Spring River Valley: The Winter Collection (Boxed Set) by Clarice Wynter Page B

as it takes. I’m not going to run out on you.”
    Harper’s throat constricted , and she had to look away in order to get her next words out. “You can’t promise you’ll never leave me, but you can promise me one thing.”
    He lifted her chin so she had to look at him. “Anything.”
    “Just promise if you think something is wrong, or if you’re not happy, you’ll just tell me, to my face, not by phone from the airport.” She tried to make her voice light, but this wasn’t a joke. That was the part with Brad that had really hurt the most, that when he doubted their relationship and his commitment to it, he’d run away instead of letting them deal with it together. She couldn’t go through that again.
    Grant kissed her lightly. “That I can definitely promise.”
    His next kiss was more demanding, and their conversation ended in a mutual sigh as he stretched her out on the cushions of the couch and settled his body over hers.
    “ Face-to-face,” he said as his hands roamed her body, heating her from within and making her forget it was the middle of winter. “That’s how it’ll always be between us.”
    Harper smiled through a moan of pleasure and raised a brow. “ Well, I can think of a few occasions where we might not want to be face-to-face.” She wrapped her legs around him and kissed him with all the pent-up passion she had in her body. “How about I show you a few?”
     
     
    THE END
     

Fixed up in February
     

Chapter One
     
     
    “I just want you to know, I’ve never done this before.” Audrey Desmond met the steady gaze of her lunch companion and tried to hide her nervousness with a lighthearted laugh. “I wouldn’t be doing this at all except I’m…desperate. Not desperate, that sounds lame. I mean, just desperate to meet someone who isn’t a creep.”
    Cassandra Hall sipped her coffee and smiled. “I totally get it. I’ve had my share of…less than memorable first dates too. It’s hard to meet people, and those dating sites on the Internet are—”
    “A craps shoot. I tried that, and it was a disaster. In fact, every date I went on last year, and the two I’ve been on this year, were unmitigated disasters. I don’t want to sound like a whiner, but really, I’m starting to think there’s something wrong with me. My friend Harper says I’m too picky, but when a guy wants to show you his scar where he had a ballpoint pen removed from his duodenum, you have to ask yourself—”
    “Duodenum?”
    “Small intestine. I’m sorry I even brought that up. See? It’s me. Maybe working at the hospital has turned me into a weirdo magnet. When men find out I’m a nurse, they seem to want to show me things I’d rather not see without a doctor and an IV sedative on hand. Can you help me?”
    “I think I can. Tell me exactly what you’re looking for in a guy, deep down. The real thing, not just tall, dark, and handsome.”
    Audrey frowned. “So tall, dark, and handsome is off the table?”
    Cassie laughed. “I’ll consider those a given. But beyond that. Describe your perfect man.”
    At this point, Audrey really wasn’t sure what she wanted in a man, but she could quote chapter and verse on what she didn’t want. She thought for a moment, contemplating the rich swirl of cream she poured into her own coffee. At the moment, she knew one perfect couple. Her best friend Harper Shaw had been left only steps away from the altar barely a month ago, and in the interim had found Grant Addison, the smart, hunky, romantic, gorgeous business manager of the catering hall where Harper’s wedding reception was to have been held. Audrey was thrilled that her friend had traded her wishy-washy ex-fiancé for a man like Grant. Unfortunately, as much as Audrey might have hoped, Grant didn’t have any brothers.
    After careful consideration, she met Cassie’s expectant gaze. “I want a man with character, someone who’ll stand up for himself and for me, someone who knows who he is and what