The One (Book 1, of The Wilde Brothers, A Contemporary Western Romance)
Page 14
“Joe, put me down, now!” she shouted. She grabbed his waist as he jostled her and slid her down so she felt every inch of him.
He set both his hands on her cheeks and leaned in to kiss her, and she started to kiss him back but then set her hands on his chest and pushed. No matter how badly she wanted him, she couldn’t have him. “Don’t,” she snapped.
He stepped back, letting her go. Her breathing was fast and heavy as she watched this man who confused the hell out of her and had broken her heart, a man who could reduce her to nothing.
“We’re getting married as soon as possible,” he said.
“What?” she blurted out, unable to believe what he was saying. Had he lost his mind?
“Ryan was devastated that you would consider leaving, and he told me he didn’t mean you—I mean, me not dating you.” Joe was actually smiling, and it was the first time she had ever considered hurting someone.
“Seriously, Joe?” She shook her head. “You know it was just a matter of time before I discovered you’re no good for me. Your lips talk sweet and then turn into vinegar at the snap of a finger, and then you toss me to the curb. I feel like a yoyo. I always knew you were selfish, but this isn’t all about you and when you want something.” She waved her finger at him. “Well, let me tell you something: You’re no longer getting the chance to break my heart! I’ve ripped off the blinders and really see you.”
She stepped away again. “I love you, Joe, but you’re letting Ryan run your life—a kid! You screwed up, but now he says, ‘Jump, marry this woman,’ and you run after me and say, ‘Oh, hey, Margaret, it’s okay now. We’re getting married’?” She ran her hand over her head. “No.” Her hand was shaking, so she fisted it in her hair. “No, this girl has pulled on her big-girl pants and her goodbye shoes, and she’s walking away.” She started back to the house, giving him her back, when he touched her arm.
“Margaret, please forgive me for treating you so badly. You deserve everything good, and you deserve to be loved so deeply. You don’t deserve how I treated you. I swear, Margaret, if you’ll give me a chance, you won’t regret it. I promise you, I’ll always stand by you, by your side. I’ll love you as you deserve to be loved, and I swear I won’t take you for granted. What I didn’t realize before and I know now is that you’re the one I’ve looked for, the one who can heal my heart, the only one I want to spend the rest of my life with. Please, Margaret, if you’ll have me…”
She turned until she faced Joe, slowly looking up. Her breath caught when she glimpsed a sheen of tears in his eyes.
“Margaret, I screwed up with Ryan, all because I wanted love. I just didn’t know how to find it. Then you, in that ridiculous hat, with your attitude…well, you had me. I was terrified, but I don’t want to be scared anymore. Ryan isn’t running our lives, and I promise to try not to screw up again, though I guarantee you I will. Through all of it, I’ll never stop loving you.”
“I need a guarantee, Joe,” she said.
“You can’t have one. You just have to have faith that it’ll all work out. You have to stop running.”
She took a breath when he held out his hand to her, and her heart softened. She set her hands over her mouth when she realized he truly meant every word he’d said. Finally, she set her trembling hand in his.
Epilogue
Margaret could hear the violin strings and the first stirring notes of the wedding song she’d chosen, “I’ll Stand by You.” The guitar joined in, and she started out the back room of the church. Stan Jerow was waiting for her in his green suit and string tie, grinning ear to ear like her father, who should have been here. She’d emailed him and her mother but had only received a brisk, congratulatory email from Italy saying he was unable to attend her wedding on such short notice, considering it was only three days from when Joe had shown up at her grandfather’s house.
“You look so beautiful,” Stan said. She had to lean her cheek down to let him kiss her, since he was two inches shorter. Margaret was wearing a simple white sheath that ended just at her knees, the only thing she could find in Post Falls.
“Could my mother make it?” she asked, but Stan just shook his head.
“I’m sorry, honey. Hazel’s kept an eye out for her.”
“It’s all right. She never answered my email. For all I know, she’s holidaying somewhere or busy with some business deal.” She tried to make light of the hurt, but Stan wasn’t buying any of it.
“Your granddad would be proud of you today, and I like to think he’s looking down on you and smiling,” he said, beaming up at her.
She held the bouquet of wildflowers Hazel had brought. When the doors to the church opened and Margaret looked down the aisle, there was Joe in a dark suit, his hair slicked back, with Ryan beside him. She gasped when she took in all four of his brothers, tall, hunky, and standing shoulder to shoulder. “Oh, my Lord, those brothers of his are going to have all the women fighting each other to get to them,” she said.
Stan just patted her hand. “They have been for years, honey, but one of them is now off the market for good.”
“You got that right,” she said with a laugh.
“You ready?” Stan asked.
“More than ready,” she replied, and she started down the aisle to become Mrs. Joe Wilde.
###
Afterword
I hope you enjoyed reading The One, the first book in the Wilde Brothers Series. There is more to come in this series, next to the oldest brother, Logan, in Friendly Fire, which will be out in early February. I’d love to ask you a favor and have you go back to Amazon and leave a review. All authors depend on reviews, and the few extra minutes it takes you to leave one really helps us out. Thank you so much.
Although this book and all my books have been edited and proofed, editors, proofreaders, and I are all human. If you spot a typo, please email me at lorhainne@lorhainneeckhart.com and let me know. Also, I would like to thank everyone who has emailed and told all their family and friends about my books. If you’d like to know more about my other books, please scroll to the next section or visit my website at www.LorhainneEckhart.com.
If you’d like to sign up for my newsletter, I promise not to flood you with emails, but I will notify you of all new releases and special promotions.
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All the best,
Lorhainne Eckhart
Other Works by Lorhainne Eckhart
Just in time for Christmas, The Outsider Series The Complete Omnibus Collection is the ultimate sexy and emotionally charged western romance series. Over 350,000 words of love, passion, and deep family ties. Get it for yourself or for the western romance lover in your life.
**Warning: Although this series is filled with ideals of family, love and loyalty, the Friessen men are strong sexy alpha males. Each book and short story in this series is filled with sexual tension, steamy romance, rough language, and passion. It is for those who enjoy adult contemporary romance, women’s fiction, western romance.
Praise for Finding Love ~ The Outsider Series…
“Loved this book series! I just couldn’t get enough of the characters, and ended up reading the whole set in a day.” Amazon Reviewer – Jen
“I loved all these books. All about the cowboys and their lives. Love at first sight and the things they will do for love. I couldn’t put them down.” Amazon Reviewer – Suzanne
“Wish there were truly men in the world like the Friessen Men” Amazon Reviewer Sara
Overview:
This collection includes all the books and short stories of the hot and sexy Friessen men and the strong and vulnerable women they love.
THE FORGOTTEN CHILD: - #1 AMAZON BESTSELLER in Romance Series & Westerns. How do you tell
a man there is something wrong with his child?
A BABY AND A WEDDING (The Forgotten Child to Fallen Hero bridge short story of Brad & Emily)
FALLEN HERO: A cowboy who walked away from his family’s fortune. A woman who returned for justice. What they didn’t expect was to find love.
THE SEARCH (Fallen Hero to The Awakening bridge short story of Andy, Jed and Diana): When her husband goes missing she’s forced to call the one man she shouldn’t.
THE AWAKENING: A young woman who’s lost everything, and the wealthy rancher who saves her.
SECRETS: “Jed always told me he’d take care of everything. And I believed him, I trusted him, I loved him.”
RUNAWAY: Andy sets out to bring his runaway bride home. But when he finds her, he’s in for a big surprise.
OVERDUE: (Runaway to The Unexpected Storm bridge short story of Jed and Diana)
THE UNEXPECTED STORM: He can have any woman, except the one he wants.
THE WEDDING: A man who’s always planned everything, and a woman who’s struggled alone—The Wedding will change their lives forever.
To download a sample or purchase this collection simply click here
The Saved Series
“I’m an advocate for women in sexual assault, abuse and domestic violence, and I have to give this author two thumbs up for how she writes her stories”.- Amazon Reviewer-Jamie
The Saved Series is awesome. The focus on a woman taken was a very classic ideal because it was set in a military arena. YOU have to read these books, but make sure that you have e box of tissues because you will need them.- Amazon Reviewer – Kivey
Growing up I had dreams that one day I’d fall in love, get married and start a family. Then one night I was taken. But I survived, I escaped and I was saved. Eric didn’t see me as damaged. He didn’t see my baby as a monster. He protected me, he kept me safe … he saved me.
To download a sample or purchase Saved simply click here.
She thought her nightmare was over…
To download a sample or purchase Vanished simply click here.
Walk the Right Road Series
*Warning – This series is not for those looking for a light easy read. It is filled with rough language, sexual tension, and steamy hot romantic suspense!
LOST AND FOUND ‘A 2013 Readers Favorite Award Winner’
“Genius at weaving a story of love and redemption”—Amazon Reviewer –Kyblondern
“There was not a human emotion, I did not go through while reading this book. I will forewarn you, you will need a box of tissues and a punching bag while reading this dynamic tale.”-Romance Junkies
One Woman. Two Men. And a choice that could kill her.
To download a sample or purchase The Choice, simply click here.
A Hit and Run—A Deserted Country Road—A Parent’s Worst Nightmare.
To download a sample or purchase Lost and Found, simply click here.
Everyone thinks he’s dead, and that’s exactly how he needs it to stay. But the mysterious dark-haired beauty has secrets of her own and could ultimately be his undoing.
To download a sample or purchase Merkaba, simply click here.
MOST COPS HAVE A PAST, A PAST THEY CAN SPEAK OF, A PAST THEY CAN SHARE … But not Diane
To download a sample or purchase Bounty, simply click here.
About the Author
2012 was an amazing year in the publishing world for me, and it started with The Forgotten Child, which landed on the Amazon bestseller list for western romance and romance series. 2013 has seen me posted in the top 100 authors on Amazon for romantic suspense, mystery/thrillers, and police procedurals.
Where did it all begin? In 2008, I published my first novel, The Captain’s Lady, a contemporary military romance, through The Wild Rose Press. I’ve since received the rights back from my publisher, and I rewrote the book and republished it with a brand new title, Saved.
I write edgy romantic suspense (Walk the Right Road Series), western romance (Finding Love ~ The Outsider Series), and young adult mystery, and I warn my readers to expect the unexpected. I’m a mother of three children, and we live on a small island in the Pacific Northwest. I encourage you to contact me by email; I do answer every email I receive.
Stay tuned. There is more to come from the Walk the Right Road Series and The Saved Series, as well as my brand new western romance series, The Wilde Brothers.
And to my readers and all of you who have shared my stories with your family and friends, a big, heartfelt thank-you.
Contact InformationLorhainne Eckhart loves to hear from readers!
Contact at
Email: Lorhainne@LorhainneEckhart.com
Twitter: @LEckhart
Facebook: LorhainneEckhart
Blog: The Choice of Giving
Blog: Illusions
Lorhainne Eckhart Author Website
Copyright InformationTHE ONE, The Wilde Brothers
COPYRIGHT © Lorhainne Ekelund, 2013, All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design: Steven Novak
Contact Information: Lorhainne@LorhainneEckhart.com
Editor: Talia Leduc
Table of Contents
Main Menu
About the Author
Other Works by Lorhainne Eckhart
Booklist
Contact Information
Copyright Information
Chapters:
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
Epilogue
To return to the Main Menu, click here.