Julianna Morris - Undercover In Glimmer Creek

A former navy SEAL undercover...and into temptation

Going undercover at the historic Poppy Gold Inns should be easy for former navy SEAL Gabe McKinley. But it’s not. He needs to find out who’s sabotaging his family’s company...and his prime suspect is the resort’s lovely—and fiercely protective—manager, Tessa Connor.

The more he gets to know her—and the more they get under each other’s skin—the more Gabe doubts that Tessa could be the culprit. But has his military focus been compromised by his need to kiss her blind? Because as they get closer to danger, Gabe risks the one thing he fears: falling for Tessa.

What if somebody was watching one of them?

Unable to think of anything else to divert suspicion, Tessa rose on her toes and pressed close to Gabe.

“Tessa?” he whispered again, this time against her mouth.

“Human-shaped shadow across the way,” she mumbled.

Instantly his arms pulled her tight. He turned, making their profiles more visible to the garden, and gave her a thorough kiss.

He touched her lips with the tip of his finger. “Sleep well.”

His eyes glittered in the light spilling out of the living room and Tessa could have sworn it was from laughter. A minute later he released her and Tessa grabbed the door frame for support.

Gabe McKinley’s social skills might be rusty, but he knew how to kiss in no uncertain terms.

Dear Reader,

I loved visiting the California Gold Country as a child. One of my earlier novels is set in this beautiful region, and I’ve always wanted to return to it as a location. So I created Poppy Gold Inns, a bed-and-breakfast complex in the historic district of a former gold-mining town called Glimmer Creek.

Undercover in Glimmer Creek grew out of this setting, and is about the manager of Poppy Gold, who has returned to her childhood home following her mother’s untimely death. Tessa is strong, idealistic and devoted to the business that helps support her family and hometown. But what does an idealist do when she meets a cynical former navy SEAL who’s trying to catch the culprit stealing corporate information from her clients?

Classic Movie Alert: It probably isn’t old enough yet to qualify as a classic, but I enjoy the 2001 film The Majestic, about another cynical man who is transformed by love and the good-hearted people in a small town. Check it out!

I enjoy hearing from readers and can be contacted c/o Harlequin Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON M3B 3K9, Canada.

Julianna Morris

Undercover in Glimmer Creek

Julianna Morris

www.millsandboon.co.uk

JULIANNA MORRIS grew up in a large, active family that was always competing, which included playing word games such as Perquackey and Scrabble. She also read voraciously, bringing stacks of books home every week from the library. Julianna hasn’t lost her love for games or books and takes them with her even while exploring places such as Glacier National Park and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Of course, her computer is always packed as well, because inspiration is never far away in such beautiful locations.

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To Eli, thank you for your service.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

TESSA CONNOR KNELT on the hardwood floor and looked at the cat under the four-poster bed. “Please come out, Mr. Fezziwig.”

Mr. Fezziwig yawned and continued bathing himself. He felt the room was his exclusive property and the people who rented the deluxe bed-and-breakfast suite were merely servants who catered to his whims.

“Believe it or not, the guests coming to stay tonight don’t like cats,” Tessa said. “I know you think there’s something wrong with their opinion, but twenty-five years ago they honeymooned in this room, and they’re sentimental about it.”

The enormous brown tabby yawned.

“I understand how you feel, but you have to—”

“Tessa, I want you to meet the new maintenance employee,” interrupted her father.

Tessa straightened and looked toward the door where her dad stood with a tall, unsmiling man.

“Hey, Pop.” Tessa got to her feet and walked over to shake hands with the new guy. Lord, he had the most gorgeous gray eyes she’d ever seen...and the hardest to read. “You must be Gabe McKinley. Welcome to Poppy Gold Inns. My father is a terrific boss. You’ll enjoy working with him.”

“Thankfully, these days I mostly mulch flowerbeds and jockey a lawn mower around,” Liam Connor declared. “Tessa handles everything at Poppy Gold except maintenance.”

They exchanged an affectionate look, yet a familiar stab of sorrow went through Tessa. She’d always expected to take over Poppy Gold when her parents retired, but then her mother had died a year and a half ago. She still remembered feeling as if the world had stopped turning, and it had been even worse for her father. For months he’d gone around in a shocked fog, barely eating or sleeping. When he’d decided running the business alone was too much for him, she’d resigned from her position in the contracts division at her grandfather’s company in San Francisco to help out. Poppy Gold wasn’t just a business to her—it was home.

“Your father has been showing me around,” Gabe McKinley said. “You have quite a setup here, Ms. Connor.”

“It’s Tessa. We’re informal at Poppy Gold. We... Oh, you finally came out,” she exclaimed as a furry body butted her leg. She bent down and scooped Mr. Fezziwig into her arms. His purr boomed until he fixed his gaze on the new employee; the purring stopped as if turned by a switch, and his mouth opened into a long-drawn-out hiss.

Whoa.

Generally Mr. Fezziwig liked everyone, which made him ideal for the Victorian Cat Mansion, one of fifty-plus historic buildings that had been converted to a complex of bed-and-breakfast inns and visitor facilities. These days they hosted business retreats and special events along with tourists. The Victorian Cat was unique because of the amiable felines who lived there—repeat guests usually requested a specific cat for their visits, rather than a room.

“It may take me a while to become accustomed to calling my employers by their first names,” Gabe said stiffly.

“Pop is your employer, not me,” she clarified.

“Gabe is a veteran,” her father interjected. “This is his first position since getting out of the navy.”

“Thank you for your service.” Though it was an automatic response, Tessa meant it sincerely. Pop and one of her maternal uncles had done a tour in the army, while another uncle had died flying a navy jet.

“Er...yeah.” Gabe peered around the room. “I understand you have some sort of patchwork quilters group coming in a few days. And the day they leave, a number of executives are arriving for a retreat.”