Home is Where the Heart is
Lucky One
Back to Me without You
Love at Unexpected Moments
More than Friends
Coming Home for Christmas
Abby Carter has it all as a successful romance novelist, but when it comes to love, she’s not lucky in love. Men are just attracted to her for one thing, and she’s not interested in just sex anymore.
Abby arrives home in Sydney Australia to attend her little sister’s wedding. She’s lived in New York City home for five years now. But she doesn’t expect to fall for the charismatic best man. He also happens to be the older brother of the groom.
Sam is everything Abby should be looking for in a boyfriend. He’s good looking, has a thriving career as a doctor and driven to succeed in life just as she is.
Only Sam has his woes about love as well.
He’s recently divorced from a woman who cheated on him and only cared about racking up her credit card bill.
Will their siblings’ wedding be enough to bring two people together before they give up finding love altogether?
For Judith (sister), Phillip (brother), Mark (brother in law) and Nicole (sister in law)
Thank you for always being there for me.
After the death of her parents, Abby Carter didn’t think anything else would get better for her until she got the opportunity to work for a women’s contemporary magazine in the Big Apple.
Abby hadn’t wanted to accept the job offer at first. It meant leaving the only home she had ever known and the only family she had left. It was on the advice of her brother and sister that she go in search of her dreams rather than stay there to care for them. They insisted they were capable of looking after themselves.
Saying goodbye and burying her parents had been one of the hardest things Abby ever had to do. But she was determined to embark on a new life as an aspiring writer, so she said goodbye to her brother and sister, then hopped on a plane to New York City.
As the plane climbed into the clouds, Abby looked out the window and watched the familiar landscape turn to a patchwork of greens and browns, then disappear. There was no turning back now. She was heading off to the biggest adventure in her life, unsure of when she would find the courage to go home again.
On an August day in New York City, Abby Carter was busy tapping away on her computer in her home office. It was where she worked as a published romance novelist. Her cell phone buzzed on the desk. Jessica, her little sister, was calling. Panic set in. Jessica usually only called her if there was an issue or life-threatening emergency. It wasn’t that they didn’t talk, but they preferred to converse via Facebook or e-mail. And it worked better for them considering the continents between them.
Abby peered over at the clock on the wall.
Three p.m. That meant it had to be around five a.m. tomorrow—in Sydney.
Jessica was never awake at this hour. She liked her sleep and usually didn’t wake up before six a.m. As a child, Jessica was always the last one to wake up on a lazy Sunday morning.
Abby picked up her phone. “Hello? Jessica? What’s wrong?” Panic filled her voice straight away.
“ABBY!” Jessica screeched into the phone. Abby pulled the phone away from her ear. “I’m so happy to hear your voice. I just had to call you. I have sensational news.”
“What news? What’s up?” Abby asked, her voice quivering relief and curiosity.
“I’m getting married!”
What the hell? Now she wished she hadn’t answered her phone at all. She never expected to hear those words come from Jessica’s mouth, but they had. And by the sound of her excited voice, she wasn’t taking them back anytime soon.
“Abby, did you hear me? I’m engaged!”
“I heard you, Jess. I’m just surprised. That’s all.”
Surprise was the understatement of the century. Abby’s little sister was just twenty-one years old, and now, apparently, she was engaged.
After the death of their parents five years ago Abby, Jessica and their brother Steven only had each other to rely on as a family. Since then, Abby had made it her mission always to be there for her younger siblings. The distance between Sydney, Australia and New York City didn’t matter. She would watch out for them, no matter what. At twenty-eight years of age, Abby didn’t have any intentions to settle down, and she never expected that her little sister would, either. Jessica was still too young to settle down.
“Well, are you happy for me?”
Abby wasn’t sure how to answer that question. “Of course, I’m delighted for you. You’re my baby sister. But I didn’t even know you were seeing anybody.”
“Well, I wasn’t seeing anyone until recently. I met Justin when I was out at a club a couple of months ago with my friends. We just clicked straight away. We’ve been inseparable ever since.”
“Jess—”
“Abby, I know what you’re going to say. We haven’t known each other long. But when you know, you know. He’s the one. I can feel it. I thought you of all people would be happy for me. With Mum and Dad gone, I need you to be glad for me. You and Steven are the only family I have.”
“I am.”
“Yeah, well you don’t sound happy for me. You’re the first person I’ve told. Well, besides Steven. I couldn’t keep it from him. We still live together. Even if you are halfway across the world, I had to tell my big sister the news before any of my friends. I didn’t want you hearing about it on Facebook.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just blown away by your news. It’s unexpected, even for you. So when is the wedding?”
Abby had always known Jessica to take her time in everything she tried to do with her life. Abby and Steven had gotten their learner’s permit the second they turned sixteen. Jessica hadn’t gotten hers until she turned seventeen.
“September.”
“As in next year. Well, that’s okay. I think we’ll be able to plan a wedding in a year—”
“No, not next year. September, as in next month.”
Okay, so Abby could understand about an engagement after one month of dating, but planning a wedding in a month? Why was she rushing into marriage so quickly?
“I know that’s not much time, but this is why I’m telling you first. I figure you’d need a chance to get your head around it and plan. I want you at the wedding, as my maid of honour.”
As hard as it was to hear the news, Abby couldn’t blow off her sister’s wedding. Jessica would never forgive her if she did that. “Of course, I’ll be there, and I am honoured to stand beside you as your maid of honour.”
“Good because Steven is going to walk me down the aisle. After everything that we’ve been through, I just want my brother and sister there for me on my special day. Do you think you’ll be able to take time off from work to be here for me? I know that you’ve got deadlines to meet but I need my big sister as well,” she said.
“I reckon I’ll be able to make it work. That’s the beautiful thing about my job. I can take it with me and still be able to make my deadlines.”
They talked for another couple of minutes. Jessica explained how she had so much to do in such a short amount of time. It would be worth it though; she couldn’t wait to get married.
Abby would be there for her. Maybe if she and Steven were all in the same place at the same time, then they might be able to talk some sense into Jessica.
Six days later, Abby sat on an airplane taking off for Sydney, Australia.
She hadn’t been home for almost a year. Her first time home since her parent’s funeral hadn’t been an easy time. Everywhere she’d looked, she was reminded of who wasn’t there
anymore, and she’d vowed never to go back to Australia for another holiday again. She wasn’t good at facing her problems head on. She liked to skip them altogether.
Some good that did.
She loved Steven and Jessica. She did. But being in Australia was way too difficult. There was so much pain she wasn’t ready to deal with just yet. Besides, she had built a new life for herself in New York City. Steven and Jessica were always welcome there whenever they liked. They had already taken her up on the offer a couple of times.
Abby settled into the window seat with her carry-on. She hoped no one would sit beside her, but it would be rare to have a row all to herself, especially in economy. She put her reading glasses on and pulled her long, wavy, chocolate-brown hair into a low ponytail to secure it into place. It was something she always did when she had work to do.
She checked her e-mails one last time and sent hurried messages to Steven and Jessica to let them know that she had boarded the plane. She would be arriving at Sydney Airport in another 20 hours and 22 minutes. Then she switched off her device, leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She was prepared for take-off.
Not a big fan of the take-off, she shut her eyes instead of looking out the window. With her eyes still closed, she felt someone sit down in the seat beside her when their arm bumped hers by accident.
She should have splurged on a first class ticket.
“Hello.” His voice was deep and American, not at all like her Australian accent. Abby instantly envisioned him as tall, dark and handsome, like one of the cover models on her romance books.
“You nervous about flying too?” he asked, seemingly unfazed by the fact she hadn’t yet opened her eyes.
Couldn’t he see she wasn’t in the mood to chat? She sighed, then prepared herself to force a polite smile. “No, I just don’t like the taking off part. My stomach feels as though it’s tied into knots.”
Opening her eyes, she found herself face to face with a blue-eyed, blond-haired man with the subtle hint of a five o’clock shadow. He couldn’t be more than 30 years old. He wasn’t tall, dark and handsome, but he was still gorgeous.
Oh, God, why do you like to torture me so much?
It was a question Abby often found herself asking. It seemed that when good-looking men entered her life, it was often for the wrong purpose—just looking for casual sex—or at the wrong possible time, like now. She had a wedding to try to stop. That’s what she was heading home for. But she managed to give him a smile.
“Hi,” she said. “Do you not like planes?”
He shook his head as he buckled his seatbelt and sunk into his chair. “No, can’t say that I do. They’re more my brother’s thing.”
“Have you ever been on a plane before?” She didn’t mean to pry into his personal life, but if he felt the need to talk to her first, then she may as well make small talk with him.
“In one word—no,” he paused for a moment. “I ’ve never had any need to be on one until now. But I guess you have. Your accent. It’s Australian, right?”
Abby found it strange that a grown man had never been on a plane until now. “What? No holidays via air? And yes, I’m Australian.”
He shook his head, and despite herself, Abby couldn’t help but notice his chiselled jaw. His eyebrows lifted. “Are you always this sarcastic? I’ve been on holidays, but I prefer the driving kind. What’s more, with my work, I rarely get time off. Are you going home?”
“Home? Australia? No, New York City is my home now. But my family lives in Australia, so I’m visiting them. What about you?”
“I’m meeting up with my brother and the rest of my family who are on their way there as well. By the way, I’m Sam.” He extended his hand towards her.
She didn’t accept the offered handshake. Instead, she just nodded her head. “I’m Abby.”
He gave her a charming smile that no doubt worked on a lot of women, but it wasn’t going to work on her. In her experience, men like Sam were only after one thing. And she’d had her share of experiences with gorgeous men. She was often told she was a stunner. She wasn’t sure that was true, but she seemed to attract extremely good-looking men. Once they got what they wanted, however, they ditched her for someone else. She was through playing that game and had been for a while now.
The flight attendant approached, advising them to buckle their seat belts and flashed a smile at Sam. Abby could have sworn she winked at him too as she offered him some peanuts and a drink. Good lord. Abby sat back in her seat and prepared herself for what would likely be an interesting flight.
Twenty hours later, Abby’s flight had touched down at Sydney International Airport. After a long flight, she was happy to be walking through the terminal and far away from her seating companion, Sam.
She wanted to make sure she never saw his charming smile again.
During their flight, all had been going well. Abby managed to avoid talking to Sam by plugging her iPod into her ears and, turning the volume up loud enough to block out his voice. That was until she had asked for a coffee and Sam had somehow managed to spill it all over her good royal-blue top. To make matters worse, she couldn’t change her clothes because her they were in her checked luggage. So she smelled of coffee for most of the flight.
Abby made her way through the terminal, heading to the baggage claim area. Despite her reason for coming, she was finally home in Australia, and it felt good to be back. New York City might be where she now lived, but Australia was always home to her. She’d always be an Aussie girl living in the Big Apple.
Abby pushed through the busy crowd of people as she located her luggage. Once she found it, she made her way towards the exit, walking out into the cool mid-morning air. With her handbag on one shoulder and toting her other bag behind her, she hailed a waiting taxi along the side of the drop-off and pick-up bay.
As she made her way to the vehicle, a tall figure brushed past her in a hurry, climbing into the taxi she hailed.
“Asshole,” she said loudly enough for him to hear her. When he turned around and looked at her through the rear window, she saw Sam’s face. His eyebrows lifted in surprise as the taxi pulled away from the kerb.
“Yeah, that’s right. I was talking to you, asshole,” Abby growled, even though she knew he couldn’t hear her anymore. “I hope karma comes back to you with a vengeance.”
“Now that’s some fine gutter talk to come out of a lady.”
She turned towards the voice and saw her brother standing by the driver’s side of his utility vehicle with a cheeky grin plastered on his face, his arms folded over his chest.
“Steven!” She ran into his waiting arms.
“Same old Abby, I see. Remind me never to get on your bad side,” he said as they embraced.
Abby finally pulled away from him, slapping him on the shoulder. Even with her heels on, her head only came up to Steven’s chest. He towered over both her and Jessica. He got his height from their father, where Abby and Jessica were both short like their mother.
“You heard that?” she asked him.
Steven chuckled. “I can see your feisty attitude hasn’t changed much.”
“Believe me, he had it coming,” Abby muttered as Steven loaded her luggage into the back of his Toyota Hilux. She peered in through the windows, half-expecting to see her sister inside. “Where’s Jess?”
“Jess chose to go to university today. As much as she wanted to come and pick you up, she knew you wouldn’t want her blowing off lectures. I’m glad you didn’t get that taxi, or I would have wasted a drive here.” He raked one hand through his short scruffy hair.
“Well, maybe if I’d known you were going to be picking me up, I wouldn’t have made as ass out of myself.”
“Hey! Watch it! I’m sleep deprived. I just finished a shift at the fire station. I can leave you here to get a taxi if that’s what you want.”
“Oh yes, you’re so tired, and I’m assuming you worked hard fighting fires all night. I’m so proud of my bro
ther the hero,” Abby joked.
“I am a hero. I’m told that all the time.”
“But I’m sure your shift consisted of you sleeping in one of the beds or watching television as you waited for a call to come in. Am I right?”
“I can’t say. Firehouse code. Come on, let’s get going. I do want to beat the peak hour traffic home, or we’ll be stuck on the road forever. And you know I don’t do well in traffic congestion.”
Abby missed these banters with her brother while she was absent. She laughed at his response as she climbed into the passenger seat of his utility vehicle while he loaded her belongings into the back.
Steven climbed into the driver’s seat. “Thank you for coming to pick me up,” Abby said as she buckled her seat belt.
“You’re welcome. I figured I’d surprise you. After all, I am a great brother.”
“You’re also my only brother, so I have no one to compare you to. But now that we’re alone without Jessica, I can ask you why you didn’t stop our sister from getting engaged.”
Steven should have seen this conversation coming as he turned the key in the ignition and started the engine. “What do you mean? I have no say in what our sister does. Nor do you. Jessica does as she chooses.”
Abby knew he had a point. For as long as she could remember, their sister was always doing what she wanted.
“And just so you know,” Steven added, steering the vehicle into the left lane. “I do not like it that Jess has only known him for two months. But it’s out of our hands. You know that when she has an idea into her head, there’s no stopping her. She has it in her head that she is about to marry this guy. All we can do is hope for the best and support her.”
Out of their hands? Abby sat back in her seat and pondered her brother’s words. We’ll just see about that, one way or another.
Later that evening, Abby had settled into her siblings’ three bedroom villa in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. She was waiting for her sister to return home from class and was attempting to get some writing done on her laptop. She knew once her sister whirled into the room, she wouldn’t get anything written.
Back to Me without you (Sibling Love Book 1) Page 1