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Rescued by a Wedding: Texas Wedding / A Marriage Between Friends
Kathleen O'Brien
Melinda Curtis
Marriage seems to be the solution…until the men change the rules! Two beloved marriage of convenience stories from Kathleen Oââ?¬â?¢Brien and Melinda Curtis in one volume.Texas WeddingSusannah Everly is determined to save the family ranch, even if she must marry onetime love Trent Maxwell to do so. They both know this is a business arrangement with rules that do not include rekindling old feelings or surprise midnight seductions. When Trent seems determined to break their agreement, it may be time for Susannah to renegotiate.A Marriage Between FriendsWhen Jill desperately needed a father for her unborn child, Vince Patrizio gave them both his name. Then Jill walked out of his life. Now, years later, it's Vince's turn to have his say. Arriving in Jill's sleepy California town, he has plans to transform it into a mini Vegas…and to turn this convenient marriage into a real one.
Marriage seems to be the solution…until the men change the rules! Two beloved marriage of convenience stories from Kathleen O’Brien and Melinda Curtis in one volume.
Texas Wedding
Susannah Everly is determined to save the family ranch, even if she must marry onetime love Trent Maxwell to do so. They both know this is a business arrangement with rules that do not include rekindling old feelings or surprise midnight seductions. When Trent seems determined to break their agreement, it may be time for Susannah to renegotiate.
A Marriage Between Friends
When Jill desperately needed a father for her unborn child, Vince Patrizio gave them both his name. Then Jill walked out of his life. Now, years later, it’s Vince’s turn to have his say. Arriving in Jill’s sleepy California town, he has plans to transform it into a mini Vegas…and to turn this convenient marriage into a real one.
Rescued by a Wedding
Texas Wedding
Kathleen O’Brien
A Marriage between Friends
Melinda Curtis
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
CONTENTS
TEXAS WEDDING Kathleen O’Brien (#u6af6c0b7-f369-5b69-806e-a92cd22aa944)
About the Author (#u0704cd75-d947-537b-a74e-e35b503f2fef)
Chapter One (#ubc0cbcea-b6cb-5258-87d1-39f98cde7da0)
Chapter Two (#u0f243545-31b4-53cb-8a15-f117ef5bc704)
Chapter Three (#uc869aaa7-5dde-5970-a890-da0318dd724a)
Chapter Four (#u7e25c185-2aa3-59e1-9173-1ec78a2bcaea)
Chapter Five (#u3f8f3c5f-9f68-5048-93c1-2ccec7018089)
Chapter Six (#uebf5ad13-8a5b-527d-b333-7578d47b2f9b)
Chapter Seven (#u42334f47-2a67-5dec-9b8f-87d5f8bef5fc)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
A MARRIAGE BETWEEN FRIENDS Melinda Curtis (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)
Dedication (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Two (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Three (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Texas Wedding
Kathleen O’Brien is a former feature writer and TV critic who’s written more than thirty-five novels. She’s a five-time finalist for the RWA RITA® Award and a multiple nominee for the RT Book Reviews awards. Though her books range from warmly witty to suspenseful, they all focus on strong characters and thrilling romantic relationships. They reflect her deep love of family, home and community, and her empathy for the challenges faced by women as they juggle today’s complex lives. Visit her online at kathleenobrienonline.com (http://www.kathleenobrienonline.com), facebook.com/kathleenobrienauthor (http://facebook.com/kathleenobrienauthor) or twitter.com/kobrienromance (http://twitter.com/kobrienromance).
Look for more books by Kathleen O’Brien in Harlequin Superromance—the ultimate destination for more story, more romance! There are four new Harlequin Superromance titles available every month. Check one out today!
CHAPTER ONE
SUSANNAH EVERLY MAXWELL had been hiding in the bathroom for half an hour. For a bride on her wedding night, that was at least twenty-nine minutes too long.
She’d left the shower on, hoping Trent would assume she was still bathing, and the cascade of warm water had turned the room into a sauna. The towel knotted at her breasts hung heavily, saturated with moisture. Steam smothered the mirror, forming a blank screen of mist.
She knew she should go out into the bedroom, where her new husband was waiting, but she couldn’t force herself to do it.
Her new husband…
None of this seemed real. Reaching out one fingertip, she began to write on the glass.
Mrs.…Trent…Maxwell…
She’d penned the name a thousand times, in the turquoise ink she’d loved back in high school. But before she could finish the last syllable, the condensation pooled and began to run. It was like trying to write with tears.
Her reflection appeared in the open spaces, fractured into a collection of mismatched parts. Ironically, this stranger draped in the white towel, wreathed in clouds of steam, looked more like a bride than she had this afternoon at the courthouse.
But not a happy bride. A broken Picasso bride, or maybe a ghost bride from some terrifying urban legend—a confused wraith who would never find her way out of the mist.
She touched her damp cheek, as if she needed to confirm that she was made of solid flesh. Her new diamond ring sparkled in the mirror.
After all this time, she was really Trent Maxwell’s wife. For one year, anyhow. Not exactly the “forever” she used to dream of.
Suddenly, hard knuckles rapped against wood.
“Susannah?”
Staring at the door, she put her left hand against her heart, which once again thump-jogged in place.
Stop that, she commanded it. But her heart ignored her.
“Susannah? Are you all right?”
He didn’t turn the knob. He probably knew it was locked. Not that the flimsy button would have kept him out if he’d really wanted to come in. And he would come in, sooner or later, if she didn’t emerge. The Fates had blessed Trent Maxwell with a lot of gifts, but patience wasn’t one of them.
She’d fallen for Trent when she was just a kid—not all that much younger than her little sister Nikki was now. Susannah had thought she was so grown-up, ready to be in love. Now, watching Nikki struggle with hormones at the oh-so-mature age of sixteen, she knew better.
It had all been dreams. She’d fantasized about standing at the altar beside him. She’d dreamed of cooking him spaghetti and darning his socks, though she had no clue what that meant.
But those dreams had gone up in flames—quite literally—eleven years ago. Since then, she and Trent had barely exchanged fifty civil words.
Now here she was, a thirty-year-old woman, embarking on a one-year marriage of convenience. How dry those words sounded! They didn’t capture any of the heart-skittering anticipation. He was only ten yards away, and waiting for her to come to bed. This would be a real marriage, he’d insisted. And, because she needed a husband, she had agreed.
But maybe she wasn’t trapped. She had one last hope—a piece of paper hidden in her nightstand that somehow might miraculously save her.
She tried to imagine handing it to him. Tried to visualize his face as he read it. What would he say? They’d been so close once that they could finish each other’s sentences. But the bitter years lay between them now like a continent of ice. Her new husband was a stranger to her, and she had no idea how he would react.
“Susannah?”
His voice wasn’t angry. Not yet. That would come later. Later, when he read the paper. When he found out what her plans were for this, the first of their 365 nights of married life.
Her gaze returned to the pieces of woman reflected between the finger-written letters. Mrs… Her eyes shone. Trent… Her lips were parted, vulnerable.
Who was that woman? Suddenly horrified, she drew her eyebrows together. That woman looked like a victim.
Ridiculous. No one had abducted her, tricked her or sold her into wedlock. The bargain had been her idea, the only sensible escape from an impossible situation. It was just that marriage to Trent had seemed so much more manageable when it was weeks, days, even hours in the future, instead of right here, right now.
But she could handle it. She wasn’t weak. Ask anyone, from the lowliest fruit picker on her payroll to the richest buyer on the market. You could even ask her grandfather’s ghost, which was probably still prowling the halls of Hell, carrying his favorite switching strap.
They’d all tell you. Susannah Everly faced her problems. She took her medicine. And she did it with her chin held high.
“I’m coming.”
She reached in and punched off the shower. Enough. She wasn’t weak.
She unknotted the towel and let it slide to the ground. Then she plucked her gray, shapeless nightgown from the counter and tugged it over her head.
Hideous.
Perfect.
She wrapped her fingers around the warm doorknob and twisted.
Showtime.
“I’m sorry, Trent. I…”
Her voice dwindled off. The silent shadows of the bedroom momentarily disoriented her. Was he gone? Instead of the hot voice she’d expected to hear accosting her, demanding an explanation, she was met only by quiet currents of dark air and the faint smell of roses.
That must mean Trent had opened the east window—the roses had climbed as far as the second-story sill this spring and seemed to be trying to nudge the glass open with their pink-and-yellow faces.
She took a deep breath. She adored those flowers, just as she cherished every inch of Everly. She mustn’t forget that. She might have grown to hate Trent, but she’d never stopped loving this beautiful ranch, set like a jewel in the middle of a thousand acres of peach orchards.
She was doing this to save Everly.
As her eyes adjusted, she finally saw Trent. He leaned against the window frame with his back angled to her, staring down into the side yard, though she knew he couldn’t see much except the grapevine trellis that covered the wicker patio loungers.
Half his body was in shadow. He wore no shirt. Moonlight turned one muscular shoulder and arm to marble, then glimmered against the silver tip of his belt buckle before being swallowed up by the black of his pants.
Her heart tried once again to escape, but she squared her shoulders and forced it into submission. She had made promises. Maybe he’d let her out of them, and maybe he wouldn’t. Either way, this had to be faced.
