Jo McNally - Nora's Guy Next Door

She’s got everything under control...

Making lists keeps Nora Bradford’s life neat and tidy...until her college-freshman daughter announces she’s pregnant and engaged. Luckily Nora knows how to fix a complicated situation. If that means moving to Gallant Lake, New York, where Becky and her fiancé live, that’s what she’ll do. Because Becky needs her. Nora just has to keep her distance from her new neighbor, Asher Peyton, who’s handsome, gruff and strictly off-limits. Falling in love again is not on Nora’s to-do list. Especially since she and Asher will soon share a grandchild...

He stared deep into her eyes as if he was searching for something there.

“You’re going all sappy on me again, Nora,” he said. “Don’t try to fix me. You’d be wasting your time. I gotta go...”

“Asher.”

“No, Nora. I have to go.”

But he didn’t open the door. Instead, he turned toward her. She didn’t wait for an invitation, stepping in and leaning against his strong, hard chest. He hesitated, then folded his arms around her, and it felt so...right. She tipped her head back. His gaze fell to her lips and she silently begged him to finish the job this time and kiss her. Her whole body vibrated with the need of it. But he just rested his forehead on hers, shaking it back and forth.

“No, no, no.” Was he talking to her or himself? “I am not going to kiss the mother of my son’s girlfriend, no matter how much I want to.”

Dear Reader,

When my husband and I met twenty-some years ago, neither of us had any interest in getting involved with someone new, because we were both coming off difficult relationships. But there was simply no denying the chemistry between us. Sometimes we’ll say we wish we’d met earlier in our lives, but honestly? We would have been different people then, and we could have easily just passed each other by. We were meant to meet exactly when we did.

I wanted to write a story about how love brings us the people we need when we need them the most, and the result was Nora’s Guy Next Door. This book is the newest addition to what is now the Lowery Women series, about four smart, sassy women who are cousins as well as best friends. Each has a strong will, a quick wit and a loving heart.

Loving thanks to my husband, friends and family, who encourage me every day. And a special thank-you to my amazing agent, Veronica Park of the Corvisiero Literary Agency.

Wishing you forever love,

Jo McNally

PS: My hero is stuck in the anger phase of grieving for a lost child. If you’ve suffered the loss of a loved one and feel you might be “stuck,” please reach out to someone. Many community centers and houses of worship have grief support groups, or you can find one online. You’re not alone.

Nora’s Guy Next Door

Jo McNally

www.millsandboon.co.uk

JO MCNALLY lives in coastal North Carolina with one hundred pounds of dog and two hundred pounds of husband—her slice of the bed is very small. When she’s not writing or reading romance novels (or clinging to the edge of the bed), she can often be found on the back porch sipping wine with friends while listening to great music. If the weather is absolutely perfect, Jo might join her husband on the golf course, where she tends to feel far more competitive than her actual skill level would suggest.

She likes writing stories about strong women and the men who love them. She’s a true believer that love can conquer all if given just half a chance.

You can follow Jo pretty much anywhere on social media (and she’d love it if you did!), but you can start at her website, www.jomcnallyromance.com.

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It’s only fitting that a book about a strong mom should be dedicated to a strong mom. My mom is an independent, jet-setting fashionista who makes ninety look like the new sixty.

To Mom, with love and gratitude.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

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

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

NORA LOWERY BRADFORD didn’t come close to losing her good Southern manners until the third time someone smacked their grocery cart into hers, nearly toppling a package of fancily frosted cupcakes. She spun on her heel, but the angry words died on her lips. The offender was an elderly lady, even shorter than Nora, pushing a cart loaded to the brim with Thanksgiving fixings.

Bless her heart.

Nora smiled and was about to wish her a happy holiday, but before she could speak, the woman rammed her cart into Nora’s again—on purpose!

“What’re you doin’, sightseeing or something? Move over! Other people got things to do.” With that, the woman pushed on by, scraping her cart along Nora’s to drive home her point.

Nora stood there for a moment with her mouth open, then rolled her eyes and pushed on. With Thanksgiving just two days away, the grocery store in Gallant Lake, New York, was mobbed with people. And the mob was cranky. Maybe she was biased, but people seemed just a bit more genteel back home in Atlanta. Unless, of course, you went grocery shopping on senior discount day—then all bets were off, Southern or not.

The miserable weather wasn’t helping anyone’s attitude. Three inches of snow were on the ground when she arrived in the Catskills yesterday, and she was not happy about it. Oh, sure, the stuff looked like sugar frosting on the rooftops and tree branches, but the air was cold and raw.

The forecast for the week was snow, rain, wind, more rain, then snow again. Her cousin Amanda assured her that was typical for November, which was little comfort. No wonder people were so grumpy here in the North! She’d tried to convince Amanda and her husband, Blake Randall, to fly south for Thanksgiving with their kids, but they owned a large lakeside resort here and couldn’t be gone during a busy tourist weekend. So the family was gathering at their historic castle-turned-home, Halcyon, located right next door to the resort.

Nora unfolded the store flyer she’d picked up at the door, trying to remember where the produce section was. The only good thing about being in Gallant Lake this week was that her favorite person in the whole world, her daughter, Becky, would be arriving later today. Somewhere along the line, Nora had failed as a proper Atlanta mother, because her debutante daughter had inexplicably fallen in love with the Catskills the first time she came here after Amanda and Blake’s wedding. It was disappointing, but not surprising, when Becky hopped the first plane out of Georgia when Vassar offered her a scholarship.