Thrown together as attendants at their best friends’ wedding, Jo and Ryan have no choice but to grin and bear all the tension…

Featured book this week is Feels Like Home by Lisa Ireland

Let’s take a closer look - and there’s an excerpt too…

When celebrity novelist Johanna Morgan surprises everyone by arriving back in Linden Gully three weeks early for her best friend’s wedding, she’s shocked to find her ex-boyfriend Ryan Galloway is back too and well-integrated in the community as the local vet.

Jo’s maid-of-honour duties are not the only thing that’s brought her home. The family homestead of Yarrapinga is now her responsibility, and Jo needs to decide whether to keep it – and replace old memories with new ones – or sell it and cut off all ties to her childhood and her home.

Ryan has brought his young daughter home to Linden Gully to provide stability after the death of her mother. The last thing he needs is Jo’s return, and all of the emotional turmoil that she brings with her.

Thrown together as attendants at their best friends’ wedding, Jo and Ryan have no choice but to grin and bear all the tension. But it’s not only resentment lingering between them. The attraction is still there, and the heat and the memories.

Excerpt from Feels Like Home by Lisa Ireland

Perhaps wedge heels weren’t the wisest choice.

Johanna Morgan wobbled her way across the gravel car park, towards the ring of cars on the perimeter of Linden Gully’s football ground. She sucked in a deep breath and tried to prepare herself to go into the fray.

This humble oval held so many memories of her teenage triumphs and tragedies. She’d experienced her first kiss in the clump of cypress pines behind the old timber scoreboard and her first heartbreak in the same location a week later. It was such a long time ago now, but today she felt every bit the awkward teenager she thought she’d left behind.

A roar went up and car horns began to sound. Obviously the Lions had scored a goal. Now was as good a time as any to make her entrance into the crowd.

By New York standards this barely qualified as a gathering, let alone a crowd. But she wasn’t in New York now. She was back on Australian soil.

Back home.

Butterflies swirled in her stomach. A warm reception was probably too much to hope for. She’d never truly belonged here. Almost every minute of her childhood had been spent dreaming of somewhere else. Now she was returning as an outsider. A deserter.

It was bad enough that she was Katherine Morgan’s daughter — her mother’s condescending attitude had done nothing to endear her to the town — but Jo’s refusal to settle for a life in Linden Gully, coupled with her recent publishing success and the fact that she was supposedly engaged to a famous American actor, would only reinforce the popular view that she was a stuck-up snob. Tall-poppy syndrome was alive and well in Linden Gully. At least it had been seven years ago.

Jo picked her way towards the boundary fence, eyes down, doing her best to avoid puddles. Despite the chill in the air her palms were sweating. She silently chastised herself for caring. She was an adult, dammit. She didn’t owe anyone any explanations.

That was all well and good, but she wished the shy sixteen-year-old inside her would get the message.

‘Oi! Don’t think you’re getting away with it that easily,’ a gruff voice accused her from behind.

‘I’m sorry?’ She swung around, wondering what social faux pas she had committed.

‘A kiss is the current entry price for out-of-towners.’ Steph’s dad stepped forward and held out his arms to her.

Jo grinned. ‘I reckon that’s a pretty high price, Mick.’ She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

‘Didn’t expect you for weeks yet, Jo.’

‘I know. Thought I’d surprise Steph.’

‘Good to see you home, love. Steph’ll be thrilled. And maybe you can settle my missus down a bit now you’re here. She’s been running around like a headless chook over this flippin’ wedding. I think she’s driving Steph crazy.’

Jo laughed. Jenny Fielding had been anticipating her only daughter’s wedding for as long as Jo could remember. ‘Is she here? Steph, I mean.’

Mick nodded towards the other side of the oval. ‘Over near the goals, love. She’ll be excited to see you.’

The siren sounded to signal half time and the spectators clapped and cheered as the players made their way from the field. Jo squinted into the winter sun and eventually spotted Steph sitting on the bonnet of a large pick-up — no, a large ute. Mustn’t let the locals catch her using Americanisms like ‘pick-up truck’. She’d never hear the end of it.

There was a guy standing in front of the ute, a well-built specimen from the looks of it. Hard to tell who it was from here.

It wasn’t Nate, Steph’s soon-to-be-husband. Nate was the Lions’ star full-back, and she had just seen him making his way into the club rooms with his teammates for the coach’s half-time address.

It was a shame Steph wasn’t alone, but she could hardly expect a private reunion at such a public place. Jo felt the stares following her as she made her way across the ground. Murmurs of recognition trailed behind her and she noticed a couple of familiar faces turning in her direction. A few people actually pointed. She smiled and waved. No point aggravating the situation. News of her return would soon be spreading around the ground like wildfire.

At least she knew there was one person in town who would be pleased to see her. She couldn’t wait to see the look of surprise on her best friend’s face. Of course Steph was expecting to see her soon; she was to be chief bridesmaid, after all. But the wedding was a full three weeks away and Jo had intended to fly in just a couple of days before the big event.

Feels Like Home is available in eBook and paperback from good retailers.
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Read more about Lisa and her books on MEET LISA IRELAND

 

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