Marion Ekholm - An Act of Love

She’s not getting married. She’s only engaged!

Marley Roman should have already known that romantic plots hatched with her best friend Dede were doomed. But a fake engagement seemed like the only way for her, as the last old maid in the bunch, to endure her youngest sister’s wedding. Armed with a phony ring and a plausible story about a fiancé loosely based on her overly friendly cowboy-turned-actor neighbor, Brant Westfield, she was ready to face—and fool—her family. But between her ex-boyfriend Richard’s unexpected role in the wedding party and Brant’s sudden arrival to join the fun, the holes in her plan were growing…and multiplying!

“That our audience?”

Brant pointed to the porch, indicating the people collecting there.

Marley nodded.

“Break a leg,” he said and pulled her into his arms. “Relax,” he whispered against her ear. “You want to convince your family we’re engaged, you’ll have to loosen up. I may be good, but you’ll need to cooperate a little. I can’t carry the whole show by myself.”

“You arrogant…” She stopped when his lips brushed hers. The kiss, if that’s what it was, turned out to be very short. A disappointment, actually. “You call that a kiss?” she asked breathlessly.

He turned, dragging her toward the porch. As he smiled and waved, he said under his breath, “That’s what I give mannequins. You want something better, you’d better put some life into those bones.”

Dear Reader,

Thank you for choosing An Act of Love. I started this story a long time ago with Marley going back to her hometown in Pennsylvania for a wedding and reconnecting with Richard, her love in college. Well, by about chapter seven, I was in love with Brant and couldn’t figure out how I could continue with my first premise. I put the story aside. But the idea kept coming back to me, and I decided to try again. Eventually, Marley came around and fell for Brant as well, but you can see through the story it was a difficult challenge to get her on board. With Brant’s help, we showed her he was the one for her even though Richard wasn’t such a bad guy.

In the first go-around, I didn’t include Brant’s viewpoint. Can you imagine not letting an “actor” with an ego keep his opinions to himself? The reasoning behind not having a male viewpoint was simple: if I included one then the reader would know immediately who the hero was. I wanted everyone, including Marley, to think Richard had possibilities. Brant got a little pushy so I gave in and let him have his say.

Do I sound as though my characters rule what goes on in my books? The best possible scenario is yes. I love it when their voices take over in my mind. I can see them, hear them and empathize with any problems they may be experiencing. However, they never let me strong-arm them into something they know is wrong and often won’t allow me to sleep.

Marley plays my favorite music on her guitar, and I share her delight that Brant is able to sing and play music with her, as well.

I hope you’ve had a few laughs as well as poignant moments and maybe shared some similar experiences. Reach me through marionekholm.comor heartwarmingauthors.blogspot.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Marion

An Act of Love

Marion Ekholm

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MARION EKHOLM

was writing stories and reading them to her friends back in fifth grade, in Plainville, Connecticut. She always wanted to be either a writer or an artist. Neither one seemed like a possibility in her day, when most women became either teachers or secretaries. But she had determination on her side and a mother willing to help with her dreams. She earned her BFA at Rhode Island School of Design and became a lace designer in New York City, met her husband and moved to New Jersey. Years later, she took stock of her life. She had a career, two children, a beautiful home and opportunities to travel extensively—but she’d never written anything other than letters. She began writing for real and eventually became an editor of a newspaper and sold numerous short stories and magazine articles. Thanks to Mills & Boon Heartwarming, she’s now a novelist. Her second novel, An Act of Love, follows her first, Just Like Em. She’s found signing her books and talking to people who’ve read them an absolute delight.

This book is dedicated to Jane Toombs who died this March, 2014. Jane introduced me to Romance Writers of America when RWA was in its infancy by sponsoring a romance writers conference with Ruby Frankel in New York state. Thanks to their efforts, Hudson Valley Romance Writers came into being. Jane asked me to be the newsletter editor for the group. There I learned about deadlines, writing articles, interviewing and a host of other skills necessary to becoming a writer. Over the years, she not only critiqued my writing but also offered friendship that led to many delightful trips as roommates to RWA national conferences. Thank you, Jane, for your dedication in helping people learn their craft.

Acknowledgments

I have wonderful opportunities to take classes at Glendale Community College where I work. David Thibodeaux, my instructor at GCC for The History of Jazz and Rock Music and Culture, instilled in me a passion for all types of music.

Chuck Hulihan taught my acoustic guitar class at GCC. Even though I should have started a hundred years earlier, I learned about the dedication and enthusiasm required to play well. So much of Marley’s love for playing the guitar comes from those lessons.

Hank Glogosh, who helped with his knowledge of Pennsylvania.

Sheryl Zajechowski, the acquisition editor for Brilliance Audio, answered all my questions about narrating books, Brant’s profession.

To Shelley Mosley and Sandra Lagesse—my best friends, mentors and critique partners—a heartfelt thank-you.

Additional thanks to Mills & Boon and its editors whom I’ve been fortunate to meet or work with over the internet, especially Paula Eykelhof, Victoria Curran, Kathryn Lye and Beverley Sotolov. I really appreciate all your help and encouragement.

Love to my daughter and granddaughters for their support. And special thanks to my son, David, who answered so many of the questions I had about acting. His experiences in the theater in college and after were very helpful.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Acknowledgments

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

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

AFTER WORK ON Friday night, Marley Roman and her friend Dede Sanchez met for drinks at a downtown bar in Phoenix to escape the July heat before heading home. Marley pushed her long hair away from her neck to let the cool air-conditioning sweep around her.

“Here’s to you, Lindy.” Marley lifted her oversize margarita to her lips and licked at the salt before taking a sip. “Thanks for beating me to the altar.” Saturday morning she’d be flying to her youngest sister’s wedding. Memories of the last sister’s ceremony still haunted her. How could she handle the next week and keep her sanity?

“I’ve never seen you so glum.” Dede placed her glass of wine on the bar. “Why not avoid this ritual? Tell your family you’ve come down with the plague or something.”