Kristan Higgins - Anything For You

Before you get down on bent knee...

...you should be pretty darn sure the answer will be yes. For ten years, Connor O’Rourke has been waiting for Jessica Dunn to take their on-again, off-again relationship public, and he thinks the time has come. His restaurant is thriving, she’s got her dream job at Blue Heron Vineyard—it’s the perfect time to get married.

When he pops the question, however, her answer is a fond but firm no. If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Jess has her hands full with her younger brother, who’s now living with her full-time, and a great career after years of waitressing. What she and Connor have is perfect: friends with an excellent benefits package. Besides, with her difficult past (and reputation), she’s positive married life isn’t for her.

But this time, Connor says it’s all or nothing. If she doesn’t want to marry him, he’ll find someone who does. Easier said than done, given that he’s never loved anyone but her. And maybe Jessica isn’t quite as sure as she thinks...

Praise for Kristan Higgins’s Blue Heron series

THE BEST MAN

~Named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews~

“A deliriously funny story.... The Best Man is Kristan Higgins’s best book—and that’s saying a lot.”

—Eloisa James

“You’ll adore every bit of this story...Higgins’s latest is sexy, screwy, funny and fulfilling—a simply radiant read.”

—USA TODAY

“Emotional resonance balances zany antics in a powerful story that feels completely real.”

—Publishers Weekly, starred review

THE PERFECT MATCH

“Higgins offers readers a journey filled with tears and laughter and the best kind of sighs, proving she only gets better with each book.”

—New York Times

“Zingy dialog and hilarious asides...make this refreshing riff on the classic marriage-of-convenience plot a delightfully unorthodox, captivating winner.”

—Library Journal

WAITING ON YOU

“Fans should take care not to read this one in church or anywhere else a gut-busting laugh would be inappropriate.”

—New York Times Journal of Books

“Embodies everything fans of contemporary romance are looking for.”

—RT Book Reviews

IN YOUR DREAMS

“Higgins exhibits her storytelling artistry with another stunning romance that includes her trademark touches of laugh-out-loud humor and tear-jerking pathos.”

—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“A spirited, truly funny, and emotionally satisfying romance you won’t want to put down. Humor and heart in one stunning package.”

—Library Journal, starred review

Anything for You

Kristan Higgins

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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This book is dedicated to Catherine Arendt, my wonderful friend since our very first week of college, godmother to my daughter and a true-blue pal all the way.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Praise

Title Page

Dedication

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

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

EPILOGUE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

“GET UP, DOOFUS.”

Though the words were said with a smile, they definitely weren’t what Connor O’Rourke was hoping to hear. He was, after all, on a bent knee, holding up a diamond ring.

“I just asked you to marry me, Jess,” he said.

“And it was adorable.” She ruffled his hair. That didn’t bode well, either. “The answer is no, obviously. What were you thinking? And boy, I’m starving. Did you call for pizza yet?”

Okay. Granted, Jessica Dunn was...different. They’d been dating for the past eight months—or ten years, depending on how you counted it—and getting her to this moment had taken as much strategizing as, oh, D-Day. Still, he hadn’t quite anticipated this.

He tried again. “Jessica. Make me the happiest man on earth and say you’ll be my wife.”

“I heard you the first time, big guy. And I did wonder about all these candles. Nice touch, if a little on the fire-hazard side of things.”

“And your answer is?”

“You already know my answer, and you knew it long before you asked anything. Now come on, Connor. Upsy-daisy.”

He didn’t move. Jess sighed and folded her arms across her chest, giving him a patient look, eyebrow slightly raised.

Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out of her pocket, because she always checked her phone, no matter what they were doing. “Iron Man is killing all the bad guys in the cave,” she said, deadpan.

This was normal—her brother dictating text updates on whatever movie he and Gerard, his occasional babysitter, were watching. It could be funny. At the moment, not so much.

“Can we be serious here?” he asked.

“I’m really hungry, Con.”

“If I feed you, will you say yes?”

“No. So up you go. Let’s have a nice night, okay? Weren’t we gonna watch Game of Thrones?”

Hail Mary, full of grace, she was really turning him down.

He didn’t get up. With the hand that was not holding the little black velvet box, he rubbed his hand across his jaw. He’d shaved for this and everything. The diamond winked in the candlelight, taunting him.

“Look, Jess,” he said. “I’m tired of feeling like you pay me by the hour. I’m tired of you breaking up with me. Why don’t we get married and stay together for the rest of our lives?”

“You ever hear that expression, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?”

“Do you see me here on one knee with an expensive ring in my hand?”

“Yes. You’re hard to miss. And it’s very pretty. But I get the feeling you think you should love me for the simple reason that we’ve been sleeping together on and off for so many years—”

“No, it’s genuine love.”

“And secondly, you know how things are. I can’t marry you. I have Davey.”

“Well, I have Colleen, and she’s a lot more trouble than your brother.”

“Funny.” Jessica’s three feet away face was erasing any emotion. It was a face he’d seen all too often in the past two decades, as if she was saying, very politely, keep three feet away from me or you’ll lose an arm.

His knee was getting sore. “I know how things are with your brother, Jess. I don’t think you’re supposed to martyr yourself because of it.”