Beauty's Kiss
Authors: Jane Porter
Beauty’s Kiss
A Taming of the Sheenans Romance
Jane Porter
Beauty’s Kiss
© Copyright 2014 Jane Porter
The Tule Publishing Group, LLC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ISBN 978-1-940296-18-0
Dedication
For Meghan Farrell.
You are Wonder Girl. Tule couldn't do what it’s doing without you.
(And I'd be miserable without a cool Book Girl around!)
Dear Reader
If you've read my books before, you know I love connected stories, and have written numerous series featuring families for Harlequin Presents, Grand Central Publishing and Berkley Books.
The Taming of the Sheenan
s, is my brand new series about five brothers from Marietta, Montana and boy oh boy do these men know how to take over a scene and own the room!
The Sheenans are big, tough, rugged men, and as different as the Montana landscape. I launched the series in December with
Christmas at Copper Mountain,
a story about widower Brock Sheenan, the oldest brother, a taciturn rancher and single father who has been alone too long.
Now the series continues with
Beauty's Kiss
, featuring the 'good' Sheenan twin, venture capitalist Troy, named Marietta's Most Eligible Bachelor by the Copper Mountain Courier several years ago.
But thirty-six year old Troy is more than a pretty face. He's brilliant and ambitious, loyal to this family, and has a secret soft spot for historical buildings, small towns, and brainy book girls.
I hope you'll enjoy Taylor Harris and Troy Sheenan's romance in
Beauty's Kiss.
These two stole my heart as has all of Marietta. Welcome back to Marietta, Montana nestled beneath majestic Copper Mountain!
Jane Porter
Contents
The Taming of the Sheenan Novels
Chapter One
Montana winters were never mild, and this winter felt even more brutal than normal.
Taylor Harris sucked in a sharp breath at the blast of frigid air as she and Jane Weiss, the new director of the Marietta Chamber of Commerce, stepped from the warm library into the night.
The frigid temperature and biting wind made her eyes water behind her glasses. Taylor fumbled with her key, blinking as she struggled to get Marietta library’s front door locked. She had to remove her mitten to punch in the security code on the wall.
Jane stood close by, shoulders hunched, teeth chattering. “You’re sure you don’t mind driving me to the airport?” she asked, drawing her suitcase closer to her feet.
“Of course not,” Taylor answered, shivering as she quickly tugged her mitten back on. Normally she’d be racing home on a night like this for a hot bath, a steaming cup of soup, and a great book in bed. Taylor had been a book lover her entire life and, even at twenty-six, loved nothing more than curling up and getting lost in a great story, reading until the early hours of the morning. So what if it meant she never got enough sleep? Books were her life, her passion. It’s why she’d become a librarian.
They set off for the broad, pale stone steps that led to the park and parking lot, Jane’s roller bag bumped along next to them.
Taylor glanced across Crawford Park to the tall, domed courthouse dominating the public park. Even though it was only a few minutes after six, the sky was already dark and the yellow glow of street lamps reflected off the snow heaped onto the sides of the city park’s paths. Larger, dirtier piles of snow lined Marietta’s streets, thanks to the diligent efforts of the city’s snow plows, and now a new storm was predicted to move in tonight, which would mean even bigger piles tomorrow.
Jane glanced anxiously up at the sky. “It’s supposed to start snowing later. You’re okay driving in a storm?”
Taylor nodded, smiling, amused. “Of course. I’m from northeastern Montana. All we do is drive in snow and ice. It’s you I’m worried about. You think your flight will get out okay?”
“I checked with the airline. So far, so good, and I have those alerts on my phone so I’ll know right away if there’s a change in status.” Jane lifted her bag, carrying it down the salted front steps, slightly breathless by the time they reached the sidewalk. “So what are you wearing to the Ball Friday?”
Taylor knew the Valentine Ball would come up, and she dreaded breaking the news to Jane that she’d decided not to attend. “I wanted to talk to you about that,” she said carefully. “I’ve—”
“Don’t. Don’t say you’ve changed your mind. You promised me!”
Taylor hated disappointing anyone, much less the best friend she’d made since moving to Marietta six months ago, but Jane enjoyed big events and Taylor did not. “It’s just not my thing, Jane, and it’s incredibly expensive—”
“You’re getting a free ticket for being on the Wedding Giveaway committee.”
Taylor adjusted her red and brown striped scarf around her neck, trying in vain to block the wind. “Things have been stressful with Doug and all the changes at the library. I’d honestly rather stay home and unwind. I’ve got a new book by one of my favorite authors—”
“You can read over the weekend. You don’t need to spend your Friday night in bed!”
“Why not?” Taylor exclaimed, as they darted across the parking lot. “We both know I’m not a Ball kind of girl. I’m a librarian. And boring as mud. Trust me, you’ll have more fun without me.”
Jane raced next to Taylor, teeth chattering again. “You’re only boring because you don’t go out and do anything!”
“I like being home. I like reading.”
Jane shuddered as the freezing wind whipped past. “You’re too young to become a hermit.”
Taylor peeled a long strand of hair from her lashes and tugged her knit cap lower on her head. “I’m not a hermit. I’m just an introvert, which means I like people, but I don’t find parties exciting. They tire me out—.”
“You sound like an old lady!” Jane interrupted, giggling. “But you’re young and beautiful and this is a once in a lifetime event. A historic event to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of Marietta’s 1914 Great Wedding Giveaway—” she broke off and glanced up at the sky as the first slow, lazy snowflakes drifted down. “It’s starting to snow.”
“We’ll get you to the airport,” Taylor said. “You’ll make it.”
Jane dragged her bag across an icy patch. “So when does it warm up?”
“May? June?”
“
No
!”
“Don’t think about it,” Taylor said, as they arrived at her car and she clicked the unlock button on her key ring. “It’ll just make it worse.”
Inside the car, as Taylor turned the engine on, Jane held her hands to one of the vents, waiting for the heat to kick in. “You have to come, Taylor. It’s the party of the century. Everyone’s going to be there—.” she broke off, frowned, hesitated. “Okay, from the sluggish ticket sales, we know not
everyone
will be at the Graff Hotel Friday night, but most of Crawford County’s movers and shakers will. It’s going to be beautiful. Don’t you want to see the ballroom decorated?”
“I do. That’s why I’ve volunteered to help Risa deliver the flowers Friday. But that’s enough for me. I love to read about Balls in my Regency romances, but there’s nothing in me begging to go to a ball. Besides, even if I went, what would I wear?”
“That’s easy. I’ll take you shopping, and Taylor, you have to go. We’re sitting at the Sheenan table. It’d be rude to not go now.”
Taylor backed out from the parking spot, shifted into drive. “Just have catering remove a place setting and chair from the table. No one will even notice if there is eight, nine, or ten at the table.”
“Yes, they will.”
“No, they won’t.”
“Yes. They will.” Jane exhaled hard before adding in a small voice. “Because you’re Troy Sheenan’s date.”
“
What
?” Taylor slammed on her brakes and stared at Jane.
“He just broke up with his girlfriend and he needed a date and you didn’t have a date so I told him–”
“No, you did not.”
“I did.”
“Why would you do that?”
“He’s really nice.”
“No he’s not. You said he broke your heart.”
“Okay, nice is maybe the wrong word. But he is seriously gorgeous and sexy and smart. Very, very smart. And successful. Rich as Midas—”
“Jane, no. He sounds awful. Yuck.
No
.”
“It’s just for the Ball. You can go with Mitch and I, and we’ll drive you home. And I promise that Troy won’t make a move—”