Shirley Hailstock - His Love Match

Will he be the last bachelor standing?

Wedding planner Diana Greer still believes in happily-ever-after. She’s just given up finding her own dream man. Until an internet dating site matches her up with her ideal mate. Too bad he’s someone she already knows…. In college, Scott Thomas was the big man on campus—arrogant and full of himself. So why is one kiss from the high-flying bachelor making Diana’s toes curl?

A failed trip to the altar has cured Scott of believing in storybook endings. So he’s stunned when someone meets his unattainable requirements for romance. The brainy bookworm he knew has morphed into a beautiful, desirable woman. But Diana isn’t ready to trust him. And then Scott unveils his secret. Now Diana wonders if she’ll forever plan strangers’ weddings and never her own….

Diana didn’t wait for an answer. She turned on her heel and marched up the sanctuary aisle.

Scott caught her at the door and turned her to face him. “There is only one lie in my profile,” he said.

“Which one?” she asked.

“This one.” He pulled her into his arms and delivered a kiss that curled her toes. Diana thought that phrase was the stuff of books or movies. It wasn’t a real condition. People’s toes didn’t curl. But hers did. Her arms went around him. This wasn’t like the kiss at the wedding rehearsal. There they’d had an audience, and even though she hadn’t remembered they were present, Scott had. Here there was no one. They were together and alone. His mouth took hers in the sight of stained glass windows, vaulted ceilings and the polished wood of the entry hall. Diana didn’t think of where they were. She didn’t think at all. She felt. She let his mouth tease hers and sweep deeply into a recess of pleasure that had her groaning with delight.

SHIRLEY HAILSTOCK

began her writing life as a lover of reading. She likes nothing better than to find a quiet corner where she can get lost in a book, explore new worlds and visit places she never expected to see. As an author, she can not only visit those places, but she can be the heroine of her own stories. The author of over thirty novels and novellas, including her electronic editions, Shirley has received numerous awards, including the Waldenbooks Bestselling Romance Award and Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. Shirley’s books have appeared on BlackBoard, Essence and Library Journal bestseller lists. She is a past president of Romance Writers of America.

His Love Match

Shirley

Hailstock

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

Dear Reader,

When you hear the word bride, don’t happy emotions and images of a white gown with a long train come to mind? Your wedding is the happiest day of your life, and the planning of that event is worth all the trials you go through to get to it. In His Love Match, our heroine Diana gets to experience that happy feeling every time she helps a bride make the memories of a lifetime.

However, for Diana, those memories are on hold until an old college friend enters her life in the most unusual way. I hope you enjoy a good wedding.

Happy endings,

Shirley Hailstock

I’d like to thank Hilda of the Hildarling Bridal Shop.

Hilda was kind enough to give me a job in her shop when

I was thinking of buying the establishment.

While I never went into that business, it was great fun

and proved a valuable experience for this and my other

novels regarding brides, grooms, weddings and the

accoutrements of marriage.

To my sister Marilyn for all the joys and memories

we made and for all her acts of kindness.

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

It can’t be him.

Diana knew him. No computer would do this to her. Not twice in one day. Diana Greer sat at the table of the local coffee shop across from Princeton University. Her usual unshakable demeanor had just taken a hit. The place was geared up for the lunch crowd, and both students and white-shirted lawyer types poured in like Christmas shoppers just before closing on December twenty-fourth. Glancing through the wall of people, her gaze darted around bodies, hoping against hope that what she looked for wouldn’t be there. Her heart sank when the human sea cleared for a second and confirmation forced a groan from her throat. He had the DVD in his hand. The one they had agreed to both carry as identification. The cover photo faced her, despite his hand cutting a wedge out of the romantic couple. There was no mistake. It could be a coincidence, but Diana doubted it. It was her suggestion that they identify themselves using this method. She’d seen it in more than one movie. Usually it was a rose or a book. She hadn’t thought the suggestion would prove so close to the Hollywood version of a couple who met online actually knowing each other. She could kick herself for not insisting on a photograph before they met. But not knowing what he looked like had been intriguing, romantic even. And they were only meeting for lunch. Opinions on vanity could be judged then.

She had to get out of the shop before he saw her.

Glancing at the ceiling she cursed the universe for its wretched sense of humor. “This is not funny,” she muttered. People at a nearby table looked to see who she was talking to. She smiled quickly and dropped her head, choosing to stare at the golden liquid in her cup. Maybe there was some way she could get out without him seeing her. Diana looked from side to side. She was hemmed in. The tables were very close together and crowded with patrons. She knew it would be rude to leave without talking to the man she’d spent three months corresponding with through email. But if anyone deserved being stood up it was Scott Thomas.

He looked around, stretching his neck although he already stood head and shoulders above everyone else in the place. He was obviously looking for someone—her. Diana looked down as he almost made eye contact with her. Instinctively she knew it was too late. He’d seen her. And her copy of You’ve Got Mail lay square and center on the table in front of the chair she saved for him—one she’d stopped three people from taking. She wished she had something to hide the DVD with, a book or scarf—even a napkin would help. But she had none of those things handy and Scott was already weaving his way through the crowd toward her.

“Diana?” He frowned, coming to stand in front of her. “Is that you?” He deliberately slipped his DVD into his suit pocket. “What are you doing here? I thought you were meeting someone for lunch?”

Of course, he knew she was meeting someone. Hadn’t she told him so this very morning? Diana raised her chin and looked him in the eye. It can’t be him, she told herself again, as if the thought could transform this man who’d stood in her office only an hour ago into someone else— anyone else. Just, please, God, she prayed. Not him.

In her office that morning their encounter had been less than friendly. She wasn’t in the mood for another one. Scott had come to the office to persuade her to move out and find other accommodations for the business she’d run there for the past five years. Their encounter had been unfriendly, and Diana was reminded of the sarcasm he’d subjected her to while they both attended the university that was only a few steps from where they stood now. Nothing appeared to have changed in the intervening years. He was still on the opposite side of everything she did, said or wanted.