Janice Sims - This Winter Night

’Tis the season—for love!

Holing up in her isolated cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains is just what Lauren Gaines needs to get over a nasty divorce. But the blizzard that snows her in brings an unexpected surprise: a hunky stranger who shows up on Christmas Eve.

Spending the holidays alone in his North Carolina getaway could be the break high-powered businessman Colton Riley needs from his fast-track life. Until a storm strands him without power…and lands him on the doorstep of his knockout next-door neighbor. Instant attraction leads to a night of sweet lovemaking. Little by little, Colton starts earning Lauren’s fragile trust.

Then life throws him a curve that he never saw coming—one that could cost him a future with the Raleigh beauty. Or will the new year be filled with love’s sweet promise?

“There is no one special in my life,”

he assured her.

She was looking at him suspiciously. “I won’t be a party to some other woman getting hurt over infidelity.”

“Scout’s honor,” he said with a straight face.

She seemed to be satisfied with his answer. “Okay, then. What happens here stays here.”

“Done,” he promised.

“You can’t tell anyone about our hooking up tonight. No one at all.”

“Understood,” he wholeheartedly agreed. “That goes for you, too. Not even your girlfriends.”

“Not even your boys,” she countered.

“Not even your priest,” he said.

“Not even God,” she said with a smile.

“I think He already knows,” said Colton as he backed her against the wall and planted a sensual, bone-melting kiss on her sweet mouth.

Their bodies pressed closer and warmth ensued shortly afterward. By some silent consensus they agreed that this seduction would be slow and deliberate. When they came up for air from that first kiss, their eyes met and they smiled. It was confirmed: they were a good fit.

JANICE SIMS

is the author of twenty-two novels and has had stories included in nine anthologies. She is the recipient of an Emma Award for her novel Desert Heat and two Romance in Color awards: an Award of Excellence for her novel For Keeps and a Best Novella award for her short story in the anthology A Very Special Love. She has been nominated for a Career Achievement Award by RT Book Reviews and her novel Temptation’s Song was nominated for Best Kimani Romance Series in 2010 by RT Book Reviews. A longtime member of Romance Writers of America, she lives in Central Florida with her family.

This Winter Night

Janice Sims

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Dear Reader,

This Winter Night is the first book in a new series. I wondered what effect a domineering mother would have on her five daughters. She believes her influence helped produce an architect, a zoologist, an accountant, a psychotherapist and a helicopter pilot. But was it at the detriment of personal relationships? It will take a special kind of man to reach the hearts of the Gaines sisters. I hope you enjoy Lauren’s story and will look for Desiree’s, Petra’s, Amina’s and Meghan’s stories in the near future.

If, after reading This Winter Night, you’d like to send me a message, you can email me at Jani569432@aol.com or visit my website, www.janicesims.com. You can also find me on Facebook.

If you’re not online, you can write me at P.O. Box 811, Mascotte, FL 34753-0811.

Best,

Janice Sims

Thanks to my usual support team: Shannon Criss for her editorial expertise; Maria Ribas and the rest of the staff at Harlequin who make writing a pleasure; Sha-Shana Crichton for ensuring I have interesting work to keep me busy; and my family for their love and encouragement.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 1

Colton Riley knew a fool when he saw one. At that moment, he happened to be looking at the fool in his rearview mirror. What had he been thinking? He had driven to the Great Smoky Mountains in the midst of winter without first checking a weather report.

It was snowing so aggressively visibility was practically nonexistent. If not for GPS, he would have gotten lost, even though he’d traveled this route many times before.

He put the SUV in Park as he pulled in front of the cabin with its headlights trained on the porch. He hadn’t been there in a long time but he knew there was a spare set of keys somewhere in the car. After a quick search he found them in the glove compartment, zipped his jacket all the way up to his chin and got out of the vehicle.

The fierce north wind whipped snow in his face. The temperature, which had dipped drastically since he’d left Raleigh, North Carolina, for Bryson City, a little town near the Tennessee border, chilled him to the bone. His father’s recent death had been such a shock to the system he wasn’t his normal rational self. Otherwise, he would have worn a heavier coat— perhaps rethought this entire trip completely.

He unlocked the cabin’s front door and took a couple steps inside where he automatically reached for the light switch. He pressed the flat panel but was rewarded with no illumination whatsoever. Then he remembered the alarm and rushed over to the unit but found even the green ready light was out. Power failure. He then made his way to the kitchen where he found a flashlight in the drawer next to the stove. Switching it on, he headed to check the breaker box in the laundry room at the back of the cabin. It was as he suspected—there was no electricity in the cabin. Probably downed power lines due to the blizzard, he thought grimly. He now regretted not having backup generators put in the cabin according to his parents’ objections. They liked the austerity of the place. Said they came to the mountains to get away from the modern world as much as possible. Besides, they frequented the cabin more often in warmer months than in the dead of winter, so they figured they didn’t need a generator.

Next he checked the cubbyhole in the mudroom where his parents kept logs for the fireplace. Empty. That did it. He would not survive the night in a cabin without electricity in the middle of a snowstorm, not when there wasn’t the remotest prospect of a roaring fire.

He made his way back through the cabin and out the front door. He suddenly remembered glancing at the fuel gauge in the SUV before he had gotten out earlier and again realized that the tank was nearly empty. He laughed roughly. His dad would have probably gotten a good laugh out of this experience for years. Be prepared for anything, he’d always said. Well, Dad, Colton thought, I wasn’t prepared for you dying. That kind of threw me for a loop.

He climbed back in the SUV. Luckily, he hadn’t been in the cabin long enough for the snow to freeze on the windshield. The wipers cleared away the accumulation, and he spied the cabin across the pond. Lights shone in its windows. The property belonged to Adam Eckhart. His parents had been reluctant to tell him of the purchase three years ago when his biggest business rival had “coincidentally” moved next door to the Riley family cabin. Colton had simply laughed at the time because he rarely went to the mountains. His parents had frequented the cabin more than anyone else in their family.