The Almost Happily-Ever-After
They lost each other once... Now they have one more chance.
Every wedding has a happy ending—except for Alice Birmingham. She’s never forgiven herself for leaving the love of her life at the altar five years ago. Nate Graham hasn’t forgiven her, either. Now they must work together at Starlight Point amusement park, caught between the mistakes they made...and a love that refuses to stay buried in the past.
AMIE DENMAN is the author of more than a dozen contemporary romances full of humor and heart. A devoted traveler who grew up with parents who always kept a suitcase packed, she loves reading and writing books you could take on vacation. Amie believes everything is fun, especially wedding cake, show tunes, roller coasters and falling in love.
Also By Anna J. Stewart
Starlight Point Stories
Under the Boardwalk
Carousel Nights
Meet Me on the Midway
Until the Ride Stops
Carina Press
Her Lucky Catch
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk
Back to the Lake Breeze Hotel
Amie Denman
www.millsandboon.co.uk
ISBN: 978-1-474-08293-8
BACK TO THE LAKE BREEZE HOTEL
© 2018 Amie Denman
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk
Version: 2020-03-02
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“Weddings are my business now.”
Nate laughed heartlessly, but there was so much chatter and music echoing in the room that he knew only Alice would hear. “Oh, the irony,” he said.
Alice’s cheeks colored deeper, and he felt a tiny stab of guilt for being so harsh. “It’s not as ironic as you think,” she protested. “I guess you could consider it a way to atone for what—”
“For what you did,” he said bitterly.
Alice shook her head. “For what I didn’t do.”
Nate wished he was anywhere else. He’d often wondered what he would say if he ever saw Alice again. There was no worse time and place than right here and now.
He just had to ask one question.
“Have you ever wondered what would have happened if you hadn’t walked out on our wedding?”
Alice’s shoulders dropped and she looked at the floor. “Every day for the last five years.”
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Back to the Lake Breeze Hotel and visiting Starlight Point. This is the fifth book of Starlight Point Stories, which also includes Under the Boardwalk, Carousel Nights, Meet Me on the Midway and Until the Ride Stops. From the first book, one of my favorite characters has been Virginia Hamilton. When her husband suddenly passes away at the beginning of the summer amusement park season, she has to be strong and make quick decisions in the best interests of her beloved Starlight Point and her three children. I’m so glad Virginia has her second chance at love five seasons later. I also love the second-chance theme of Alice and Nate meeting again after she left him at the altar five years ago. A lot can change in five years!
Writing the Starlight Point series has been an absolute joy for me, and I feel so attached to these characters and Starlight Point that I hate to let them go! I hope you’ll love this book. You can stay in touch with me at amiedenman.com, follow me on Twitter, @amiedenman, or send me an email at author@amiedenman.com.
Best wishes!
Amie Denman
To my wonderful friends of twenty-five years,
Fran, Chris and Connie. Fran gave me
the idea for this book, but you are all an inspiration to me! Thank you for
your loyalty, laughter and love.
Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
About the Author
Booklist
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
Dear Reader
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
EPILOGUE
Extract
About the Publisher
CHAPTER ONE
IF ALICE BIRMINGHAM could have custom-ordered weather, she would have requested exactly what she saw. Blue sky, temperature in the mid-seventies zone of perfection, a tiny breeze off the lake.
Planning an outdoor wedding at the end of August in Michigan was tempting fate because of late summer storms, but this ceremony was going to be all right. Alice brushed back a long strand of red hair and relaxed her shoulders.
“Are all the weddings you plan this perfect?” June Hamilton whispered, pausing to stand with Alice well behind the last row of seated guests. “I hope no one will mind if I stop and watch.”
Alice smiled. “You own one third of Starlight Point. I don’t think anyone is going to complain.”
White chairs gleamed in neat rows on the boardwalk. A flowered arch stretched gracefully over the heads of the groom, in a black tuxedo, and the bride, in an airy white gown. The top layer of organza on the bride’s skirt caught the breeze and floated for a moment. “I should have had you plan mine and Mel’s.”
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