Jordan's Return (27 page)

Zoe frowned at her.

“The girls aren't coming until eleven. That's four hours from now. We have plenty of time. What you need is to relax.”

“Oh, I'm relaxed. Completely and utterly relaxed,” she said, still grinning.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You had sex this morning and you're all glowy. Good for you,” Anna said as she slumped back against her pillows. “There's no need to brag about it and make the rest of us jealous.”

“Rest of you?”

“Okay, fine. Me. No need to make
me
jealous. There. Happy?”

“You're awful grumpy this morning. Didn't you sleep well?”

Anna wanted to argue that she had slept fine—and it was probably because she had fallen asleep against Quinn—but she decided to keep quiet. “It's seven in the morning, Zoe. No one's cheery at this hour.”

“I am.”

“Yeah, well, it's because you're getting married today. You should be cheery.”

And then Zoe's smile fell a little.

“What? What's the matter?” Sitting back up, she reached up and placed a hand on Zoe's arm.

“I just… I wish…”

“Your mom was here,” Anna finished for her, and Zoe nodded. “I know, sweetie. And I'm sorry. You know we're all here and we're all your family, but I know it's not quite the same.”

“I know I'm so lucky,” Zoe began, “and so blessed to have gained such a big family between you and the Shaughnessys, but I can't help but feel a little outnumbered here today.”

“You know she's watching over you and smiling down on you today, right?”

Zoe nodded again. “I think she would have loved everyone. I know she would have loved Aidan.”

Anna squeezed her arm reassuringly. “Of course she would. He's an easy man to love. You're very lucky.”

And then her smile was back. “I am, aren't I?”

It was Anna's turn to nod. “And you're going to make a beautiful bride.”

Zoe leaned over and hugged her. “And you're going to make a beautiful maid of honor. Thank you for being here for me.”

“I wouldn't have missed it for the world.”

They slowly moved apart and got comfortable again. “So,” Zoe began, “last night was interesting, don't you think?”

“You mean the whole Ian and Martha thing? Yeah, it was kind of funny watching everyone's reaction.”

“Um, no, clueless one,” Zoe teased. “I'm talking about Quinn.”

“Oh no,” Anna mumbled under her breath.

“Come on. You know what I'm talking about. He was trying so hard to stay away from you and make it seem like he was interested in my friends, but he didn't take his eyes off you all night. Hugh had to keep Bobby from going over and punching him!”

“Not again…”

“We were starting to take bets on how long it would take before Bobby snapped, but Hugh put a stop to it. He said it wasn't the time or place for a fight.”

“Thank God someone was thinking clearly. I know my brother can be a bit of a hothead where Quinn is concerned.”

“Again, clueless.” Zoe sighed. “Anna, your brother isn't a hothead simply where Quinn is concerned. He's a hothead where Quinn and
you
are concerned. He doesn't like the way Quinn treats you.”

This wasn't new information. Anna just didn't like to think about it. “Well, it really doesn't matter. I'm just glad someone had the good sense to keep things from getting out of hand.”

“I know it was a good thing, but still, it's going to happen eventually. You know that, right?”

Unfortunately, she did. No matter how much she tried to pretend it wouldn't, Anna knew her brother too well. He'd always been protective of her—particularly where guys were concerned—but his feelings toward Quinn were completely different. There was rage there, and it really was only a matter of time before he let loose.

With a nod, Anna sighed. “As long as it's not today, I'll be happy.”

“You and me both, girl. You and me both.”

Available July 2016

For more Samantha Chase
check out The Shaughnessy Brothers series

Always My Girl

On sale July 2016

Made for Us

The Shaughnessy Brothers

Book #1

The Shaughnessy brothers have spent the years since their mother's untimely death taking care of one another and trying to make their father proud. Oldest son Aidan is hardworking, handsome, successful—and still single. Sure, he'd like to have his own family someday, but who has the time?

Zoe Dalton, a stunning designer Aidan meets on one of his construction jobs, has the beauty and heart to make Aidan realize how much he's been missing. But it's not easy to break down walls you've spent years building up. Now there's a major storm bearing down on the North Carolina coast, and it could be catalyst enough to force Aidan and Zoe into some major decisions of the heart.

Love Walks In

The Shaughnessy Brothers

Book #2

Aubrey Burke is on the run from an about-to-be-disastrous mistake when resort owner Hugh Shaughnessy catches her climbing through his office window. Until Aubrey tumbled into his life, Hugh had relied on work and discipline to safeguard a heart damaged by family tragedy. Now his careful world will never be the same.

Hugh's approach to life and love is the opposite of Aubrey's, but she soon finds herself falling hard for the handsome hotel mogul. There's a darker reason behind her “live for today” attitude than Hugh could possibly know, but for the first time Aubrey dares to hope this man's love might make it worth taking a chance on the future.

New York Times
and
USA Today
bestseller/contemporary romance writer Samantha Chase released her debut novel,
Jordan's Return
, in November 2011. Although she waited until she was in her forties to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Her motivation to take that step was her students: teaching creative writing to elementary-age students all the way up through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams gave Samantha the confidence to do so as well.

When she's not working on a new story, she spends her time reading contemporary romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or solitaire on Facebook, and spending time with her husband of twenty-five years and their two sons in North Carolina.

Thank you for reading
!

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