Heidi Rice - Maid of Dishonour

When she’s very, very bad…

Gina Carrington knows exactly how to have fun! But when she sleeps with her friend’s brother, the off-limits Carter, she quickly discovers she’s overstepped the mark.

…life is so much more fun!

Years later, Gina sees Carter again to prepare for her friend’s wedding, and she can’t help but wonder what the harm would be in one more night…. He’s available, gorgeous and behind that laid-back Southern charm there’s a wild side even she can’t tame! But Gina has secrets which she can’t hide forever—will their chemistry be strong enough to keep Carter by her side when her secrets come to light?

‘Didn’t you ever wonder what it would be like between us … without all the emotional garbage tripping us up?’

Emotional garbage.

She heard the words, and saw the harsh cynicism behind the hunger.

‘Yes, I have,’ she answered honestly, because there wasn’t much point being coy when her desire had outstripped her caution a good half an hour ago.

Was she seriously considering this? And why couldn’t she seem to consider anything else, such as running off screaming into the night, which had to be the smarter, safer, more sensible option?

He placed both his hands on her waist and drew her off the stool, until she stood in his embrace, that spicy musky scent intoxicating her. ‘I have a whole hotel suite upstairs, if you want to find out the answer.’

Dear Reader,

MODERN TEMPTED™ is such an exciting line to write for— fresh, flirty, funny, sexy and just a little bit wicked—but even I was unprepared for how much fun I was going to have when I was invited to join forces with Aimee Carson, Kimberly Lang and Amy Andrews to create our first MODERN TEMPTED continuity.

The process of pinging emails back and forth between Alaska, Alabama, Brisbane and London—and even spending one sunny afternoon in Anaheim brainstorming (with Ms. Andrews there in spirit) at a writers’ conference—was almost as much of a hoot as the stories we created, following four former college roomies and their rocky roads to romance (with some seriously scorching guys) during one long, hot, sensational summer!

Now, I’m not gonna lie to you, the brainstorming sessions turned out to be somewhat more carefree than actually writing my story—especially when Carter, my tortured Southern hottie, and Gina, my reckless British bad girl, insisted on playing hard to get. But hey, what else is new! After all the hard work, I hope the end result is as fresh, flirty, free-spirited and generally fabulous as you, dear reader, have come to expect from the MODERN TEMPTED experience.

I certainly think so—and that includes the other three brilliant books in THE WEDDING SEASON.

Be fabulous and enjoy!

Heidi Rice

. S. Heidi loves to hear from readers—you can contact her at heidi@heidi-rice.com. For all the news about her books, check out her website at www.heidi-rice.com.

THE WEDDING SEASON

Look out for Marnie’s story this month in Last Groom Standing by Kimberly Lang!

Don’t miss Reese’s and Cassie’s stories, out last month!

It’s a reunion to remember—with sizzling, scandalous, and very surprising consequences …

Maid of Dishonor

Heidi Rice

www.millsandboon.co.uk

HEIDI RICEwas born and bred and still lives in London, England. She has two boys who love to bicker, a wonderful husband who, luckily for everyone, has loads of patience, and a supportive and ever-growing British/ French/Irish/American family. As much as Heidi adores “the Big Smoke,” she also loves America, and every two years or so she and her best friend leave hubby and kids behind and Thelma and Louise it across the States for a couple of weeks (although they always leave out the driving off a cliff bit). She’s been a film buff since her early teens, and a romance junkie for almost as long. She indulged her first love by being a film reviewer for ten years. Then a few years ago she decided to spice up her life by writing romance. Discovering the fantastic sisterhood of romance writers (both published and unpublished) in Britain and America made it a wild and wonderful journey to her first Harlequin Mills & Boon ®novel.

Heidi loves to hear from readers—you can email her at heidi@heidi-rice.com, or visit her website, www.heidi-rice.com.

This and other titles by Heidi Rice are available in eBook format—check out www.millsandboon.co.uk

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To my partners in crime—Aimee Carson, Kimberly Lang and Amy Andrews—for being such fabulous authors, such an inspiration to work with and such cool women to boot. We rock, ladies!

Contents

Prologue

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

Excerpt

PROLOGUE

Hillbrook College Campus, Upstate New York, ten years ago.

‘It sounds awesome, Marnie, but Carter and Missy shouldn’t get overwhelmed by all the glamour of their wedding and forget the important part—that they love each other.’

Reese’s words of whimsy drifted into Gina Carrington’s consciousness—through the cloying perfume of hyacinth blossoms that infused the back porch, and the haze of one too many glasses of vintage champagne—and didn’t improve her melancholy mood one iota.

Can we get off this topic now, please?

Her cheeks heated as a heartening flash of temper pierced through the hollow feeling of loss that had dogged her for days. Ever since she’d made the biggest mistake of her life. And in a life filled to bursting with mistakes of one sort or another that was quite an achievement.

‘That won’t be a problem. They’re devoted to each other and they have been for years. When Carter proposed, Missy and I stayed up all night talking about how wonderful it was that we’d be sisters for ever.’ Marnie laughed at her own observation, the high musical lilt clearing the fog from Gina’s head like a knife slicing through flesh.

Funny to think she’d once enjoyed the sound of Marnie’s laugh. Marnie had been so anxious and serious and unassertive when she’d first arrived at Hillbrook. It had taken them all a while to realise her perfect Southern manners had actually been a disguise for extreme terror. Gina had loved hearing that smoky laugh in the months that followed because it had come to symbolise Marnie’s emancipation from the people she herself had described as ‘the family that feminism forgot’.

But Gina wasn’t loving it much now.

‘So what’s Missy’s dress like?’ Reese asked, still humouring her.

‘Just so perfect,’ Marnie purred, her Southern accent thicker than molasses. ‘It’s ivory silk. She’s going to be a traditional bride.’ Marnie flashed a smile Gina’s way. ‘I know not everyone here approves, but I think it’s so romantic that her and Carter have decided to stay pure until their wedding night.’