Sanctuary Cove. Kate James

      

      Can his safe haven be enough for her?

      Emma Meadows never imagined that sticking to her principles against an act of corruption by a New York senator would cost her her job as VP of communications. Heartbroken, she retreats to her cottage in the Adirondacks to lick her wounds and, in the process, rescues an injured dog that only Josh Whitmore can save.

      The veterinarian works diligently to bring dog and woman back to full fighting form, until allegations against the senator become more serious. Seeing Emma’s reaction to the increasing pressure, Josh realizes that inevitably she’ll find a way back to the top...and he’ll likely lose her for good.

      She thought she wanted things to stay the way they were. Friends.

      She could almost see the words forming on his lips, so she rushed in with the first thing that came to mind. “What would you like for dinner tonight? Never mind. I’ll take care of it. All you have to do is select the wine and uncork it.”

      Josh ran his finger gently along the side of her face. “Emma...”

      “After dinner I’d like to take the dogs for a long walk and watch the sun set from the granite rock. How does that sound to you?” she continued in near desperation.

      “Emma...” he began again.

      She knew she was jabbering on, but couldn’t seem to control it. “If I’m going to make dinner, I should get started.”

      “Emma, listen to me—”

      She was ready to interrupt again, but he forestalled her by closing his mouth over hers in a long and achingly tender kiss.

      Dear Reader,

      Welcome to Sanctuary Cove!

      In my acknowledgments, I noted that Sanctuary Cove serves as an inflection point in terms of my editorial partnership. It is also the start of a new miniseries, set in the fictitious town of Sanctuary Cove in the Adirondack Mountains region. My last three releases comprised my K-9 trilogy, following the lives and loves of three San Diego Police Department K-9 officers. Although I’m thrilled to share with fans of the “trilogy” that it has now officially become a series, since there are more K-9 books to come, I enjoy variety in my writing and wanted to offer some to my readers.

      While striving to write stories that are both emotionally and intellectually satisfying, I like to have my characters tackle some real-life, relatable issues, and you’ll find this to be the case in Sanctuary Cove. For those of you who’ve enjoyed getting to know the furry, four-legged characters in some of my previous books, with hero Josh Whitmore being a veterinarian and heroine Emma Meadows a passionate advocate of all creatures, you might find an animal character or two in Sanctuary Cove that’ll also capture your heart.

      If you would like to use Sanctuary Cove for your book club, you can find discussion questions on my website, www.kate-james.com.

      As always, I would love to hear from you! You can connect with me through my website above, at www.Facebook.com/katejamesbooks or Twitter.com/katejamesbooks, or mail me at PO Box 446, Schomberg, ON, L0G 1T0, Canada.

      Happy reading!

      Kate

      Sanctuary Cove

      Kate James

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      KATE JAMES spent much of her childhood abroad before attending university in Canada. She built a successful business career, but her passion has always been literature. As a result, Kate turned her energy to her love of the written word. Kate’s goal is to entertain her readers with engaging stories featuring strong, likable characters. Kate has been honored with numerous awards for her writing. She and her husband, Ken, enjoy traveling and the outdoors with their beloved Labrador retrievers.

      This book is dedicated to the late James Ingram, beloved husband of Paula Eykelhof and father of Emma Ingram.

      Acknowledgments

      Sanctuary Cove serves as an inflection point for me. It’s midway through the development of this story that Paula Eykelhof, my editor since I started writing for Harlequin, passed the baton to my new editor, Kathryn Lye. Paula is renowned in the publishing industry for being an editor extraordinaire and having worked with many, if not most, of the biggest names in women’s fiction and romance. I was truly privileged to have had the opportunity of working with Paula until her retirement at the end of June 2016. Paula, I cannot begin to express my appreciation to you for how much you taught me and for the great pleasure it was to work with you.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       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

       CHAPTER THIRTEEN