to make a name for her self. Since sewing is her only skill, Ellie enters a
contest to study in New York with a famous designer. Her resemblance
to an heiress has Ellie playing the part of SUBSTITUTE BRIDE in a fake
wedding planned by the heiress’s billionaire father. But Ellie’s instant
attraction to the stand-in groom puts her goal at risk.
Samuel Clay Oglethorpe agrees to stand-in for his movie star cousin
in a staged wedding, after the star promises to sell him land that is
rightfully his. But Sam soon finds the SUBSTITUTE BRIDE distracting
him. Can he regain his rightful heritage and win a bride?
Barnes and Noble book stores or at
Barnes and Noble.com
and Quilts in Ellie's shop.
CHAPTER ONE
...
“It’s kind of you to give me a lift. I’d planned to take the bus—“
“With that bag?” He snorted as he slammed the driver’s side door.
“Okay, it’s not far, if you’ll just drop me off, I’d appreciate it.” No sense in needling him. He looked ready to
burst a seam, as it was. She didn’t blame him. They’d spent the past hour acting their heads off in front of
hundreds of guests expecting to see the latest media darlings get married. This wedding had made news
headlines for months.
“Where are you staying?”
“Two blocks down from Main Street.” Ellie reached to fasten her seat belt as the engine roared to life. “Do you
know your way around the city?”
“Sorta,” he said as he glanced to be sure the street was clear before pulling out of the parking lot. Once they
turned on the side street, it was easy to see the traffic congestion all around the front of the massive church.
“Good thing I asked about alternate routes before the ceremony.” He turned left, just missing the traffic jam.
“Give me directions when we get close.”
“I really appreciate this—” Her words trailed off as she twisted toward him. “I don’t even know your name!”
“Samuel Clay Oglethorpe.” He held out a large that felt rough when she took it in hers. “Sam to my friends.”
“Emiline Anastasia Gray, Ellie to my husbands.” Ellie laughed, but her insides quivered as heat from his touch
raced up her arm. What was happening here? His responding chuckle eased her tension. But he’d let go of her
hand, too.
“Do you have many husbands?”
“You wore contacts,” she blurted as she noticed the teasing green glint in the hazel eyes watching her.
“Oh, that reminds me.” She started pulling out pins until her hair fell to her shoulders. “That feels better. Your
eyes aren’t as dark as Shawn’s.”
“No.” Sam glanced in her direction, noticing the way the light glistened in her sandy colored locks. “Your hair
isn’t as dark as Dawn’s, either. How did they expect to keep the guests from noticing the difference?”
Ellie leaned over her lap.
“No one saw me without the veil. With all the hair gook my natural color was dark enough.” She settled back in
the seat and grinned.
“So, you wore contacts too!”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“Green eyes would be a dead give-away. Dawn’s eyes are dark brown.” He glanced away from the street.
“The difference in your appearance is amazing!”
“You mean you don’t see an heiress when you look at the real me?” Ellie teased as he eased the vehicle
through traffic. With ever fiber of control she’d learned over the years, she tried to ignore the tension that ripped
through her. Why did it matter what this man thought? Her attraction to him made no sense. There wasn’t room
in her life for a man. With his looks and charm, a man like Sam spelled trouble. A girl couldn’t keep her mind on
her work with him around.
Still, she wondered what he saw when he looked at her as Ellie, not as the bride. “Oh, slow down. I recognize
that tall building—“
Sam motioned toward all the skyscrapers along the street and grunted.
Ellie’s tension escaped on a giggle as she read his expression. “Okay, I know, all the buildings in New York
are tall. But the red one, well the darkest one that’s red, beside the gray…there in the next block. Do you see it?”
Sam’s laugh came from deep in his chest and filled the truck. Ellie tilted her chin in pretended offence. But with
humor illuminating his face, Sam was so handsome he took her breath away, and she couldn’t hold a straight
face. So she rolled her eyes and laughed.
“It’s a good thing you aren’t driving. Where are you from anyway?”
“North Carolina,” Ellie said as she tossed her hair back, then stared at the numerous lanes of traffic. “I don’t
think it’s odd that I don’t know my way around a strange city…oops, that’s the turn.”
It was a good thing Sam’s driving was better than her directions. Horns tooted, brakes squealed, but he made
the turn as Ellie watched her building entrance appear. “There, two buildings up on the right.”
“You’re staying at the Y?” The incredulous note in his voice revealed his reaction to the run-down building
that was all Ellie could afford.
Okay, so she had played the part of the bride in a big society wedding. That wasn’t her world, far from it in
fact. “Thank you for the lift,” her tone would have left frost on a pumpkin, but she wasn’t about to explain her
situation.
His cousin was a famous movie star. Did that make Sam rich, too? Ellie didn’t know, but as far as she was
concerned, Sam was twice the man the guy in the movies was, so there. If money made the man, then she’d just
voted for the wrong guy. But in her book, good manners and a sense of humor went a long way. Sam had both,
and good looks to boot…well he’d had good manners until that last comment.
She unbuckled the seatbelt with a loud snap. “Thanks, I can manage from here.”
“Whoa…what’s the rush? How long are you staying in town?” Sam’s glance held her frozen in place. “I’m from
North Carolina, too. Maybe we could go out to eat and talk about home?”
“Oh!” Her heart leaped to her throat. Despite his reaction to her lodging, she liked him. He made the stress of
the role-playing easier. But the wedding was over. This feeling digging in her ribs was probably tension. No way
could she feel attached to a man she’d known for a couple of hours, even if she had married him.
There was no use dragging this out. She hated good-byes. Always had, always would—that’s how her life had
started—with a good-bye she couldn’t even remember.
“It’s been fun, Sam, but I have to go.” A great exit line. Too bad she had to turn back when she couldn’t move
the seat. “Umh, would you help me get this bag out?”
“How about dinner? I don’t know about you, but now that the show’s over, I’m hungry enough to eat the legs
off a chair.”
Ellie’s good humor returned as she heard the familiar phrase. “I know. I skipped breakfast.” Her gaze roamed
over his face one last time. “But I have to pack. I’m taking the bus home tonight.”
