Dad's E-Mail Order Bride by Candy Halliday - Alaska Bound 01 - Dad's E-Mail Order Bride
Tags: Fiction, General, Suspense, Romance, Contemporary, Teenage girls, alaska, Category, Single Fathers, Widowers, Advertising Executives, Alaska Bound
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second time? He hadn’t meant to kiss her. He’d just been standing there, his arm around her, and she’d been smiling at him. And dammit, he just couldn’t help himself.
Is that what turning forty did to a man?
Did hitting the big four-oh unleash some hidden gene that suddenly made a man feel the need to prove his virility? Or had he only been fooling himself all along? Had he really come to Alaska for Rachel’s protection? Or had he been protecting himself by making sure he wouldn’t have the opportunity to feel anything for a woman again?
He needed a clear head. He had to stop overanalyzing every little thing—worrying about his reaction to this and his reaction to that. Of course, he was attracted to Courtney.
He had eyes, didn’t he?
His reaction was no different than any other healthy man’s reaction to a good-looking woman. He’d been out of circulation so long he’d forgotten what was normal and what wasn’t.
And that sent Graham’s gaze back to the folder again.
Okay. He’d read Courtney’s e-mails. It wasn’t as though he had anything pressing to do at the moment, since Rachel and Courtney were fixing dinner. He had another hour to kill before he had to dress for dinner.
And yes, he would wear the tux.
Begrudgingly, but he’d wear it. He’d never tell Rachel, but he would wear a tux to dinner every night until she left for college if that’s what it took to improve her bad attitude.
Graham picked up the folder before he changed his mind. And leaning back in his chair, he propped his feet up on his desk again and opened to Courtney’s first e-mail.
Hi Graham.
The way I would describe myself is being in total awe over everything you said about life in your introductory e-mail to me. You see, today happens to be my thirty-fifth birthday. And if anyone needs to get her whole life-act together, it’s moi.
I’m also one of those people who assumed by making everyone else happy, I’d eventually find happiness myself. Your e-mail has snapped me out of that delusion.
So, thank you, Graham.
You appear to be a wise and thoughtful man.
I hope we can become good friends.
The next one read:
You mentioned those nights when you stare at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Sleep has never come easy for me. Sometimes I’m lonely. Sometimes I’m just plain terrified at how quickly life is passing me by. I blink and my day is gone. Two blinks and another year has passed. I have this recurring dream where I’m sitting on a white cloud. I know I’m dead, but when I open my book of life all of the pages are blank. They say bad dreams are only mental snapshots of your worst fears, and I believe that. If I had the courage to be honest with myself, my worst fear is that my blank pages will never be filled.
Courtney had said his words touched her.
Ditto.
He often felt as if his life had been a blank page until he moved to Alaska. Was it possible Courtney’s trip to Alaska represented the same for her? Had she hoped to start a new chapter in her life and fill some of those pages?
Graham could only wonder.
But thinking about Courtney reminded him he would soon be facing her again at dinner. And deciding he’d better see if he could still fit into his damn tux after five years, Graham got up from his chair and headed for his bedroom.
He took the folder with him. If he couldn’t sleep tonight, Courtney’s e-mails would keep him company.
CHAPTER SIX
R ACHEL HAD PAID CLOSE attention to their reactions when her dad and Courtney saw each other for the first time all dressed up for dinner—her dad handsome in his tux; Courtney fab in a totally to-die-for off-the-shoulder black dress, her hair in a knot on top of her head. It was like watching a scene straight out of Pretty Woman —the one where Richard Gere sees Julia Roberts in that fancy red cocktail dress for the first time and she’s all smiling at him because he’s so wickedly hot she just can’t stand it. Rachel loved those old
Is that what turning forty did to a man?
Did hitting the big four-oh unleash some hidden gene that suddenly made a man feel the need to prove his virility? Or had he only been fooling himself all along? Had he really come to Alaska for Rachel’s protection? Or had he been protecting himself by making sure he wouldn’t have the opportunity to feel anything for a woman again?
He needed a clear head. He had to stop overanalyzing every little thing—worrying about his reaction to this and his reaction to that. Of course, he was attracted to Courtney.
He had eyes, didn’t he?
His reaction was no different than any other healthy man’s reaction to a good-looking woman. He’d been out of circulation so long he’d forgotten what was normal and what wasn’t.
And that sent Graham’s gaze back to the folder again.
Okay. He’d read Courtney’s e-mails. It wasn’t as though he had anything pressing to do at the moment, since Rachel and Courtney were fixing dinner. He had another hour to kill before he had to dress for dinner.
And yes, he would wear the tux.
Begrudgingly, but he’d wear it. He’d never tell Rachel, but he would wear a tux to dinner every night until she left for college if that’s what it took to improve her bad attitude.
Graham picked up the folder before he changed his mind. And leaning back in his chair, he propped his feet up on his desk again and opened to Courtney’s first e-mail.
Hi Graham.
The way I would describe myself is being in total awe over everything you said about life in your introductory e-mail to me. You see, today happens to be my thirty-fifth birthday. And if anyone needs to get her whole life-act together, it’s moi.
I’m also one of those people who assumed by making everyone else happy, I’d eventually find happiness myself. Your e-mail has snapped me out of that delusion.
So, thank you, Graham.
You appear to be a wise and thoughtful man.
I hope we can become good friends.
The next one read:
You mentioned those nights when you stare at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Sleep has never come easy for me. Sometimes I’m lonely. Sometimes I’m just plain terrified at how quickly life is passing me by. I blink and my day is gone. Two blinks and another year has passed. I have this recurring dream where I’m sitting on a white cloud. I know I’m dead, but when I open my book of life all of the pages are blank. They say bad dreams are only mental snapshots of your worst fears, and I believe that. If I had the courage to be honest with myself, my worst fear is that my blank pages will never be filled.
Courtney had said his words touched her.
Ditto.
He often felt as if his life had been a blank page until he moved to Alaska. Was it possible Courtney’s trip to Alaska represented the same for her? Had she hoped to start a new chapter in her life and fill some of those pages?
Graham could only wonder.
But thinking about Courtney reminded him he would soon be facing her again at dinner. And deciding he’d better see if he could still fit into his damn tux after five years, Graham got up from his chair and headed for his bedroom.
He took the folder with him. If he couldn’t sleep tonight, Courtney’s e-mails would keep him company.
CHAPTER SIX
R ACHEL HAD PAID CLOSE attention to their reactions when her dad and Courtney saw each other for the first time all dressed up for dinner—her dad handsome in his tux; Courtney fab in a totally to-die-for off-the-shoulder black dress, her hair in a knot on top of her head. It was like watching a scene straight out of Pretty Woman —the one where Richard Gere sees Julia Roberts in that fancy red cocktail dress for the first time and she’s all smiling at him because he’s so wickedly hot she just can’t stand it. Rachel loved those old
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