Christyne Butler - His Destiny Bride

“Just that we never ended up...you know.”

Yeah, he knew.

He also knew that unless they put a screeching halt to whatever this was, or could be, they’d only be asking for trouble.

A lot of trouble.

There was enough upheaval at the headquarters as it was. Add the fact that he and his daughter were barely speaking. And Katie’s breakup with that jerk at the end of the summer still had to be hurting—

Whoa, wait a minute. Is that what last night was about? Looking for someone—

Nolan pushed away that thought before it could fully form, chalking up the vile taste in the back of his throat to the amount of booze still in his system. “We don’t want to screw things up—to change anything. It wouldn’t do any good if we—”

Damn, this was coming out all wrong. His frustration spilled out in a growl. “I’m trying to do what’s best for both of us. Keeping what happened last night just between us is the right thing to do. Agreed?”

She opened her mouth, the tip of her tongue darting out to lick at her lips. The simple action had the blood rushing from his pounding head southward.

He shifted the heavy overcoat in front of him. He needed to get out of here soon or he was going to forget all the crap he’d just said and—

“Agreed.”

Her quiet acceptance should’ve made him happy, but her soft tone, and the fact she kept her gaze lowered and centered on the bed, bothered him.

More than he was going to admit, which made no sense at all because he’d gotten what he wanted. Which meant he should get out of here. Now.

“So, I’ll see you...ah, at the office. On Monday.”

“Right. Monday.”

“Katie, I’m—”

“Don’t.” Her green eyes blazed. “Apologizing is the worst thing you could do right now. Worse than sneaking out on me.”

He should’ve known she’d figured out that had been his first idea.

And he wasn’t going to say he was sorry. How could he when everything in him wanted to go right back to that bed and be with her again?

“I didn’t plan on this—” Nolan backed up to the door. He reached behind him and twisted the knob. “I don’t want you to think—I’m not—I just wasn’t expecting it to be you.”

Katie turned away, biting hard at her bottom lip. She remained silent for so long he wondered if he should just get out of here.

Then she raised her head, and tossed those beautiful red curls back over one bare shoulder. “That’s okay. I wasn’t expecting it to be you, either.”

Chapter Three Contents Cover Introduction Girl, get over it! Another familiar refrain, one she’d repeated daily to herself over the last few weeks, echoed in her head. Getting back to normal—whatever that might be— was harder than she thought. That morning after Nolan left, she’d cleaned up the room as best she could. She then hurried home, determined to live up to the agreement they made. To make sure everything stayed the same. Between her and Nolan. Her and the Murphys. Her and the job she loved so much. Easier said than done. Yes, her actions had been dumb that night. Not just dumb, but careless, too. Hey, it wasn’t the first time she’d done something stupid in her never-ending search for— Nope, don’t use the L word. What happened that night had been a combination of lust, booze and foolishness. She’d been lucky the man she’d fallen into bed with had been someone like Nolan. To allow herself to think one night of great sex would lead to … to something … was crazy. He’d made his feelings about their night together clear when he said they should go on with their lives as if nothing had happened. Nothing. Yeah, right. Welcome to Destiny: Where fate leads to falling in love Title Page His Destiny Bride Christyne Butler www.millsandboon.co.uk About the Author CHRISTYNE BUTLER is a USA TODAY bestselling author who fell in love with romance novels while serving in the US Navy and started writing her own stories in 2002. She writes contemporary romances that are full of life, love and a hint of laughter. She lives with her family in central Massachusetts and loves to hear from her readers at www.christynebutler.com . Dedication To my sisters Peggy and Jennifer and the sisters of my heart, the Gamma Theta Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi. Thank you for letting me borrow your names to populate the characters, businesses and locations in my books … The yellow roses are always for you! 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 Extract Copyright

A shot of rum didn’t go with today’s festivities. Nolan didn’t care. He needed something stronger than punch or champagne mimosas.

The Murphy family log home was teeming on this chilly yet sunny November afternoon with what he guessed was most of the female population of Destiny. Katie included.

His vantage point at the bar on the far side of the large living room allowed him to keep an eye on her while watching the time-honored rituals associated with a new baby on the way. Or two babies, as was the case today.

The dual baby shower for Fay and Laurie, his sisters-in-law, was in full swing despite the half foot of fresh snow outside. Katie had stepped in to help complete plans for the event after his mother fell on a patch of ice last week and broke her arm. But Katie would’ve been here anyway.

She was friends with Fay and Laurie. Friends with everyone in his family.

Friends with him.

At least they had been.

But since they’d accidentally slept together two weeks ago, she rarely looked at him.

Hell, she hardly spoke to him unless it was work related. Even then, she used the fewest number of syllables possible.

Something he wasn’t used to, because Katie talked. A lot.

She liked to repeat herself, rearranging her words while saying the same thing, all to get her point across. Usually because it took him and his brothers a few pseudosmacks to the back of the head to acknowledge she was right.

So her silence, especially today when she hadn’t yet uttered a sound in his direction, bugged the crap out of him. He debated if he should corner her.

Demand to know how long she planned to treat him like a polite stranger.

It seemed like a good idea.

Then again, his last good idea was to spend the night with a bewitching creature who turned out to be—

“A beer. My kingdom for a beer.” Adam’s words cut into Nolan’s thoughts as he joined him, setting a glass of punch on the bar’s smooth surface. “Ah, I see the captain is enjoying a bit of the Captain.” He grinned. “You going to do that straight or add some soda for taste?”

Nolan stashed the booze away and grabbed a can of diet yuck and a cold beer for his brother from the minifridge below the counter. “Add some soda. And stop calling me the captain.”

“Hey, you pulled off that pirate guise better than Johnny what’s-his-name. After seeing the pictures, you got to expect the nickname’s going to stick for a while.”

Yeah, it would. His brothers would make sure of it.

“So, you never did share any details of the bash at the Blue Creek. How was it?”

Nolan added enough soda to his glass to be respectable. “I told you. I told everyone. It was—”

“Fine. So, I heard,” Adam cut him off. He leaned in close, dropping his voice. “Who’d you hook up with that night?”

He took a quick swallow, keeping his poker face—thankfully he was the king among his brothers at cards—firmly in place. “What makes you think I did?”

“You didn’t?”

“Did I say that?”

“You haven’t said anything...yet.”

Setting his glass back on the bar top, Nolan returned Adam’s stare.