Tara Taylor Quinn - Once Upon A Marriage

Anyone could be hiding a secret...

Marie Bustamante does not trust or love easily. Growing up with a philandering father and an overprotective mother, she comes by her reservations honestly. So after only three months, how can she be falling for her best friend’s bodyguard? This isn’t like her at all. But Elliott Tanner is strong, gorgeous and...trustworthy. Honest. At least he seems to be. Of course, some things about him remain a mystery. Protecting the privacy of his clients is Elliott’s job. That doesn’t mean he’s hiding anything from her. Does it?

“You don’t have to apologize for talking to me, Marie. Not ever,” said Elliott.

Her gaze didn’t waver. And she didn’t step back. “I have a tendency to go on sometimes...”

“And I enjoy listening to your voice.” Some things didn’t come with explanation. They just were.

“I’m glad you’re going to be in Las Vegas,” she said.

“Me, too.”

Her mouth was lifted toward his. He needed to kiss her.

And he needed to let her go. To send her away from him.

Before he could do either, she raised up on tiptoe and touched her lips to his. “Thank you,” she whispered, and slid past him to hurry down the hall and back out to her shop.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the Historic Arapahoe! (If you’ve been here before, welcome back!) Though most of the residents here are elderly, they’re still getting up at five-thirty in the morning to work, they’re still going on romantic dates and protecting those around them. Including the three thirty-one-year-old friends who recently purchased the building so that the elderly, fixed-income residents wouldn’t be forced into nursing homes or be put out on the street.

Who’s really taking care of whom remains to be seen. Or maybe this is life, everyone doing what they can to take care of each other. Marie, one of the three owners, has been taking care of others most of her life. She owns the coffee shop on the first floor of the building and spends her days trying to make life a little easier, a little more pleasant, for everyone around her.

There’s a stalker hanging around. And her father, a womanizer who broke up their family but also managed to be a good dad, is struggling. Marie tends to it all. And she’s still lonely. Because, ultimately, she can’t trust.

I think, in today’s world, many of us struggle with trust issues. I also believe that happiness depends on our ability to trust, and that trust is still rewarded. I’m just not sure I can convince Marie of that fact...

I love to hear from readers! You can contact me at staff@tarataylorquinn.com; my website, tarataylorquinn.com; on Twitter, @tarataylorquinn; on Facebook; and on Pinterest, pinterest.com/tarataylorquinn.

All the best,

Once Upon a Marriage

Tara Taylor Quinn

www.millsandboon.co.uk

The author of more than seventy novels, TARA TAYLOR QUINN is a USA TODAY bestselling author with over seven million copies sold. She is known for delivering emotional and psychologically astute novels of suspense and romance. Tara is a past president of Romance Writers of America and served eight years on that board of directors. She has won the Reader’s Choice Award and is a five-time finalist for the RWA RITA® Award, a finalist for the Reviewer’s Choice Award and the Bookseller’s Best Award. She has also appeared on national and local TV across the country, including CBS Sunday Morning, and is a frequent guest speaker. In her spare time Tara likes to travel and enjoys crafting and in-line skating. She is a supporter of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. If you or someone you know might be a victim of domestic violence in the United States, please contact 1-800-799-7233.

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For Carol H. R.:

You face hardship in marriage with love and loyalty, and inspire the same.

I am grateful for your example.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

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

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

ELLIOTT TANNER WAS in trouble. There was no denying it. Sitting in his parked SUV outside a downtown Denver nightclub, waiting for a very spoiled, overly made up daddy’s girl to get bored and move on to her next hot spot, he tried to refrain from contemplating his utter stupidity.

Unfortunately the job he was on—babysitting said self-centered party girl—required no real effort, leaving him far too much possibility for losing the battle he was waging with a brain that just wouldn’t let go.

“I can’t believe I’m telling you this, Elliott.” Marie’s voice repeated itself in his brain—a replay of a conversation he’d had with the daughter of another client that afternoon. Difference being that Sailor Harcourt, tonight’s job, knew her parent had hired him to keep an eye out for her safety. Barbara Bustamante, Marie’s mother, adamantly refused to allow Elliott to let Marie, her daughter, know that she’d hired Tanner Security Services to watch over Marie.

He’d been hanging out at Marie’s coffee shop for over three months now. She’d gone through some tough times. Life changes. They’d talked. Become friends. But under false pretenses.

In fact, Marie thought Elliott was around to keep an eye on Liam Connelly—not only her best friend’s new husband, but also their business partner. Elliott had capitalized on Connelly’s circumstances, presenting himself as a bodyguard when the fraud scheme exposed at Liam’s father’s company was impacting Liam’s safety. It was the perfect way to be close to the situation and protect Marie without her knowing that he was watching out for her.

Gabrielle, Liam and Marie. Threefold . The name of the business they’d formed to purchase the old apartment building that was not only home to Marie’s coffee shop, but their home, as well. Threefold was also an apt description for the friendship forged in college that had made the three of them more like family to each other than their biological counterparts had been.

Cars passed. Groups of people moved down the sidewalk. A woman strolled alone in the balmy April weather. Not smart, no matter how nice this part of town was. Not after eleven on a Saturday night...

He’d taken on Liam as a paid client, albeit at a sub-rate fee, with the complete blessing of Barbara Bustamante, who had called him initially because Marie and her friend had just entered into the business deal with Liam, and Barbara had never trusted the Connelly heir. When threats and vandalism ensued just after the building purchase, Tanner had been present to ensure that no harm came to Liam—or to his two new business partners.