Kathleen Korbel - Sail Away

Lilly The Plain One. Lilly The Brain. Lilly The Plain One. Lilly The Brain. Lilly, who had far too much pragmatism to court dreams of wonder. And here she was, tormenting herself with the touch and smell and sound of the very kind of man she’d built those walls to protect herself against. Pretty girls could expect to see an answering spark in the eyes of a man like Ethan. Lovely women with deep, melting eyes and the kind of figure that seemed poured over a perfect frame and set to movement with the wind. Lilly hadn’t been poured. She’d been built. Thank heavens his eyes were closed again. That way he couldn’t see the tears that wouldn’t dissipate. This was so stupid, Lilly thought. She knew better. She’d known so much better her whole life that she’d structured everything so she wouldn’t even be tempted. Tempted to fall in love with a man she could never have.... Letter to Reader Dear Reader, Hey, look us over—our brand-new cover makes Silhouette Desire look more desirable than ever! And between the covers we’re continuing to offer those powerful, passionate and provocative love stories featuring rugged heroes and spirited heroines. Mary Lynn Baxter returns to Desire and locates our November MAN OF THE MONTH in the Heart of Texas, where a virgin heroine is wary of involvement with a younger man. More heart-pounding excitement can be found in the next installment of the Desire miniseries TEXAS CATTLEMAN’S CLUB with Secret Agent Dad by Metsy Hingle. Undercover agent Blake Hunt loses his memory but gains adorable twin babies—and the heart of lovely widow Josie Walters! Ever-popular Dixie Browning presents a romance in which opposites attract in The Bride-in-Law. Elizabeth Bevarly offers you A Doctor in Her Stocking, another entertaining story in her miniseries FROM HERE TO MATERNITY. The Daddy Search is Shawna Delacorte’s story of a woman’s search for the man she believes fathered her late sister’s child. And a hero and heroine are in jeopardy on an island paradise in Kathleen Korbel’s Sail Away. Each and every month, Silhouette Desire offers you six exhilarating journeys into the seductive world of romance. So make a commitment to sensual love and treat yourself to all six! Enjoy! Joan Marlow Golan Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire Please address questions and book requests to: Silhouette Reader Service U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269 Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3 Title Page Sail Away Kathleen Korbel www.millsandboon.co.uk About the Author KATHLEEN KORBEL lives in St. Louis with her husband and two children. She devotes her time to enjoying her family, writing, avoiding anyone who tries to explain the intricacies of the computer and searching for the fabled housecleaning fairies. She’s had her best luck with her writing—from which she’s garnered a Romantic Times Magazine award for Best New Category Author of 1987, the 1990 Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense and the 1990 and 1992 RITA Awards for Best Long Category Romance—and with her family, without whom she couldn’t have managed any of the rest. She hasn’t given up on those fairies, though. Dedication To Jill Marie Landis, Mahalo nui And to Ethan. Acknowledgments Thanks for going through all this to make me feel better. 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 Epilogue Copyright

Lilly The Plain One. Lilly The Brain.

Lilly, who had far too much pragmatism to court dreams of wonder. And here she was, tormenting herself with the touch and smell and sound of the very kind of man she’d built those walls to protect herself against.

Pretty girls could expect to see an answering spark in the eyes of a man like Ethan. Lovely women with deep, melting eyes and the kind of figure that seemed poured over a perfect frame and set to movement with the wind.

Lilly hadn’t been poured. She’d been built.

Thank heavens his eyes were closed again.

That way he couldn’t see the tears that wouldn’t dissipate. This was so stupid, Lilly thought. She knew better. She’d known so much better her whole life that she’d structured everything so she wouldn’t even be tempted.

Tempted to fall in love with a man she could never have....

Dear Reader,

Hey, look us over—our brand-new cover makes Silhouette Desire look more desirable than ever! And between the covers we’re continuing to offer those powerful, passionate and provocative love stories featuring rugged heroes and spirited heroines.

Mary Lynn Baxter returns to Desire and locates our November MAN OF THE MONTH in the Heart of Texas, where a virgin heroine is wary of involvement with a younger man.

More heart-pounding excitement can be found in the next installment of the Desire miniseries TEXAS CATTLEMAN’S CLUB with Secret Agent Dad by Metsy Hingle. Undercover agent Blake Hunt loses his memory but gains adorable twin babies—and the heart of lovely widow Josie Walters!

Ever-popular Dixie Browning presents a romance in which opposites attract in The Bride-in-Law. Elizabeth Bevarly offers you A Doctor in Her Stocking, another entertaining story in her miniseries FROM HERE TO MATERNITY. The Daddy Search is Shawna Delacorte’s story of a woman’s search for the man she believes fathered her late sister’s child. And a hero and heroine are in jeopardy on an island paradise in Kathleen Korbel’s Sail Away.

Each and every month, Silhouette Desire offers you six exhilarating journeys into the seductive world of romance.

So make a commitment to sensual love and treat yourself to all six!

Enjoy!

Joan Marlow Golan

Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269 Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

Sail Away

Kathleen Korbel

www.millsandboon.co.uk

KATHLEEN KORBEL

lives in St. Louis with her husband and two children. She devotes her time to enjoying her family, writing, avoiding anyone who tries to explain the intricacies of the computer and searching for the fabled housecleaning fairies. She’s had her best luck with her writing—from which she’s garnered a Romantic Times Magazine award for Best New Category Author of 1987, the 1990 Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense and the 1990 and 1992 RITA Awards for Best Long Category Romance—and with her family, without whom she couldn’t have managed any of the rest. She hasn’t given up on those fairies, though.

To Jill Marie Landis, Mahalo nui

And to Ethan.

Thanks for going through all this

to make me feel better.

Prologue

Noah Campbell was ready for a hot bath. He’d just spent the past four days convincing a large herd of cattle that they really did want to head up to higher pastures, and he was exhausted. He was also filthy, bruised, battered, and happy as hell to be home.

“This sure ain’t Hollywood, is it, boss?” his foreman asked as they guided their weary mounts across the Bitter River.

Lifting his hat to wipe the sweat from his forehead, Noah grinned like a kid. “Thank God for small favors.”

Not that Noah minded his other job in Hollywood. After all, being the world’s number-one box-office draw under the name of Cameron Ross provided him with the cash to run his ranch the way he wanted. Heck, it had provided him with the ranch in the first place. But it also made it tough to escape to his real home without hordes of paparazzi trailing him.

To that end, he’d sent his cousin Ethan in the opposite direction the way he always did, so the press, long since taught to see the movie star Cameron Ross in Ethan Campbell’s similarly rugged features, would follow and record. Noah, slouched in his saddle with a four-day growth of beard and an urgent need of a bath, could relax.