Shirley Jump - One Day to Find a Husband

Sometimes “I do” is just the beginning…

Ellie Winston is adopting her late friend’s baby… But she hits a husband-sized hump: to adopt Jiao, Ellie has to be married! Where can a commitment-phobic female find a husband in a day? Then cutthroat billionaire Finn McKenna comes to Ellie with a business proposition, only he isn’t prepared for Ellie’s merger-with-a-twist…marriage!

Finn never lets anyone close, even someone as feisty and intriguing as Ellie. But saying “I do,” even when you don’t really, has a way of making even the most stubborn people wake up and realize what they’ve been missing….

The McKenna Brothers

Three billionaire brothers. Three guarded hearts. Three fabulous stories.

Meet the gorgeous McKenna Brothers…

In this brand-new trilogy from the wonderfully witty, New York Times bestselling author Shirley Jump.

Rich, handsome and successful, they’re the most eligible bachelors in Boston!

Find out what happens when the oldest brother, Finn, finds himself propositioned by the intriguing, feisty Ellie Winston in

One Day to Find a Husband

July 2012

Discover whether straight-talking Stace Kettering can tame notorious playboy Riley in

How the Playboy Got Serious

August 2012

Returning hero Brody is back home and has a secret…but can he confide in Kate Spencer?

Find out in

Return of the Last McKenna

September 2012

Dear Reader,

Writing this book was such fun, because I love Boston (I grew up in the suburbs outside the city) and I love animals. We’ve been the proud owners of a couple of animal shelter dogs, as well as one stray starving cat that found its way to our porch. Our late Golden Retriever Heidi (who was the best darned dog in the world) is the basis for the Heidi in this book (as well as the basis for the lovable but mischievous Mortise and Tenon in How to Lasso a Cowboy). She truly was an amazing dog who has stayed in our hearts long after the day her own heart gave out.

This book introduces the McKenna brothers, starting with the oldest, Finn. I love writing connected books, because it’s so much fun to continue a story from one book to the next. You, dear reader, often have a direct impact on that. I’ll get a letter or email saying you loved this secondary character, or that one, and want to read more about them. To me, it’s like visiting my hometown every time I return to a particular town or family of characters. I guess I’m a bit of a nostalgic person that way—I hold on to old mementos and treasured memories, and love to return home to see friends from way back when.

I love to hear from readers, too, so please write to me through my website (www.shirleyjump.com) or visit my blog (www.shirleyjump.blogspot.com) where I post family favorite recipes and writing advice. And if you have a special pet in your life, share your story, and I’ll be sure to include it on my website!

Happy reading,

Shirley

One Day to Find a Husband

Shirley Jump

www.millsandboon.co.uk

New York Times bestselling author Shirley Jump didn’t have the will-power to diet, nor the talent to master under-eye concealer, so she bowed out of a career in television and opted instead for a career where she could be paid to eat at her desk—writing. At first, seeking revenge on her children for their grocery store tantrums, she sold embarrassing essays about them to anthologies. However, it wasn’t enough to feed her growing addiction to writing funny. So she turned to the world of romance novels, where messes are (usually) cleaned up before The End. In the worlds Shirley gets to create and control, the children listen to their parents, the husbands always remember holidays, and the housework is magically done by elves. Though she’s thrilled to see her books in stores around the world, Shirley mostly writes because it gives her an excuse to avoid cleaning the toilets and helps feed her shoe habit.

To learn more, visit her website at www.shirleyjump.com.

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To my husband, who truly is my hero every day of my life.

Thank you for blessing me with your love, and with our amazing children.

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

EXCERPT

CHAPTER ONE

FINN MCKENNA wanted one thing.

And she was standing fifteen feet away, completely unaware of what he was about to do and definitely not expecting the question he wanted to ask her. He watched the woman—tall, blonde, leggy, the kind any man in his right mind could imagine taking to dinner, twirling around a dance floor, holding close at the end of the night—and hoped like hell his plan worked.

If he was his grandfather, he’d have been toting the McKenna four-leaf clover in his pocket, knocking three times on the banister and whispering a prayer to the Lord above. Finn McKenna’s ancestors were nothing if not superstitious. Finn, on the other hand, believed in the kind of luck fostered by good research and hard work. Not the kind brought about by leprechauns and rainbows.

He’d put enough time into this project, that was for sure. Turned the idea left, right and upside down in his head. Done his research, twice over. In short, reassured himself as much as one man could that the lady he was going to talk to would say…

Yes.

“You’re insane.”

Finn turned and shrugged at his little brother. Riley McKenna had the same dark brown hair and sky-blue eyes as the rest of the McKenna boys, but something about Riley, maybe his grin or his devil-may-care attitude, gave those same features a little spin of dashing. Finn had inherited the serious, hard lines of his workaholic father, where Riley had more of their free-spirited mother’s twinkle. “I’m not crazy, Riley. It’s business. Risks are part of the job.”

“Here.” Riley handed him a glass. “I talked the bartender into pouring you and me some good quality Irish ale.”

“Thanks.” Finn sipped at the dark brew. It slid down his throat with smooth, almost spicy notes. The beer was dry, yet robust, the kind that promised a memorable drink in a single pint. A thick head of foam on top indicated the quality of the ale. Good choice on Riley’s part, but Finn wasn’t surprised. His little brother knew his brews.

All around him, people mingled and networked over several-hundred-dollar-a-bottle wines and martinis with names so fancy they needed their own dictionary. In this crowd, a beer stuck out like a dandelion in a field of manicured roses, but Finn McKenna had never been one to worry much about breaking the rules or caring what other people thought about him. It was what had fueled his success.

And had also been a part of his recent failure.

A temporary state, he reminded himself. Tonight, he was going to change all of that. He was going to rebuild his business and he was going to use Ellie Winston, interim CEO of WW Architectural Design, to help him do it.

She just didn’t know it yet.