Heard It Through The Grapevine

Heard It Through The Grapevine
Pamela Browning

Can She Overcome The Fear Factor?Gina Angelini never wants to see Josh Corbett again, and everyone knows why. Two years ago he romanced her in front of millions of TV viewers–then surprised the world by picking another contestant to share his life. She's still smarting from his public rejection when he tracks her down to the Napa Valley in California and tries to rewrite their unhappy ending. But a little voice in her head keeps whispering, Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me….The longer Josh is around Gina, the more he regrets having listened to the show's producers instead of his heart. In fact, he can't really blame the blond, dark-eyed beauty for not giving him the time of day. What he needs now is forgiveness. Maybe that and a few allies in the large and boisterous Angelini clan will be enough to buy him a fresh start.In The Family: The bigger the family, the greater the love

“Stop it,” Gina hissed at Josh

“Stop what?” Josh asked, putting on an expression that was pure fake.

“There are no cameras here the way there were on the show. You don’t have to pretend.” Thank goodness the aspirin was kicking in. The throbbing in her head had subsided to a dull ache.

“Pretend? Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“And what am I pretending?” His eyes took on a devilish gleam as he treated himself to a long, languorous lick of ice cream. A runnel of it dripped down his wrist and Gina imagined licking it off. She made herself look away.

“That you—that you…” Words failed her. She averted her eyes, no longer angry. She was exhausted, though. Anger could do that to a person.

“That I’m fascinated by you,” he said simply….

Dear Reader,

Most of us, at one time or another, have been dumped by a guy we cared about. Me, too. It wasn’t in front of millions of people, as happened to Gina Angelini, the heroine of this book. But it still hurt.

Oh, you say. I remember what that’s like. It was awful.

I know, my friend. I know.

So there I was, after my own personal experience, watching one of those television reality shows where a handsome bachelor chooses one out of many fabulous women to continue a relationship. The choice was down to two. One was in love with him; the other didn’t seem to be. But guess who he chose? Not the one who loved him.

Afterward I felt so sorry for the one whose heart was broken, because I knew exactly how she felt. I started thinking, what if? What if this guy lives to regret his choice?

Thus the idea for Heard It Through the Grapevine was conceived. I wanted that girl to get the guy eventually, so that’s what happens to Gina. She goes home, gets on with her life and then…the man who dumped her turns up and wants to make amends.

In fiction we can right past wrongs. We can make things turn out happily ever after. That’s not always true of real life, but guess what? It happens sometimes.

You know the guy who broke up with me? I eventually married him. Yes, really. And when I watched the TV show that gave me the idea for this book, he was right there beside me. He said, “You could write a book about this.”

And I did.

With love and best wishes,

Pamela Browning

Heard it Through the Grapevine

Pamela Browning

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

For Alix, the never-to-be-forgotten frog princess, with wishes for her present and future happiness; and for Bethany, with thanks for her technical advice.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Unlike her heroine in Heard It Through the Grapevine, Pamela Browning has never been on a reality-TV show, but she once was a contestant on Jeopardy!

She divides her time between homes in Florida and the North Carolina mountains, but enjoys visiting her relatives in California’s Napa Valley once or twice a year.

Pam invites you to visit her Web site at www.pamelabrowning.com (http://www.pamelabrowning.com).

Books by Pamela Browning

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

854—BABY CHRISTMAS

874—COWBOY WITH A SECRET

907—PREGNANT AND INCOGNITO

922—RANCHER’S DOUBLE DILEMMA

982—COWBOY ENCHANTMENT

994—BABY ENCHANTMENT

1039—HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE

Contents

Chapter One (#u9b7b5898-ecc6-5c9d-9c37-f5968d54a520)

Chapter Two (#u2c313e15-8ab9-5047-a1bf-b64fe49277e0)

Chapter Three (#ue4276298-730d-5462-9928-0b85fece277f)

Chapter Four (#u003adb94-85ee-5577-b692-a5d4d1757387)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)