Rocky Mountain Bride (Roberts of Silver Springs Book 4)
Page 1
Table of Contents
About This Book
Series Reading Order
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Titles by Nadia S. Lee
About Nadia S. Lee
Copyright
Manhattan socialite Lina Vogel breaks up with her groom after discovering him with her best friend—and maid of honor—fifteen minutes before the ceremony. Devastated, she flees the scene, getting pulled over for speeding in a small Colorado town. Ironically, it’s her older sister’s ex-fiancé, Sam Roberts, who comes to her rescue.
A Harvard-educated lawyer, Sam swore off big city women since leaving Manhattan, but there’s something about Lina he can’t ignore. When his legal secretary quits without notice, Lina comes to his rescue. The attraction between the two is unexpected and unwanted. Aside from being his ex-fiancée’s sister, she’s vulnerable after her aborted wedding. Sam knows better than to expect her to give up the glamour of New York City for small-town life.
Will the two of them be able to get past their differences to see a future together? Or will Lina’s family secret keep them apart?
Note: Rocky Mountain Bride is a “clean” story, which means there is no explicit sex or cursing. It’s a departure from my usual fare, but it still has all the feels and yummy heroes and sweet heroines you expect from my love stories. :)
To distinguish my sweet romance from my explicit romance, I’m adding an S to my author name, so any book written as Nadia S. Lee will be a sweet, non-explicit romance.
The Roberts of Silver Springs Series Reading Order
Book 1: Rocky Mountain Mornings by Kirsten Osbourne
US :: UK :: Canada :: Australia
Book 2: Rocky Mountain Hero by Cassie Hayes
US :: UK :: Canada :: Australia
Book 3: Rocky Mountain Soul by Kay P. Dawson
US :: UK :: Canada :: Australia
Book 4: Rocky Mountain Bride by Nadia S. Lee
US :: UK :: Canada :: Australia
Book 5: Rocky Mountain Promise by Ciara Knight
US :: UK :: Canada :: Australia
Book 6: Rocky Mountain Nights by Kirsten Osbourne
US :: UK :: Canada :: Australia
Book 7: Rocky Mountain Home by Cassie Hayes
US :: UK :: Canada :: Australia
Book 8: Rocky Mountain Heart by Kay P. Dawson
US :: UK :: Canada :: Australia
Book 9: Rocky Mountain Baby by Nadia S. Lee
US :: UK :: Canada :: Australia
Book 10: Rocky Mountain Faith by Ciara Knight
US :: UK :: Canada :: Australia
Rocky Mountain Bride
The Roberts of Silver Springs Series, Book 4
Nadia S. Lee
To all of you who believe in happily ever afters.
Chapter One
On one particularly warm, fine Saturday afternoon, Sam Roberts drove his prized blue Maserati convertible along the wide, deserted stretch of road. The sun poured down on him, warming his skin, while a stiff mountain breeze ruffled his short, cropped hair—what the people of Silver Springs teased him for as his “thousand-dollar New York haircut.” Never mind he’d left all that behind—except the Maserati—when he quit Manhattan.
Suddenly the roar of a car engine came fast from behind him. Before he could see who it was, a flash of white passed by, Adele’s voice booming at some man to send her love to his new lover.
Sam blinked. Whoa. Had he also heard the driver yell out an expletive loud enough to drown out Adele?
He shook his head. It was a young woman’s voice…must be a tourist passing through. No one from Silver Springs would do that unless they wanted tongues wagging.
He squinted. The woman was going at least a hundred—not the safest speed for a wind-buffeted mountain road, even if it were legal. She better hope Wayne Perkinson, the town sheriff, didn’t notice her…although chances of that happening were nil. Middle-aged and fit, Wayne was a man with a heart of steel. No amount of eyelash fluttering, tears or sob stories could move him to let an infraction pass. The rumor was Wayne ticketed his own mother.
Less than ten minutes later, Sam hit Main Street, and sure enough, the offending car was pulled over to the side, along with the sheriff’s vehicle. Sam whistled at the shiny, freshly waxed frost-white Aston Martin convertible. The blonde in the driver’s seat was petite, her hair tousled from the fast drive and messy in a surprisingly artful way. A pair of long, ivory gloves covered her small hands and arms. Her dress was strapless and white and… Wait. Was that a wedding gown?
Sam couldn’t help but slow down. He wasn’t the only one. People were craning their necks to see the spectacle, and a few people came right out of their homes and stores to watch.
Wayne tipped his Stetson in that gentlemanly manner of his and said something, pointing inside her car. Adele’s voice abruptly cut off.
“Ma’am. Do you know how fast you were driving?”
Sam squinted in sympathy. That was Wayne’s “not only are you not getting away with this, but you’re getting a lecture as well” tone. He slowed down some more, practically coming to a stop, not because he was trying to be a busybody but because he couldn’t help his curiosity.
“Just give me the ticket,” the woman said, thrusting out a hand, palm up.
Her husky voice tickled his memory. Where had he heard it before?
“You were going one hundred and thirty-six!”
“So give me the ticket and be done with it.”
“Do you understand how dangerous it is to go that fast?”
“I’m really good at driving, and this is an Aston Martin. It won’t roll like most cars.”
A flush started in Wayne’s neck. Uh-oh. That was a sure sign he was about to start quoting statistics to put God’s fear into her, even if it was the last thing he did. “The latest numbers from NHTSA shows you’re two point five times more likely to die on rural roads! They’re narrower, twistier and trickier to drive than city roads, do you understand? Do you want to end up mangled—dead or maimed for life? And it won’t be just you suffering, but your family too!”
“My family won’t be suffering much, no matter what happens.” She turned her head, showing an elegant, pretty profile with an upturned nose, high cheekbones and soft lips. Her mascara was smudged, bits of black streaking from the corner of her eye straight back to the temple.
Sam shook his head. What the…? That was Lina Vogel, his ex-fiancée Jolie’s younger sister. He’d seen her a few times at family gatherings and the engagement party for him and Jolie. The last he’d heard, Lina was engaged to the only son of some real estate mogul from New York City. Her family had been so proud.
He pulled over and got out of his car. “Lina?”
Her head swiveled. “Sam?” She blinked red-rimmed blue eyes. “What are you doing here?”
“I live here. What are you doing here?”
She waved a hand distractedly. “Driving through
. Trying to, anyway.”
“Dressed like that? What happened?”
“Oh my God, you sound just like my family!” She sniffled. “That holier-than-thou ‘I’m gonna cross-examine you until you break’ tone!”
Uh… He didn’t think he sounded like that, but he knew better than to argue with a woman who’d been crying while driving at a suicidal speed in a wedding gown.
“You know this lady?” Wayne said, jerking his square jaw in her direction.
“Yeah. That’s my ex-fiancée’s younger sister.”
Both of his bushy eyebrows shot up to the hairline. “You’d think a lawyer family would obey the laws.”
“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here, please,” Lina interjected.
A big mistake.
Wayne turned to her and resumed his lecture on road safety, quoting more statistics. If he’d had his way, Silver Springs would have installed a huge screen that projected gruesome car wreck images. As great a sheriff as Wayne was, he could be obtuse and single-minded about his job, and traffic violations were the most excitement the sheriff’s department got in Silver Springs.
As Wayne went on and on, Lina’s eyes started to fill with tears. Sam hoped she didn’t try to use waterworks the way Jolie often did. Lina was beautiful with those wide blue eyes, porcelain-smooth skin and a pert nose, but they were no use on a man like Wayne.
“You can lecture me when I drive like a maniac next time, but not today!” Lina bellowed. “I’m entitled.”
Wayne’s face turned red. Nobody in Silver Springs talked to him that way. “Nothing entitles you to—”
“If you found your groom doing your maid of honor less than fifteen minutes before what was supposed to be your wedding ceremony, it sure does!”
And she promptly burst into ugly, racking tears.
Chapter Two
Lina rested her arms on the steering wheel and hid her face after that outburst. She shouldn’t have aired her humiliating laundry, but when that sanctimonious sheriff refused to just give her a ticket so she could move on, she couldn’t help it.
Her phone had rung nonstop since she fled her four-hundred-thousand-dollar ceremony in Denver. Undoubtedly her parents wanted to talk, and that weasel butt Jared wanted to figure out how to salvage the situation.
If there were a successful defense against killing a groom for ruining the most special day of her life, she would have shot Jared. But everyone in her family was a lawyer—except her—and she knew there wasn’t. So she’d done the next best thing. She’d screamed loudly enough to curdle every one of seven hundred and twenty-two guests’ blood, taken her Aston Martin and driven off.
Let Jared explain while tucking his dangly bits back into his tux.
She didn’t know how long she sobbed through her humiliation and heartbreak, but eventually she felt a tentative hand on her bare shoulder. “Lina. Wayne’s gone.”
At the familiar, gentle voice, she lifted her head and looked at the man who would’ve been her brother-in-law by now if things hadn’t gone sour between him and Jolie a year ago. He was watching her with concerned gray eyes.
Lina should hate him for what he did to Jolie, but somehow she couldn’t muster the emotion, which probably made her a horrible sister and human being. He’d always been polite and thoughtful to everyone, even when he was using his lawyer voice. “Who?”
“Wayne. The sheriff.” Sam gave her a small smile. “I’ve never seen him take off like that.”
She dabbed at her eyes and sniffed. “So I’m terrorizing a poor, small-town sheriff.” Suddenly drained, she rested the back of her head against the seat. Her eyes felt swollen and gritty from too much crying, her head like it was full of Jell-O, and her throat was raw from all the yelling and ranting she’d done since leaving Denver.
“Have you eaten anything?” Sam asked, searching her face.
“Does coffee count?” She’d been too nervous and excited to have anything more substantial. Stupid her. She should’ve stuffed herself all along rather than dieting to look her best for the special day.
“I don’t know where you’re headed, but wherever it is, you should get something to eat.” He gestured with his chin. “There’s a pretty good café up the road.”
“Uh, not—”
“My treat.” Sam flashed a dimple, as though he knew that would seal the deal.
She wanted to decline, but it would only hurt her. You could bet Jared had shoveled the catered wedding food into his mouth—the menu she had chosen with care over the past few weeks. May he get eternal diarrhea. “If you promise to stick around and guard me from that overzealous sheriff, sure. I’ll get a bite to eat.”
“Deal.”
Sam led her to a place called Books ’N Beans, which advertised itself as a coffee shop slash bookstore. She parked and stepped out of her car, finally taking in her surroundings. This town was so…different from what she’d grown up with. The least populated place she’d ever been to was Denver—excluding tropical beach resorts she’d vacationed at. There no hustle or noise here. It was almost like she’d been thrown into a fake, amusement-park town after hours.
Sam opened the door in gentlemanly fashion, and they walked inside a cozy café that smelled like great coffee and old books. A cute brunette at the counter raised an eyebrow, then smiled. “Hey, Sam.”
“Hi, Emma.”
“What can I get ya?”
Sam gestured at Lina to go first. She ordered a latte and started to add a salad, then stopped. Why limit herself to greens anymore? “Grilled cheese sandwich. Actually, make it two. And whatever’s the soup of the day.”
“Sure thing. How about you, Sam?”
“BLT and fries. And some iced tea.”
The food came out fast, as they were the only customers ordering so late in the day. They collected their lunch—or snack; who knew about Sam—and went to one of the empty tables.
Lina bit into her first sandwich and moaned at the warm, gooey cheese filling her mouth. “This is so good.”
“Emma does up some great sandwiches.”
“Definitely. Mmm. Love this.” Lina washed it down with her latte, which was also surprisingly good. Maybe eating here wasn’t such a bad idea after all. She glanced outside the window. The roads were oddly empty around here—at least compared to New York City—and what homes she could see actually had yards bigger than a one-car garage. But there probably wasn’t a single late night delivery Chinese eatery in town.
She studied Sam across the table. His dark hair was neatly shorn—the lawyer look, as she’d dubbed it, because all the attorneys she knew in Manhattan had the same kind of style that invoked a trusty, conservative feel—and his gray eyes were smart and observant, which made him a great attorney. Since it was the weekend, he was wearing a wine-colored V-neck shirt and old, frayed jeans. But no matter what he wore, she simply couldn’t imagine him outside of New York City. He hadn’t just gotten by at Pearce Vogel Lott. He’d thrived, won a crazy number of cases for all of the firm’s moneyed and important clients.
“So. This is really where you live now?” Lina asked, unable to believe Sam had thrown away a career most would give a kidney for. “Gave up Manhattan for the rural mountain life?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
She searched his face for any hint of regret. “You went to Harvard Law, Sam.”
“So?”
“People don’t go to Harvard to end up in a town like this. Not that I think there’s anything, you know, wrong here…but it’s not like New York or Boston. Even Chicago would’ve been more understandable.”
“Eh. Got tired of the big city life.”
“But you were doing amazing in New York. Dad said you’d be the youngest associate ever to make junior partner. Do you know how many associates would’ve cut off major body parts for that?”
Sam laughed gently and shook his head. “There’s more to life than winning cases and billable hours.”
“Don’t you have student loa
ns?” Those alone could keep newly minted associates stuck in big law firms in big cities, billing hundreds of hours. She’d seen how things were with her father’s law firm. He didn’t need to toil away, being a name partner and all, but she’d heard stories from Jolie.
“I was fortunate enough to not have any.”
“Wow. Good for you.” She cleared her throat. “So. Um. Your new girlfriend happy here, too?”
“My new girlfriend?”
Gosh. No filter. Why did she have to say that? “You know, the woman you left Jolie for.”
Sam drew back slightly and stared at her. “Did Jolie tell you that?”
Oh no. Had she misunderstood? That was not the look of a man who was guilty of cheating on his fiancée. Lina felt like she’d stepped on a landmine. “Um. Not really, but she said you backstabbed her in the worst way a man can, so I thought… But it was hard for me to believe. You were always such a nice guy. I thought there was, you know, probably some kind of misunderstanding, or…” She floundered for something to say. Gosh, why had she brought it up in the first place? She was an idiot.
“The only misunderstanding is you assuming that I cheated on your sister. I wanted to leave Manhattan; she wanted to stay. It was that simple.”
Embarrassment heated her cheeks. “Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it isn’t the most pleasant memory for her, which explains why Jolie didn’t tell you anything in detail.”
“Right.” Lina nodded. Realizing it was just a difference in how they wanted to live their lives made her feel better about still liking Sam. She wasn’t betraying her sister. Besides, she should’ve known Jolie would’ve used her talent for making a Mt. Everest out of a molehill to talk about her failed engagement. She did that well in court too, which was why clients with an ax to grind loved her.
Lina’s phone rang, and she glanced down at the screen. The smiling face of her impeccably coiffed and made-up mother flashed for the twenty-sixth—or was it twenty-seventh?—time since she’d fled Denver, and she hit the red button. Catalina Vogel never called Lina to trade pleasantries, and surely wasn’t doing so this time. In fact, Lina kept the picture on the phone because it was nice to occasionally pretend that her mother did smile when she was on the other end of the line.