After the Loving

After the Loving
Gwynne Forster

In the much anticipated follow-up to Once in a Lifetime, full-figured caterer Velma Brighton is constantly comparing herself to her thin, beautiful sister, Alexis, who seems to have everything. On Alexis's wedding day, Velma's insecurity kicks into overdrive when she puts on a formfitting maid-of-honor gown that reveals all of her curves.Worse still, the man who makes her heart race will be escorting her down the aisle. How will he react to her very shapely physique?Rugged, tough and a loner, Russ Harrington is every woman's dream. And Velma is his type of woman. He fell for her–beautiful curves and all. But he has little patience with her lack of self-esteem. Setting aside his concerns, Russ pursues Velma…until she tries to undergo a complete makeover. Ironically, Velma's attempt to attract Russ could cause her to lose the very thing she wants the most–his love.

After the Loving

After the Loving

Essence Bestselling Author

Gwynne Forster

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

Dear Reader,

So many of you have written to me over the past several years asking me when I would publish another book about the Harrington brothers. Finally, my editor agreed it was time to revisit this charming family. Originally there were only three Harrington brothers, and each had his own story. However, in my treasure trove of ideas, I discovered that the Harrington family is larger than I had initially thought, and includes stories of their extended family and friends.

I am pleased that this romance about the sometimes sizzling, sometimes rocky relationship between the second Harrington brother—Russ—and the woman he loves, Velma Brighton, is once again available to readers. And if you enjoy the handsome and fiery Russ Harrington—and I sincerely hope that you do—you will be happy to learn that a new Harrington novel, A Compromising Affair, will be published in September 2011.

In case you missed the other award-winning Harrington novels, Kimani Arabesque is reissuing them beginning with Once In A Lifetime, which was released in November 2010, and Love Me or Leave Me, which is being reissued in August 2011. I hope you have an opportunity to read all of the books in the Harringtons series.

I enjoy receiving mail, so please email me at GwynneF@aol.com. If you write by postal mail, reach me at P.O. Box 45, New York, NY 10044, and if you would like a reply, please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope. For more information, please contact my agent, Pattie Steel-Perkins, Steel-Perkins Literary Agency, at MYAGENTSPLA@aol.com.

Warmest regards,

Gwynne Forster

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

To the memory of my parents,

who gave me a legacy of faith, instilled in me

the efficacy of kindness, integrity and commitment to

good; to the memory of my siblings from whom I learned

the art of distinguishing conflict from competition;

to my late mother, especially, who wrote the first fiction

I ever read and taught me to read and write

by the time I was five; and to my beloved husband,

who fills my life with joy in so many ways.

Finally, I thank God for the talent he has given me

and for the opportunities to use it.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 1

Velma Brighton zipped up the mauve-colored, strapless silk-and-lace gown, fastened a strand of eight-millimeter pearls at her neck, and forced herself to look in the floor-length mirror that leaned against the wall. Grimacing at the sight of her more than amply rounded figure in the fitted gown, she cringed with embarrassment.

“Now, he’ll know what I really look like,” she said to herself, lamenting the fact that she couldn’t wear her usual caftan and wishing that she was tall and slender. As she stared at the mirror, she saw not only her own likeness, but a reflection of the groves of snow and icicle-laden trees on the north side of Harrington House that created an idyllic dream world. For a better look, she walked over to the window of the guest room she occupied and fixed her gaze on the broad expanse of snow-covered beauty, shaking her head in wonder at the sunlight dancing against the icicles. No bride could ask for a more beautiful wedding day.

This was her fifth or sixth visit to Harrington House, an enormous red-brick colonial set off by a great circular driveway, dominating John Brown Drive in Eagle Park, Maryland. She first visited it in order to be with her sister, Alexis, but on each subsequent trip to visit her sister, her heart had fluttered wildly in her eagerness to see Russ Harrington again. And though he always welcomed her, often being especially attentive, she didn’t think she’d made much headway with him.

She checked her hair and make-up and went downstairs to the rooms her sister occupied with her five-year-old daughter, Tara.

“How do I look, Aunt Velma?” Tara asked the minute Velma walked into the room.

“Beautiful. You’ll be the perfect flower girl.”

Smiles enveloped Tara’s face. “My mummy said I looked, uh…spec…spec…what, Mummy?”

“Spectacular.”

Velma regarded her sister—tall, willowy and beautiful in the ivory-colored silk-satin-and-lace wedding gown. “I was a little surprise when you said you’d wear white, but I’m glad you did.”

“Telford asked if I would—he wanted a traditional wed ding. I wasn’t going to deny him because of a foolish convention that a divorced or widowed woman shouldn’t wear white at a subsequent marriage. Brides wore white traditionally because they were virgins. Honey, that was then. Telford’s never been married, and he deserves a good old-fashioned wedding if that’s to his liking.”