• Complain

Susan Mallery - Wife in Disguise

Here you can read online Susan Mallery - Wife in Disguise full text of the book (entire story) in english for free. Download pdf and epub, get meaning, cover and reviews about this ebook. genre: Romance novel. Description of the work, (preface) as well as reviews are available. Best literature library LitArk.com created for fans of good reading and offers a wide selection of genres:

Romance novel Science fiction Adventure Detective Science History Home and family Prose Art Politics Computer Non-fiction Religion Business Children Humor

Choose a favorite category and find really read worthwhile books. Enjoy immersion in the world of imagination, feel the emotions of the characters or learn something new for yourself, make an fascinating discovery.

No cover

Wife in Disguise: summary, description and annotation

We offer to read an annotation, description, summary or preface (depends on what the author of the book "Wife in Disguise" wrote himself). If you haven't found the necessary information about the book — write in the comments, we will try to find it.

Josie Fitzgerald Scott was athletic, competitive and stubborn as sin-until an accident changed her life. Now she simply sought closure with unforgettable Del Scott-the man shed once lovingly wed, passionately bedded, then contrarily fled Amazingly, Del didnt recognize Josies reconstructed contours. Yet her sexy ex-husband seemed oddly, instantly drawn to this soft, delicate stranger, despite her new curves. Which gave Josie-as Rose-a second chance: to woo and win back Dels fierce male passion. But would limping, less than honestly, down memory lane unleash a landslide of trouble? Or-miraculously-lead Josie home to love?

Susan Mallery: author's other books


Who wrote Wife in Disguise? Find out the surname, the name of the author of the book and a list of all author's works by series.

Wife in Disguise — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "Wife in Disguise" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

Reset

Interval:

Bookmark:

Make
Susan Mallery Wife in Disguise The third book in the Lone Star Canyon series - photo 1

Susan Mallery

Wife in Disguise

The third book in the Lone Star Canyon series, 2001

To those who have survived the trials of life,

while coming through the fire

with grace and humor intact.

Prologue The accident occurred in slow motion One minute Josie - photo 2***

Prologue

The accident occurred in slow motion.

One minute Josie Fitzgerald Scott was driving home for lunch as she did most days, the next, her life changed forever. There was no warning, no premonition that this Tuesday at 11:45 a.m. was going to be different from any other. She entered the West Los Angeles intersection without a second thought. And then a truck plowed into her.

It was at that moment, when she glanced to her left and saw the grill-taller than her compact car-that she knew she was going to die. Time came to a halt. She had a chance to look up and see that yes, her light was green so she hadnt accidentally run a red by mistake. She briefly thought about accelerating or braking, to lessen the impact of the impending collision. But before she could decide, the truck was on her and the first sickening sound of metal on metal filled her ears.

Mercifully, she felt nothing. Not pressure, not pain, not even panic. As she was thrust to her right by the force of the truck slamming into her car, she wondered what she would regret as she breathed her last. Would it be her tacit estrangement from her family or her solitary existence? Would it be

The sound increased until it filled her head. She had an odd sensation of being disconnected from her body, of not actually being a part of the destruction. She heard screams and vaguely wondered if they were her own.

Then the darkness beckoned. But before she could step into the waiting oblivion, she felt her first and only regret. Del. That she would never see him again or tell him that she was sorry for everything that had gone wrong between them.

As her car was crushed like a soda can, breaking her body and ravaging her face, she slipped into the blackness. With her last conscious thought, she breathed the name of the man who had once wanted her for his own.

Chapter One

One year later

The old Miller place was for sale. Josie Scott parked her Volvo in front of the old Victorian mansion and stared at the gabled roof line. Shed been fighting nothing but memories since shed driven into Beachside Bay, California, earlier that morning, and seeing the old house only made the problem worse. Shed returned to town for closure, but what she was getting instead was a quick course in how to survive a brutal trip down memory lane.

Im on a mission, she reminded herself. A mission that should take two, maybe three days at most. Then she would leave the land of her past and return to

Actually she didnt have anything to return to, but this wasnt the time to remember that. Better to focus on the past and why she was here. So she looked at the Miller house and remembered when she and Del had visited it, one of the many times it had been on the market.

We could rip out the entire third floor and make it into a master suite, hed said one Saturday long ago. Theyd been standing at the top of the narrow staircase leading to the unused third floor of the mansion. New bathroom, sitting area, even a study.

Josie had planted her hands on her jeans-clad hips and stubbornly shaken her head. Itll be too hot.

Del turned to her, his dark eyes glinting with laughter. Theres this new invention. Maybe youve heard of it. Air-conditioning? The master suite could have its own unit.

She hadnt been convinced. I want the master on the second floor.

Where will the kids sleep?

Shed rolled her eyes, then turned away, tucking a strand of short blond hair behind her ear. She hadnt been about to get trapped in that discussion again. Del wanted kids; she wasnt ready. He wanted the master up, she wanted it down. He wanted her home and cooking dinner and she wanted a career. They hadnt agreed on the Miller house, nor on anything else of importance.

Josie leaned back in the front seat of her car and closed her eyes. Oh, Del, what were we thinking? Their three-year marriage had been one long argument punctuated by great sex. In fact, theyd currently been divorced as long as theyd been married. So what on earth was she doing in Beachside Bay?

Closure, she murmured to herself, opening her eyes and starting her car engine.

Yes, she and Del were divorced. From what shed heard, while he hadnt remarried hed certainly moved on with his life. She had, too, or so shed thought until her accident a year before. Del had been her last thought before shed slipped into unconsciousness and her first thought upon waking in the hospital. Hed been on her mind on and off through the past twelve months of surgery, physical therapy and more surgery. Obviously, she wasnt as over him as shed thought.

So here she was, back where the trouble had begun. All she wanted was a couple of quick conversations with her ex so that she could put her past behind her. A simple plan, but one that wasnt going to work if she didnt have the courage to go talk to him.

So do it now, she ordered herself as she slipped the car into gear, checked the mirrors and road ahead before pulling out onto the quiet side street.

She drove the scant three miles to the offices of Scott Construction. As she did she was assaulted by memories of living in the sleepy seaside town. Beachside Bay was directly west of San Jose but light years from anything remotely resembling a burgeoning economy. The main residents were college kids and retirees who actually existed in peaceful acceptance. Funky restaurants and elegant bed and breakfasts pulled in the vacation crowd, but there wasnt enough industry to keep the tourists longer than a weekend or two a year.

She turned the corner and pulled into the parking lot of Scott Construction. The low one-story building still looked more like a beach house than an office. Flowers, mostly roses, bloomed along the edges of the parking lot and up the long walkway.

Memories assaulted her. She remembered how the place had looked when shed been all of nineteen and looking for a part-time job. The twenty-five hours a week of light office work had been more than enough to supplement her athletic scholarship. The fact that the Scotts son was three years her senior, good-looking enough to have his own beefcake calendar and a charmer to boot had simply been a bonus.

But all the memories werent so fun, Josie admitted to herself. She could also recall the times when she and Del had been fighting. Hed left for work, but she hadnt been content to let things rest. Instead shed followed him to the office to continue screaming at him, not caring who heard or what they thought of her.

She gripped the steering wheel, squeezing tightly and trying to erase that part of her past. She had many things to atone for. Shed been unprepared for marriage, with the sensibilities of a spoiled teenager rather than a grown woman. Would Del be interested in listening to her say that now, or had he put her so far behind him that it didnt matter anymore? There was only one way to find out.

Gathering her courage, Josie turned off the engine and carefully put the keys into her purse. As she opened the door of her sedan, she shifted her weight so that she could turn to face out. She swung her legs slowly and painfully around until her feet touched the ground. When she was ready, she braced one hand on the specially installed handle by the back of her seat and pushed into a standing position. Her leg muscles-especially those in her left leg-quivered and threatened to give way. She forced herself to remain completely still until shed achieved her balance. Only then did she turn and bend down so she could pull out her purse and her cane.

Next page
Light

Font size:

Reset

Interval:

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «Wife in Disguise»

Look at similar books to Wife in Disguise. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.


Reviews about «Wife in Disguise»

Discussion, reviews of the book Wife in Disguise and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.