Summer Kisses. Melinda Curtis

       This was what family was like, extended or otherwise.

      Becca smiled. This was what was permanently missing in her own life. Not that she’d ever belong with people like these in a living room like this. As a caregiver, she’d always be an outsider. She’d been fine with that for years. She planned to be fine with that forever.

      “Becca’s done a wonderful job with the house,” Flynn was saying. “We bachelors aren’t very good at cooking or cleaning or stocking up on toilet paper.”

      Hearing Flynn’s voice, Becca’s desire to belong increased. He was the carrot she happily plodded toward. But even if they explored their feelings for each other after her lawsuit was dismissed—crossing fingers, knock on wood-it may not amount to anything… .

      Still, the more they laughed, the more Becca felt connected to Flynn, and the more she believed in a future together.

       But would Flynn agree?

      Dear Reader,

      Welcome to Harmony Valley!

      Things aren’t as harmonious here as they once were. Jobs have dried up and almost everyone under the age of sixty has moved away, leaving the population … well, gray-haired and peaceful.

      Enter three young men-Flynn, Slade and Will-friends, newly minted millionaires and hometown success stories. Flynn Harris is balancing the trio’s new winery against the needs of his stroke-burdened grandfather while caring for his young nephew.

      Now that Flynn’s wealthy, all kinds of people show up to try to take advantage of him and his family. Flynn is especially suspicious when Becca MacKenzie, caregiver in need of a job, conveniently shows up on his doorstep. Becca is smart, pretty and opinionated—and once his grandfather meets her, no one else will do.

      If only Becca didn’t have a secret that could break Flynn’s trust. I hope you enjoy Flynn and Becca’s journey, as well as the other romances in The Harmony Valley series. I love to hear from readers. Check my website and sign up for email updates. Or you can chat with me on Facebook (MelindaCurtisAuthor), or on Twitter (MelCurtisAuthor), and hear about my latest giveaways.

      Melinda Curtis

      Summer Kisses

      Melinda Curtis

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MELINDA CURTIS has lived in Georgia and Texas, but she’s a California girl at heart. Her earliest memories are of life on an isolated fifty-acre sheep ranch in rural Sonoma County. Picture rolling hills covered in brown grass, a eucalyptus forest, a long gravel driveway lined with plump sheep, and no sidewalks. It was a big deal to drive into town on a one-lane road in a ramshackle, bubble-fendered pickup for an ice cream.

      Fast-forward to today. Melinda lives in California’s hot central valley with her husband—her basketball-playing college sweetheart. With three kids, the couple has done the soccer thing, the karate thing, the dance thing, the Little League thing and, of course, the basketball thing.

      Melinda writes sweet to medium-heat contemporary romances as Melinda Curtis and red-hot reads as Mel Curtis.

      MILLS & BOON

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      With love to my family and close friends. It’s not unusual for my spin buddies, household members or siblings to see me enter a room with a glazed look in my eyes and a new question—”What if …?”

      With thanks to A.J. Stewart, Cari Lynn Webb and Anna Adams. Hardworking Bees, indeed.

      And for Carrie.

      I think of you every time I find a dime.

      Contents

       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 ONE

      BECCA MACKENZIE WAS sweet and loveable and trustworthy.

      At least, that’s what people used to say.

      But that was before. Before a Taliban bullet widowed her, before her smile felt scarred, before