Lissa Manley - The Bachelor Chronicles

Jared paused. “A leisurely drive to the coast. We’d walk on the beach and have lunch at some cute little place, maybe buy saltwater taffy and fresh-baked bread. Then we’d walk through town and stop at the bumper cars, go for a spin on the merry-go-round, feed the sea lions at the aquarium. Later we’d find some nice, out-of-the-way seafood restaurant and have clam chowder, garlic bread, whatever else strikes our fancy. After dinner, we’d drive home, exhausted and fat, but happy.”

Erin sat as still as stone, stunned by what he’d said. If he’d read her mind, he couldn’t have picked a more perfect response. The only thing she might add would be a long night at a cozy little bed-and-breakfast. Provided, of course, that her date was Jared….

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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For Kevin, Laura and Sean, for being so patient and self-sufficient while I write. Your faith and support means the world to me. I love you all.

LISSA MANLEY

has been an avid reader of romance since her teens and firmly believes that writing romances with happy endings is her dream job. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her college-sweetheart husband of nineteen years, Kevin, two children, Laura and Sean, and two feisty toy poodles named Lexi and Angel, who run the household and get away with it. She has a degree in business from the University of Oregon, having discovered the joys of writing well after her college years. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, crafting, attending her children’s sporting events, and relaxing at the family vacation home on the Oregon coast.

Lissa loves to hear from her readers. She can be reached at P.O. Box 91336, Portland, OR 97291-0336, or at http://lissamanley.com.

MEMO

To: Erin James, Staff Reporter

From: Joe Capriati, Assignment Editor

Subject: THE BACHELOR CHRONICLES

Erin—

The Beacon will be running a special-interest feature entitled THE BACHELOR CHRONICLES, which will consist of interviews with local, wealthy bachelors.

To motivate a little healthy competitive reporting, the reporter who turns in the most interesting, attention-grabbing piece will win the byline, a nice bonus and will write the follow-up I have planned.

This is a great opportunity for you, Erin. Find an interesting bachelor (or two) and write a juicy story. Maybe this will be the big break you’ve been after for the last year.

Get out there and snag a fantastic man!

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Erin James stepped into Warfield’s, the hottest java bar in Portland, Oregon, and inhaled deeply, savoring the rich scent of freshly ground coffee. She adjusted her glasses, and her gaze landed on the guy standing behind the counter, studded-out in a designer suit, gold chains and enough hair grease to roast a pig. He had to be Jared Warfield. No surprise that he looked like a carbon copy of every other bachelor she’d interviewed in the past week for her article.

She moved toward the counter and mentally cursed “The Bachelor Chronicles,” her latest project. Interviewing rich bachelors who reminded her way too much of her heartless ex-husband, Brent, seemed trivial. But her editor had promised a fat bonus to the reporter who came up with the best story, and she was counting on getting the byline.

She hated the story idea, which involved featuring wealthy local bachelors in the Beacon and then having each bachelor go on a date with one of the women who wrote to the paper. But she would interview Frankenstein if it kept her house out of foreclosure, the wonderful legacy her ex had bestowed upon her when he’d lost his gigantic trust fund in day trading two years ago, then taken off to parts unknown with one of Erin’s best friends. She’d been stuck with his overdue credit card debt and a mortgage payment she hadn’t been able to cover in months. For the millionth time, Erin wished she’d had the brains to close out their joint charge account before their divorce had been final a year ago.

A pang of anxiety slid through her. She knew too well where uncontrollable spending could land a person. She had no intention of repeating her mother’s mistakes or of hanging on the hairy brink of homelessness. Never again.

Frowning, she pressed a hand to her midsection, systematically forcing herself to relax. She would be a fool to alienate Jared Warfield with a sour attitude before she could get the interview that could turn her life around.

Taking several deep breaths, she manufactured her best reporter smile, determined to free herself from the financial mess she’d been left in and make a new start, on her own.

“May I help you?” Mr. Oily Hair said.

“Yes, Mr. Warfield. I’m Erin James from the Beacon.” She extended her hand over the counter.

He shook her hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Ms. James, but I’m Dan Swopes, the manager. This is Mr. Warfield.” He gestured to the man who had just walked behind the counter, a tray of dirty coffee cups in his hands.

Erin barely kept her jaw from falling. That was Jared Warfield, maverick entrepreneur, casually dressed in beige khakis and a navy-blue polo shirt? He looked more like the cashier than the millionaire owner of one of the fastest growing businesses in the city.