Miss Prim's Greek Island Fling

An idyllic island retreat...

...with her Mr. Wrong!

After a devastating betrayal, Audra Russel escapes to her brother’s Greek island to lick her wounds. Only she soon finds that her brother’s best friend, Finn Sullivan, is vacationing there, too! He may be recovering from a near-fatal accident, but the irresistible daredevil is intent on showing buttoned-up Audra how to have a good time. And now that she’s started, she doesn’t ever want to stop!

“Your brother’s only dictum was to keep my love rays well and truly away from his little sister. All uttered in his most stern of tones.”

She did her best not to choke on her toast and eggs. “Doesn’t Rupert know me at all?” She tossed the words back at him with what she hoped was a matching carelessness.

“See? That’s what I told him. I said, ‘Audra’s too smart to fall for a guy like me.’”

Fall for? Absolutely not!

Sleep with... Maybe!

What on earth... She frowned and shook the thought away. She didn’t think of Finn in those terms.

Really?

She rolled her shoulders. So what if she’d always thought him too good-looking for his own good? That didn’t mean anything. In idle moments she might find herself thinking he’d be an exciting lover. If she were the kind of person who had flings with devil-may-care men. But she wasn’t. And that didn’t mean anything, either.

Dear Reader,

I have a deep and abiding love for the beach, and I’m ridiculously lucky as I have a whole host of gorgeous beaches that are just a short drive from where I live. I find few things more relaxing than bobbing about in the ocean after a hard (?) day’s writing. The scent of the sea and the sound of the waves put me straight into my happy place.

So when I toyed with the idea of setting a book on an idyllic Greek island my muse gave a resounding cheer...and that’s how the fictional island of Kyanós was born. I promptly fell in love with Kyanós, and over the course of the story so do Audra and Finn. It’s fun watching these seeming opposites learn to relax and unwind and find the courage to follow their hearts’ desires—and, seriously, where better to do that than on a Greek island, right?

Writing this story made me so absolutely happy. Research included eating baklava and playing old ABBA albums, which were the perfect complements. So I can certainly suggest those during the reading of the book. :) I hope the story puts a smile on your face, too.

Happy reading!

Michelle x

CHAPTER ONE

IT WAS THE sound of shattering glass that woke her.

Audra shot bolt upright in bed, heart pounding, praying that the sound had been a part of one of her frequent nightmares, but knowing deep down in her bones—in all the places where she knew such things were real—that it wasn’t.

A thump followed. Something heavy being dropped to the floor. And then a low, jeering voice. The sound of cupboard doors opening and closing.

She’d locked all the doors and windows downstairs! She’d been hyper-vigilant about such things ever since she’d arrived two days ago. She glanced at her bedroom window, at the curtain moving slowly on a draught of warm night air, and called herself a fool for leaving it open. Anyone could have climbed up onto the first-floor balcony and gained entry.

Slipping out of bed, she grabbed her phone and held it pressed hard against her chest as she crept out into the hallway. As the only person in residence in Rupert’s Greek villa, she’d seen no reason to close her bedroom door, which at least meant she didn’t have to contend with the sound of it creaking open now.

She’d chosen the bedroom at the top of the stairs and from this vantage point she could see a shadow bounce in and out of view from the downstairs living room. She heard Rupert’s liquor cabinet being opened and the sound of a glass bottle being set down. Thieves were stealing her brother’s much-loved single malt whisky?

Someone downstairs muttered something in... French?

She didn’t catch what was said.

Someone answered back in Greek.

She strained her ears, but could catch no other words. So...there were two of them? She refused to contemplate what would happen if they found her here—a lone woman. Swallowing down a hard knot of fear, she made her way silently down the hallway, away from the stairs, to the farthest room along—the master bedroom. The door made the softest of snicks as she eased it closed. In the moonlight she made out the walk-in wardrobe on the other side of the room and headed straight for it, closing that door behind her, fighting to breathe through the panic that weighed her chest down.

She dialled the emergency number. ‘Please help me,’ she whispered in Greek. ‘Please. There are intruders in my house.’ She gave her name. She gave the address. The operator promised that someone was on the way and would be there in minutes. She spoke in reassuringly calm tones. She asked Audra where in the house she was, and if there was anywhere she could hide. She told Audra to stay on the line and that helped too.