The Bride Wore Blue Jeans

The Bride Wore Blue Jeans
Marie Ferrarella

Between raising his three siblings and running a successful business, Kevin Quintano's hectic life left no room for love. But when his sister announced her upcoming wedding, Kevin headed to Hades, Alaska, to ensure she made it down the aisle. Of course, Kevin didn't count on getting bitten by the love bug–or his own dreamy thoughts of marriage!Even in blue jeans, June Yearling was irresistible but had refused every bachelor in town. After a tumultuous past, she swore she'd never surrender her heart. Still, that didn't stop her and Kevin from stealing passionate kisses whenever they could…and it didn't stop his fantasies about leading her to the altar.

“I was born old,” June said.

Wasn’t that always the mantra with people who were too young? Kevin mused. His eyes swept over her beautiful face. Her perfect, smooth heart-shaped face. “You don’t look all that old to me.”

“I could say the same about you.” Her smile flashed, casting a spectrum like the northern lights. Mostly within him.

“Of course, you might need to take a little closer look at me. Sometimes your eyes play tricks on you.” June stepped closer to him, raising her face up for his inspection.

Kevin doubted if he’d ever seen a complexion so flawless. Or compelling. “No, no tricks,” he murmured. Other than the one his own pulse executed by vibrating faster than he could ever remember.

The grin entered her eyes and then slowly, enticingly, faded as she looked up into his face. It took her a second to find her voice.

“So, do I kiss you or do you kiss me?”

The Bride Wore Blue Jeans

Marie Ferrarella

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

To Michael,

who never gives up.

Love,

Marysia

MARIE FERRARELLA

earned a master’s degree in Shakespearean comedy, and, perhaps as a result, her writing is distinguished by humor and natural dialogue. This RITA

Award-winning author’s goal is to entertain and to make people laugh and feel good. She has written over one hundred books for Silhouette, some under the name Marie Nicole. Her romances are beloved by fans worldwide and have been translated into Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Polish, Japanese and Korean.

Dear Reader,

Well, here we are, at the end of the line for this miniseries. Who would have ever thought we’d come so far? The very first story of The Alaskans was inspired by a TV series I watched aeons ago, a turn-of-the-last-century tale that was set in Alaska. Wife in the Mail was only supposed to be a single story about a lady who wanted to find a fresh start in a pristine part of our beloved country. But while telling her story, I fell in love with the hero’s best friend, Ike, the guy who ran the old-fashioned saloon in Hades. And well, he had a cousin, whose future wife had two brothers and a sister and…well, you know how it goes. I’ve always been a little long-winded.

But now it’s time to tie up the tales with a bow by giving you Kevin and June’s story. I hope you enjoy reading it half as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it, and if this does strike a chord or two, maybe you’ll find the time and the urge to go revisit some of the other citizens of Hades. When you do, say hi for me. I miss them already.

I wish you love and happiness.

Best,

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

Epilogue

Chapter One

He missed them.

Kevin Quintano carefully placed the framed eight-by-ten photograph he’d been looking at for the past ten minutes back on his coffee table and sighed. He could almost hear the laughter in that photograph, taken at Jimmy’s graduation from medical school. It was of the four of them. Alison, Lily, Jimmy and him.

He truly missed them.

Missed the sound of their voices, missed the good-natured bickering between his younger siblings that he’d once thought would send him up a wall. Missed life the way it used to be.

There were times when the silence became overwhelming. To get away from it, he’d turned on a radio or a television set in every room of the house, just to hear people talking, just to see images.

But the silence wasn’t the worst of it. The loneliness was.

You’d think now, at thirty-seven, with no debts and more money than he knew what to do with, for the very first time in his life he’d kick back and enjoy himself.

“Damn, Kevin, you can live the high life now,” Nathan had said enviously at his recent farewell party. The big, strapping black man and the other cab drivers who used to work for him had come together and thrown a party just for him.