Sweet Talk Boxed Set (Ten NEW Contemporary Romances by Bestselling Authors to Benefit Diabetes Research plus BONUS Novel) (71 page)

“Come here, love.”

“That was a lot of money. What if I can’t deliver the kind of kiss you’re looking for?” she teased.

He laughed. “You haven’t failed me yet.”

He leaned into the booth and put his hands on her shoulders, drawing her closer. When their lips met, fireworks went off. It was getting to be pretty darn predictable every time he touched her. When he finally let her go, they were greeted by applause.

Jaime looked around, clearly pleased with himself. “And that, my friends, is how you kiss a woman to let her know you love her.”

Emma felt heat climbing into her cheeks when she saw her mother watching the two of them. She had on her stern librarian’s face as she marched in their direction.

“Uh-oh,” Emma said, nodding in her direction.

Jaime was quick to take the hint. “Mrs. Hastings,” he said happily. “How are you?”

“I’ll be a lot happier when I understand the meaning of that display just now,” Jessica told him, though to Emma’s surprise there was a twinkle in her eyes that belied her tone.

“Just staking my claim,” Jaime said.

“Branding my Emma as yours?” she questioned.

He smiled. “I suppose you could put it that way, yes.”

“There are more appropriate ways of doing that, young man.”

“Mom!” Emma protested..

Jaime stepped in. “No, sweetheart, she’s absolutely right. There is a better way. I’d intended to wait until tonight when there’s a full moon shining and music in the background, but now seems as good a time as any.”

Emma wasn’t sure who was more startled, her or her mother, when Jaime dropped to one knee, uttering a faint groan as he did so. That recently-repaired leg of his wasn’t always as cooperative as he wanted it to be.

“Emma Hastings, I know we’ve been talking about the future we want, and that there are still a lot of things to work out, but there is one indisputable fact we’re agreed on. Whatever that future is, we’re in it together. I love you, Emma. I need you in my life, by my side, wherever we are. I need you -- not Mick -- to remind me when it’s time to take a vacation. You’ve proved yourself to be pretty good at making time off even more appealing than work.” He reached for her hand and looked into her eyes. “So, what’s it to be, Emma? Will you marry me and take on the task of reforming me full-time?”

Jessica gasped, then clamped a hand over her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. “Emma,” she prodded, when Emma couldn’t seem to get a word out.

“Married?” Emma whispered. “You really want to get married?”

Jaime smiled. “Did you think I intended to keep you living in sin for the rest of our lives?” He glanced at her mother. “No offense, Mrs. Hastings.”

“None taken,” she said, clearly enjoying being in on the big moment.

“Emma, could you maybe give me an answer before my knee cramps up and I land on my butt? This is supposed to be a romance, not a comedy.”

She knelt down facing him. “Do you mind if I laugh just a little, not at you, but because I’m happier than I’ve ever imagined being again? Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Then she was in his arms and the crowd around them seemed to drift away to give them at least a tiny bit of privacy.

“I love you, Jaime Alvarez.”

“Right back at you,” he declared.

He pulled her to her feet. “Now, if we’re going to dance at our wedding, we’d better get out on that dance floor and start practicing. The band’s just starting. I want you to be able to keep up with me.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“It is,” he said solemnly. “You up for it?”

“As long as we’re together, I can handle anything,” Emma declared.

And for the first time since she’d walked out on her disaster of a marriage to Derek, she believed it was true. She was ready for anything that came her way! In fact, she could hardly wait to see what might come next.

About Sherryl Woods

With two other careers to her credit before becoming a novelist and four states in which she's lived for extended periods of time, Sherryl Woods has collected friends and memories, along with way too much unnecessary junk.

"The friends are the only things I've brought with me through the years that really matter," she says. "I could probably live without one more chintz teacup, another tin-litho sandpail or another snowglobe, but I need those friends."

Author of more than 100 romance and mystery novels, Sherryl Woods grew up in Virginia. Over the years she had lived in Ohio and Florida, as well as California. Currently she divides her time between Key Biscayne, Florida and Colonial Beach, Virginia, the small, river-front town where she spent her childhood summers.

A graduate of Ohio State University School of Journalism, Sherryl spent more than ten years as a journalist, most of them as a television critic for newspapers in Ohio and Florida. For several years she also coordinated a motivational program for the more than 8,000 employees at the University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Medical Center.

Her first book,
RESTORING LOVE
, was published in 1982 by Dell Candlelight Ecstasy under the pseudonym of Suzanne Sherrill. Her second book,
SAND CASTLES
, under the pseudonym of Alexandra Kirk, was published later that same year by Bantam. She began using her own name when she moved to the Second Chance at Love line at Berkley Publishing. In 1986, she began writing full-time and also began her long career at Silhouette Books with the Desire title
NOT AT EIGHT, DARLING
, set in the world of television which she covered for so many years.

In addition to her more than 75 romances for Silhouette Desire and Special Edition, she has written thirteen mysteries — nine in the Amanda Roberts series and four in the Molly DeWitt series.

When she's not writing or reading, Sherryl loves to garden, though she's not at her best on a riding lawn mower. She also loves tennis, theater, and ballet, even though her top spin has long since vanished, she's never set foot on a stage, and she's way too uncoordinated to dance. She also loves baseball and claims anyone who's ever seen Kevin Costner in "Bull Durham" can understand why.

Find Sherryl here:

http://www.sherrylwoods.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sherryl-Woods/157107747648506

ABOUT THE MEMORY JOURNAL

As a pediatrician with Doctors without Borders, Charlie Hunter’s passion is to save children’s lives and hopes that one day she’ll make up for not being able to save the life of her little brother. Everything in her life seems to finally be coming together, until she gets a phone call that changes everything.

With her sister mourning the loss of her husband and child, Charlie is helpless as she watches her sister’s carefully structured world fall apart.

Memories buried deep from her own past are brought to the surface and her one fear, of losing the love of her fiancé, Marcus Hilroy could come true. She’d always suspected she wasn’t meant for happily-ever-afters, even though Marcus was her Prince Charming.

Is it too late for Charlie to face her past and find another chance at love or will she let the fear of her childhood overshadow everything else in her life?

The MEMORY JOURNAL is a companion story to The Memory Child, a story
“poingant and richly drawn, The Memory Child is an unusual spin on love and loss with rich characters and an emotional twist.”
~ Jane Porter, Bestselling Author of The Good Woman.

ABOUT THE MEMORY CHILD:

When Brian finds out that his wife, Diane, is pregnant, he is elated. He’s been patiently waiting for twelve years to become a father. But Diane has always been nervous about having children because of her family’s dark past. The timing of the pregnancy also isn’t ideal—Diane has just been promoted, and Brian is being called away to open a new London office for his company.

Fast-forward one year: being a mother has brought Diane a sense of joy that she’d never imagined and she’s head over heels for her new baby, Grace. But things are far from perfect: Brian has still not returned from London, and Diane fears leaving the baby for even a moment. As unsettling changes in those around Diane began to emerge, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems.

A woman’s dark past collides head-on with her mysterious present in this surreal and gripping family drama.

“Reminiscent of
The Twilight Zone
, this novel has a feeling that will unsettle readers from the first page.” —KIRKUS REVIEW

To find out more:
http://www.steenaholmes.com/portfolio/the-memory-child
/

Copyright © 2015 by Steena Holmes

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.

www.steenaholmes.com

CHAPTER ONE

February

Despite the dust, insects, and nauseating heat, Charlie was happy.

“Your first real smile.” Marcus Hilroy, her fiancé of only a few months, threaded his fingers through hers and smiled along with her.

She couldn’t help grinning. After being away for almost a month she was back where her heart had begun to call home before she’d had to leave so suddenly. Every day she was gone she missed this little village in the Congo, with its small huts, fenced-in pens full of goats, and the kids. Her heart clenched tight—she’d missed the children most of all.

“It’s good to be back.” Charlie leaned against Marcus and let it all seep inside her, filling her soul and heart.

“You could have stayed longer; you realize that, right? Head office gave you three months of leave.” He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back.

“I know. But I couldn’t sit around just being there for my sister, who obviously didn’t need me any longer. She was the one who told me told me to leave. I think she was anxious to get back to work as well.” She swatted at the haze of small insets that buzzed around her arms. “Besides”—she turned and wound her arms around Marcus’s body—“I missed you.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed him.

“I’m glad you’re home too, but I just didn’t want you to rush back. It’s okay to take the time you need to grieve.” Marcus held her tight against him, as if he never wanted to let her go again.

“Someone needs to tell Diane that,” Charlie mumbled.

Diane, Charlie’s older sister, had been involved in an accident on the way to drop her husband off at the airport for a business trip. Not only had the accident claimed the life of her husband, but also their unborn child.

Marcus pulled back a little. “Charlie, for as long as I’ve known you, I’ve also known that telling you or your sister anything is pointless unless you’re willing to hear it.” He gave her a soft smile. “She’ll grieve in her own time and in her own way. She’s not the type to sit still for long, is she?”

Charlie chuckled. “No, she’s not. You’re right. Walter even told her to not come in for a while, but she wouldn’t listen to him. She doesn’t need me to be there holding her hand. She knows where I am.” Charlie turned in Marcus’s arms and looked at the village ahead of them. “It’s not like I don’t talk to her on a regular basis anyway, although she did make me promise something.”

“What was that?” Marcus asked.

“To never let her forget what love felt like.”

Charlie had promised she wouldn’t—that she couldn’t, because their love for each other was strong enough to cover any distance. The sisters had proven that throughout the years.

Their relationship was unique, and one not many siblings shared. But then, they’d been through hell and back as children, and if that didn’t strengthen a bond, she didn’t know what would.

“How was Walter? You mentioned there was something he’d wanted to talk to you about, but you never said what it was.” Marcus led her back toward the Jeep and held the door open for her to get in. There was a crowd of children gathering ahead, and they could no longer delay her return.

Charlie thought about Walter, the man who’d entered the sisters’ lives in their early teens and never left. Diane worked side by side with Walter at his software company and viewed him as a mentor and friend, but to Charlie he was her father.

He was the only father she’d ever known or needed to know. Blood wasn’t everything.

“I’m not sure. When I went to meet with him Diane tagged along, and we never got the chance to talk before I left to come back. I’m sure if it’s anything important, he’ll e-mail like he normally does.”

She thought about the way Walter had hugged her close before she left his office only a few days ago. She’d told him she was leaving, that Diane was kicking her out, and the sadness in his eyes brought tears to her own.