“No, you didn’t tell me.”
Josh gestured to his bad arm. “My shoulder was too wrecked for the doctors to repair it, so my career was finished.”
“That is so sad,” Sharon said.
Greg appeared very sly, as if he knew a secret the rest of them didn’t. “He needs to recuperate, and Amy is a great nurse. I figured this might be the perfect spot for him to heal up.”
The younger people crowded around Josh, and they whisked him off to watch the football game. Then Sharon turned to Greg and tsked with exasperation. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a matchmaker, Mr. Layton.”
“Who me? A matchmaker? Nah.” He looked innocent as a choirboy. “I was thinking of Josh and how I could help him through a rough patch.”
“Liar. You were thinking of Amy and how you could help her.”
“Maybe, but doesn’t she deserve some good luck?”
“She certainly does.”
Brimming with delight, they headed back to the kitchen where she had to mash the potatoes and whip up some gravy.
“Can you shift a few things on the dining room table?” she asked him. “We have to dredge up another chair and add a place setting for Josh.”
“We have plenty of space,” Greg said, and she smiled.
A big family dinner! All of them gathered at the table together! Having to squeeze in one more guest! Fate had delivered what she’d always dreamed of having and so much more besides.
“First though,” he said, “I have something for you.”
“What is it?”
He walked to a cupboard and retrieved a box. Christmas was a month away, but it was wrapped in Christmas paper that had reindeers all over it.
“I would have put it under the tree in December,” he said, “but I thought you should have it before then.”
“You rat. I don’t have a gift for you.”
“You are my present,” he said. “I don’t need more than that.”
She ripped the paper off slowly, so the moment would last. When she lifted the lid, she saw that it was a raincoat and rainhat, expensive ones, the kind a person required to survive the torrential storms that hit Oregon in the winter.
He nodded to them. “I told you I’d buy you a raincoat if you moved to Portland.”
She laughed. “So you did.”
“But I’ll only give it to you if you’re staying.” He paused and asked, “Are you staying?”
She yanked the coat and hat out of the box and tugged them on. They were just the right size.
“Yes, I’m staying,” she said. “I’m staying for as long as you’ll have me.”
CHERYL HOLT is a New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon “Top 100” bestselling author who has published over sixty novels.
She’s also a lawyer and mom, and at age forty, with two babies at home, she started a new career as a commercial fiction writer. She’d hoped to be a suspense novelist, but couldn’t sell any of her manuscripts, so she ended up taking a detour into romance where she was stunned to discover that she has a knack for writing some of the world’s greatest love stories.
Her books have been released to wide acclaim, and she has won or been nominated for many national awards. She is considered to be one of the masters of the romance genre. For many years, she was hailed as “The Queen of Erotic Romance,” and she’s also revered as “The International Queen of Villains.” She is particularly proud to have been named “Best Storyteller of the Year” by the trade magazine Romantic Times BOOK Reviews.
She lives and writes in Hollywood, California, and she loves to hear from fans. Visit her website at www.cherylholt.com.
“Best storyteller of the year . . .”
Romantic Times Magazine
“Cheryl Holt is magnificent . . .”
Reader to Reader Reviews
The Reading Café
“A master writer . . .”
Fresh Fiction
Here’s what readers are saying . . .
“OMG! I just started reading this series yesterday. It was hard for me to close my Kindle and go to bed. So, so good!”
Artemis
“Cheryl Holt has packed in so much action that the reader is constantly spellbound. So many characters, so vividly portrayed! Rogues, unfaithfulness, loyalty, and delightful dialogue. You will love this book!”
Gladys
“It was fabulous! I laughed, I cried, I got angry, and I smiled. I read the whole book without stopping.”
Robin
“Action, drama, and intrigue. I read it in one afternoon. I couldn’t put it down!”
Gina
“You just can’t wait to turn the page to see what happens next. Outstanding!”
Margaret
“This book is such an emotional roller-coaster. I cried and laughed and cheered. It was so good!”
Colleen
LINKED HISTORICAL ROMANCE SERIES
LOST GIRLS
SOMEONE TO LOVE
SOMEONE TO CHERISH
SOMEONE TO WED
ALWAYS
ALWAYS
ALWAYS YOURS
ALWAYS MINE
JILTED BRIDES
JILTED BY A CAD
JILTED BY A SCOUNDREL
JILTED BY A ROGUE
FOREVER
FOREVER YOURS
FOREVER MINE
FOREVER
BABY CALEB DUET
ONLY YOU
ONLY MINE
LOST LORDS OF RADCLIFFE
HEART’S DELIGHT
HEART’S DESIRE
HEART’S DEMAND
SCOUNDREL
HEART’S DEBT
RELUCTANT BRIDES
WICKED
WANTON
WONDERFUL
LORD TRENT
LOVE’S PROMISE
LOVE’S PRICE
LOVE’S PERIL
SPINSTER’S CURE
PROMISE OF PLEASURE
TASTE OF TEMPTATION
DREAMS OF DESIRE
EROTIC HISTORICAL ROMANCES
LOVE LESSONS
TOTAL SURRENDER
ABSOLUTE PLEASURE
COMPLETE ABANDON
MORE THAN SEDUCTION
DEEPER THAN DESIRE
FURTHER THAN PASSION
TOO HOT TO HANDLE
TOO TEMPTING TO TOUCH
SECRET FANTASY
FORBIDDEN FANTASY
DOUBLE FANTASY
HISTORICAL ROMANCES
SWEET SURRENDER
NICHOLAS
(republished as MY SCOUNDREL)
MY ONLY LOVE
MY TRUE LOVE
THE WAY OF THE HEART
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCES
MOUNTAIN DREAMS
SEDUCE ME
KISS ME
LOVE ME
NOVELLAS
MEG’S SECRET ADMIRER
KNIGHT OF SEDUCTION
SEDUCING THE GROOM
OTHER NOVELS
A SUMMER WEDDING AT CROSS
CREEK INN
MUD CREEK
THE WEDDING
SLEEPING WITH THE DEVIL
NONFICTION
LITTLE MIRACLES
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