Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
As spring came to an end, Hartland's mayor Oliver Winterbourne II scheduled an emergency town hall meeting that had his fellow billionaire residents trooping to the library. Apparently, a film crew had requested to shoot in Hartland for three months, and at its helm was a critically-acclaimed director who was likely to be troublesome if the town were to reject his request for no valid reason.
Much discussion ensued, along with frequent swearing, but in the end, the founding members unanimously approved Oliver's plan. New local policies would be enacted to strongly discourage future interest in Hartland as a filming location. In the meantime, Director Hector Bautista would be given a maximum of three months to film, with no possibility of extension.
For those three months, most of the town's founding members simply opted to fly out of Wyoming. Slade and Kady had been one of the first to leave, with the billionaire insisting that they were going away for their honeymoon, never mind if the couple had yet to exchange wedding vows.
A few others, however, hadn't any choice. Aidan had to stay as the town's police chief, and naturally so did Oliver as its mayor. Thornton had also opted to stay but had the mayor's secretary, Frankie, to hire him an assistant to manage the bookstore. When Frankie suggested her friend Blake, Thornton had agreed, thinking Blake was a man. He was wrong though, but it turned out to be the luckiest mistake in his life.
ALTHOUGH ETHAN, NOW back in Hartland, had played a hand in getting his older brother and his shop assistant together, it had still come as a surprise to him when he saw the invitation in his mailbox. Thornton was the last man Ethan would ever imagine getting involved in a whirlwind romance.
And yet here they were now, Ethan thought contemplatively, drinking to the newly engaged couple.
The affair was decidedly low-key, with the party taking place in the town's community hall and Cook Nancy flying in to personally supervise the catering. The guest list, however, wasn't limited to Hartland residents but also included close friends of both Blake and the Blackwoods. One of the latter, in particular, had Ethan a little uneasy. Ever since Damian introduced Anah to Sarah, his stepsister-turned-wife, the two girls had been separable. God knew what those two could be talking about for hours, but one thing he was sure of was that Sarah was only likely to corrupt his little Anah.
And speaking of the she-devil...
Ethan and Aidan were the only ones left at their table once the dancing had started, and both men automatically rose to their feet when Sarah and Anah suddenly approached them.
Beautiful, Ethan found himself thinking again when his gaze briefly skimmed over Anah's slender frame. With her red-gold hair swept up in an elegant chignon, the pale column of her neck was fully exposed, and the sight had Ethan shoving his hands deep into his pockets. It was the safest thing to do, in light of his sudden inexplicable urge to yank off the tablecloth and wrap it around Anah's neck like a scarf. She was so fucking exposed, dammit.
Sarah cleared her throat. "Ethan?"
Ethan jerked, realizing too late that everyone was staring at him.
"I was saying I had a problem," Sarah said meaningfully. "A really huge problem."
Ethan glanced at Aidan. Was it just him...or did Sarah sound rather gleeful for someone supposedly troubled?
Aidan suppressed his smile and simply shrugged in response. You're on your own with this, man.
Sarah coughed again, and Ethan, realizing he was supposed to answer, asked obligingly, "Is it anything I can help you with?"
Sarah's face brightened. "There is, actually. You see, Damian promised Anah a dance, and her favorite song's playing now. But..." Sarah's face fell dramatically. "We can't seem to find Damian."
Damian, who had been about to come up behind his wife and wrap an arm around her waist, swiftly turned back upon hearing her words.
Ethan and Adrian started coughing at the sight of Damian's retreating back.
Anah's cheeks turned red. She had a feeling she knew exactly why the two brothers were coughing, and the thought had her trying one more time to get her wrist out of Sarah's hold. This was so seriously embarrassing!
Sarah, however, was undaunted even though she, too, had a suspicion of what had caused the pair's sudden coughing fit. "So what do you say, Ethan?" Sarah asked innocently. "Could you take my husband's place and dance with my friend?"
And that was how Anah ended up in Ethan's arms, her fingers gingerly curving over his shoulders while his hands claimed her waist in a firm hold that she almost wished she could think as possessive.
An acoustic version of Love Me Harder was playing in the background, and as the suggestive lyrics of the song infiltrated her mind, Anah's nervousness got the better of her. She started to trip over her own feet—-