Rochelle Alers - Taken by Storm

Youve met Ryan, Jeremy and Sheldonthe Blackstones of Virginiaand now its time to meet the Whitfields of New York. In this Arabesque trilogy, you will meet the Signature Bridals wedding divas: Tessa, Faith and Simone Whitfield. These three women are so focused on their demanding careers that theyve sacrificed their personal happiness. Within a year, though, each will encounter a very special man who will not only change them but change their lives forever.

In Long Time Coming, wedding planner Tessa Whitfield never imagined that opening the doors of Signature Bridals to Micah Sanborn would lead to their spending the next twelve hours together after a power outage hits her Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood. Her vow never to mix business with pleasure is shattered when the Brooklyn assistant district attorney offers Tessa an extraordinary friendship with a few special surprises that make her reevaluate everything shes come to believe about love.

Wedding-cake designer Faith Whitfield, who owns the fashionable Greenwich Village patisserie Let Them Eat Cake, has all but given up on finding her prince, and refuses to kiss another frog. But, when she least expects it, she discovers love in the passionate embrace of pilot to the rich and famousand modern-day knight-in-shining-armorEthan McMillan in The Sweetest Temptation.

After a disappointing marriage and an ill-fated reconciliation with her high-school sweetheart, floral designer Simone Whitfield wants nothing to do with men. Shes content to run her business, Wildflowers and Other Treasures, in the greenhouses on her White Plains, New York, property. In Taken by Storm, Simone witnesses an attack on a federal judge, and suddenly finds her cloistered suburban life turned upside down when U.S. Marshal Raphael Madison from the witness protection unit is assigned to protect her 24/7. Although they are complete opposites, Simone and Raphael come to share a heated desire and a love that promises forever.

Yours in romance,
Rochelle Alers

I would like to thank the authors, editors and photographers of the following books, which proved invaluable in writing the Whitfields of New Yorks Signature Bridals:

Victoria Romantic Weddings, Hearts Books, 1998;

Bouquets: A Year of Flowers for the Bride
by Marsha Heckman, Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2000;

The Knot Book of Wedding Gowns
by Carley Roney, Chronicle Books, 2001;

For Your Wedding Cakes
by Bette Matthews, Barnes & Noble, 2003;

Wedding Flowers Made Simple
by Stephen Roberts, Watson-Guptill Publications, 2003;

Martha Stewart Weddings, winter 2004;

InStyle Weddings
by Hilary Sterne, Time, Inc. Home Entertainment, 2005;

Brides Receptions Special Issue, spring 2006;

Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, spring/summer 2007.

S imone Whitfield got up at the same time every day regardless of the season. This morning, rather than prepare to work in the greenhouses on her property, she readied herself to go to a nearby park. Shed waited months for spring and the return of warmer weather to resume jogging.

Staring at her reflection in the mirror over the bathroom vanity, she pulled a large-tooth comb through her hair, securing it off her face in an elastic band. Itd been years since shed worn her hair off her shoulders, but had been reluctant to cut it because her ex-husband said he liked long hair. Their on-again, off-again relationship from high school sweethearts, to marriage, divorce and a failed reconciliation spanned sixteen years, and Anthony Kendrick no longer had a place in her life.

Now at thirty-three, shed moved on and had no intention of ever looking back. Shed given Tony more chances than he deserved to get his act together and his last plea of just one more time had fallen on deaf ears. Besides, she had other things on which to concentrate. She was involved in running her own floral business, Wildflowers and Other Treasures, while planning her sisters wedding that was only seven weeks away.

Simone couldnt believe her very staid younger sister was planning to marry. Tessa Whitfield, the preeminent wedding planner for Signature Bridals and Event Planners, Inc., and whod coordinated countless weddings, was now going to be a Signature bride.

A week before Simone had been maid of honor for her cousin Faith Whitfield-McMillan, whod just returned from honeymooning with her husband, Ethan. Beautiful, elegant Faith had eloped over the Valentines Day weekend after a two-month whirlwind courtship; then two and a half months later, she and Ethan repeated their vows for friends and family members in a church ceremony.

Faith had invited her, Tessa and Micah Sanborn, Tessas fianc, to her Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey home for dinner Saturday evening, and she looked forward to sharing the small, intimate gathering with family members.

Flicking off the bathroom light, she walked into the adjoining bedroom and scooped up a set of keys and a cell phone off the dresser. Simone left her bedroom and took the staircase downstairs to an area of the large farmhouse where shed set up a laundry room and workshop/mudroom. Sitting on a wooden bench, she slipped her sock-covered feet into a pair of running shoes. At the last minute, she decided to take a small canister of pepper spray. Coyote sightings in several Westchester County communities had prompted her to purchase the spray, which she prayed shed never have to use. Putting on a hooded sweatshirt, she pushed the spray, cell phone and keys into the deep pockets. Depressing a button on the keypad on a wall, she activated the propertys security system and stepped out into the warm, spring morning.

The panoramic view from the two-story house with a wraparound porch that overlooked the Hudson River was why Simone had decided to purchase the foreclosed, three-acre dilapidated property for a fraction of its worth. Itd taken more than seven years and an incalculable amount of money for her to restore the century-old house and surrounding landscape to its original beauty.

She set off down the hill at a brisk walk toward a wooded area that led into a park with a track, tennis and basketball courts and a baseball diamond. A layer of moisture had dotted her body under the sweatpants and hoodie as she increased her pace along the narrow, paved path.

The sound of footsteps behind her prompted Simone to glance over her shoulder. She recognized the tall, slender man with salt-and-pepper hair. Good morning, Judge Fischer.

Good morning, Simone, he said, breathing heavily as he joined her, their rubber-soled feet keeping pace.

The greeting was barely out of his mouth when a large form sprang from a copse of trees. Within seconds, Mitchell Fischers throat was caught in a savage grip. Early morning sunlight glinted off a shiny object as it came down once, then again.

Simone couldnt move or scream; she stood stunned as she watched the horrific scene. Fear held her in a stranglehold until the limp body of her neighbor crumpled to the ground and his assailant turned toward her. Reacting on instinct, she reached into her pocket and took out the pepper spray. Her gaze locked on a pair of glittering gold eyes before she noticed the large tattoo on the back of his right hand. The blade of the knife hed used to stab Judge Fischer was covered with blood. Pressing the red button on the canister of pepper spray, she aimed it directly at the mans face. There came a high-pitched scream followed by a gurgling sound. The knife fell to the ground as he stumbled around blindly before falling into the underbrush.