Princess Aubrey of Malquar has loved Grady Basset since they were kids. She followed him and her brother around wherever they went; she wrote his name in her diary repeatedly; and she even practiced saying her name with his last name—for years.
Only once has Grady shown any romantic interest, and things did not turn out well.
As the son of the king’s secretary, Grady grew up playing with the royal children. He’s known them his whole life, and while he’s drawn to Princess Bree, he knows that there’s no way they can be together. The princess’s station is too far above his.
As the captain of the royal yacht, Grady sees Bree often, but in recent months the princess has been rude, belligerent, and an all-around pain in the butt. When unforeseen circumstances have Grady and Bree spending time together on her family’s island, things really start to heat up.
Will Grady finally give Bree a chance? Will it be too late?
Find out in the deliciously fun fifth installment of the Seven Brides for Seven Mothers Series.
As Lu gets up to welcome another guest—one I didn’t know was coming—I pull the window sheer to the side and watch as none other than Grady Basset strolls up the front path. He’s carrying a bouquet of yellow tulips. What in the world is he doing here?
I’m torn between running out the back door and confronting the man who’s been a thorn in my side since, well, forever. Leaving would be the nicest thing I could do for everyone, but suddenly I’m not feeling very generous.
I stride toward the entryway like a general marching onto a battlefield. My shoulders are squared, and my jaw is sticking out so far it leaves the living room well ahead of the rest of me. Lu yanks the front door open. “Grady! We’re so glad you could make it.”
He’s about to hand her the flowers when he sees me. “What are you doing here?” His tone suggests that he’s as happy to see me as I am to see him.
“Why am I here?” I put my hands on my hips in fury. “What are you doing here?”
“I was invited.” He dismisses me and turns to Lu, offering her the bouquet.
“I was invited, too.” Then I tell my soon-to-be sister-in-law, “You didn’t mention that Grady would be here. Why is that?”
Before she can answer, Alistair comes out of the back room. He immediately takes in the scene but doesn’t seem eager to explain himself. I should have known this was his doing. “Grady, Bree, we’re so glad you could join us.”
“Yes, well, I’m thinking about leaving,” I blurt out.
“Please, let me do the honors.”
Grady turns and is nearly out the door when my brother says, “Children, is there any chance you two can act like adults long enough to enjoy lunch? There is a perfectly sound reason we asked you both here. It has to do with this petty feud you have going on.”
“Petty feud?” I sputter. “The man picked me up and threw me off a boat. Off a boat! That’s not petty, that’s … that’s …” Words escape me. Barbaric? Contemptuous? Illegal? Apparently, words don’t escape me, after all.
“It’s the only sensible thing to do when you’re being harassed by an annoying child who refuses to grow up.” He has no right to be mad at me. I’m the injured party here.
I square off and face him, my hands firmly on my hips. “I’m sorry, Grady.” I’m not and nothing in my tone suggests I am. “Are you, or are you not, the ship’s captain?” Before he can answer, I tell him, “You shouldn’t be entertaining women on my family’s boat while you’re on duty.”
“I had your brother’s permission. I did not need yours.” His face turns an unnatural shade of red.
Instead of commenting, I abruptly turn toward my brother. “Let’s get this over with. I have a million things I’d rather be doing than wasting my time here.” Like tending to a den of vipers. I was not raised to be so rude, but Grady Basset brings it out in me.
Lu leads the way into the dining room. I follow begrudgingly, wishing custom and courtesy didn’t dictate that I walk in front of Grady. I can’t stick my tongue out at him when I’m in front of him.
Once we’re all seated and the champagne is poured, Lu raises her glass. “Alistair and I were hoping the two of you would…”
“Aubrey.” Grady says my name like he’s speaking to the devil himself. “If you act like an obnoxious, spoiled brat, I will treat you like one. But if you can grow up and behave with some decorum, I assure you, you will have no further trouble from me.”
“Obnoxious … spoiled …” I’m full-on sputtering. “I’m not the one who threw the daughter of his employer into the ocean. If anyone is being taken to task here, it’s you.”
“It’s both of you,” Lu interjects firmly. She looks at Grady. “You cannot toss Bree overboard until after our wedding.”
“But he can then? What kind of friend are you?” I demand while picking up my chair and sitting back down in a huff.
“You had it coming, and you know it, Bree. Alistair gave Grady permission to bring a date onboard, so he was in the right, and you were in the wrong.”
Instead of answering Lu, I glare at my brother. “As long as you don’t let Grady get above himself and treat the yacht like his own, I’ll agree.” I sound like a petulant child, but I can’t seem to help myself.
The room becomes so quiet you could hear a pin drop on a pile of freshly shorn Malquarian wool.
Grady clears his throat loudly. “Princess Aubrey, if it will tame the shrew in you, I promise to never bring another woman onto the boat unless you personally give me permission to do so.”
Tame the shrew in me? As if. My life is no Shakespearean comedy. “I’m sorry, Petruchio, but I think you’ve mistaken me for another.”
“Ah, Katherine,” he drawls, “I can assure you, I’m not your Petruchio.” Everything this man says makes my skin tingle with outrage.
Instead of arguing further, I turn to Alistair. “I’ll do my part.” I sound like I’m agreeing to a public execution.
“Good.” He nods his head once. “But you’re going to have to prove it to us before the wedding.”
“Excuse me?” Grady and I say at the same time.
Lu exhales loudly. “Alistair and I have decided that before we confirm your status as wedding attendants, you will need to exhibit the fine manners you claim to possess.”
“How?” I’d rather eat the rug.
My brother smiles smugly. “Starting tonight, we expect the two of you to accompany us on several outings, both public and private, to ensure that you can be trusted on our wedding day.”
“I’m sorry, Alistair, but I have a life of my own which consists of an array of commitments. I’m not going to audition for the role of bridesmaid.” How insulting.
Standing up, my annoying sibling approaches the sideboard and collects a small stack of papers. He shuffles them into two smaller piles before handing them to us. “If you have any commitments that aren’t on this list, Lu and I would be happy to join you.”
“You can’t expect to monopolize my time for an entire year!”
“We won’t need you for the entire year if you can prove yourselves to us before then. The amount of time it takes is entirely up to you.” Lu raises one eyebrow like a stern nun contemplating corporeal punishment.
“How long will it take to do that?” Grady wants to know. His expression is hard to read, but if I had to guess, I’d say that he’s as pleased as I am.
Which translates into not at all.
“We’ve decided ten consecutive pleasant outings should do the trick,” Alistair tells him.
“And if we have a minor altercation on the tenth?” I demand.
Lu smiles smugly. “Then you start over.”
I slam back my entire glass of champagne in one gulp. “I don’t want to be in your wedding that badly.”
“What will the king and queen say?” Al taunts. Damn him. He knows our parents would make my life a living hell if they discovered why I wouldn’t agree to be in his wedding. There’s no way to sell that to the press without making myself a laughingstock.
“What if I don’t want to be in your wedding that badly?” Grady interjects.
“You don’t think you can do it?” I taunt. Then I look at Al. “There you have it. Grady can’t be a gentleman for that many outings in a row. As he’s thrown in the towel, we can all go back to our regular lives without any fuss.”
“I didn’t concede, Aubrey. I was just asking.”
“Then back out now so we don’t have to jump through these stupid hoops,” I tell him.
“I would, if I were the problem. But you’re the one who can’t stay in her own lane.”
Oh, no, he didn’t. “Grady Basset, I can accomplish this blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back.”
“I think you might need a gag, too,” he mumbles.
Alistair refills my glass before raising his into the air. “To both of you being in our wedding!” While there was once a time that I would have loved to be around Grady that often, that ship sailed years ago. In fact, it didn’t just sail, it sank.
Whitney loves to laugh, play with her kids, bake, and eat french fries — not always in that order.
Whitney is a multi-award-winning author of romcoms, non-fiction humor, and middle reader fiction. Basically, she writes whatever the voices in her head tell her to.
She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, Jimmy, where they raise children, chickens, and organic vegetables.
Gold Medal winner at the International Readers’ Favorite Awards, 2017.
Silver medal winner at the International Readers’ Favorite Awards, 2015, 2016.
Title: First Comes Love Author: Rachael Brownell Genre: Small-Town Romance
For lovers of second chances, small town romances, and happily ever afters…
Chloe
They say everyone has one true love, one person who was made just for them. A person they were meant to spend the rest of their life with. Who souls are intertwined.
For me, that person was Wyatt.
Our love was perfect. When we were together, nothing else mattered. Not college. Not our parents. Because our relationship wasn’t about anyone else.
We had big plans for our future together.
The thing about life… it doesn’t always go as planned.
It’s been five years since I’ve been home. Since I’ve laid eyes on the only man I’ll love in this lifetime.
And in a town this small, there’s no chance I’ll be able to avoid him for long. Or anyone else from my past.
Addison
From the moment I first laid eyes on Adam, I knew I was in trouble. There was a tension between us, chemistry I couldn’t deny. The way he was looking at me, as if he could see straight into my soul, sent my heart into overdrive.
After an hour together, I knew. He was the one. The one who would make me want to change everything. Who could make me believe in love again. In the idea of happily ever afters.
And he did.
His love and two tiny pink lines were about to change my entire life.
The thing about life… it doesn’t always go as planned.
“Sorry, I was taking a walk down memory lane when you called.”
“A good walk or the kind where you feel like someone is chasing you and you’re running for your life?”
Only Addy would remind me that I’m still running from my past.
“The good kind.”
“That’s good. Any sign of you-know-who?”
That’s a trick questions, but she doesn’t know that yet. “I have yet to spot him.”
“But he’s around, isn’t he?”
“I’m assuming. I ran into his cousin last night. I stopped at the Tavern for a drink, and he was working behind the bar.”
“A man after my own heart,” Addy teases. “What did he have to say about him?”
Addy knows I hate to talk about Wyatt. She also knows that I hate hearing his name. It still stings, deep down.
“He didn’t offer up any info and I didn’t ask.”
“You should have. At least you would know where to avoid this weekend. Plus, aren’t you the least bit curious? It’s been five years, Chloe. He may have moved away by now.”
He’s here. I can feel him. I felt him last night. His eyes, burning into my back as Jones hugged me. There’s only one man that’s lit me on fire like that. Only one man that ever will.
“Doubt it. With my luck, I’ll run into him with Lola. At least I won’t have to explain much when he looks at her.”
“What are you talking about? She looks just like her mommy.”
Right. Except the dark hair, the hazel eyes, and the strong jaw. Just like mommy dearest. If only I had a picture to show Addy, then she might understand what I’m talking about.
“Well, if he is here, I’m sure he knows I’m in town now. Jones and him have always been close, and I’m sure that hasn’t changed much.”
“That’s a good thing if you ask me. What did I tell you before you left, Chloe?”
Not this again. The first two times she said it I listened, took her words to heart. The day before I left, she recited it again and I did my best to block her words. Now that I’m here, it’s the last thing I want to hear. My heart won’t like it.
“I know, Addy.”
“Say it,” she demands.
“Why? It’s not like—”
“Chloe Grace Warren. You’ve never been afraid of anything in your life. You face things head on and you’re going to face this head on too. Now, say it.” Did she just summon my mother? She sounded oddly like her.
Damn her no-nonsense attitude.
“If I still love him after all this time, he may still love me too. Because our love is a love that doesn’t fade away. It’s the forever kind of love and imperfection is what makes it perfect.”
Leaving me with only her words, Addy says goodbye and hangs up on me. I come to a halt, my heart beating so wildly in my chest I need to pause. It’s time to a stop thinking about the chance that Wyatt may still be holding onto feelings for me after all this time.
That would mean he stopped living, and the thought breaks my heart.
Rachael Brownell is an Amazon bestselling author of contemporary, New Adult, and YA romance.
She lives in Michigan with her husband, son, snuggly dog, and hateful cat. She moonlights as a bartender a few days a week (her excuse to get out of the house and socialize) and writes full time. She published her first novel in 2013 and since she’s released more than 30 additional titles.
Rachael writes all kinds of romance – dark, sexy, sweet. She started her career writing young-adult romance and as she matured, so did her characters and her writing. These days, Rachael writes steamy, new adult romance. Her favorite tropes to write are small-town and friends to lovers.
When she’s not hiding in her office, writing her next novel, you can find her hanging out with her family, watching her son play baseball, or running on the treadmill at the gym (though she skips more days than she goes).
Fifteen-year-old Alex and his learning-disabled friends barely survived the events of Spinner, but their nightmare has only just begun.
Alex’s wheelchair has never stopped him from doing what he wants, but his supernatural power to heal every human ailment known to science has put him in the crosshairs of a dangerous doomsday cult that will stop at nothing to capture him and his long-lost twin, Andy, who can shift illness from one person to another. When the boys combine their “gifts,” they unleash the power to control life and death.
Now Alex, Andy, and the others have been kidnapped by the U.S. military. On a creepy Air Force base in the remote Nevada desert, they must decide who to trust and who to fear while uncovering secrets this base wants to hide from the world. Who is the young boy with unusual abilities who’s treated like a soldier? What is hidden in an ultra-secret hangar that no one can access? And what unnatural experiments are conducted in that closed-off laboratory?
As Alex unravels these mysteries, he strives to bond with his twin, but Andy is distant and detached, trusting no one. He’s also more attracted to the dangerous power they wield than Alex would like. When misplaced faith in science ignites a hidden lust for supremacy, rescue can only come from the most unlikely source, and Alex must confront a terrible truth.
Allison woke with a start. Had she been dreaming? She wasn’t sure, but she was sure she’d heard her father’s voice. She sat up in bed, the coverlet tumbling into her lap, and listened. Yes. It was her dad. His room was next to hers, but the voice was muffled enough that she couldn’t make out the words.
She slipped out of bed and dropped to the plush carpet. Not bothering with a robe to cover her pajamas, she padded across her expansive bedroom to the door. Easing it open, she peered out into the dimly lit, lushly paneled hallway. None of the household staff were up. Why should they be? It was the middle of the night.
The burnished wood flooring felt cold against her bare feet as she darted to the door next to hers. It was closed, but she pressed her ear up against it and listened.
“…just you and the two men left? Did you find any blood in the house?”
Allison gasped. Blood? Somehow, she knew her dad was talking about Alex. She yanked open his door, trembling with fear.
Her dad sat on his bed, wearing his fancy brocaded silk robe and black velvet slippers with the gold crown insignia, cell phone to one ear, worry creasing his face. He looked over as she rushed inside but didn’t seem surprised to see her. He held up a hand for silence and listened intently.
“All right. Get back here with the men. I’m going to contact my sources for any clues as to who took them.”
He ended the call and eyed Allison with a grim expression. The worry lines around his eyes looked deeper, almost like they’d been carved with a knife, and there seemed to be even more gray peppering his short dark hair.
“It’s Alex, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Armed men attacked the safe house and took him along with the other kids. Nathan and his older son were knocked out by some kind of drug and left behind, along with Martin.”
Allison felt her chest constrict with worry. “Does Martin know who took them?”
He shook his head. “The brief glimpse he had made him think military, so it might be the same group who brought Andy to that church.”
“Our government?” Allison felt disgust well up within her.
He didn’t look the least bit surprised at the idea. “There are some at the Pentagon who will use anyone or anything in the interest of national security, even children.”
Allison knew she should be angry, but she’d overheard enough of her father’s business dealings with the government over the years to know he spoke the truth.
“Go back to bed, Allison,” he said. “I’ve got to do some research.”
She knew better than to argue. “Just find him, Dad. Find all of them.”
“I will.” She returned to her room. Knowing she could never sleep now, she sat on her bed and lay back against the heavy wooden headboard, thinking about Alex. He’d literally brought her back from the brink of death at the risk of his own life. What kind of boy would do that? Most people seemed to care only about themselves. He had to be all right. He had to be!
Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author who grew up in Northern California. He majored in English/Theatre at Santa Clara University, earned a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and a master’s in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills. Michael taught high school in Hawthorne, California, both in general education and to students with disabilities. When Michael is not writing, he serves as a youth mentor with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles, but mostly he takes care of his recently adopted son. He is a passionate advocate for the fair treatment of children and teens in California and hopes that his books can show young people they are not alone in their struggles.
