Elizabeth August - Cinderella Story Part 3

36 Hours Serial

As a devastating summer storm hits Grand Springs, Colorado, the next thirty-six hours will change the town and its residents forever….

Cinderella Story Part 3

When millionaire Alex Bennett waltzes into waitress Nina Lindstrom’s life and takes care of her son’s medical bills, it’s like a dream come true. Soon a whirlwind engagement leads to a marriage proposal, but it’s all about as real as a fairy tale—a business arrangement that’s a marriage in name only. Nina wants more out of life. Her feelings for Alex are real, but what will it take to melt Alex’s heart?

Don’t miss the next book in the continuing story of Grand Springs, Father and Child Reunion by Christine Flynn.

Dear Reader,

In the town of Grand Springs, Colorado, a devastating summer storm sets off a string of events that changes the lives of the residents forever….

Welcome to Mills & Boon exciting new digital serial, 36 Hours! In this thirty-six part serial share the stories of the residents of Grand Springs, Colorado, in the wake of a deadly storm.

With the power knocked out and mudslides washing over the roads, the town is plunged into darkness and the residents are forced to face their biggest fears—and find love against all odds.

Each week features a new story written by a variety of bestselling authors like Susan Mallery and Sharon Sala. The stories are published in three segments, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and the first segment of every three-part book is free, so you can get caught up in the mystery and drama of Grand Springs. And you can get to know a new set of characters every week. You can read just one, but as the lives and stories of each intertwine in surprising ways, you’ll want to read them all!

Join Mills & Boon E every week as we bring you excitement, mystery, fun and romance in 36 Hours!

Happy reading!

About the Author

Elizabeth August lives on the eastern shore of Maryland with her husband. She is a cancer survivor and very grateful that she has been here to watch their three sons mature and marry. She is especially grateful for her five grandsons, who constantly keep her entertained. Elizabeth and her husband play Duplicate Bridge, and she is fond of playing poker, primarily Texas Hold’em. She has written many novels under the pseudonyms of Betsy Page, Elizabeth Douglas and Elizabeth August.

Elizabeth August

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Chapter Thirteen Continued

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Talk about a whirlwind romance. On the night one of the most horrible rainstorms in Colorado history raged outside, something just as powerful happened inside: Nina Lindstrom met Alex Bennett. Talk about two worlds colliding! Alex could buy the town of Grand Springs over and over, while Nina could barely afford her rent. It should have been a straight-up business deal: Nina pretending to be Alex’s fiancée to fool his dying grandfather, and Alex paying for Nina’s son’s surgery. When did business turn to pleasure? Now Nina has found herself in love with a man who refuses to love her back. He wants the business deal to continue, but Nina isn’t willing to pay the price of being stuck in a lonely marriage just to have financial security. At the end of a rainstorm a rainbow usually appears, signaling everything is going to be all right. Where is that rainbow now?

“I don’t understand why you won’t marry me.”

“Because I’ve fallen in love with you. I tried not to. But this morning when I woke up, I realized I had.”

The tiny spark of hope Nina Lindstrom had been harboring that Alex would confess that he felt the same about her died. “Because I would wake every morning hoping I’d broken down the barriers you’ve built around your heart. And I’d spend each day fearing that it would be our last together. That you’d get tired of having me around or that someone else would touch your heart and succeed where I’d failed.”

“That won’t happen. My word is as strong as any emotional bond.”

“I know you’re a man of your word. I trust you implicitly. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. But a marriage bound by duty isn’t enough for me. Maybe I’m being too naive and old-fashioned, but I want a husband who loves me.”

Alex Bennett didn’t want to lose her, but he would not risk suffering the fate of his father or his grandfather. Both had been used and betrayed by the women they loved. He would not fall into that emotional trap. His gaze hardened. “You’re asking too much.”

Hot tears of regret burned in her eyes. “I know. Would you take me home now?”

He nodded and rose.

Neither spoke as they dressed and he drove her home. It was not an angry silence, but one of two people caught in an awkward moment and uncertain what to say to each other.

As he pulled up to the curb in front of her apartment building, she studied the hard line of his jaw. “I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me and my family.”

“You’re welcome. It was our deal. You pretend to be my fiancée for my grandfather and I pay for Tommy’s brain surgery,” he replied, reaching for the latch of his door.

“No.” The word blurted out in a rush of panic. Her tears were too near the surface. She needed to get away from him as quickly as possible. “There is no need for you to see me to my door,” she continued in a more controlled voice.

He considered insisting on seeing her safely inside, then decided against it. A clean break would be best. “Whatever you want.”

She quickly slid out of the car and walked away without looking back.

Inside her apartment, Nina leaned against the door and allowed the streams of salty water to flow freely down her cheeks. “That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” she said, looking toward the chair that had been Tom’s favorite and speaking to it as if her dead husband was sitting there.

She tried to conjure up his image to give herself strength. It refused to appear. The apartment was cold and empty.

* * *

Driving home, Alex glowered at himself. Maybe he should have lied and told her that he loved her. But those words carried too much weight. Saying them could possibly crack the shield he was determined to maintain.

“And then one day, I’d discover that all along she was still in love with her former husband and I’d been nothing more than a surrogate mate,” he growled acidly.

No. Only fools fell in love and he was no fool.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Alex sat in the office in his home on the mountain. When he’d returned from dropping off Nina, he’d taken a shower and then thrown himself into his work. But in the middle of an E-mail message to his administrative assistant in Denver, Nina and her children had come back to haunt him.

Staring out at the panoramic mountain landscape in front of him, he scowled darkly. He’d created employment problems for her that would not go away simply because he was no longer seeing her. And even if Gladys did start hiring her again to be a waitress at events, there would be awkward moments around his rich friends that he wanted to spare her.

“Besides, she needs full-time employment with a schedule that gives her time to spend with her children,” he muttered. A solution occurred to him. Quickly finishing the E-mail message to his administrative assistant, he then turned his mind to solving Nina’s employment problem. He already had the hospital sending him all of Tommy’s bills. Once he had the boy’s mother set up with a good job, then he could get on with his life.