Virginia McCullough - Love, Unexpected

Moving to a new place isn’t easy...

Until a neglected ship and its owner make her feel at home

After spying a boat in need of some TLC, single mom Andi Sterling strikes a deal with its owner, Zeke Donovan, who shares her passion for restoring old things. Uncovering the legendary ship’s secrets draws them closer. Is it too soon for Andi to open her heart to the chance to build new dreams?

After a childhood spent on Chicago’s sandy beaches, VIRGINIA McCULLOUGH moved to a rocky island in Maine, where she began writing magazine articles. She soon turned to coauthoring and ghostwriting nonfiction books, and eventually began listening to the fictional characters whispering in her ear. Today, when not writing stories, Virginia likes to wander the world.

To contact the author, please visit virginiamccullough.com, or find her on Twitter, @vemccullough, and Facebook, Facebook.com/virginia.mccullough.7.

Also By Virginia McCullough

Girl in the Spotlight

Something to Treasure

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Love, Unexpected

Virginia McCullough

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08498-7

LOVE, UNEXPECTED

© 2018 Virginia McCullough

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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Sitting across from him, Andi held her water bottle out to propose a toast.

“To Drifting Dreamer,” she said, tapping her bottle against Zeke’s. “I can’t stop thinking about what I may uncover about her next.”

Zeke threw his head back. “Oh, no. Now every day I’ll wonder if something new has turned up.”

“I’ll keep you guessing, section by section,” she said, cocking her head. “It’s tempting to start taking apart every inch of the boat. No telling what we’d find under the bunks.”

“But maybe it’s better to keep the suspense going,” he said, surprising himself.

Her expression changed. “Funny, isn’t it? A boat named Drifting Dreamer simply showed up here one day without fanfare or even much preparation.”

“So did you,” Zeke teased, his voice low and right on the edge of flirtatious.

Dear Reader,

Welcome back to Two Moon Bay, a small town on Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan shore. In the third book in the series, several characters from Girl in the Spotlight and Something to Treasure are back and two have a story of their own. Love, Unexpected proves romance can tap us on the shoulder, even if we’ve closed our hearts to love.

Andi and Zeke find they share a passion for restoration and strike a deal to make the boat Drifting Dreamer beautiful again. Curious about the dreams behind the ship’s name, the two search for answers while they bring the vessel back to life. As they discover what can—and can’t—be restored, they confide their secrets and maybe even spin new dreams.

I hope you enjoy Andi and Zeke’s special summer in Love, Unexpected. You can visit me and add your name to my mailing list at virginiamccullough.com. Find me on Twitter, @vemccullough, and Facebook, Facebook.com/virginia.mccullough.7.

To one more happy ending,

Virginia McCullough

For my two grown children, Laura & Adam—

to paraphrase Rat in The Wind in the Willows,

they’ve had some experience

“messing about in boats.”

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

Extract

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE

ZEKE DONOVAN DIDN’T like his choices. He could simmer inside, or maybe stomp around the dock. Or he could let loose and holler at somebody. But as frustrated as he was, he knew perfectly well he wouldn’t do any of those things. He wasn’t the simmering, stomping, hollering type. Especially not when it came to his dad.

Planting a hand on his hip, Zeke filled his lungs and let the air out in a long sigh. On the few occasions in the last few years he’d been angry at his dad over mistakes or mix-ups, Zeke always ended up feeling guilty. Besides, anger didn’t solve anything. Today, like other days, he’d just have to figure out a way to clean up the mess Dad left behind.

Mess was a good word for the ancient motor yacht gently rocking at their Donovan Marine Supply dock in Two Moon Bay. By any standards, the boat was fifty feet of peeling varnish, not to mention the cracks in the wooden cabin house and rails. The sooner Zeke could find a way to get the eyesore off his hands—and off his dock—the better.

Early that morning, before they’d even flipped their sign from Closed to Open, Zeke learned Drifting Dreamer would be delivered to their dock in Two Moon Bay that day. Like a switch had flipped on inside his head, Dad suddenly remembered he’d inherited a yacht. The memory surfaced after a call from a lawyer’s office downstate in Kenosha confirmed the boat would arrive by noon. How this derelict motor yacht ended up settling a twenty-year-old debt was a question still waiting for an answer.