The Runaway Bride. Patricia Johns

      

      Damsel in distress...or veiled threat?

      Bernadette Morgan left her cheating fiancé moments before they were supposed to marry in the society wedding of the year. Now she’s stuck in Runt River, Ohio, with a broken-down car and a tattered wedding dress. All she wants is a place to hide. But what she finds are a handsome mechanic, a little boy and family secrets that could change everything. Because the toddler Liam Wilson’s raising is actually her cousin’s child. And she’ll do anything to protect him from her politically ambitious family, even if that means rejecting the possibility of love with Liam...

      Bernie looked younger without the makeup.

      She had faint freckles spattered across her nose, he noticed for the first time. In that moment under the fluorescent bathroom light, Liam found himself wishing that he could close the distance between them. It would be the most natural thing in the world to slide an arm around her waist and kiss the top of her head. He pulled his thoughts away from the precipice.

      Bernie was a part of the cutthroat world he was trying to protect Ike from. One word from her would bring her family’s legal team down on him, and Ike could very quickly be swept away. Attraction shouldn’t factor into this, and entertaining these feelings would only blur his perspective. He needed to be careful. Having the Morgan family’s undivided attention could be a dangerous thing.

      Except that he was feeling something for this woman—something he hadn’t felt in a good many years. Was it just that he was lonely, or was it their combined effort in sorting out Ike’s scrapes? Whatever it was, he needed to keep it in check.

      Dear Reader,

      This book began with an image I had in my mind of a bedraggled bride driving up to a service station in Small Town, USA, in a classic Rolls-Royce. Her makeup would be smeared. Her hair would be a mess. Her dress would be dusty and possibly even a little torn. She’d get out of the car, walk up to the stunned mechanic and say “I can’t believe I made it. It stopped twice on the highway on the way here. Can you take a look?”

      But who was she? And what was she doing in Small Town, USA? And if that stunned mechanic happened to marry that bedraggled bride, what a fantastic “how we met” story! A novel was born.

      I hope that you enjoy this story as much as I loved writing it. And if you like sweet romance that tugs at the heartstrings, come check out my other novels in Love Inspired and Harlequin Western Romance. All of my books are wholesome, so you can trust them, no matter which line they are published under.

      If you’d like to connect with me, you can find me at my blog, patriciajohnsromance.com, or on Facebook. I’d love to hear from you!

      Patricia Johns

      The Runaway Bride

      Patricia Johns

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      PATRICIA JOHNS writes from Alberta, Canada. She has her honors BA in English literature and currently writes for Harlequin’s Love Inspired, Western Romance and Heartwarming lines. You can find her at patriciajohnsromance.com.

      To my husband, who inspires the romantic in me. And to our little boy, who once upon a time was a toddler who liked to share cookies.

      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

       CHAPTER FOURTEEN

       CHAPTER FIFTEEN

       CHAPTER SIXTEEN

       CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

       CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

       CHAPTER NINETEEN

       CHAPTER TWENTY

       CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

       EPILOGUE

       Extract

       Copyright