Blurb:
Do you follow your dream or follow your heart?
That’s the decision Kendall McKenzie has to make when she
meets hunky businessman Jake Newman. It’s obvious that he’s as attracted to her
as she is to him. But Kendall has vowed to never get married – and it seems
that Jake, too, is determined to never commit. When the two are together
however sparks fly and it’s obvious to everyone except themselves that they’re
meant to be together. Can Kendall trust Jake enough to give him her heart? And
if she does will she have to say goodbye to her dream?
Author:
Kay Harborne has written several short stories for women’s
magazines. Never Say Forever was her first romance novel, and is now
re-published by Astraea Press. Her second romance novel, The Millionaire Plan,
was nominated for the RONE award.
Excerpt:
Chapter One
“Want to go!” yelled Timmy at the top of his voice, stamping
his feet. Kendall sighed. Why had she left it until the last minute to choose
an engagement present for Tanya and Hugh? Shopping in a busy department store
on a Friday afternoon with a lively three year old and a baby in a buggy wasn’t
exactly a relaxing experience. She’d already spent fifteen minutes standing in
a queue to pay for the decanter and glasses that she’d chosen and didn’t fancy
starting all over again.
“Hang on a minute, Timmy. I’ll be served soon, and then we’ll
go and find the toilets. I promise.”
“Now!” Timmy shouted, tugging at her sleeve. “Want to go
now,” he insisted. Then, “I’ll go myself,” he declared. And before Kendall
could stop him he turned away and ran off.
“Timmy! Come back!” She left the store’s wire basket on the
floor and turning baby Sophie’s buggy around, set off in hot pursuit of the
toddler.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t yet mastered the buggy’s steering
and, somehow, instead of going forwards it went sideways... slamming into a
pair of denim-clad legs.
“Ow!” exclaimed a deep masculine voice, and a large,
suntanned hand reached down to rub the shin she’d just crashed into.
“Sorry.” She glanced up into a pair of gorgeous brown eyes
and found herself blushing with embarrassment. Then she remembered Timmy.
She looked around anxiously. Lindsay, his mother, would be
horrified if she knew Kendall had taken her eyes off him, even if only for a
moment.
“Oh no!” she gasped as she saw the toddler heading for the
escalator that led down to the ground floor. If he stepped onto it and lost his
footing...
“Timmy! Come back!” she yelled, trying to run after him, but
was hindered by the cumbersome buggy.
“It’s okay. I’ll get him.” The owner of the bruised shin and
the gorgeous brown eyes was already sprinting across the shop, his impressive
height and long legs making it easy for him to dodge through the crowds.
Kendall bit her lip as she followed him, pushing the buggy as
quickly as she could and praying that he would reach Timmy — who was by now
dangerously near the top of the escalator — in time.
People turned their heads to look, obviously wondering what
was going on.
As the toddler reached the escalator and put out a foot to
step onto it Kendall felt a cold shiver of fear run down her spine, then, as he
was scooped up just in time by the handsome stranger, she let out a sigh of
relief.
“Come on, young man. Your mummy wants you. That escalator’s
too dangerous for you to go on by yourself.”
Timmy was staring wide-eyed at his rescuer as he was carried
back to Kendall, who had finally managed to battle her way through the crowds.
“It was really naughty of you to run off like that,” she
scolded. “Don’t ever do that again.”
She reached out as the man handed the child over to her.
Their hands touched briefly, and she felt a tingle run up her arms. Feeling her
cheeks flush yet again, she was grateful for the chance to hide her face as she
bent over to put Timmy down.
“Now, hold on to the buggy and stay by me,” she ordered.
“Wanta wee-wee,” Timmy told her urgently, screwing up his
face.
“I think perhaps you’d better take him to the loo before he
makes a puddle on the floor,” said the man. “The toilets are over there. Will I
look after the baby while you take him? You’d be quicker if you didn’t have to
take that pushchair with you.”
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