The Accidental Romeo. Carol Marinelli

      

      Praise for

      Carol Marinelli:

      ‘A heartwarming story about taking a chance and not

      letting the past destroy the future. It is strengthened by

      two engaging lead characters and a satisfying ending.’

      —RT Book Reviews on THE LAST KOLOVSKY PLAYBOY

      ‘Carol Marinelli writes with sensitivity,

      compassion and understanding, and

      ST PIRAN’S: RESCUING PREGNANT CINDERELLA

      is not just a powerful romance but an uplifting

      and inspirational tale about starting over,

      new beginnings and moving on.’

      —CataRomance

      If you love Carol Marinelli,

      you’ll fall head over heels

      for Carol’s sparkling, touching, witty debut.

      PUTTING ALICE BACK TOGETHER

      available from MIRA^® Books

      The Accidental Romeo

      Carol Marinelli

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      With love to Fiona McArthur

      I love our chats

      C xxx

      Table of Contents

       Cover

       Praise

       Title Page

       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

       Chapter Fourteen

       Chapter Fifteen

       Chapter Sixteen

       Chapter Seventeen

       EPILOGUE

       Copyright

       CHAPTER ONE

      SO IT HAD been too good to be true!

      Marnie Johnson drove slowly down Beach Road with a sense of mounting unease. The modern apartments and townhouses she had inspected just a couple of weeks ago were slowly giving way to dilapidated renovators’ delights with sprawling, overgrown gardens. These were the type of homes that would require a whole lot of TLC for anyone to live comfortably in them—and the one thing Marnie didn’t have was time to give a new home a lot of attention.

      Almost certain that she had the job of nurse unit manager at the Bayside Hospital on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula, Marnie had spent the afternoon after her interview looking at suitable homes to rent and had fallen in love with this street in particular. Yes, it was expensive but it was still a lot cheaper than her smart city apartment. She had been taken in by the sun-drenched, sparkling apartments with views that looked out over the bay and the townhouses with their balconies perfectly angled—just right for relaxing after a busy day, and Marnie certainly intended to be busy.

      When the job offer had been confirmed Marnie had found herself far more stretched for time than usual, what with finishing up her old role and celebrating her sea change with friends. Yes, it had been a gamble but, after a lengthy conversation with Dave, the real estate agent who had shown her around, she had signed a month’s lease on a house unseen, having been told that it was very similar to the ones she had inspected.

      Similar!

      The only similarity to the homes Marnie had been shown was that they each had a front door. Not that Marnie could see this particular one—it was obscured by overgrown bushes and trees, and the grass, as Marnie walked up the path, was waist high.

      Never trust a real estate agent.

      Marnie knew that but had been taken in when Dave had told her that this home had just come on the market and there were no photos yet. She had been so stretched that, for once, the very organised Marnie had taken her eye off the ball.

      And look what happened when she did!

      Pushing the door open, Marnie stepped inside and it was easily as bad as she had been expecting.

      Marnie pulled out her phone and when the real estate agent’s receptionist answered she asked to be put through to Dave. Marnie could hear the irritation coming through in her own voice—her usually lilting Irish accent was now sounding a touch brusque and harsh and she fought to check it.

      ‘Dave is at an auction,’ the receptionist that Marnie had collected the keys from explained. ‘I’m not expecting him to come back to the office today, though I can call him and leave a message asking him to get in touch with you.’

      Marnie bit back a smart response—after all, none of this was the young woman’s fault. ‘Yes, if you could ask him to call me as soon as possible, I’d appreciate it.’

      There wasn’t a hope that Dave would be calling back today, Marnie just knew it.

      Tomorrow was Sunday and on Monday she started her new job and there simply wouldn’t be time to arrange more inspections and shift her things again—she made sure that She led by example and she wasn’t going to spend the first week in her new role