Echoes of the Heart Read online

  ‘That would be great. She’s a good person. When you get to know her better, you’ll realise how much she needs a good friend, and she’ll be a loyal friend to you in return.’

  Searching the reception room, Amanda saw Sophie sitting on the edge of a group. It was clear Jake’s ex-wife had no romantic interest in Jake and was genuinely happy for them, but occasionally Amanda caught melancholy in Sophie’s expression.

  ‘Every now and then there’s sadness about her, but I know now it has nothing to do with you or your failed marriage.’

  ‘Like all of us, she wants to be loved. She just hasn’t found the right person yet.’

  ‘She’s rich and beautiful but her life hasn’t been easy, has it?’ Amanda asked.

  ‘No. Both of you have had it tough one way or another. But for you that’s all about to change.’

  He trailed tender kisses across her forehead, and down across her eyelids before capturing her mouth. Fierce longing coiled within her and her stomach clenched as their lips melded. Every stroke of his tongue against hers made desire drum through her veins, flowing like red-hot lava. Her legs trembled and her surroundings faded into oblivion. She was consumed by her need to have him fill the aching place deep within her.

  ‘I can’t wait another second to make love to you,’ she groaned against his mouth. ‘Do you think it’s time for us to leave yet?’

  ‘You’re insatiable,’ he told her, teasing her ear with his teeth.

  ‘I could say the same about you,’ she flirted, shifting her hips as discreetly as possible so she ground against his erection.

  ‘Stop that, woman, or you’ll have to stay where you are for the rest of the night to hide the effect you have on me.’

  Laughing up at him, she’d never known so much happiness.

  He waltzed her over to his cousin, who was his best man. ‘Time to announce our departure, Blake.’

  ‘So soon?’ Blake smiled.

  ‘Not soon enough,’ Jake murmured in Amanda’s ear as Blake made the announcement.

  ‘You have to throw your bouquet!’ one of the female guests called out.

  In a flurry of activity, the single women gathered behind Amanda.

  ‘You too, Sophie,’ Jake’s mother insisted.

  Amanda threw her bouquet over her shoulder. Amid female squeals, Amanda turned. Sophie looked back at her with a bemused expression, the bouquet clutched to her chest.

  ‘Looks like you’ll be the next bride, Sophie!’ Jake’s mother exclaimed, clapping her hands together in delight.

  Jake’s arm encircled Amanda’s waist. He turned her to him and delivered the most loving, sensuous kiss she’d ever experienced. In that single kiss, she felt his promise to love, cherish and honour her. She gave a quiet moan, and put her heart into kissing him back.

  Tenderness soon turned to passion as her libido kicked into frantic overdrive. Jake’s tongue invaded her mouth and his hands clasped her waist, thumbs brushing the curves of her satin-clad breasts. Just a taste of what he would do to her tonight.

  Finally, with much heckling from the assembled wedding guests, he raised his head and gave her a wicked, sensual smile, his eyes ablaze with passion. ‘I’m going to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you, darling.’

  Amanda’s heartbeat tripped. After all the heartache she’d endured, she could hardly believe that she and Jake had found their way back to each other. Everything in her future looked so much brighter and she knew she would never have to face any problem alone again.

  ‘You’re making all my dreams come true,’ she told him breathlessly.

  ‘And you far surpass all of my dreams and fantasies,’ he replied. ‘Speaking of fantasies…’ He lowered his mouth to her ear and she felt heat invading her cheeks as he outlined his plans for their wedding night.

  Placing her hand into his, she allowed his love and passion to flow through her as he led her through their guests and they made their farewells.

  He paused at the exit of the function centre. ‘I love you truly, madly, deeply and thoroughly, Mrs Formosa,’ he told her. ‘I’m totally committed to making every day of our marriage a happy one.’

  Her eyes misted for her husband’s words were the echoes of her heart.

  We love feedback! Loved it or hated it, we’d love to read your thoughts about any of our titles; and in return we’ll give you a steamy FREE eNovella.

  All you need to do is leave a link to your review on Amazon, Goodreads, BookLikes, or any review site where you like to talk about books by clicking the image above.

  www.escapepublishing.com.au

  BESTSELLING TITLES BY ESCAPE PUBLISHING…

  Mistaken Identity

  Alyssa J Montgomery

  An irresistibly indulgent novel about identical twins, an autocratic tycoon, and the sensual, sophisticated Greek seaside.

  Greek tycoon Alex Kristidis will do anything it takes to prevent his brother marrying pop star Susie Hamlin, and Susie’s twin sister Leah will do whatever it takes to stop him. But, posing as Susie to throw Alex off the trail as she and her lover rush away to get married has unexpected consequences: Leah is attacked by a drug dealer’s henchmen, whisked off to Alex’s private island, and becomes entangled in a web of lies.

  Something is different about Susie, and Alex can’t put his finger on it. No longer the self-absorbed, selfish celebrity, she is warm and innocent and inspires feelings in him that he thought impossible. But the last thing he will do is indulge in an affair with his brother’s manipulative cast-off. He just has to find the strength to stay away…

  Find out more at Amazon.com.au

  Or Amazon.com

  Lingerie for Felons

  Ros Baxter

  If there’s one universal truth, it’s this: You’re always wearing your worst underwear when you land in trouble.

  Lola’s parents told her that everyone can make a difference. And she believed them. She’s been fighting the good fights since she was eleven years old. But at 23, Lola falls hard for an Australian stockbroker who thinks Doctors Without Borders is a porno and Joni Mitchell sounds like a harp seal being battered to death. She cuts him loose, but over the next fifteen years, through protests, misunderstandings, humiliating predicaments, and a number of poor underwear choices, their lives and paths continue to converge.

  Along the way, Lola learns a few important life lessons: Never wear a red lace thong to a strip search. Make sure you take motion sickness pills if you’re going to the Southern Ocean to save the whales. And sometimes, Mr Right can be all wrong, and Mr Wrong just needs time to find the right path.

  Funny, touching, emotional and political, Lingerie for Felons is Bridget Jones meets An Inconvenient Truth, about doing the right thing, finding the right person, and always thinking through your underwear choices.

  Find out more at Amazon.com.au

  Or Amazon.com

  Carrier

  Vanessa Garden

  For fans of The Walking Dead and The Hunger Games comes a YA novel about freedom, choice and family — and the terrifying disease that makes them mutually exclusive.

  From the day she was born, Lena has viewed the world through the jagged window of a razor-wired fence. The hundred-acre property she shares with her mother in the Australian outback may keep her safe from the Y-Carrier disease, but it is no longer enough to hold Lena’s interest, and her mother’s increasingly tight grip on her free will is stifling.

  Just as her curiosity blooms and her courage rises, she meets a boy through the fence — the first boy she has ever laid eyes on. His name is Patrick and he comes with a dangerous yet irresistible invitation of adventure beyond the fence, an invitation to which Lena cannot say no.

  But Lena’s newfound freedom is short-lived and she soon discovers that the Y-Carrier disease is not the only enemy she faces on the outside. Her new enemies want something Lena has, and they are willing to do anything to get it...

  Find out more at Amazon.com.au

 
Or Amazon.com

  Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!

  Sign up to our newsletter

  Share your reading experience on:

  The Escapades Blog

  Facebook

  Twitter

  Watch our reviews, author interviews and more on Escape Publishing TV

  ISBN: 9780857991461

  Title: Echoes of the Heart

  Copyright © 2014 by Alyssa J Montgomery

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Limited, Level 4/132 Arthur Street, North Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2060.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of Harlequin Enterprises Limited and are used under license to the Publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in Australia, New Zealand, the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

  www.escapepublishing.com.au