C.J. Carmichael - Secrets Between Them

Dear Reader,

Thank you for returning for the final story on Summer Island, a locale I first introduced this June, in the Signature Select Saga novel, You Made Me Love You.

In this story we see what happens to the last two of the forget-me-not friends—Jennifer March and Gabe Brooke. Jennifer, the loyal best friend, and Gabe, the spurned lover, have both been marked by the death of their friend, famous jazz singer Simone DeRosier. Finally it is time for them to deal with the past and find their own happily-ever-after.

The inspiration for the bed-and-breakfast where most of this story takes place came from a lavender farm I visited in Kelowna, British Columbia, with my stepmom Gwen and daughter Tessa. It was amazing to see acres of lavender growing on the hills above Okanagan Lake. All I needed to do to fit this place into my story was to replace the lake with the Pacific Ocean and to add a sheep farm on the eastern boundary. And there it was…Lavender Farm Bed and Breakfast.

I hope you enjoy returning to Summer Island this one last time. If you would like to write or send e-mail, I would be delighted to hear from you through my Web site at www.cjcarmichael.com. Or send mail to the following Canadian address: #1754 - 246 Stewart Green S.W., Calgary, Alberta, T3H 3C8 Canada.

Sincerely,

C.J. Carmichael

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Former chartered accountant turned fiction author C.J. Carmichael has published twenty novels with Harlequin Books. Highlights include a RITA ®Award nomination for her Harlequin Superromance novel, The Fourth Child (which was also a Romantic Times BOOKclub Top Pick); a romantic-suspense career achievement nomination from Romantic Times BOOKclub; and a nomination for her Harlequin Intrigue title, Same Place, Same Time as a Romantic Times BOOKclub Reviewers’ Choice Best Harlequin Intrigue of 2000.

C.J. lives in Calgary, Alberta, with two teenage daughters, and a dog and a cat. Please visit her at www.cjcarmichael.com.

For my daughter Tess and stepmom Gwen,

in memory of a lovely summer afternoon.

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

EPILOGUE

LEANING AGAINST THE FERRY railing, Nick Lancaster squinted at the horizon and wondered if the faint outline of land ahead was Summer Island. His adrenaline surged, making him as lighthearted as a kid at Christmas.

Almost there.

Finally.

If the island weren’t so bloody remote, he would have been there sooner. But it had taken him more than a week to drive from New York City across the country, then over the border to Vancouver. Of course, he could have flown, but he hated flying and besides, he liked having his own vehicle. He’d bought his Land Rover with the royalties from his first book and there was an attachment there that amused his friends and family to no end.

Once in Vancouver, he’d caught the ferry and began the forty-minute crossing to his final destination—the vacation home of deceased jazz singer Simone DeRosier.

By now Nick knew almost everything there was to know about the musician: her early childhood in Hartford, Connecticut, her distant relationship with her professor father, her marriage to communication magnate Harrison Kincaid and all the details of her fabulously successful career.

Then there was her death. It had been reported as a suicide initially and that was what had initially attracted him to her story.

Why would a world-famous star with a doting husband and a young daughter take her own life?

Turned out she hadn’t. She’d been killed. And with that turn of events, he’d been hooked. For the past twelve months he’d devoted himself to this project. Still there were unanswered questions.

Summer Island had to be the key. Simone had spent her vacations here, from when she was a teenager until the day of her death, three years ago. She’d met her best friends on Summer Island, the so-called forget-me-not friends she’d immortalized in her Grammy-winning song of the same name. Including Simone there’d been six of them at the beginning.

Now only four were still alive, and three of the four lived on the island. Nick intended to talk to them all, but one in particular had captured his interest.

The outside world didn’t know much about Jennifer March. Somehow her friendship with the big star had escaped the media scrutiny of the others.

Nick had first gotten wind of her in an old article in Vanity Fair. Simone had mentioned a friend, Jennifer, whom she loved like a sister. Later, he’d found a photograph taken after one of Simone’s New York City concerts. The star had her arm around a pretty blond woman. Usually Simone was photographed with men, so this was a real aberration.

The blonde hadn’t been identified in the accompanying article, but Nick’s curiosity had been roused as soon as he’d seen it. Could this be the Jennifer he’d been looking for?

It turned out his hunch had been right and his subsequent research had led him straight to Summer Island. He’d had a break when he discovered that Jennifer’s family owned a bed-and-breakfast on the island. It had seemed like the perfect omen.

He’d asked his agent to book him a room at Lavender Farm for the month of September. Michele, of course, had been only too happy to oblige. She was as excited about this book as he was.

The little blob on the horizon was bigger now. Nick looked around the deck and noticed a man standing a few yards to his left. “Excuse me. Is that Summer Island?”

“Sure is.”

“That’s what I thought,” Nick said. “Thanks.”

He started to head below deck and as he passed by, the other man smiled. “I hope you enjoy your visit. Summer Island is a pretty special place.”

“Yeah,” Nick replied. “So I’ve heard.”

There was something familiar about the man, but by the time Nick had gone to the washroom, then ordered a coffee, he’d forgotten all about him.