Verwandte Artikel zu The Perfect Bride (Sutton Hall Weddings, 1, Band 1421)

The Perfect Bride (Sutton Hall Weddings, 1, Band 1421) - Softcover

Buch 1 von 2: Sutton Hall Weddings

Connor, Kerry

 
9780373696888: The Perfect Bride (Sutton Hall Weddings, 1, Band 1421)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0373696884 ISBN 13: 9780373696888
Verlag: Harlequin Intrigue, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

Something old. Something new. Something borrowed. Someone dead…

Adam Sutton's instinct for trouble failed him once before—and nearly destroyed his sister's life. He'll do anything to make amends, even help her turn their family's mansion into a successful destination-wedding business. But when Jillian Jones suddenly arrives at Sutton Hall, this brooding businessman suspects the bride-to-be isn't what she seems. She's asking too many "innocent" questions about the hall's tragic history and the mysterious death of its first paying bride. She's defying his orders to leave, even as strange accidents threaten her. And her fiery determination is making it impossible for Adam to resist getting dangerously close. Now their only chance to survive means gambling on an all-too-fragile trust—even as someone in the darkest shadows prepares to dress another hall bride in black.…

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

A lifelong mystery reader, Kerry Connor first discovered romantic suspense by reading Harlequin Intrigue books and is thrilled to be writing for the line. Kerry lives and writes in New York.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Jillian Jones had spent hours studying pictures of Sutton Hall, but she still wasn't prepared for her first glimpse of the place in person. One moment she was driving up the long private road that led to the estate, the next the trees framing the driveway suddenly cleared and there it was, the massive building looming in front of her.

She automatically eased her foot off the accelerator and stepped on the brake, bringing the rental car to a gradual stop. Her heart pounding, she stared up at the house she'd only seen in those photographs—and in her nightmares.

It was beautiful. In spite of everything, she couldn't help but recognize that much. The immense structure rose three soaring stories above the earth. Its gray stone walls appeared as solid and ancient as the mountains behind it and seemed to stretch as far. Each of its corners met at a round tower, giving it an appearance more like that of a castle than a simple mansion.

It was exactly as Courtney had described it, like something out of a fairy tale.

Unfortunately, as Jillian had been reminded all too recently, not all fairy tales had happy endings.

It was hard to believe it had only been a month since her best friend had come here to plan her wedding, believing she would have that fairy tale.

Instead, Courtney had left in a body bag.

Eric, Courtney's fiance, was still inconsolable. This was supposed to be the happiest time of his life, and instead it had become the worst.

The guilt welled inside her again, bringing tears to Jillian's eyes. She did her best to choke back the feeling, but was unable to shake it completely.

She should have been here. That was the maid of honor's job, to be there for the bride. But she'd been swamped with work, having recently launched her own freelance graphic design business. After months of effort, she'd finally begun to build a client list and had projects she'd needed to finish. Not to mention the idea of dealing with flowers and dresses and seating charts had seemed like her worst nightmare. She'd even suggested to Courtney that she might want to choose someone else to be her maid of honor, someone who knew a lot more and possessed a great deal more interest in wedding arrangements than she did.

"It's a job for the best friend," Courtney had said. It didn't matter that they lived on different sides of the country and only got to see each other a few times a year, if that. Ever since they'd met in Mrs. Parks's first-grade class at Thompson Elementary, they'd been best friends, as good as sisters. "Don't worry, I won't make you do any girlie stuff. All you have to do is be there for me."

But Jillian hadn't been. The only thing Courtney had asked of her, and she'd failed.

Courtney had been alone here for a week finalizing the arrangements before the rest of the small wedding party was scheduled to arrive. And that was exactly how she'd died. Alone.

The official determination was that Courtney's death had been a tragic accident. She'd been on the balcony outside her room on a windy night, had come too close to the edge and fallen over.

Which was a load of crap, Jillian thought, the now familiar anger rising. Courtney had been afraid of heights. She never would have been anywhere near a balcony, let alone close enough to fall from one. But the door to her room had supposedly still been locked from the inside. There'd been no indication of foul play or any reason the police could determine why anyone would want to hurt her. In the absence of any hard evidence proving otherwise, the authorities had concluded it had to be an accident.

Leaving Jillian no choice but to come here herself and find out the truth.

She'd known if she came here as herself, it was unlikely anyone would talk to her or that she'd learn anything different from what the authorities already had. No, she'd needed another reason to be here. So she'd called pretending to be a bride wanting to book her own wedding.

Her main concern had been that someone would remember her name as that of Courtney's missing maid of honor. Luckily Courtney had always called her Jay—the only person who had—so Jillian knew if her name had come up at all, it would have been the nickname. The woman she'd spoken with on the phone—Meredith Sutton, one of the owners—had given no indication she recognized Jillian's name. She'd merely been cautious, wanting to be sure Jillian knew what had happened here. Unsurprisingly, it seemed that nearly all of the other weddings that had been booked at the manor had been canceled, their brides and grooms no longer interested in being wed anywhere near Sutton Hall. Jillian had assured the woman she was aware of the tragic death and wasn't deterred by the fact that such an unfortunate accident had taken place. Meredith Sutton had still hesitated, as though she wasn't sure she wanted to try hosting another wedding here herself, before finally relenting.

Now Jillian was going to have to do all the things she'd shrugged off before—immerse herself in wedding arrangements, choose flowers and color schemes and whatever else was involved. For Courtney she would do it, the way she should have the first time.

And more important, she was going to get the truth.

Sucking in a breath, Jillian finally moved her foot back to the gas pedal and proceeded on to the house.

Unsure where to park, she rounded the circular driveway and pulled up directly in front of the building. The car had barely come to a stop when the front door to the house swung open. A woman stepped outside and stood on the stoop, raising her hand to wave.

This is it, Jillian thought, bracing herself as she put the car in Park. Showtime.

With one last deep breath, she climbed out of the car, fixing a smile upon her face as she waved back at the woman. Jillian recognized her from her research. This was Meredith Sutton, the woman who owned the estate with her brother, Adam.

"Hello!" the woman called out, a trace of a tremor in her voice. "You must be Jillian."

"That's right. Meredith?" Jillian asked as if she didn't know.

"That's me," the woman said, a touch of self-deprecation in her words. "It's great to finally meet you in person."

"You, too." Meredith Sutton was a thin woman in her late twenties with brown hair that hung to her shoulders. It was pulled away from her face, revealing pale skin and a faint smile. An air of vulnerability hung over her, as though a stiff breeze was capable of blowing her over. As soon as she made eye contact, her gaze almost immediately skittered away. A few seconds later, she managed to bring her eyes up again, this time meeting Jillian's and holding steady.

Jillian could almost feel the effort it took her to maintain eye contact. The woman radiated nervous energy. Considering what had happened to the first bride who came here to be married, that probably made sense.

Or was there more to it? Jillian couldn't help wondering as a pang of suspicion struck low in her gut. Something beyond a simple accident had happened to Courtney, she had no doubt about that. Someone was very likely involved, and as one of the owners, Meredith Sutton was more likely than not to know what had really happened here. Maybe she had good reason to be nervous. Guilty conscience?

Doing her best not to let her suspicions show on her face, Jillian leaned back and gestured toward the building. "This is so much more than I expected."

"The pictures don't quite do it justice, do they?" Meredith said, following Jillian's gaze. "I...

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Verlag
Harlequin Intrigue
Erscheinungsdatum
2013
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0373696884
ISBN 13 
9780373696888
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
224
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