One Hour to Midnight
Page 26
"Andreas just met Kathleen," she said with droll humour.
"And?" Leon asked settling Briar closer to his shoulder, one large hand splayed across her back.
The little girl nestled her face against his neck in absolute trust. Leon looked so natural, so mouth-wateringly desirable, wearing their baby. Veronica's heart turned over in her breast.
"I could be seriously scared of making that lady angry." José mimicked Andreas's words with wicked accuracy. "But I'm sure that lad grew inches in stature as we watched."
"And he's sure not alone," Leon muttered with great feeling. "I live in fear and trembling. She once threatened to cut off my balls and shove them down my throat."
José let out a huge guffaw of laughter making heads turn in their direction.
"Just don't hurt her ewe lamb and you and your male apparatus are quite safe." Veronica grinned.
"Minx," Leon kissed Veronica's cheek. "Have I told you I love you?"
"Yes. But I never tire of hearing it." She leaned up and kissed him, uncaring who was watching.
"Get a room, you two," Milas said coming up behind them. "And talking of rooms, Kathleen's insists Tania gets off her feet and have a rest."
"Why are you standing here jabbering, man," Leon said with great feeling, "You've had your orders."
"That's one lady you don't want to piss off," José said with great feeling.
Veronica couldn't help it, she burst out laughing. "You are all such wimps. Kathleen's got a real soft heart."
Leon grinned at her. "I'll believe you, darling, thousands wouldn't."
The End
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Authors write because we want to share our stories, so please help to get the word out by leaving your comments on the page where you bought this book.
About the author
I am a New Zealander born and bred, a mother, grandmother and recently a great grandmother...what can I say...we started young.
Most of my stories are set in our wonderful country in the antipodes. I've always written, freelancing for local and National newspapers, but Romance is my true love.
I've been a reader of romance from the moment my sister introduced me to The English Women's Weekly and their wonderful serialised romances. I fell in love with the genre.
I know the world is full of heroes. I have my own hero right here at home to prove it. We fell in love when we were young teenagers...and believe me we heard all the old chestnuts...you're too young to know your own minds. Young love never lasts. It gives me great pleasure half a century on to thumb my nose and say, "You know what? You were all wrong!"
Why Romance? I write romance because to me first and last...family matters.
I've always been a scribbler. To me writing is both a pleasure and a cathartic outlet for stress and grief.
My enduring loves are reading, my house is crowded with books on every subject imaginable. My other great hobby is gardening. Now, after a lifetime spent farming, I live with my husband in semi-retirement on the traditional Kiwi quarter acre section with a cat and a dog….and seven bird aviaries filled with canaries, budgies and parrots.
You can read more and see photos of our garden on my blog. http://www.shirleywine.blogspot.com
Reader's Guide.
Seven For A Secret.
©Shirley Wine 2012
Seven For A Secret http://amzn.com/B009XJAKLS
After her father's sudden death Anna Belmonte discovers she's his love child with the family au pair, Megan Anderson.
Her father's rigid Italian values, his hatred of her art, and her refusal to marry the man he'd chosen as her husband, have set Anna apart from her contemporaries.
Shocked, betrayed, her sense of self in tatters, Anna travels to New Zealand desperate to find her birthmother and unravel the secrets surrounding her birth.
When she meets Megan's stepson Slade Haultain, Anna accepts his invitation to stay on Puriri Downs and very quickly they forge strong emotional bonds.
Anna had long ago decided art and marriage was incompatible…now, with Slade, she wonders can she have it all…art, marriage and children…
But the dead hand of Anna's father reaching from beyond the grave threatens their dreams.
How can Anna ask Slade to choose between her and his family? How can she prove she wasn't a party to her father's diabolical schemes? And how can she ask Slade take her word on trust…
Lovers' Lies
© Shirley Wine 2012
Lovers' Lies http://amzn.com/B009GQGUWQ
For single mum, Victoria Scanlan, a visit to the luxurious country house of Darkhaven, is a rare chance to combine work with pleasure.
If she can secure the commission for the flowers for the upcoming society wedding it would be a huge boost for her floral boutique.
Arriving at Darkhaven, Victoria is stunned to discover the groom, banking tycoon Keir Donovan, is the man she knew as Seth Donahue, her young son's father.
Wealthy and powerful Keir, after a lifetime of being betrayed by every female in his life, has settled on a calm future with the glamorous Davina Strathmore , heiress of media mogul James Strathmore. Davina has her own devious reasons for accepting his offer of marriage and sees Victoria as a threat to her plans.
Victoria knows she has to tell Keir about their son, but decides to wait until they're no longer visitors in the Donovan family home, a decision she quickly comes to regret.
This decision is a mistake and it's too late to go back and start over. A lie by omission is still a lie, and after a lifetime of being lied to, Keir's has no tolerance for lies…
Shadow Dance….Book 1 The Mulleins of Katherine Bay
© Shirley Wine 2012
Shadow Dance http://amzn.com/B008NGBK0M
When single mother Jenna Mullein attempts to unravel the truth behind her mother's dying words—promise me, Jenna, promise you won't sell him the land—she quickly discovers there are far too many people in Katherine Bay with a vested interest in muddying the truth.
Her persistent questions and determination sees her thrown into desperate danger. When one woman ends up dead and Jenna and her infant toddlers are assaulted, property developer Gabriel Callahan steps in to help her.
But can Jenna trust the loner with her secrets? Secrets that could see her lose her adored babies.
And does Gabe really want her or the family he could create with her adorable twins?
Ashlyn's Bodyguard Bk II The Mulleins of Katherine Bay
© Shirley Wine 2012
Ashlyn's Bodyguard http://amzn.com/B008V4JPKI
An attempt to thwart thieves goes horribly wrong and Ashlyn Pritchard is forced to flee. Cast off by her wealthy high-achieving family, and with an international criminal on her trail, she accepts Jace Mullein's offer of protection, but it comes with strings. He'll be her bodyguard, twenty-four-seven—if she marries him.
As the danger escalates, Ashlyn learns to trust Jace. Then she discovers the truth about his past. It's too late to retreat, but she needs to question everything about the man she has come to love. Does she mean anything to him at all, or is Jace using her only to exact revenge for past slights?
Return to Totara Park
© Shirley Wine 2012
Return To Totara Park http://amzn.com/B0076I1HGA
Winsome Grainger left Totara Park with a terrible secret in her heart and a darker secret in her past vowing never to return. A vow shattered when she and her estranged husband, Jared each inherit a half share in Totara Park, the Grainger Dynasty's Estate.
Under the terms of Jared's father's Will, he and Winsome must live on Totara Park together for two years or the Estate will be sold. Unable to live with the knowledge that, through her, Jared stands to lose his heritage, Winsome reluctantly returns with their four year old daughter Lacey.
Unsure of her husband's support, she suffers the guilt of the damned. Never possessing the courage to confide these dark secrets in Jared, Winsome has time to
regret never telling him why she walked out on their marriage, why she left him, or why she left Totara Park.
Now these secrets threaten not only her shaky marriage and her love for Jared, they threaten her precious child's life, her own life…Filled with foreboding, she discovers she's a mere pawn in a dark and deadly game. A game whose rules she doesn't know…
Review by Love Romance
Rating: 4.5 Hearts
This book was deftly written. The story has it all - mystery, intrigue, betrayal and romance. It has well developed characters…who leave an indelible impression on the reader. This was a very enjoyable read and I look forward to the next book by the author. © Love Romances, 2001-2003. All Rights Reserved.
Yesterday's Sins
© Shirley Wine 2012
Yesterday's Sins http://amzn.com/B0076HWJ40
“Where my family comes from we believe in an eye for an eye…a life for a life…” These words changed Catriona's life forever.
After years of running from a past she cannot bear to remember, a bouquet of flowers, unlooked for and unwanted, makes Kate Audley look over her shoulder in trepidation.
For eight years, the successful real estate agent has lived under an assumed name in the tiny South Auckland village of Clevedon after fleeing Australia and the man who threw her life into chaos.
Eight years in which Kate has had time in plenty to regret the impulsive decision that saw her visit Alexandros Korda in a bid to clear her name.
Now he has found her.
Yesterday's Sins is the captivating story of a woman's attempt to resist the man she loves to hate and Alex's equally determined commitment that she won't succeed.
On her eighteenth birthday a freak accident that killed his nephew, brought Alexandros Korda into Catriona's life.
Seven years later, she is trying to forget the horror that followed and the daughter they has together.
Can she succeed?
Table of Contents
Title Page
Legal
Dedication
About this Book
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
About the Author
Reader's Guide.
Lovers' Lies
Shadow Dance
Ashlyn's Bodyguard
Return to Totara Park
Yesterday's Sins