The Bachelor's Brighton Valley Bride. Judy Duarte

       They stood like that for a moment, sizing each other up in some kind of face-off.

      With the bed behind her, and his masculine frame leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed in a tense yet sexy pose …

      Well, he wasn’t exactly blocking her escape route, but that was the problem. Megan didn’t feel like running off, and she really ought to. Because what she found most troubling was the way her heart rate was zipping along at an arousing pace, setting her hormones on high alert and sending her thoughts drifting in a direction they had no business veering.

      Peyton Johnson was a handsome man, and while he wore denim and boots, something about him flashed City Boy in neon lights.

      Still, she found him attractive. But being “attracted” to a man wasn’t the same thing as being interested in him. And she definitely was not interested.

      * * *

      Return to Brighton Valley: Who says you can’t go home again?

      Dear Reader,

      Thanks so much for picking up the second book in the Return to Brighton Valley series. As you turn the pages, you’ll meet Clay Jenkins—although, when he introduces himself to Megan Adams he’ll be hiding behind the persona of “Peyton Johnson.”

      I’d originally called this story Her Undercover Boss, which was a play on the title of a reality TV show I sometimes watch. I like to see the CEO of a big company come into one of his stores or shops and pretend to be a regular employee, just to check out what’s going on. When the idea for this book struck, I wondered what would happen if a rich, handsome CEO came to a Brighton Valley store and fell in love with the small-town girl who worked there. Yes! But since the series was called Return to Brighton Valley, the hero would have to be the one returning. So how would I keep his identity hidden from the heroine and the other citizens?

      Hmm… (Picture me staring out my office window, tapping my fingers on the desk and ignoring the ringing telephone.)

      That’s the part of writing a book that I love the best—creating a backstory for Clay/Peyton that would solve that problem! And I did that. So take your book or eReader out to the pool or the shore or just curl up in a cozy spot and see what happens when Clay Jenkins returns to Brighton Valley as Megan’s undercover boss.

      Happy reading!

      Judy

      P.S. I love hearing from my readers. Feel free to contact me through my website, www.judyduarte.com, and let me know what you thought of this story. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

      The Bachelor’s Brighton Valley Bride

      Judy Duarte

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      JUDY DUARTE always knew there was a book inside her, but since English was her least favorite subject in school, she never considered herself a writer. An avid reader who enjoys a happy ending, Judy couldn’t shake the dream of creating a book of her own.

      Her dream became a reality in March 2002, when Mills & Boon released her first book, Cowboy Courage. Since then she has published more than twenty novels. Her stories have touched the hearts of readers around the world. And in July 2005 Judy won a prestigious Readers’ Choice Award for The Rich Man’s Son.

      Judy makes her home near the beach in Southern California. When she’s not cooped up in her writing cave, she’s spending time with her somewhat enormous but delightfully close family.

      To Teresa Carpenter and Jill Limber, who helped me plot the details of Clay and Megan’s story during a girls’ getaway and gabfest in Orange County. If you ever want to have another slumber party, ladies, count me in!

      Contents

       Cover

       Introduction

       Dear Reader

       Title Page

       About the Author

       Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

       Epilogue

       Extract

       Copyright

Chapter One

      For most people, returning to their roots brought on a warm sense of nostalgia—but that wasn’t the case for Clay Jenkins.

      As he sat in a nondescript SUV on the tree-shaded main drag of Brighton Valley, just three buildings down from the old computer repair shop where he’d first gone to work nine years ago, he was reminded of the life he’d eagerly left behind and had tried so hard to forget.

      He could have hired someone else to come in and fix his flagship store, but this was where his new life had actually started.

      Hank Lazaro, his friend and mentor, had gotten him his first job there. As a result, the time he’d spent here on the weekends and after school had kept him out of trouble—and it had taught him a lot about business and honesty and hard work. It was here that he’d met the financial backer who’d helped him market the computer software program that had made him a multimillionaire