Holly by Jude Deveraux (English) Paperback Book

Description: Holly by Jude Deveraux "A love story for all seasons" ("The Star," Chicago), Deverauxs "New York Times" bestseller delivers a Yuletide tale in which unbelievable betrayal is overcome by an unforgettable passion. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description The New York Times bestselling author of the beloved Summerhouse and James River series brings her signature "enchanting and exquisite" (BookPage) writing to this charming and tender yuletide tale of love and passion. When Hollander Lathams parents purchase Spring Hill--a beautiful North Carolina plantation--shes thrilled that she can finally return to the gorgeous estate where she spent a memorable thirteenth summer. Now a successful architect, she fantasizes about reuniting with Spring Hills neighbor, the wealthy heir Laurence Beaumont, whom she fell in love with during that long-ago summer. But as Christmas fast approaches, her plans for a romantic reconnection turn upside down with the arrival of Nick Taggert, a mysterious stranger who makes her laugh and tempts her with a surprising passion. One man can seduce her with fortune and privilege; the other can promise her the simple gift of love. And on a frost-covered Christmas night, Hollys choice will unmask astonishing truths and hidden dangers that will forever change her charmed life and her vulnerable heart. Author Biography Jude Deveraux is the author of more than forty New York Times bestsellers, including Moonlight in the Morning, The Scent of Jasmine, Scarlet Nights, Days of Gold, Lavender Morning, Return to Summerhouse, and Secrets. To date, there are more than sixty million copies of her books in print worldwide. To learn more, visit JudeDeveraux.com. Review "Deverauxs touch is gold..." -- Publishers Weekly Excerpt from Book Holly Chapter One HOLLY FELT AS THOUGH SHED PULLED OFF THE coup of her life--and by Christmas it would all be settled. After many calls, letters, emails, and promises, shed finally persuaded her parents to buy Spring Hill Plantation just outside beautiful, historic Edenton in eastern North Carolina. Of course, it hadnt hurt that her stepsister, Taylor, was going to marry a man who lived there. Now, she was in the little grocery store that was two miles down the road from the ghastly house her parents had rented last year and she was trying to find something to eat that didnt have a thousand calories a bite. Shed recently lost eleven pounds and she didnt want to put it back on. Facing a summer near her skinny, beautiful stepsister had made her quit eating and go to the gym four nights a week. And of course there was the prospect of seeing Lorrie again, she thought. For a moment her eyes glazed over as she remembered him. She was no longer seeing the store, but instead, saw the river and the dock and Lorrie. Shed been thirteen that summer and Lorrie had been sixteen--a tall, lean, bronzed young man, with golden hair and brown eyes. That summer had started out horribly. Her parents nearly always rented a house somewhere for the summer, but until that year the houses had been in communities where their two daughters could swim and meet other people their own age. But that summer a friend of her fathers had offered them the free use of his beautifully restored old house, built in 1778, located on a river, and set in the midst of four and a half acres of old trees and pretty flower gardens. Holly had hated the place at first sight. Its isolation, the remoteness, had made her want to scream. In an instant shed envisioned a summer in a hell of loneliness. Taylor was old enough to drive so shed be going to nearby Edenton and joining the real world. But what am I to do here the whole summer? she thought, near to tears. Catch tadpoles? Sit by the river and watch the turtles come up for air? It wasnt what a pubescent girl wanted to do. Shed tried to persuade her parents that they absolutely, positively could not force her to stay in that horrible place for an entire summer. Theyd just smiled, then answered the always-ringing telephone. For the first week, Holly had been so bored she thought she might lose her mind. Her parents had already left to fly to London, and Taylor had met a young man. Holly had been left in the charge of a woman who was at least as old as the house and who did little except sleep in the padded swing on the back porch. It was at the beginning of the second week that Holly had been sitting on the edge of the pier, her legs tucked up to her chest, and contemplating her familys regret if their youngest child ran away from home, when she heard an unusual noise. She looked up to see a rowboat coming toward her. She had to blink, then rub her eyes and blink again to be sure she was seeing correctly. Coming toward her, his back to her, was a beautiful, shirtless young man. She couldnt see his face, but if the front of him was half as good as the back of him, he was an Adonis. Holly had stood up, smoothed her shorts and T-shirt--wishing she werent wearing her rattiest clothes--and waited. When he reached her dock and turned, he was so beautiful that her breath nearly stopped. "Hello," hed said, throwing a rope at her feet. "Im Laurence Beaumont and Im your next-door neighbor. You want to tie that down?" She had no idea what he meant. Tie what down? "The rope," he said. "Tie it to the cleat." It had taken her a moment to understand what he meant. Cleat? Oh, yeah, the thing she used to scrape mud off her shoes. She picked up the rope and tied it in a very neat bow to the metal cleat, then looked over at the young man. He looked at the cleat, then back at her, but he didnt laugh. Later, she wondered at that. What other sixteen-year-old would have looked at a boat rope tied into a bow and not howled with laughter? But Lorrie hadnt laughed at her, not then, nor at any other time. From that first moment, theyd been friends--kindred souls maybe, since they were so alike. Her name was Hollander, his was Laurence, but they were Holly and Lorrie to everyone. His family had lived in the same house since 1782 and two of his ancestors had signed the Declaration of Independence. Holly had some big-shot ancestors on her fathers side, and her father himself had been an ambassador to three different countries. "He knows everybody and talks to each one every day on the phone," shed said under the breath. Lorrie had laughed. "My old man makes deals all day." "What about your mother?" "Died when I was three." Holly felt as though shed been hit in the stomach. Her mother had died when she was one. When she told Lorrie, he sat down on the dock and they began to compare notes of their lives in earnest. Both their fathers had been raised in impoverished gentility, with fabulous educations and old-world family names. Both fathers had married heiresses whod died young. Both men had remarried women with no money. The difference was that Hollys stepmother, Marguerite, was a sort of financial genius, while Lorries stepmothers main talent was in spending. Hollys mothers fortune, from Hollander Tools, had increased, while Lorries mothers fortune had long ago disappeared. "All I have left is the title to the falling-down old house and a few hundred acres," Lorrie had said cheerfully, looking at Holly. "What is it about you, kid, thats making me tell you my life story? I didnt tell my last three girlfriends this much." Holly hadnt liked being called "kid," and she didnt like to think that this beautiful young man had ever had a girlfriend, but she took the compliment to her heart. "I guess we were just meant to be together," she said, willing him to take her away forever in his canoe. Smiling, Lorrie tousled Hollys short, dark hair. "Maybe so, kid. Maybe youre what I need this summer. Hey! Ill race you to the other side of the river." Holly wasnt a very good swimmer, but by the end of that summer she was, for she spent nearly every day with Lorrie. Although Lorrie had revealed lots of secrets about his past, she soon found out that he was close-mouthed about his current life. It was only through listening to the gossip her stepsister so loved that she knew Lorrie was hiding out that summer. "The biggest snobs in eastern North Carolina," Taylor had said at dinner. She was talking about the Beaumont family. "Theyve lived here since George Washington surveyed the area and even have a few letters from him. But seventeen years ago, the family was broke, so Laurence Beaumont the second married some rich little heiress and she conveniently died three years after having Larry the third." As always, Taylor had been oblivious to the emotions her careless words caused. Their father had also married an heiress who died young. "Lorrie, not Larry," Holly said and immediately wished she could take the words back. Her father, her stepmother, and her stepsister paused to look at her in surprise. "The cook works for them sometimes," she muttered, looking down at her food. Taylor gave Holly a speculative look before returning to her gossip. Taylor was as gregarious as Holly was quiet. Taylor loved being in a crowd, while Holly wanted just a couple of girlfriends to pal around with. Taylor had gone on to say that Lorrie--"silly nickname for a boy," shed said--was supposed to have gone to some elegant summer camp, but at the last minute one of his fathers stupid land deals fell through so there was no money. "The kid doesnt want any of his rich friends to know, so hes hiding out at his fathers familys rotting old house. Have you seen him?" It took Holly a moment to realize her stepsister was talking to her. "Who?" she asked, her heart fluttering wildly. She didnt want anyone to know she was spending most of her time alone with a sixteen-year-old boy. Even though all she was doing was helping Lorrie remove paint off the molding in the old house, she feared that if they knew, theyd stop her. "Shes been reading the classics, havent you?" her father said, looking at his only child fondly. Taylor was his wifes daughter. Holly looked at her plate and nodded. Somehow she managed to keep her secret all summer. Her father and stepmother had flown in and out all that summer; Taylor had spent her time in Edenton, and the woman hired to baby-sit Holly couldnt have cared less where her charge spent the day. It had been a magical summer of long, hot days spent with Lorrie. Theyd constantly worked together on his familys plantation. His family had lived there since it was built before the American Revolutionary War, and Lorrie loved the place as much as his father hated it. One day while they were painting the dining room, Lorrie told her that his mother had married his father for his name and his home. Shed traded her fortune for the Beaumont history. Lorries grandfather, shrewd in business, had blessed his daughters marriage even though he saw what Laurence Beaumont was. However, before the marriage hed made sure the plantation was given to his daughters children so that her husband couldnt sell the place. "I dont remember her," Lorrie said as sh Details ISBN1982123435 Author Jude Deveraux Short Title HOLLY R/E Pages 320 Publisher Pocket Books Language English ISBN-10 1982123435 ISBN-13 9781982123437 DEWEY FIC Year 2019 Publication Date 2019-10-29 Imprint Pocket Books Edition Description Reissue ed. Format Paperback Audience General UK Release Date 2019-10-29 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:137575244;

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