Renee Roszel - To Catch A Bride

“You promised you wouldn’t be here!” Kalli exclaimed.

One dark brow rose as Niko observed her, his smile gone. “More to the point you promised to marry me.”

“You lied to me….”

“Did I?” Niko challenged her with his most innocent expression.

“Yes. You allowed me to assume you wouldn’t be here while I renovate your house.”

“What you assume, Miss Angelis, is hardly my fault.”

Niko gave her no time to recoup and he dropped a bomb. “The fact is, this is a beautiful piece of property. I own it, so why shouldn’t I stay? After all, this was supposed to be my honeymoon.”

Almost at the altar—will these nearlyweds become newlyweds?

Welcome to Nearlyweds, our brand-new miniseries featuring the ultimate romantic occasion—weddings! Yet, these are no ordinary weddings: our beautiful brides and gorgeous grooms only nearly make it to the altar—before fate intervenes and the wedding’s…off!

But the story doesn’t end there…. Find out what happens in these tantalizingly emotional novels by some of your best-loved Harlequin Romance®authors.

This month, enjoy a lively chase to the altar in popular author

Renee Roszel’s

To Catch a Bride

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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To Dr. Rebecca Sims, a woman with brains, beauty, grace and kindness. Welcome to the family, Becky!

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

EPILOGUE

KALLI dashed into Nikolos Varos’s private office, consumed with grief and unreasoning panic. Thankfully, no watchdog of a secretary sat at the reception desk to run interference. Kalli couldn’t cope with making explanations. She needed to get this done and done quickly—hopefully without hysterics.

Her mental turmoil kept her from taking notice of the immense high-rise office. She already knew Mr. Varos was vastly prosperous, but in her emotional state the physical trappings held no interest for her. Working hard to hold back tears, she headed toward a tall, gaunt man standing behind a gleaming desk of stainless steel and glass. She planted both hands on the cool, orderly desktop and focused on his striped tie, too grief-stricken and ashamed to look at his face.

Coward! she shouted inwardly. Look him in the eye! Anybody who jilts her fiancé on their wedding day should do it face-to-face, not sniveling at the floor like a mouse!

Sick to her stomach, she lifted her gaze. Her heart pounded so deafeningly, she wasn’t sure she would be able to hear her words when she spoke them.

“Mr. Varos,” she began, amazed that her voice rang with conviction. “I can’t go through with the wedding.”

The man’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but she forged on, giving him no opening. “My grandfather passed away during the night. When Mother called to tell me, I realized I’d agreed to this marriage for him—because I love —loved him. This arrangement was something he wanted. It wasn’t what I wanted at all. I went along—out of family loyalty.”

He opened his mouth again, but she threw up her hand to halt him. “I know, I know—my family’s Greek and very traditional and so is yours. And yes, my mother’s arranged marriage was a good one. And, it’s true that our grandfathers were lifelong friends and their fondest wish was to join our two families.” She grasped desperately for the right words—anything that didn’t sound lame. “But, I’m an American, Mr. Varos. I was born in the United States and I—I can’t do this! Please understand and—and one day try to forgive me.”

Spinning on her heel, she fled, calling herself the chicken-hearted baby she was. Running away was unforgivable, but she was too close to hysteria and emotional collapse to deal with ranting and raving, no matter how much she deserved it.

She told herself this was for the best. After all, the marriage was little more than a business deal, certainly not a love match. To make that painfully obvious, where had she finally found her so-called fiancé? In his office! At seven o’clock in the morning on his wedding day!

Besides, she hadn’t even met the man. His international finance dealings had kept him out of the country until the last minute. Considering all that, how important could the wedding—or she—be to him?

Surely he’d had deals fall through before. He’d be disappointed, maybe even annoyed, but he’d get over it. When she was more herself, when her grief had ebbed, she vowed to write a letter of apology.

She felt so alone. Oh, if only Grandpa Chris hadn’t taken a drastic turn for the worse just as she and her mother, Zoe, were about to leave for California. Angelis had cared for her father-in-law for so many years, she’d felt compelled to stay behind with the dear man as his health failed and miss her only child’s wedding. Kalli knew Zoe had been torn, but being the kind of woman she was, Zoe couldn’t leave Grandpa Chris to depart this world alone. Kalli understood, of course, and wouldn’t have had it any other way, but right now she felt desolate, lost, and needed her mother’s unwavering support.

Now that the wedding was off, all she had to do was get back to her hotel, pack her bags and fly out of San Francisco. She must get back to Kansas to be with her mother and say her last goodbyes to Grandpa Chris.

The first day of June was turning into a nightmare for Nikolos Varos. His flight from Tokyo had been delayed, not once but twice, making him almost miss his own wedding. Then, in the wee hours, when he’d arrived at his penthouse apartment, he discovered a plumbing leak. The place was a disaster, so he’d had to dress for the formal wedding breakfast in his office bathroom.

And now, as he slipped on his tux jacket, the fiancée he had yet to meet came running into his office announcing to his bewildered assistant that she couldn’t marry him.

Peering around the corner where his executive dressing room adjoined his office, he scanned the space, empty now, except for his buttoned-up, button-down administrative assistant. The poor guy stood as though frozen, staring toward the office’s exit.

Niko leaned against the doorjamb and heaved a weary exhale. “What’s the matter, Charles?” he queried, cynicism ripe in his tone. “Never been jilted?”

Niko’s sarcasm seemed to bring his assistant out of his stupor and he turned, his long, thin face ashen. “Is that what happened, sir?”

Niko shook his head, feeling out of kilter from jet lag and lack of sleep. He’d hardly closed his eyes in the last seventy-two hours, getting his schedule squared away for an extended honeymoon, and now this? “I’m new at being dumped, but that little speech sounded like ‘goodbye’ to me.”