“Who do you think she’ll choose?” she asked.
Tom shrugged and turned away. “Not my concern. They’re both great men. I’d have either of them as a brother-in-law and father for Samantha.”
“So how long do we have to stay at this reception?”
“Until the fireworks.”
“Fireworks?”
Tom laughed. “Yeah. I couldn’t talk Clayton out of them. But you know … we have a room, so we could sneak away. We are married … ” he trailed off.
Shelby smiled. “Let’s do that. Right after I see who Michelle chooses —” Tom swung her around just as Michelle stood up. “Dang-it, Tom!”
“Pay attention to me, Shelby. This is our day.” But then Tom peeked around her head and smiled as he looked at his sister. “Ooh … I was wrong. You’ll never guess.”
Before You Go ...
Dear friend, I hope you enjoyed the Southern Romantic-Suspense Collection. If you enjoyed these heroes and the women who love them, please don’t stop with this series.
Although my next series has a paranormal edge, I assure you if you enjoyed the Southern Romantic-Suspense Collection, you’ll enjoy the heroes and heroines in the Creatus series.
As with this collection, all of my stories have a common thread — romance, mystery, and suspense.
The Creatus Series
Creatus (They Exist)
Creatus
Creatus Rogue
Creatus Eidolon
or
Creatus Series Boxed Set
If you like your romantic suspense with a ghostly edge, please check out my Paranormal Mystery Collection
The Pit Stop (This Stop Might be Life of Death)
The Depot (When Life and Death Cross Tracks)
The Library (Where Life Checks Out)
And the next series is coming soon ...
The Watermen Series
A Solstice with Jacky Waterman
You can find all my books on my Amazon Author Page.
Please ... please ... please ... if you enjoyed this boxed set, please leave a review. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just a few words to let other readers know if they should download it too. It means so much to an author to hear what readers loved — even didn’t love — about a book. It’s how we grow and learn what you want to read next time ... and in the case of a series, which characters you want to see more of in the next books or which ones we should knock off. :)
Thank you again!
Carmen
Acknowledgements
My journey as a writer has been a long one. Although my first book, She Belongs to Me, took two years to write and publish, the story took twenty-five years to compile, as life tends to get in the way of dreams.
If it weren’t for my wonderful, supportive husband of twenty-six years, my writing would not be possible. He truly made me believe in a happily-ever-after. Without my husband and two wonderful sons, there would be no reason to write.
I would also like to thank a friend who has cheered me on from the beginning, Tina Wainscott. Tina’s books were an inspiration, but more so, her words of encouragement kept me going.
A big thank you to my best friend and cousin, who endured the first drafts of my stories and provided much-needed feedback. Without their insight, my first novel would never have seen the light of day.
Many thanks to Bernadette Soehner — a great friend and publisher — who believed in me. Not a day went by that she didn’t communicate with me as we worked feverishly to put my first novel together.
And lastly a thank you to my biggest fan — my youngest son — he has stood by me longer than any other person, championing me constantly through every rough turn in the road.
I love you all!
About the Author
I love writing. As far back as I can remember I created stories — no, not to my parents — with my best friend. We would sit for hours playing with Barbie dolls, creating new adventures with the iconic toy. Then when I was eight, I actually wrote my first story. A horror story about gigantic fleas of all things; I guess I had a fear of fleas. Who knew I’d grow up to be a romantic-suspense writer?
When I was in college, I wrote my first novella. My professor wanted something that entailed drinking and fishing — he was a huge Hemmingway fan. Well, he sure received a surprise when he read my short story. It entailed drinking and fishing all right, but there was nothing funny about it. It was sad; it was real life. Luckily, he enjoyed it, even admitted I was the first student who’d ever made him cry and that I had potential.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t in my future at the time. After all, I needed a roof over my head and food on my plate. At seventeen, I was on my own and a career as an author just wasn’t feasible at that juncture in my life. At that time, if you didn’t live in the Mecca — aka New York — you didn’t stand a chance, or at least that is what my peers insisted. So, I shelved my dreams and set out for a career. I spent the next twenty-five years in the business world, rising to the top of a Fortune 500 company.
Now I’m back, seeking my dream. And guess what, it’s a new world where dreams really do come true. My first novel, She Belongs to Me, was first published in December 2011. Since then, I’ve shared many of the stories I’d been writing ... fourteen as of 2015, and I have many more to come. I waited twenty-five years to share my love of the written word, so I hope you will want to read all of my stories.
Until next time, happy reading!
Carmen
Table of Contents
Welcome – Please Read!
Three Days Ago
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
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Epilogue
A Note From The Author
A Week Before Her Fortieth Birthday …
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
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Epilogue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
<
br /> 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
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Epilogue
From the Author
Fourteen Years Ago …
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
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
EPILOGUE
From the Author …
Prologue
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
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Chapter Forty-two
Epilogue
Before You Go ...
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Table of Contents
Southern Romantic-Suspense Boxed Set (Southern Romantic-Suspense Novel Book 0) Page 139
