by Marie Force
Your Love Is All I Need copyright © 2014 HTJB, Inc
Let Me Hold Your Hand copyright © 2014 HTJB, Inc
I Saw You Standing There copyright © 2014 HTJB, Inc
Background image © briddy/Shutterstock. Your Love Is All I Need cover photos © oliveromg/Shutterstock (couple), © topora/Shutterstock (house). Let Me Hold Your Hand cover images © Shutterstock.com. I Saw You Standing There cover photos © PeopleImages/iStock (couple), © Conny Sjostrom/Shutterstock (background)
Author photo © Pamela Sardinha
The right of Marie Force to be identified as the Author of the Works has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by arrangement with Berkley,
A member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC,
A Penguin Random House Company.
First published as this Ebook omnibus in 2017
by HEADLINE ETERNAL
An imprint of HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP
Your Love Is All I Need is published in the USA as All You Need Is Love
Let Me Hold Your Hand is published in the USA as I Want to Hold Your Hand
I Saw You Standing There is published in the USA as I Saw Her Standing There
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library
eISBN 978 1 4722 5500 6
HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP
An Hachette UK Company
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
www.headlineeternal.com
www.headline.co.uk
www.hachette.co.uk
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
About the Author
Praise for Marie Force
By Marie Force
About the Book
Your Love Is All I Need
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Let Me Hold Your Hand
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
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
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Epilogue
I Saw You Standing There
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
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
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Epilogue
Find Out More About Headline Eternal
About the Author
With more than 4 million books sold, Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of more than forty contemporary romances, including the Green Mountain series, the McCarthys of Gansett Island series, the Fatal series, the Treading Water series and numerous standalone books. While her husband was in the U.S. Navy, Marie lived in Spain, Maryland and Florida, and she is now settled in her home state of Rhode Island. She is the mother of two teenagers and two feisty dogs, Brandy and Louie.
Join Marie at www.marieforce.com to get news on her latest books, or follow her on Twitter: @marieforce and Facebook: www.facebook.com/MarieForceAuthor.
Fall in love with Marie Force’s Green Mountain series
‘The Green Mountain series are romance stories written to perfection! Marie Force just has that something special in her writing that you cannot get enough of. With each book this series gets better. You just fall more in love with this family chapter by chapter, book by book. If you have not read Marie Force you truly are missing out on something special’ Guilty Pleasures
‘Marie Force has done it again, with a wonderful romance, a couple with some issues, and a super family that we want to continue to spend time with . . . If you enjoy romance, a great family, small town and wonderful couples, not to mention sweet fun sexy stories, then you need to read this series’ The Reading Cafe
‘How does Marie Force keep making me fall in love with this family over and over again? It’s her perfect writing and descriptions that pull at your heart and never let you go’ Fresh Fiction
‘Force vividly describes scenery, includes burn-up-the-sheets moments, and writes a loving romance’ Romance Junkies
‘I adore coming back to Butler, Vermont to catch up with the big, loving Abbott family every time!’ Waves of Fiction
‘Read this book when you are looking to be cheered up, whether it is in bed on a rainy day or poolside on a perfect summer day, Ain’t She Sweet is the perfect read’ Book Briefs
‘There is no doubt in my mind that I will read this book again. From beginning to end, I gobbled it up!’ Straight Shootin’ Book Reviews
‘I loved the banter, family dynamics, and the journey to finding true love. I don’t think Force could have written better family. She makes me want to be a part of it!’ Romance at Random
By Marie Force
Green Mountain Series
Your Love Is All I Need
(published in the USA as All You Need Is Love)
Let Me Hold Your Hand
(published in the USA as I Want To Hold Your Hand)
I Saw You Standing There
(published in the USA as I Saw Her Standing There)
And I Love You
(published in the USA as And I Love Her)
You’ll Be Mine
(A Green Mountain Novella)
It’s Love, Only Love
(publishe
d in the USA as It’s Only Love)
Ain’t She Sweet
About the Book
Meet the charming Abbott family of Green Mountain in this heartwarming and sexy collection by New York Times bestseller Marie Force.
What happens when the threat to your business becomes a threat to your heart? Find out in YOUR LOVE IS ALL I NEED . . . When Cameron Murphy heads to Vermont to build a website for a new client, she anticipates a relaxing trip. That is, until she collides with the town moose, wrecking her car, and meets the most handsome man she’s ever seen. Unfortunately, her saviour and son of her client, Will Abbott, wants nothing to do with the new website or the city girl creating it. But as the chemistry between the two heats up, they begin to wonder if simple could be best – especially when it comes to matters of the heart.
Can a grieving heart open itself up to love again? Find out in LET ME HOLD YOUR HAND . . . Almost seven years after losing her husband in Iraq, Hannah Abbott Guthrie isn’t sure she’s ready – or able – to move on. That is until a sweet kiss shared with lifelong friend Nolan Roberts makes her think about it for the first time. Nolan has loved Hannah for years, but understood she needed to heal from her devastating loss. Now, when an opportunity arises to show her how he feels, Nolan can’t resist, yet knows he has to prove to Hannah that finding love twice in a lifetime is possible - and well worth risking her heart.
Can a secret affair survive being exposed? Find out in I SAW YOU STANDING THERE . . . Colton Abbott and Lucy Mulvaney have a secret, and it’s one they especially don’t want Colton’s brother Will to know about, or his wife, Lucy’s best friend Cam. It’s not like Lucy to keep things from Cam, but she’s not about to tell her that she’s having a fling, with Will’s brother! Flitting between New York and Vermont is exhausting, so Lucy is looking forward to a weekend with Colton at the Abbott family lake house. Too bad Will and Cam have the same idea . . . With their secret out, will Lucy and Colton’s clandestine romance lose its appeal or this the start of something lasting?
***Your Love Is All I Need is published in the USA as All You Need Is Love***
***Let Me Hold Your Hand is published in the USA as I Want To Hold Your Hand***
***I Saw You Standing There is published in the USA as I Saw Her Standing There***
For more spellbinding Green Mountain romance, check out the whole series: Your Love Is All I Need, Let Me Hold Your Hand, I Saw You Standing There, And I Love You, You’ll Be Mine, It’s Love, Only Love and Ain’t She Sweet.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Welcome to Vermont and my new Green Mountain series! A couple of years ago, I was watching my daily fix of Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News when I saw Anne Thompson’s feature about the Vermont Country Store and the family who runs it. I was immediately intrigued by the notion of a family running an old-fashioned country store. When my husband got home, I told him, “We’re going to Vermont!”
Luckily, he was happy to comply, and a few weekends later we took off to explore the Green Mountain State. I was completely captivated by the area, the Vermont Country Store, and everything we experienced during that weekend in Vermont. My husband teased me about how I spent two hundred dollars at the original store in Weston, Vermont, and then went to the second store in Rockingham and managed to spend another two hundred dollars—on completely different items. Visiting the Vermont Country Store is an amazing experience, and I recommend you check out the store in person or online at vermontcountrystore.com.
I’d been to Vermont before, several times in fact, but I hadn’t spent tons of time there. As a result, I had to do a lot of research to make my Vermont as authentic as possible. Suffice to say it was certainly no sacrifice to spend time in such a stunningly beautiful place. I absolutely love the scenery, the mountains, the people, the quaint small towns and the quirky slices of life that make it such a special place.
If you’re wondering where in the Northeast Kingdom the town of Butler can be found, the answer is it’s a fictional place, created from an amalgamation of a wide variety of small towns in the state. Parts and pieces of many of the towns I visited crop up in Butler, so Vermonters may find a slice of their hometown in Butler.
My research was aided by the helpfulness of several of my readers who are either from Vermont or who have lived there at one time or another. Thank you to Diane Nabel, June Claughton, Elysa Blumenthal, Kristin Ells, Terry Langlois, Brent H. Curtis and Leslie Temple, who answered my Facebook call for Vermonters willing to answer a questionnaire. Their input and insights helped tremendously. Audrey Coty, co-owner of the Nebraska Knoll Sugar Farm, provided a very memorable morning for my assistant, Julie, and me at her lovely home. Thank you, Audrey!
I’ve also been “lucky” to participate in the building of several complex websites during my professional life. However, my dear friend Mary Harrington, chief operating officer of Embolden, a website company in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, helped to fill in some of the gaps for me from the contractor side. Thank you so much, Mary!
My assistant, Julie Cupp, planned an awesome three days in Vermont, and many scenes in Your Love Is All I Need were inspired by our trip, especially the icy climb up the hill to Colton’s sugaring facility, which was a lot more fun to write about than it was to experience in real life! Thank you, Julie, for embracing my new series and for running my business so I can have more fun writing than I’ve had in years.
To the amazing team at Berkley—it’s been such a pleasure to work with all of you, especially my lovely editor, Kate Seaver. Kate, thank you for taking a chance on three chapters and hoping for the best. You’re a dream to work with. Leslie Gelbman, we bonded after taking our daughters to college, and you made me feel right at home at Berkley. Susan Allison, Erica Martirano, Erin Galloway, Courtney Landi and Katherine Pelz, your enthusiasm for the Green Mountain series has been so inspiring to me, and I look forward to bringing the rest of the series to life with your help.
A very special thank-you to my agent, Kevan Lyon, who stayed with me during the lean years, stayed calm during the experimental years and who’s the first to celebrate with me during the good times. You’re the best, Kevan, and I appreciate all you do to help keep me sane in the midst of madness.
To my wonderful friends, whether I’ve known you personally for many years or met you along the way through my books, thank you for your support of my career. Maybe you’ve bought one book or all of them, but either way, you’ve helped me more than you’ll ever know, and I appreciate each of you. A special thank-you to my wonderful beta readers, Ronlyn Howe, Kara Conrad and Anne Woodall, who are the first to read everything and the best at “cleaning me up.”
My husband, Dan, my kids, Emily and Jake, and my dogs, Brandy and Louie, make my life complete and support me every step of the way.
I’m blessed with an amazingly loyal group of readers, and I’m thankful for you each and every day. We have tons of fun on Facebook and Twitter, through e-mail and Skype chats and at book signings. I can’t thank you enough for embracing my books the way you have. I hope you’ll enjoy Will, Cameron and the Abbotts!
If you’d like to chat with other fans of the series, make sure you join the Green Mountain Reader Group at facebook.com/groups/GreenmountainSeries. To talk specifically about this book with spoilers allowed and encouraged, join the Your Love Is All I Need Reader Group at facebook.com/groups/AllYouNeedIsLove1. Join my mailing list at marieforce.com to be notified about new books and feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Thanks so much for reading!
xoxo
Marie
CHAPTER 1
A hard job is like forty miles of rough road.
—The gospel according to Elmer Stillman
“What the heck is a frost heave?” Cameron asked Troy, who’d briefly been her boyfriend until they realized they made better friends than lovers.
“Searching,” Troy said, indulging her as he had on and off during her long journey from Manhattan to the end of the earth.
&
nbsp; “Well?”
“I need a freaking PhD in geology to understand these explanations, but if I’m reading it right, it’s what happens when water freezes under the road and the pavement heaves upward.”
“Apparently, there’re a lot of them around here. Signs every two minutes.” Cameron’s stomach tightened along with her fingers on the wheel of her gleaming cherry red Mini Cooper, purchased yesterday with this trip in mind. “What do you suppose I do if I happen upon one?”
“Um, I guess you hit the gas and jump it?”
“Thanks. That’s really helpful.”
His loud yawn had Cameron choking back one of her own. What should’ve been a leisurely five-and-a-half-hour trek up the scenic Taconic Parkway had turned into seven tense hours as her paltry driving experience had proven no match for the twists and turns of mountain roads.
“Are you almost there? I’m getting tired.”
“The GPS says twenty more minutes.” All at once, the phone made a series of weird clicking noises. “Troy? Hello? Ugh!” Colleagues had warned her that mountain cell phone reception was spotty at best, but she’d refused to imagine a scenario in which she didn’t have the world at her fingertips. It didn’t bear thinking about.
Cameron hit Redial on the smart phone and reached Troy’s voicemail. At least he was trying to call her back.
She put down the phone and focused on driving. In addition to the frost heave signs, the frequent moose-crossing warnings were also unsettling. What were the rules of the road when it came to moose? Who had the right of way? The questions reminded her that she had lots more research yet to do about her destination.
When the phone rang, she pounced on it. “Are you there?”
“I’m here.”
“Good,” Cameron said, relieved to hear his voice. “Reception sucks up here.”
“How long do you have to be there anyway?”
“If they hire us, and that’s a huge if at this point, hopefully just a week, maybe two. I’ll pacify my father, and then get back to civilization.” Cameron didn’t like to think about what was riding on her landing this big job.