âSean, about that kiss â¦â
Yeah, it was pretty much uppermost in his mind at the moment. Damn, he hadnât reacted that fast to any other woman before.
âIt was a good one,â he admitted.
If he had his way, heâd be taking his new bride upstairs to her suite. Heâd lay her down on the closest flat surface he could find, then heâd hitch the skirts of her dress up and stare down into her eyes as he â¦
âWe canât do that again,â she said, effectively snapping him right out of his private fantasies.
âSure we can,â Sean countered, moving a little closer to her. âKissingâs not sex.â
âIt is the way you do it,â she murmured.
His voice soft, his words careful, he said, âIt was just a kiss, Melinda. It wonât go anywhere else unless you want it to.â
Dear Reader,
Writing these letters is sometimes hard and sometimes easy ⦠This time, itâs a snap!
The Temporary Mrs King is Sean Kingâs book, and frankly, Iâve been dying to write about him since he first showed up in his brother Rafeâs book.
Sean is, to the outside world, an easygoing, laid-back kind of guy. He has a quick sense of humor, heâs loyal to the bone and like every other King cousin, family is everything to him. But thereâs more to Sean than meets the eye. Heâs learned the hard way about betrayal, and the secret in his past haunts him still.
Melinda Stanford looks as though she has it all. She grew up with a doting grandfather on a small, privately owned Caribbean island. Sheâs beautiful, smart and wealthyâor is she? Her doting grandfather is becoming more demanding lately, wanting to see his only grandchild settled and happy before he dies.
A bargain is struck, more secrets are born and a romance that made me smile all the way through it begins.
I really hope you enjoy Seanâs book as much as I did.
Visit me at www.maureenchild.com and at www.facebook.com/maureenchild. You can also write to me at PO Box 1883, Westminster, CA 92684-1883, USA.
Happy reading!
Maureen
MAUREEN CHILD is a California native who loves to travel. Every chance they get, she and her husband are taking off on another research trip. The author of more than sixty books, Maureen loves a happy ending and still swears that she has the best job in the world. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two children and a golden retriever with delusions of grandeur. Visit Maureenâs website, www.maureenchild.com.
To my mother-in-law, Mary Ann Child.
She raised five sons, so she knows all about dealing with hardheaded men.
Thanks for everything, Mom. I love you.
âI think we should get married.â
Sean King choked on his sip of beer. Slamming the icy bottle down onto the polished teak bar, he coughed until tears filled his eyes. He was forced to blink them away to see the woman who had nearly killed him with six little words.
She was worth it.
Her hair was nearly as black as his. Her eyes were a softer blue than his own and her skin was a pale honey color, telling him she spent a lot of time outdoors. She had high cheekbones, delicately arched black brows and a look of fierce determination stamped on her features.
Something inside him stirred when she licked her lips and, just for a second, he let his gaze drop to appreciate the rest of her. She was wearing a lemon-yellow sundress that showed off a pair of truly amazing legs. Her sandals boasted bright white flowers positioned over toes that were painted bloodred.
Finally lifting his gaze to hers, he gave her a half smile and said, âMarried? Donât you think we should have dinner first?â
Her lips twitched briefly, then she shot a look at the bartender, as if assuring herself he was far enough away to not overhear her. âI know how strange that sounded.â¦â
He laughed. âStrange is a good word for it.â
â⦠but, I have my reasons.â
âGood to know,â he said and lifted his beer for another sip. âBye now.â
She blew out an exasperated breath. âYouâre Sean King. Youâre here to meet with Walter Stanfordââ
Intrigued, Sean narrowed his eyes on her. âNews travels fast on a small island.â
âEven faster when Walter is your grandfather.â
âGrandfather?â he repeated. âThat means youâreââ
âMelinda Stanford, yes,â she finished for him, then glanced uneasily around again.
For the wealthy, pampered granddaughter of the man who owned this island, she seemed a little spooky.
âLook, would you mind if we took this to one of the tables? Iâd really rather not be overheard.â
He could guess why. Proposing to a man youâd never met before wasnât the most normal way of introducing yourself. Pretty, but she didnât seem to be playing with all of her marbles. She didnât wait for him to agree, just walked toward one of the half-dozen empty tables in the hotel bar.
Sean watched her, deliberating whether or not to follow her. Sure, she was gorgeous. But clearly she was a little unhinged, too.
She looked bright as a sunbeam sitting in the dark corner of the once elegant and now tired-looking bar. Thirty years ago, this place was no doubt considered top-of-the-line. But it had seen its day come and go and hadnât tried hard enough to keep up.