Kiss Me Hello (Sweetest Kisses) (37 page)
Sadie had given up flailing at the salad, and yet she stood before the salad bowl, head down, staring a hole in a bunch of leafy greens. Gideon studied her earrings, swirly blue-green malachite and gold dangles. Pretty and doubtless one of kind.
She arranged the salad tongs against the side of the wooden bowl, a laying down of culinary arms. This close, Gideon could catch some summery, flowery scent from her and
feel
how small she was—also how badly she wanted to pack up and leave, possibly never to return.
All that mortification over a question that had been awkward, but courageous rather than rude.
“Was it your mum or your dad who drank?” Gideon had kept his voice down—the Brothers Knightley were all loose on the premises somewhere, to say nothing of Merle.
Even Sadie’s earrings were still.
“Both.”
That single word, coupled with the way she braced herself against the counter, suggested anger, consternation, and possibly even relief to have shared this miserable, defining bit of truth.
Gideon slid an arm across Sadie’s shoulders, lest she resume mauling the lettuce.
“No alcoholics in my family,” he said. “My dad had cancer. Took him seven years, two remissions, and a whole lot of experimental trials to die. I was six when he was diagnosed.”
A breath went out of her. She sagged against him, as if she’d dodged a bullet. Maybe Gideon had surprised her.
He’d certainly surprised himself.
The brownies were arranged in a tower of decadent pleasure on a red serving dish. Gideon found a small one and offered it to his neighbor. Sadie bit off half; he took the remainder, and for the space of a single bite of chocolate, they stayed like that, not quite embracing, but closer than either had planned on being.
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Kiss Me Hello
by Grace Burrowes.
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The book you’ve just finished is Book 3 in the Sweetest Kisses series. In case you missed them, previous books in the series are
A Single Kiss
and
The First Kiss
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Return to You
A Montgomery Brothers Novel
by Samantha Chase
New York Times
and
USA Today
Bestselling Author
She will never forget their past…
He can’t stop thinking about their future…
James Montgomery has achieved everything he’d hoped for in life…except marrying the girl of his dreams. After a terrible accident, Selena Ainsley left ten years ago. She took his heart with her, and she’s never coming back. But it’s becoming harder and harder for him to forget their precious time together, and James can’t help but wonder what he would do if they could ever meet again.
What readers are saying about Samantha Chase:
“Samantha Chase really knows how to tell a story.”
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For more Samantha Chase, visit:
One Mad Night
by Julia London
New York Times
and
USA Today
Bestselling Author
Two Romantic Adventures
One winter’s night a blizzard sweeps across the country, demonstrating that fate can change the course of lives in an instant…and fate has a sense of humor.
One Mad Night
Chelsea Crawford and Ian Rafferty are high-profile ad execs in cutthroat competition for a client. When a major winter storm puts New York City on lockdown, the two rivals have to make it through the night together.
The Bridesmaid
When the weather wreaks havoc with transportation systems, Kate Preston and Joe Firretti meet as they are both trying to rent the last car available… As Kate races to her best friend’s wedding, and Joe races to a job interview, it looks like together is the only way they’ll make it at all.
Praise for Julia London:
“London knows how to keep pages turning…winningly fresh and funny.” —
Publishers Weekly
For more Julia London, visit:
New
York
Times
and
USA
Today
bestselling author Grace Burrowes hit the bestseller lists with her debut,
The
Heir
, followed by
The
Soldier
,
Lady
Maggie’s Secret Scandal
,
Lady
Eve’s Indiscretion, The Captive
, and
The
Traitor.
All of her Regency and Victorian romances have received extensive praise, including several starred reviews from
Publishers
Weekly
and
Booklist
.
The
Heir
was a
Publishers
Weekly
Best Book of 2010,
The
Soldier
was a
Publishers
Weekly
Best Spring Romance of 2011, and
Lady
Sophie’s Christmas Wish
won Best Historical Romance of the Year in 2011 from RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards.
Lady
Louisa’s Christmas Knight
was a
Library
Journal
Best Book of 2012, and
The
Bridegroom
Wore
Plaid
, the first in her trilogy of Scotland-set Victorian romances, was a
Publishers
Weekly
Best Book of 2012.
Darius
, the first in her groundbreaking Regency series The Lonely Lords, was named one of iBooks Store’s Best Romances of 2013.
Grace is a practicing family law attorney and lives in rural Maryland. She loves to hear from her readers and can be reached through her website at
graceburrowes.com
.
