Melissa Mcclone - The Wedding Adventure

“This bed is big enough for the two of us.”

Cynthia bit her bottom lip. “We’re just friends, right?”

Cade smiled. “Right.” But after kissing her… “You know what, you can have the bed. I’ll sleep on the ground.”

“Take the bed. I don’t mind the floor.”

“This is ridiculous,” Cade said. “We’re both adults.”

“That’s true.” Cynthia didn’t sound so confident. “It’s just a b-bed.”

“Exactly. Besides, I’m tired,” he pointed out.

“Good, we’ll both sleep.” Her cheeks reddened. “I mean—”

“I know what you mean.” If they were both tired, they would simply sleep. But part of him prayed that wasn’t true.

Dear Reader,

We’ve been busy here at Silhouette Romance cooking up the next batch of tender, emotion-filled romances to add extra sizzle to your day.

First on the menu is Laurey Bright’s modern-day Sleeping Beauty story, With His Kiss (#1660). Next, Melissa McClone whips up a sensuous, Survivor-like tale when total opposites must survive two weeks on an island, in The Wedding Adventure (#1661). Then bite into the next juicy SOULMATES series addition, The Knight’s Kiss (#1663) by Nicole Burnham, about a cursed knight and the modern-day princess who has the power to unlock his hardened heart.

We hope you have room for more, because we have three other treats in store for you. First, popular Silhouette Romance author Susan Meier turns on the heat in The Nanny Solution (#1662), the third in her DAYCARE DADS miniseries about single fathers who learn the ABCs of love. Then, in Jill Limber’s Captivating a Cowboy (#1664), are a city girl and a dyed-in-the-wool cowboy a recipe for disaster…or romance? Finally, Lissa Manley dishes out the laughs with The Bachelor Chronicles (#1665), in which a sassy journalist is assigned to get the city’s most eligible—and stubborn—bachelor to go on a blind date!

I guarantee these heartwarming stories will keep you satisfied until next month when we serve up our list of great summer reads.

Happy reading!

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Books by Melissa McClone

Silhouette Romance

If the Ring Fits… #1431

The Wedding Lullaby #1485

His Band of Gold #1537

In Deep Waters #1608

The Wedding Adventure #1661

Yours Truly

Fiancé for the Night

MELISSA McCLONE

With a degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, the last thing Melissa McClone ever thought she would be doing is writing romance novels, but analyzing engines for a major U.S. airline just couldn’t compete with her “happily-ever-afters.”

When she isn’t writing, caring for her two young children or doing laundry, Melissa loves to curl up on the couch with a cup of tea, her cats and a good book. She is also a big fan of The X-Files and enjoys watching home decorating shows to get ideas for her house—a 1939 cottage that is slowly being renovated.

Melissa lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon, with her own real-life hero husband, daughter, son, two lovable but oh-so-spoiled indoor cats and a no-longer stray outdoor kitty who decided to call the garage home. Melissa loves to hear from readers. You can write to her at P.O. Box 63, Lake Oswego, OR 97034.

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

The house was too quiet.

Sitting in his library, Henry Davenport tapped his Mont Blanc pen against the top of his mahogany desk, but the floor-to-ceiling bookcases absorbed the sound. He dropped the pen and glanced around the room looking for something to do.

Dickens, Hawking, Clancy, Gardner… He wasn’t in the mood to read any of the books on the shelves. His housekeeper had placed all his magazines in the recycling bin. A fire hazard was what she’d called the stack he kept by the library door.

TV wasn’t an option. He’d surfed through all the cable channels and over 500 more on his three different satellite dishes. He had no shows left on his TiVo to watch. He was all caught up. And he’d already seen all his DVDs and videos.

Music. That would do the trick. He touched the play button on the CD remote. The jazzy strains of a trumpet filled the air.

Nice, but Henry wasn’t in the mood for jazz. He hit another button. Vivaldi. Classical wouldn’t do. Easy listening. Forget about it. Blues. Not today. Hard rock, folk, alternative, country. He made his way through the one hundred CDs stored in his player. Not one would do.

Tomorrow he’d have to buy a hundred different ones. Obviously his musical tastes had changed.

But what about now?

His Portland, Oregon, estate was deserted due to the annual retreat he sponsored for his staff. The silence had never affected Henry before, but tonight…

The quiet was a problem. He needed…something.

One phone call and he could fill the house or a club with more friends than he knew what to do with. But that wasn’t what he wanted, either. It had to be something else.

The plans for his upcoming birthday party were nearly completed. All that remained was the escrow closing on the private island he’d purchased. So why did he feel as if something were missing? Something important.

Henry stared at the neat stacks of files in front of him. The invitations, the party arrangements, even the adventure. He opened the top file and studied the guest list. He’d checked and double-checked who would be joining him for an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii to attend his birthday bash on April Fools’ Day. No one had been left off. He’d made certain.

The next file was about the party itself. From the catering to the live entertainment, no detail had been ignored. This year’s traditional luau/tropical paradise party at one of Hawaii’s most exclusive resorts was several steps up from last year’s tacky wedding theme in Reno, Nevada.

Tacky or not, that party had been his best. It would be difficult if not impossible to top Reno’s success. But Henry had to try.

Each year, he threw himself a birthday party and sent two of his guests on an adventure. Every year got better, more elaborate, more fun. He thought the participants enjoyed it, too.

Maybe that was the problem. He didn’t want to let his guests down. They’d come to expect certain things from him. Though none had expected him to act like Cupid.

Last year, he’d tried something new and played matchmaker with the adventure participants. The result—two of his best friends, Brett Matthews and Laurel Worthington, had fallen in love and married for real. Henry was now godfather to their almost three-month-old beautiful baby daughter, Noelle.