Rochelle Alers - Secret Vows

A Hideaway Wedding Wager

Twins Ana and Jason and their cousin Nicholas are successful thirtysomethings who are single—and loving it. They have no idea that their relatives are betting on which one of them will get married first. But by the family’s New Year’s Eve reunion, will all three have learned what it means to be really lucky—in love?

In too deep…

Music is Jason Cole’s first love, and so far, no woman has ever come close. He’s happiest writing and recording at his Oregon mountain retreat. Plus, the gorgeous new waitress at the local restaurant is another reason to enjoy spending time in the small, remote town—especially once he hears her sing.…

Though she’s flattered when Jason offers her a recording contract, Greer Evans says no. She can’t reveal the truth—that she’s there on a dangerous secret assignment. But as their flirty friendship turns intimate, everything is on the line—Greer’s career, their safety and the yearning passion that could put both their lives at risk.…

Secret Vows

Rochelle Alers

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

Hideaway Wedding Series

Good-natured boasting raises its multimillion-dollar head at the Cole family compound during a New Year’s Eve celebration. Family patriarch Martin Cole proposes each man in attendance place a one-million-dollar wager to the winner’s alma mater as an endowment in their name. The terms: predicting who among Nicholas, Jason and Ana will marry before the next New Year’s Eve.

Twins Jason and Ana Cole have given no indication they are even remotely thinking of tying the knot. Both claim they are too busy signing new talent to their record label. Former naval officer Nicholas Cole-Thomas has also been dragging his feet when it comes to the opposite sex. However, within the next six months Ana, Nicholas and Jason will encounter a very special person who will not only change them, but change their lives forever.

In Summer Vows, when CEO of Serenity Records Ana Cole signs a recording phenom to her label, she ignites a rivalry that targets her for death. Her safety and well-being are then entrusted to family friend U.S. Marshal Jacob Jones, and Ana is forced to step away from the spotlight and her pampered lifestyle. She unwillingly follows Jacob to his vacation home in the Florida Keys until those responsible for the hit on her life are apprehended. Once Ana gets past Jacob’s rigid rules, she finds herself surrendering to the glorious sunsets and the man willing to risk everything, including his heart, to keep her safe and make her his own.

Nicholas Cole-Thomas’s entry into the world of horse breeding has caused quite a stir in Virginia’s horse country. Not only is he quite the eligible bachelor, but there is also a lot of gossip about his prized Arabian breeding stock. In Eternal Vows, Nicholas meets Peyton Blackstone, the neighboring farm’s veterinarian intern. He is instantly drawn to her intelligence, but recognizes the vulnerability she attempts to mask with indifference. Nicholas offers Peyton a position to work on his farm, and when they step in as best man and maid of honor at his sister’s spur-of-the-moment wedding, he tries to imagine how different his life would be with a wife of his own. Just when he opens his heart to love again, someone from Peyton’s past resurfaces to shatter their newfound happiness, and now Nicholas must decide whether their love is worth fighting for.

Record executive Jason Cole will admit to anyone that he has a jealous mistress: music. As the artistic director for Serenity Records Jason is laid-back, easygoing and a musical genius. His brief tenure running the company is over and he’s heading to his recording studio in a small remote Oregon mountain town to indulge in his obsession. But all that changes in Secret Vows, when Jason hears restaurant waitress Greer Evans singing backup with a local band. As they become more than friends, he is unaware of the secret she jealously guards with her life. And when he finds himself falling in love with Greer, Jason is stunned to find she is the only one who stands between him and certain death, at the same time realizing love is the most desperate risk of all.

Don’t forget to read, love and live romance.

Rochelle Alers

Happy the husband of a good wife, twice-lengthened are his days; a worthy wife brings joy to her husband, peaceful and full is his life.

—Sirach 26:1, 2

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Prologue

West Palm Beach, Florida

Timothy Cole-Thomas felt his cell phone vibrate. Reaching into the pocket of his shirt, he stared at the display, smiled and tapped a button. “Hello, Nicholas.”

“Hello, Dad. I just called to let you know I’m getting married.”

Low-key, soft-spoken Timothy cut a step, spun around and bellowed at the top of his lungs. “Yes!” Everyone standing or lounging around the pool at the West Palm Beach family compound turned to stare at him as if he’d completely lost his mind. “Who is she?” he whispered conspiratorially, walking a short distance away so he wouldn’t be overheard by four generations of Coles who’d gotten together for the Labor Day weekend. He listened as Nicholas told him about the veterinarian with whom he’d fallen in love. “When are we going to meet her?” he asked his youngest son.

“That’s not going to be for a while,” Nicholas said.

Timothy felt a shiver eddy its way up his back when his son explained why Peyton Blackstone wouldn’t be able to travel for at least two months. She’d been stabbed by her ex-husband before the man was shot by a member of her cousin’s horse farm’s security team.

“If the farm has optimum security measures in place, then how did her ex-husband bypass it?”

“We discovered he had paid a member of the catering staff to let him use his uniform to surprise his girlfriend with an engagement ring. The poor man had no way of knowing he was being set up as an accomplice to an attempted murder. This is a reminder that anyone can breach the best protected property.”

Timothy was aware that his son’s horse farm used the most sophisticated electronic equipment available, and he’d also hired highly trained security personnel to protect his investment, but there were those willing to risk life and limb to steal his prized Arabians.

“I want you to be careful, Nicky.”

“I will.”

“Shall I give the rest of the family the good news?” he asked.

“Sure. As soon as Peyton’s up to receiving visitors, I want you and Mom to come and stay for a few weeks. Peyton’s mother is here, and I know she would like to discuss wedding plans with Mom. Peyton wants a simple church wedding at the chapel on Blackstone Farms, and she’s agreed to repeat her vows on New Year’s Eve along with Ana and Jacob in West Palm. I already called Ana and asked if she wouldn’t mind sharing her wedding celebration with us, and she said yes. I’d asked her not to say anything to you or Mom until I told you myself.”