Synopsis:
What
if getting all you'd ever wanted...
Oncology
nurse Annie Ward has
spent
her whole life competing with her older sister, Emily, in every
single thing, especially when it came to their parents' affection.
The ultimate insult came when her mother overlooked the fact
that Annie was
instantly attracted to handsome, beefy Josh Ricker from the moment
she met him, and instead, pushed the man
toward an uninterested Emily.
For
over five years, Annie sat
and watched her sister barely appreciate Josh while she listened to
Emily's complaints. Left
to the sidelines, her only option was to become best friends with the
man of her dreams, hoping the tide would turn in her favor someday.
That
day came when Emily, who
was fed
up with marriage pressure from her mother, finally pulled the plug on
her relationship with Josh and promptly met the man of her dreams.
Annie offered
Josh a shoulder to cry on, and
the two of them realized there was already a lot more than friendship
between them.
...didn't turn out how you had expected?
But
when you're in love with
your sister's ex, the road to happiness is never smooth, even when
he loves you
back. Before
they can get their happily ever after, Annie and
Josh will have to contend with anger, resentment, accusations and
secrets. And that's from the people who believe the best of their
situation. Never mind the naysayers who believe the worst.
When
a family crisis brings a familiar face back to Annie's orbit and
wedding planning dredges up a past Josh would rather forget, the
challenges get bigger and bigger. Will their love survive
the pressure and last a lifetime? Finding love after
five years might
just be the easiest part.
Teaser:
Annie still had a
year of undergraduate left, but at only one year older, Emily was
done with her first degree. From the moment Emily had said she wanted
to go to art school, her mother had complained. If Emily wasn't going
to choose a real career, if she planned to attend college to meet
boys and get on the mommy track, then what was the point of paying
for an expensive school?
It made Annie glad
she had always wanted to be a nurse. There was no question as to
whether or not her mother thought it was a real career and so she
never dealt with those comments. Nonetheless, like both her sisters,
she stuck close to home for undergraduate and went to UMaine. As
such, she was around to help when it was time for Emily to move into
her new apartment for graduate school.
It was like any
other moving excursion in their family, her father doing all the hard
work while her mother directed the operation. They were debating who
was going to help dad carry the heavy recliner up the stairs when her
mother grinned and said, “Hold that thought.”
Moments later, Gail
returned with a strapping guy, tall – maybe 6'2"
or 6'3" – very fit
and muscular but like it was naturally earned, broad chested, tanned,
sun-kissed blond hair on the wrong side of a haircut and wearing
camouflage cutoffs and a silly beer t-shirt. He almost looked like a
beach bum.
Almost.
His eyes were a
striking shade of blue, just a hint of gray in them, not enough to
make them steely. He looked too kind and gentle for that. Despite his
size, he didn't seem the least bit intimidating. He was the most
beautiful man Annie had ever seen, and for the first time since she'd
said goodbye to Jesse, she was instantly attracted.
“Girls, this is
Josh. He's offered to help daddy bring the recliner upstairs. Josh,
this is my daughter, Emily. She's the one moving into the apartment.”
Emily looked blasé.
“Hello,” she managed. Taking a page from the Gail Ward School of
Etiquette, she was polite but uninterested.
“We should get to
this, Mom. There's a lot left and I have classes starting on Monday.”
“Of course,
darling. Josh, this is my husband, Tom,” she gestured to Annie's
father as he strolled toward them. “He'll tell you what he needs
for assistance. Okay, girls, let's get back to it.”
Emily had already
grabbed a box and gone back inside.
Before Annie walked
away, she smiled and stuck out her hand.
“I'm Annie,”
she said. “Thanks for helping.” If her sister couldn't be
grateful, Annie would. She desperately wanted to get to know him.
Josh smiled back.
“It's no problem. I'm happy to help.”
Gail grew
impatient. “Anne, grab a box, let's go. I'm sure your father and
Josh can handle the chair on their own.”
Annie rolled her
eyes, smiled at Josh again, grabbed a box and headed into the
apartment.
As she approached
her mother, Gail said, “Isn't he handsome?”
Annie had to agree.
She thought he was gorgeous.
“He's very
attractive.”
“Don't you think
he and Emily would make a lovely couple?”
What? You mean
the girl who didn't give him the time of day, despite the fact that
the guy was helping her move into her apartment and didn't even know
her?
“She didn't seem
to notice him much, Mom.”
Gail wouldn't be
deterred. “Nonsense. She's just distracted about the move and
school. I'm sure she'll notice him more later. Come on, let's get
this stuff into the kitchen so we can unpack it.”
Annie just shook
her head. Leave it to her mother to be oblivious to her oldest
daughter's interests. Gail had never seen eye to eye with Emily on
anything.
It turned out that
Josh helped Tom move all of Emily's furniture into her new apartment,
which was far and above the request Gail had made. As such, she felt
obligated to invite him to dinner with them.
Josh was busy –
much to Annie's dismay – but he thanked them for the offer. Gail
suggested he look up Emily some other time, and her older sister
nonchalantly agreed.
That was the end
of that, hopefully, Annie thought.
And since Josh was
also a student at UMaine in the same year as Annie, she hoped to run
into him on campus sometime, away from her sister, away from her
family, and maybe, just maybe, she could catc
