodbye? Maybe…nothing? No love, no harm done?
Hmm, that could happen—but…this is Las Vegas, where the impossible becomes possible, and things a girl never imagined happening…happen. Even love.
Myrna Mackenzie
Saving Cinderella!
By
Myrna Mackenzie
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Alexandra Lowell’s blog, pre-girls’ weekend in Vegas:
This trip to Las Vegas may be sudden and unplanned (my good friend Serena’s great idea after our friend Jayne was left at the altar), but I think it’s going to be a fantastic experience for all of us—not just Jayne.
All of us—Molly, Serena, Jayne and I—could use some time just to kick back, and Las Vegas is the kind of place to do it. I’ve never been there, but I’ve seen all the ads. Las Vegas—a place where people have no past and no future. How cool is that?
We’re going to stay in a first-class hotel: McKendrick’s. On the website it looks gorgeous. Sumptuous. The kind of place where a girl goes to get pampered and forget her troubles.
I’ve had my share of troubles, so I can’t wait for this weekend. Just my friends—girls out for a supercharged vacation with no men to complicate our lives. What could be more fun than that? Let me repeat that. NO MEN TO COMPLICATE OUR LIVES!!
Stop back soon, when I’ll update you on just what happened during our wild weekend. (But I can assure you that none of it will involve men, or anything remotely liable to lead a girl into something as crazy as love. That is just not going to happen.)
Excerpt from Alexandra Lowell’s profile:
Hometown: San Diego, California (where I am going back to after this trip to Vegas!).
Relationship Status: single forever. (There’s no reallife Prince Charming, and I’m okay with that. Really, I am!)
Interests: my friends, my business—certainly not Wyatt McKendrick, my new boss
Favorite Quotations: “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”—William James; “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.”—Katherine Hepburn
About Me: I love cute and silly dangly earrings. I’m a little bit driven, prone to doing ten things at once, and I love feeling that I can make a real difference in someone’s life. In fact I have this teensy little problem with trying to help people too much at times. Especially guys. I help them, I fall for them, they’re grateful and then they’re gone.
Employer: back in sunny San Diego I work as a hotel front desk clerk, and I own a San Diego travel website. That, however, has changed (temporarily). A weekend in Las Vegas turned complicated, and I am soon to be (temporarily, as I said) working for Wyatt McKendrick, owner of McKendrick’s exclusive resort. Wyatt is tall, gorgeous, dark, mysterious, totally unattainable, and being around him is enough to make a girl crazy. Thank goodness I’ll be leaving Las Vegas soon. (Because I am so very temporary.)
PROLOGUE
ALEXANDRA LOWELL stared up at the shining façade of McKendrick’s of Las Vegas, the most exclusive hotel she would probably ever enter in her life, and hoped that this weekend wasn’t a mistake. Her bank account was practically sobbing at the expense, but her friend Jayne was in desperate straits and in need of some serious escapism, so Alex was going to forget about that poor bank account. For now.
She smiled at her three friends. “I’m setting my mental countdown clock. We’re going to have one awesome weekend in an alternative universe,” she told them cheerfully.
Serena chuckled. “Alternative universe, Alex? It’s Las Vegas, not another planet.”
Alex gave her friend a patient smile. “Serena, come on. You’ve been in my apartment. I love it to pieces, I love finally having my own home, but it’s a little box. This is…it’s…”
“An alternative universe,” Molly agreed with a laugh.
“Okay, you’re right,” Serena said. “This place is breathtaking, isn’t it? Look at all these people, the bustle, the sounds, the over-the-top opulence of it all.”
“And we’ve got a whole weekend,” Jayne said. “Darn it, we’re going to have fun, aren’t we?”
Her smile was bright, but Alex knew she was only wearing it for their benefit. Jayne was supposed to have been getting married this weekend, but that wasn’t happening. Alex’s heart hurt for her. Friends just didn’t let friends go through heartbreak alone. Friends did everything possible to cheer each other up.
“Absolutely,” Alex agreed. “This was a great idea, Serena.” Serena had been the one to suggest a Las Vegas escape, and already the excitement of an adventure was starting to build until Alex could barely contain herself.
“So…do you think it’s true that lots of unmentionably wild things happen here?” Molly asked.
“I certainly hope so,” Jayne said with dogged determination. “We deserve a little wildness. For this weekend, San Diego and everyone in it ceases to exist.”
Which was fantastic advice, Alex couldn’t help thinking. Jayne wasn’t the only one at a turning point in her life. Alex had her own issues she wanted left at home.
“Absolutely,” Molly said. “The only people who matter this weekend are you, my very best friends. We’re out to set the world on fire.”
“And no regrets,” Serena said. “When we remember this time, I want us to have major grins on our faces.”
“When we leave here,” Alex declared, “we’re only taking one thing with us—a happy glow. We’re never going to look back and question the choices we made this weekend.”
With those words, they all smiled at each other and marched toward their destinies.
CHAPTER ONE
SATURDAY afternoon, Alex, tired but glowing from the spa, shopping, dining and partying they’d crammed in to their weekend, dashed downstairs for a souvenir menu from Sparkle, the rooftop restaurant. Tomorrow she and her friends would leave Las Vegas, and who knew if she’d ever return? But one look at the heavily pregnant concierge’s face and she knew something was wrong.
Still, the woman pasted on a weak smile. “May I help you?” she asked, her voice a thin thread.
Alex hesitated. The woman’s smile was fake, but it would be intrusive to ask questions, wouldn’t it? Alex reminded herself that in the past her habit of rushing in to help without being asked had resulted in her being told to mind her own business. Or worse. She tried to bar the painful memory of what had happened some of the other times she’d overstepped the boundaries. But dwelling on her past mistakes wasn’t helping this situation. The woman still looked distressed, and…
“I’m sorry,” Alex said. “I don’t mean to be nosy, but I can tell something’s wrong. Is there anything I can do to help? Someone I can call?”
The woman’s eyes widened. “No! You’re a guest! I mean…I’m fine. Just a little tired.”
Instantly Alex felt both guilty that she’d made the woman uncomfortable, and chagrined that she’d once again made the mistake of pushing too hard. So many of the painful moments in her life had begun with her trying to help too much. The memory of her latest doomed relationship nagged at her.
Stop it, she ordered herself. Apologize for making this woman uncomfortable and go. Don’t think about the mistakes you’ve made.
The concierge suddenly let out a gasp, pulling Alex back to the present. She glanced down and realized that with her attention elsewhere, she’d missed something major. Pressed close against the desk with her arms folded in front of her, the woman had managed to—mostly—disguise the fact that she was pregnant. Immediately every other thought Alex had vanished. This woman was in real distress. That was a total game changer. No hesitating allowed.
“Forget that I’m a guest,” Alex said. “Who would you like me to call?”
The woman looked like a Vogue cover model, her hair and make-up perfect, but her eyes were incredibly round and scared. “I—I don’t know. I—” She had risen and was looking at her belly. “It’s not supposed to be happening. I have four more weeks, and—I’m not ready. We’re not ready. I need someone to watch my son, and I promised my boss, Wyatt, that I had weeks before he’d need a replacement. It can’t be time yet.”
But it was, and clearly something needed to be done.
“I’m sure Wyatt will understand,” Alex said.
The woman looked at her as if she were insane. “Wyatt likes things orderly. No messes or craziness.”
Well, then, Wyatt certainly wouldn’t like her, Alex couldn’t help thinking. She ignored that thought. Wyatt, whoever he was, wasn’t her concern. “Are you in pain?”
“No. Yes. I feel strange. Different than last time. Things feel…faster. But I have another hour to work. Lois, the night concierge, isn’t due back from her vacation until tomorrow, so Wyatt can’t even find a sub for me today. I really need to stay.” She gasped and put a hand on her back.
Somehow Alex hid her own distress. “Don’t worry—Belinda,” she said, reading the nameplate on the woman’s desk. “I’m trained in basic emergency procedures and I’ll help you. Would you feel more comfortable sitting? You don’t have to stand for my sake.”
The woman’s eyes grew wider. “I…can’t sit. I’ll get the chair wet. My water…”
“Don’t worry about the chair,” Alex said, circling the desk. “You need to get off your feet.”
The woman sat. Her perfect skin turned pale.
“Do you have your doctor’s number?”
“In my wallet. In my purse. In the drawer.”
In mere seconds Alex had the information and placed the call. She spoke to the receptionist, gave her Belinda’s name, and received instructions. She called over a young man from the registration desk and asked him to locate his boss.
“Your boss will need to find someone to take Belinda’s place. She’s going to the hospital.”
The young man looked at Belinda’s stricken face.
“Randy, I know how important these next few weeks are to Wyatt,” the woman said, her voice breathless and strained. “It’s awards season. Reviewers will be visiting. A whole series of them. And they’ll be anonymous. We can’t let down our guard.”
“I’m sure Wyatt will understand,” Alex said, even though she didn’t know any such thing. She sent the young man scurrying to call his boss.
The woman let out a cry. “Breathe,” Alex instructed, her voice gentle but firm. “Forget the hotel. Breathe out.”
Belinda obeyed. Alex knelt at her side, held her hand, and began to coach her through the pain.
An expensively dressed woman appeared at the desk, her expression uncertain. “The Bistro Lizette?”
Belinda was bent over. Alex reached out and grabbed a map off the desk, glancing at it. “Second floor, west wing. I’ve been there. You’ll love it.” She smiled, sending the woman away.
In the distance an ambulance could be heard. Alex wondered what her friends would think of this.
As another person appeared, she gave him instructions and sent him on his way, but she couldn’t help noting that the man at the front desk looked concerned.
“Wyatt’s on the way,” he said, appearing at Alex’s side as she began to coach Belinda through another contraction. “Maybe you should move out of the public eye. This hotel is Wyatt’s baby. No pun intended.”
“Leave Wyatt to me,” Alex said. “She’s in pain. I’m not moving her until the ambulance arrives.”
She certainly hoped this Wyatt person didn’t give Belinda grief for not timing her baby’s arrival better. She also hoped he wasn’t that tall, gorgeous, intimidating man in the suit who had just entered the lobby and turned in her direction.
Wyatt headed across the lobby toward the concierge’s desk. There, two EMTs were placing his very pregnant concierge on a stretcher. A slender woman with long dark hair smiled at her, took her hand, and turned to a man who had neared the desk. The man nodded, took the map the woman had obviously given him, and backed away from the area.
“I’ve called your husband and directed him to meet you at the hospital. Your neighbor will watch your son. I’ll handle things until someone comes,” the woman told Belinda, her calm, clear voice softened by distance. “Don’t worry. Everything’s under control.”
At that moment Randy at the front desk saw Wyatt and headed him off. “Wyatt, I tried to get the woman to move Belinda to somewhere less public. People are staring. But she told me that if you were upset she would handle you—just as cool as you please.”
Wyatt raised an eyebrow. Because of his height and his high expectations of himself and others he had a tendency to intimidate. Women—people—didn’t offer to handle him, as a rule. The fact that this one had made her…interesting.
As he watched, a woman in a flowered blouse started toward the empty registration desk, frowned, and turned in his direction. But after one look at Wyatt, and at Randy’s scowl, she headed toward the woman with Belinda. The still smiling, calm woman, Wyatt couldn’t help noting.
He should step in. Help. It was what he would have normally done, but…not yet. The EMTs were questioning Belinda, and the woman taking her place…He had to see what happened. If necessary, he would do damage control.
As he watched, the guest in the flowered blouse began to apologize profusely, explaining how she had overflowed the bathtub, but the dark-haired woman smiled sweetly, took one fleeting look at Belinda and picked up the phone.
“Please don’t worry,” she told the woman, writing down her room number. “It’s being taken care of. Please let us know if you have any other problems.”
