Don’t Let GoHope Harbor
Ann B Harrison
Contents
Untitled
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 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
Chapter 23
Copyright 2019 Ann B Harrison
Kindle Edition
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Ann B Harrison is the internationally best-selling author of thirty-five plus romance novels including her fabulous Watson Brothers Romance stories published by Tule Publishing Group.
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Chapter 1
“Are you kidding me?” Agnes Hope leaned against the counter of her bakery, legs suddenly shaking. What a nightmare! The worst way to start her working day. Oh, she’d known it was going to happen sooner or later but it was easy to ignore the obvious if some effort was made. “Why would you put me and Liam together? Don’t you know how embarrassing that’s going to be?”
April Williams sighed and rolled her eyes. “Seriously, you knew this day was just around the corner, so it shouldn’t come as a big surprise. Plus, you and I both know how you feel about the gorgeous Dr. Liam Davidson.” She leaned her hands on the counter and gave Aggie a wicked grin. “What a perfect time to make a move on him, Aggie. You guys were hot when you were younger. I don’t see why you can’t reignite that flame. You know you want to.” She gazed at the remaining delicate pastries in the glass cabinet before speaking again. “Weddings always bring out the romance in people.”
Aggie glared at her. Liam Davidson and romance in the same sentence? “We’ve discussed this. As much as I might have once worshiped the ground that man walked on, I cannot—will not—make a play for him now. And you damned well know why.” Of all the people in the world, she thought her best friend would understand how much her life had changed since the nights when Aggie and April’d lain on the bed in Aggie’s room and talked about getting married. They’d planned the dresses they’d wear, how their hair would be styled, even down to the food they’d serve. And now April was finally getting to marry the man she’d dreamed of: Aggie’s brother, Drew. It might’ve taken another marriage before they’d re-connected, and they’d had a rough beginning, but April was back on Hope Island where she belonged.
She wanted Aggie to be her maid of honor, just as they’d planned. But that plan had been put in place before it happened. The event that had changed everything. “Can’t Drew ask one of my brothers to be best man? That I could deal with.”
“Nope. He wants Liam and it’s his call, Aggie. I understand how you feel but you can’t deny him his best friend because you can’t discuss what happened with anyone.”
“I can’t do it.” A cold sweat broke out on Aggie’s face. “I just can’t.”
“Tell me why. You’ll be safe with us all around you. There’s no reason to be scared.”
“I’ll have to be close to him. I don’t know if I can do it. Thinking about it makes me freak out.”
“But this is Liam. You grew up together. He’s the last person who’d hurt you.”
Aggie closed her eyes. “I know. But I can’t help it, okay?”
April moved around behind the counter and wrapped Aggie in her arms, making soothing noises. “It’s okay. We’ll get you through this.”
It would be easy to stay caught up in the moment but Aggie had bread to bake, paperwork to do, and a shop to clean before she started either of those jobs. This was just another hiccup in her life she had to deal with, though it was easier said than done.
“You don’t understand, April. It’s not that easy, not after…you know.”
The sympathy in April’s eyes did nothing to make Aggie feel better. If anything, she felt weighed down by the love her friend showed her. Understanding from her friend was one thing but having to face herself was another.
April rubbed her hands down Aggie’s arms and dropped a kiss on her head. “I wanted to swing by on my way home from work and let you know the date. Drew is asking Liam tomorrow. Things are going to be hectic because we’re rushing things, but we can do this. You were always going to be my maid of honor, Aggie, and that’s not going to change, no matter what happens.”
“Can we not talk about it right now? I need to process this and I can’t do it now because I have to start baking.”
April shrugged. “Okay. But be warned; I’m taking you dress shopping as soon as I know you have the day off. Don’t go doing anything to change that either, or I’ll get Aunt Gigi onto you.”
The sneak! “You’d still let her fight your wars for you? I’m ashamed of you, April.”
A huge grin showed just how little April cared about having someone on her side. “Hey, whatever works is fine with me. You did it plenty of times growing up so I guess this is payback.” She blew Aggie a kiss. “Now I have to go home and feed my family and cope with the million and one things I need to organize for the wedding. Be good and I’ll talk to you later.”
She turned her back and almost got away before Aggie remembered. “Hang on. If you go home without treats, the kids will never forgive me.” She took a small bakery box and opened the
