Becoming
Dr Bellini’s Bride
Joanna Neil
MILLS & BOON
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Table of Contents
Dear Reader,
There cannot be many lovelier sights than the glorious sweep of the California coastline where it meets with the deep blue of the Pacific Ocean. I know that’s where I longed to be when I wrote my story BECOMING DR BELLINI’S BRIDE.
Even more, I wanted to wander around the vineyards of the Carmel Valley, with their lush fruit hanging off the vines, just waiting to be picked.
This, I decided, was the perfect backdrop for a story of family secrets, yearnings, and the desire for the return of land held for generations by the Bellini family.
Of course those cherished dreams bring Nick Bellini into sparking conflict with lovely, idealistic Katie, who is fiercely protective of her father’s holdings. Too bad his land once belonged to Nick’s family!
And what of the heartache Katie endures when she discovers a long-held family secret…? Will Nick be the one to soothe and comfort her?
I hope you enjoy finding out how everything works out for Nick and Katie.
Joanna Neil
About the Author
When JOANNA NEIL discovered Mills & Boon®, her lifelong addiction to reading crystallised into an exciting new career writing Medical™ Romance. Her characters are probably the outcome of her varied lifestyle, which includes working as a clerk, typist, nurse and infant teacher. She enjoys dressmaking and cooking at her Leicestershire home. Her family includes a husband, son and daughter, an exuberant yellow Labrador and two slightly crazed cockatiels. She currently works with a team of tutors at her local education centre, to provide creative writing workshops for people interested in exploring their own writing ambitions.
CHAPTER ONE
KATIE stood still for a moment, her green eyes slowly scanning the horizon. Her nerves were frayed. Perhaps taking time out to look around her at this part of the sweeping California coastline was just the medicine she needed right now.
She would never have believed she would find herself in such a beautiful place as this small, quiet town, with its charming cottages and quaint shops and general sleepy atmosphere. As for the bay, it was a wide arc of golden sand, backed by rugged cliffs and rocks, a striking contrast to the clear blue of the Pacific Ocean that lapped its shores. Beyond all that was the magnificent range of the Santa Lucia Mountains, lush and green, their slopes forested with redwoods, oaks and pine.
She drank in the view for a moment or two longer, absorbing the tranquillity of her surroundings. Then she pulled in a deep breath and turned away to walk along the road towards a distant building set high on a bluff overlooking the sea.
One way or another, it had been a difficult day so far, and she could see little chance of things improving. She still had to meet with her father, and even though she had become used to seeing him over these last couple of weeks, it was always something of a strain for her to be with him.
‘We’ll have lunch,’ he’d said, as though it was an everyday, natural occurrence.
‘Okay.’ She’d looked at him and his expression had been relaxed and easygoing. He seemed to genuinely want to meet up with her again. ‘I have a half-day on Wednesday,’ she told him, ‘so that should work out well enough.’
And now he was waiting for her at the restaurant, sitting at a table on the open-air terrace, gazing out over the ocean. Katie guessed he was watching the boats on the horizon. He hadn’t noticed her coming towards him, and she was glad of that. It gave her the chance to compose herself, as well as an opportunity to fix his image once more in her mind.
She studied him. He was not as she remembered from all those
