Stephanie Doyle - One True Love?

Dear Reader,

Most of the people I work with in my office know two things about me: I’m horrible with clichés and I have a tendency—a little, tiny, teeny-weeny tendency—to be dramatic. In fact, it has been said on more than one occasion that no one could be more dramatic than I am.

So naturally I set out to prove them all wrong.

My heroine, Corinne Weatherby, is definitely the most dramatic person I know. This is why it takes the calming influence of a man like my hero, Matthew Relic, to settle her down. But as Corinne quickly discovers, when it comes to love and passion and dancing, there’s nothing calm about Matthew! He’s absolutely one of my favorite heroes. You just can’t help but fall in love with him. Neither can Corinne.

This book is for everyone who has gone in search of true love, only to find it smack-dab under their noses.

Enjoy!

Stephanie Doyle

P.S. I love to hear from readers. Come visit my Web site at www.stephaniedoyle.net.

Why had Corinne never noticed how good-looking he was? He was gorgeous! But he was her friend…could they have an affair and still be friends?

“Matthew, I don’t know about this.”

Somberly he nodded. “We are taking a big risk.”

“It’s just that this is all so new, so scary,” she added.

“Scary? It’s not like you could get sick,” he assured her.

Corinne made a face. “I’m not worried about getting sick. I’m worried you’ll be disappointed.” After all, it had been a while for her. Did one forget how to do these things?

He shrugged his shoulders. “I’m pretty easy to please.”

“I’m worried you’ll hate me in the morning when you realize…”

“As long as they have chicken on the menu…” he said at the same time.

They stopped speaking. Then Matthew got a pained look on his face. “We’re not talking about the same thing, are we?”

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To the lunch crowd—especially Carolyn, Jeanine, Dawn, Mike, Bill, Paul and Chuck, with occasional special guest appearances from Matt and Jim. You guys manage to keep me laughing and sane in a sometimes insane place.

May the bridge always be burning when we get to it!

Stephanie Doyle began her writing career in eighth grade when she was given an assignment to write in a journal every day. Her own life being routine, she used the opportunity to write her own sequel to the Star Wars movies. One hundred and six handwritten pages later, she discovered her lifelong dream—to be a writer. Currently, Stephanie resides in South Jersey with her cat, Alexandria Hamilton Doyle. Single, she still waits for Mr. Right to sweep her off her feet. She vows that whoever he is, he’ll decorate the cover of at least one of her books.

HARLEQUIN DUETS

65—DOWN-HOME DIVA

88—BAILY’S IRISH DREAM

SILHOUETTE INTIMATE MOMENTS

792—UNDISCOVERED HERO

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Harlequin Flipside! If you love a dash of wit and cleverness with your romance, then this is the line for you. These stories are for readers who appreciate that, if love makes the world go around, the ride is a lot more fun with a few laughs along the way.

Leading off the launch, we have USA TODAY bestselling author Millie Criswell with Staying Single. This heroine is determined to remain single—three almost weddings is enough for one girl, isn’t it?—no matter what her marriage-focused mother says. But after meeting a certain photojournalist, she just might have second thoughts….

Rounding out the month is Stephanie Doyle’s One True Love? Believing that each person has only one true love, our heroine is in a bit of a dilemma. Turns out that the guy she picked isn’t the same guy who’s captured her thoughts. This calls for some rearranging…fast!

Look for two Harlequin Flipside books every month at your favorite bookstore. And check us out online at www.HarlequinFlipside.com. We hope you enjoy this new line of romantic comedy stories.

See you next month!

Wanda Ottewell

Editor

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Executive Editor

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Epilogue

“I’M LEAVING YOU,” Corinne Weatherby exclaimed.

She slammed the door behind her, leaning against it as if the power of her own words had thrust her against the door. She spotted the second door open on the other side of the office and winced. She’d forgotten about the filing room. She crossed the room and slammed that door, too, for good measure. And in case the man sitting behind the office desk hadn’t heard her, she repeated, “I’m leaving you, Brendan. I mean it this time.”

Not looking up from his busy task of bouncing one silver ball against another on the same pendulum, Brendan waved off her statement. “You’re going on vacation, Corinne. You’ll be back in two weeks.”

With a toss of her flaming-red curls, Corinne explained the situation to him. “Not two weeks. A lifetime. I’m leaving you symbolically.”

This time Brendan did look up at her with his soulful blue eyes. She almost caved until she realized it was confusion she read in those eyes and not anguish over her departure. “Does that mean you’re not really going anywhere? Is this some kind of meditation thing?”

She closed her eyes and summoned patience. Maybe her true love wasn’t the brightest of men, but he was hers. Or at least he would be after they’d played out the script. She had practically written the whole plot in her head. Every line was committed to memory. Every piece of choreography had been rehearsed a thousand times in her mind. So far everything was on cue…except for the second open door. But there were some things that Corinne simply could not predict.

Pulling a bit on the length of her tiny grasshopper-green skirt—an atypical length for her but the chosen costume for this particular farewell scene—Corinne positioned herself accordingly to show off her shapely, albeit short, legs. Just a taste of what he was going to miss. “What I meant to say is that although I will be back in two weeks, when I return, figuratively, I will be dead to you.”

This time Brendan was motivated enough by her words to stand. He sauntered over to where she stood with her back still against the door to the filing room. In the few steps it took to reach her, Corinne could see the transition in his face.

The man was like a chameleon. He adapted his expressions perfectly to the current situation. For this confrontation he brought out the big guns: the cute, cuddly-boy routine.

He sure knew how to play rough. She was a particular sucker for this one. Had he gone with smooth and seductive, she might have stood a better chance.

No. No, she told herself firmly. She had to be strong. Cuddly-boy face or no, this was their future she was fighting for. Corinne shored up her defense system.