First Class Rescue (First Class Novels) (13 page)

If there was a competition between Maureen Lathem and Ann
Collins,
any
competition, Tim wouldn’t know who to place his bet on. The
two women were a force to be reckoned with, but fortunately, they seemed to get
on well. Well, well enough. The Collins’ had visited New York as promised in
the early fall, and the Lathems had visited England after the New Year. Each
was in awe of the other, so everyone seemed to be happy, which allowed Beth to
breathe a sigh of relief.

As planning began in earnest, Tim said he didn’t care about
any of the wedding details. He wanted the bride, and how and where he got her
would be left up to Beth. He just didn’t want to wait too long. She wanted to
be married in the village church in Surrey, in the spring, and that’s exactly how
it happened. Maureen hadn’t been thrilled about a Church of England wedding,
but miraculously, she held her tongue.

Beth arrived at the church on a beautiful spring afternoon in
a horse-drawn carriage in an exquisite strapless hand-beaded wedding gown. She
had flowers weaved into her hair and a short veil fell from a diamond clip
secured into the chignon on her head. Emma was her maid of honor, dressed in
pale yellow satin and Ella and Isabelle her flower girls.

As Emma helped Beth straighten out the train of her dress
before they entered the church, Emma held her sister’s hand.

“Thank you for showing me why I should wait for the
right
man, rather than
any
man. I envy you but I’m so happy for you. He is a
good man and I’m sure you will be deliriously happy. One day, I want to have
what you and Tim have and I’m not going to settle for anything less.”

Beth kissed her baby sister on the cheek. “Don’t
ever
settle,”
she said.

Emma handed her sister off to her father who was waiting at
the church entrance. It was full of family and close friends, including Jerry
and Vince and even Gerald had attended. Beth tried to keep the tears in check
as her father walked her down the aisle to the man of her dreams …to the man
who had captured her heart.

Tim covered his mouth with his hand as he saw his bride
enter at the rear of the church. She was stunning and he couldn’t take his eyes
of her as she slowly made her way down the aisle.

When the Vicar asked who ‘gave this woman in matrimony’,
Beth’s father took a step forward and shook Tim’s hand, father to son, man to
man. “I do…gladly,” he smiled.

After a short service they were pronounced husband and wife
and the congregation erupted in cheers as the happy couple kissed each other
for the first time as husband and wife, and then left the church with rose
petals thrown as they exited.

“And to think,” Beth smiled as Tim helped her into the
carriage for the short ride back to the Collin’s estate for the reception, “all
because you rescued my dog.”

“All because you rescued my heart.”

Beth chuckled.

“Too corny?” he grinned

“Not this time,” she smiled and kissed her husband.

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AJ Harmon was born and raised in Perth, Western Australia.
She currently resides in Oregon, USA, with her husband Brad. They have two
grown children and a puppy named Max.

An avid reader of the Romance genre, the books in her
personal library range from historical to erotica and everything in between. “I
love reading a sweet romance set in the English Regency period where men were
gentlemen and the women pretended to be naïve. But sometimes you just need a
hot sexy romance to cap off a long week,” she smiled. The bookshelves in her
home are filled with a variety of authors and she is humbled to now be among
their ranks. 

AJ is a new author, finding her passion in writing after her
children had left home, leaving her and her husband empty-nesters. She says the
‘First Class’ series has been a pleasure for her to write and has been
absolutely delightful that readers have received them with such a warm
embrace.  “It will be hard to say goodbye to the Lathems,” she said. “They have
become a huge part of my life and I consider them my family.”

Two more books are in the works for the series, bringing the
total to nine.