He winked at her. “Oh, they’ll make one. Jake says his father would buy up the inn for the storage barn alone.”
“The…” she stared at him. “How could they possibly know about that?”
“Apparently, your grandfather was very secretive about what he kept in that place, and when Jake told his father and grandfather about the motorcycle, it merely served to whet their appetites. His grandfather apparently is on a rampage over the barn—he thought it’d been emptied long ago. Now it’s all they can do to keep the old man from staging a nighttime reconnaissance mission to see the place with his own eyes. All the better for you to take this trip, then. To keep them hungry.”
“A trip.” LeeAnn’s voice didn’t sound like her own. “A chance to fly away.”
“To fly wherever you want to go, be whoever you want to be.” He squeezed her hands. “So it is settled then. You will come to Garronia and sample what the world has to offer you, or at least our little corner of it. And then you will make your decisions.”
LeeAnn bit her lip, but in truth she could find no good reason to say no. “I’ll need time to plan,” she hedged.
“Of course,” Cris agreed. “You can take all the time you need, as long as you eventually end up in Garronia on a beautiful sun-swept day. After that, you’ll understand. The country will work its magic on you, and you’ll never be the same.”
She lifted a brow. “Uh-huh.”
“I’ve seen it happen before!” he insisted despite her skepticism. “You’ll step off the plane and feel the sunshine on your face and the Mediterranean breeze in your hair, you’ll hear the laughter of happy people, and you’ll think ah! I am home.”
He entwined his fingers with hers. “And I will see you standing there, surrounded by sunshine and laughter, and I’ll know that I am home too.”
His eyes widened as he looked down at her.
“But no!” he murmured softly. “Why are you crying?”
“I’m not,” LeeAnn managed. “I…I just don’t know what to say.”
“Then you should always say yes,” Cris said, his smile infinitely tender. “And when you are ready—whether next week, next month, or tomorrow, all you need to do is contact me. I will come back to Haralson, and we will fly to my homeland. The two of us together, like the swans you love so much.” He leaned down to kiss her. “I must only ask one thing.”
LeeAnn sighed as he cradled her close, unable to imagine the world he was laying out before her. So much had yet to still be determined—the sale of the inn, the assurances to her staff, the money and the paperwork...
But she didn’t have to focus on any of that. She only needed to say yes to taking this trip with Cris. This trip, and performing whatever favor he needed of her. One small step was all that was required, and she could start her life over again.
She’d taken that step toward Haralson when her father had needed her. Now, five years later, she was taking a new step toward all those dreams she’d put on hold.
When Cris didn’t continue right away, LeeAnn glanced up at him. “What is it?” she asked, searching his eyes. “This favor you need—is there anything wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong, nothing,” he said, and in his expression was one of almost wonder, so clear and incandescent it took her breath away. “You’ve made me happier than I’ve ever been.”
True joy blossomed inside LeeAnn. It couldn’t be real, shouldn’t be real, yet somehow, she believed him. Believed that two people could come together at exactly the right moment when everything was possible, and take a chance on that possibility, together.
“Then anything you want,” she said. “I’ll try to do.”
“Excellent,” he said. Then he released a long sigh. “Because the moment we set foot in Garronia, you’ll be expected to meet the queen.”
Epilogue
LeeAnn stared at the gorgeous expanse of water as the plane made its final descent toward Garronia’s international airport, her hands spasming on her knees as she tried to take it all in.
Beside her, Cris chuckled, reaching over to squeeze her left wrist. “Are you surprised?”
“It’s so—blue,” she said, staring at the water—then the sand, then the sweep of forest that sprang up around the small, white-walled city with its bursts of sudden color in the streets. “I’ve never seen anything that blue before.” She glanced back at him, suddenly shy. “Then again, I’d never seen the ocean before this trip.”
“And our ocean, it is the bluest of them all,” he grinned, nodding to her as they touched down. “You can use your phone again, if you think you’ll have gotten an email.”
“I—might have, you’re right.” She keyed on her international phone, waiting for it to connect. Fully two months had passed since Cristopoulis had met her at Swan Cottage, and her life had become a whirlwind. Despite his urging to speak to the Donaldsons, she’d gone first to the property manager, in order to understand what she really had in Werth Inn. Mr. Prentiss had helped her put together a purchase plan that, as Cris had predicted, the Donaldsons didn’t have any intention of haggling over. They hadn’t formally made a bid on the inn, but she suspected that was only because they wanted her to take her vacation first.
Winter had come in fast and hard to Minnesota, but this year, LeeAnn had barely noticed. She’d been in constant communication with Cris, who’d sent her link after link to places they could travel. With the proceeds of the inn she would have enough to spend a year exploring the world—and then?
Well, and then…she truly didn’t know. But she was more than ready to see what that year brought her.
As if reading her thoughts, Cris leaned forward, dropping a kiss on her temple. “I will never tire of seeing you smile.”
The plane was emptying, and they stood as well, LeeAnn watching with bemusement as Cris took her bag from her. “I can carry that myself, you know.”
He shook his head. “There are many things you must get used to in Garronia,” he said, gesturing her to move up the aisle. “This is but the first.”
Then they stepped out into the sunshine. The plane was a small commuter out of Athens, and instead of emptying into a terminal, a long staircase extended to the tarmac. LeeAnn looked around as they reached the ground, marveling at the crystal blue skies, the soft breeze, everything clean and warm and—perfect.
A long black sedan approached the airplane. While the other passengers continued on, Cris stopped, angling her to the right to face the limousine.
“This, I’m afraid, is the second,” he said, as the limo stopped and its driver exited to open the rear passenger door.
A woman emerged from the vehicle then, her dark hair pulled back in a thick chignon beneath a stylish hat, her crisp linen dress and heels exquisite as she strode forth ahead of a phalanx of guards. But it was her flashing eyes and radiant smile that captured LeeAnn the most—the woman’s expression as bright with happiness as any she had ever seen.
“That’s the queen?” she whispered, awed. “And she’s your aunt?”
“She’s my aunt,” Cris confirmed, and he turned to her then, ignoring the woman one last moment as he raised LeeAnn’s hand to his lips. “The one person on this earth who knew I was in love with you, before I even knew it myself.”
LeeAnn had no time to react to his words before the queen was upon them, reaching out her hands to enfold her in a warm embrace.
“LeeAnn Werth!” Queen Catherine exclaimed in a rich Mediterranean accent. She stood back and regarded LeeAnn with patent approval. “Welcome to Garronia. And now you must tell me everything about how you captured my nephew’s heart. From the very beginning!”
And having no other option than to tell the whole story—about the swoon-worthy European businessman who’d appeared out of nowhere to stay at her inn, his equally mysterious coworkers who never left his side for long, and the day Ellie Mittelstadt came striding onto her front porch, turning everything upside down—
LeeAnn did exactly that.
&
nbsp; Finding Chris Evans:
The Rockstar Edition
By Erin McCarthy
Get a sneak preview of the next novella in the Finding Chris Evans mini-series!
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Prologue
“I think we should bum rush the stage,” Ellie Mittelstadt said, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder.
Harper Harrison eyed her best friend with skepticism. Then she checked out the stage with substantial doubt. It was a big area, a lot of speakers and equipment. Surrounded by six security guards. But apparently Ellie had cojones the size of their native Minnesota because she looked ready to cut through the crowd like Kylo Ren’s light saber through Han Solo.
“I’m not okay with this,” Harper protested. “We couldn’t even get backstage passes. We sure in the hell can’t just stroll up on the stage of Three Dog River and molest one of the band members.”
Though she wouldn’t object to a little molesting if she could get it. Chris Evans, aka Stryker, the tattooed lead singer, was hot with a capital H. “Besides, speaking of bums, mine is bigger than the average ass, so there is no way I can haul it, or really any of me, up there.” Harper was yelling because the music was blaring from the stage ten feet away and the crowd all around them was singing along to the hit song being performed.
“But he might be my destiny,” Ellie insisted. “I’m getting impatient. I can’t just stand here and wait for fate to happen.”
Harper kind of thought that was the point of fate- it happened. You know, like when it was supposed to. But she sympathized with Ellie’s frustration. Her best friend been pursuing men named Chris Evans all over northern Minnesota ever since a fortuneteller had told her she would marry a man with that name. It seemed like it could happen, because why not? But a rock star? Come on. Rock stars were gifts from the gods for supermodels. Not meant for social workers like Ellie. Or data analyst nerds like herself.
“Just throw your number up on stage. Hell, throw your phone up there and maybe he’ll call you,” she said, stumbling a little in her super cute wedges when the guy behind her bumped into her.
“Sorry,” the guy said, grabbing hold of her arm to steady her. He was a big bear of a man, tall and bearded, and she envied his flannel shirt. Flannel was warm and soft.
Why she had thought it made sense to wear nothing but a thin sweater with a plunging neckline to an outdoor concert in fall was beyond her. The weather had taken a serious plunge into fall. She was usually more sensible and prepared. Actually, that was a total lie. She was never sensible, as her mother had frequently complained. Common sense wasn’t really her thing. Her forte. Her jam. None of it.
But unlike her BFF she was not impulsive.
“No problem,” she replied to the guy, wishing she could curl inside his shirt, just for a minute. Fantasizing about bonfires and wool sweaters, she turned back to Ellie. Only Ellie was gone. “Oh, damn.”
Scanning left and right, she didn’t see her. When she finally spotted Ellie, her heart sank. Her best friend was in front of the stage talking to a bouncer, looking like she was haggling in the market for half-price fish. He was shaking his head no.
Fast walking, because she wasn’t running if a serial killer wasn’t chasing her, Harper glanced up at the stage. Stryker really was a sexy man, with a whiskey smooth voice, muscular arms, and jeans that were tight in all the right places. She was thinking the man must have made a pact with the devil because not only was he rich and famous that was no small bulge in his tight pants. Without warning his gaze landed on her and he winked.
He freaking winked.
Being graceful wasn’t her strong suit either and when she glanced behind her to see who he was really looking at- because there was no way it was her- she tripped in her wedges. She bounced off a skinny guy to her left, who gave her a mighty heave-ho, and then she crashed into the security guard. That might have been the end of it, except she tried to brace her fall with the barrier railing, and the whole thing pulled down. Onto the guard. Who fell on her.
Much like her butt, he wasn’t small.
So when he came down like a dairy cow tipped and landed on her arm, she heard and felt the crack of her bone at the same time. Having extra pounds, a little cushion for the pushin’ as her ex had lovingly teased, failed to do its job. She let out a cry before she could even fully process what had happened.
That hurt.
She tried to roll out from under the bouncer but he wasn’t moving.
The smell of beer and sweat wafted over her and she saw Ellie’s horrified face hovering over the back of the groaning guard. He was trying to stand up by pushing off her stomach. The sexy singer Stryker hit a particularly sexy note and she would have laughed at the absurdity of it all if she weren’t in so much pain. Not only was her arm screaming, the meaty hands pressing into her gut did not feel particularly fabulous.
A second security guard hauled the first guy off of her, much to her eternal gratitude.
“I think,” she told Ellie breathlessly through the pain, “that this would be considered an epic fail.”
Two hours later she was getting her broken arm set by a chatty doctor when Chris Evans, aka Stryker, a bona fide freaking rockstar, strolled into her cubicle in the emergency room.
It was a good thing there was medical staff within reach because Harper just about went into cardiac arrest.
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A Note From Jennifer
Writing this novella series was so much fun, and I remain deeply grateful to the other authors who’ve made this journey unforgettable: Erin McCarthy, Jennifer Bernard, Erin Nicholas, Elizabeth Bemis and Lizzie Shane. Each of their stories features a Chris Evans worth falling in love with, and I hope you enjoy them all!
For additional adventures in the country of Garronia, where you can discover more about Kristos and Ari, Dimitri and of course Queen Catherine, check out my modern royals series Gowns & Crowns, starting with Courted.
About Jennifer Chance
Jennifer Chance is the award-winning author of the contemporary romance Rule Breakers and Gowns & Crowns series. A lover of books, romance, and happily-ever-afters, she lives and writes in Ohio. She’s also urban fantasy author Jenn Stark, whose Immortal Vegas series is now available; and YA author Jennifer McGowan, whose Elizabethan spy series Maids of Honor is also available. She really, truly, loves to write.
When she’s not at work on her newest book, you can find her online at http://www.jenniferchance.com/ , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/authorJenniferChance and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Jenn_Chance.
Finding Chris Evans Miniseries
The 9-1-1 Edition
by Erin Nicholas
Chris Evans, aka Captain America to his co-workers, knows what he wants: to lead the best EMT crew around, save lives…and have everything done his way. He’s learned firsthand what can happen when he’s not hyper vigilant, so running the show has become his superpower.
If only he could manage Brittney McNemara as well as he handles everything else. She’s the best EMT he knows-and the most exasperating woman on the planet. Where Chris is serious, Britt is scattered. Where Chris is cautious, Britt is carefree. Where Chris is by-the-book, Britt is rebellious. Despite their intense attraction, they’d never work as a couple.
Or could they?
When Britt gets hurt on the job and temporarily loses use of her thumb, she needs someone to be her left-hand man. Chris, ever the hero, volunteers. Little does he know that Britt’s passion for fun masks a need to care for others that rivals his own. And that now the woman who’s been driving him crazy at work is about to drive him even crazier-in her kitchen, in her bedroom, and on a paint ball field.
Forget the Friend Zone. Chris is about to enter the Fun Zone.
Because sometimes even a superhero can’t help but fall in love.
Read an Excerpt!
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The Hollywood Edition
by Lizzie Shane
Trina Mitchel
l finally has her life back on track. Fully focused on her first semester of med school, she isn’t looking for the love of her life. But a little no-strings fling with hunky contractor Christian Evans? Now that feels like a gift from the gods. Until she learns her humble contractor is actually the star of a popular home improvement show—and completely out of her league.
Chris has been building his brand as a celebrity contractor and he’s this close to all that hard work paying off in the form of a big primetime gig, but only if he carefully protects his image as a TV heartthrob—which means absolutely no romantic complications allowed. Not even the one girl he can’t seem to get out of his mind.
Love is a distraction neither of them has time for, but when Trina learns their one magical night together is going to have some very real consequences—in around nine months—she needs to find Chris again, stat.
In love and renovations, nothing ever goes as planned. But with a little help from fate, this might just be the perfect time to build their happy ever after.
Read an Excerpt!
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The Hotshot Edition
by Jennifer Bernard
Jenna Mittelstadt has never forgotten the boy who wrote her a letter every week starting at the age of ten. But it’s been years since she stood him up on their first-and only-attempt to meet face to face. Her world fell apart that day, and she never told him why.
So when her sister Ellie drags Jenna to a pancake breakfast honoring firefighters who’ve been working the Northern Minnesota wildfires, she doesn’t expect to run into a sexy, smoking-hot fireman wearing the friendship bracelet she made all those years ago.
Chris (Kit) Evans spends his summers battling fires, but there’s no fighting the instant heat between him and his childhood pen pal. He was crushed when she suddenly disappeared into thin air eight years ago… and finally meeting her seems like a miracle.
Finding Chris Evans: The Royal Edition Page 8