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Chapter 24
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The Millionaire's Bride Chapter 25
Gaining her trust won’t be easy. Earning her love will be nearly impossible. Celina Manning is working to get back on her feet after her ex-husband disappeared one night, leaving her to raise their infant daughter alone. When a trip to a hardware store has her literally falling into the arms of its handsome owner, his charms are hard to resist. But he’s a stranger, and, to her, that means he can’t be trusted. Can she learn to let her faith be stronger than her fear?Gabe Matthews has never met a stranger. A friend to everyone he meets, he can’t understand why Celina is determined to keep him at a distance. He only wants to help, but she can’t accept that he only has the best intentions. It’s a good thing his love is patient.Celina isn’t ready to let the love she feels for Gabe override years of fear, and he’s tired of spending lonely nights playing songs on his guitar to fill the silence. What will it take to show Celina that Gabe is the answer to her prayers? ***** ***** Celina s
The Millionaire's Bride Chapter 26
Celina’s anxiety waned on her quiet drive to the hardware store. She parked her trusty CR-V in the middle of the lot and shut the engine off. The lunch rush in the small town of Carson, Georgia couldn’t hold a candle to the bustle of Nashville, Tennessee. It’d been almost four years since she moved to Carson, and the time she’d spent in Nashville seemed like a lifetime ago. She let her heavy head rest on the steering wheel and closed her eyes. She was close to regaining her composure after her trip to the brink of a breakdown earlier. Prayer. She needed to pray. It was the only thing that calmed the storm that had clouded her heart these last few years. “Lord, please help me find what I’m looking for. I don’t know what I’m doing or how to do it.” She sucked in a slow, deep breath. “I’m lost, and I’m scared, and I need You. Help me find what I need today. Guide me, Lord.” She stepped from the car and hoisted her purse more securely on her shoulder as she made her way into the store
The Millionaire's Bride Chapter 27
Gabe. Gabe watched Celina walk away and felt the urge to insist once more that she let him help her fix the leaky sink. He wasn’t sure anyone had turned him down before, and he’d been offering his help to customers for years. He made his way back toward his office, thinking it was for the best. Celina seemed smart. She’d figure it out on her own… or, better yet, come back for his help. No, that wasn’t better for her, but she hadn’t even accepted his phone number. How would he ever get another chance to see her? The sweet lilt of her voice was something he wouldn’t forget any time soon. He hadn’t heard a word she’d said at first. The pain in the hand that’d been smashed behind her head had tuned out all other senses. Once the roaring in his ears had subsided, her voice had soothed the pulsing pain until only a weak ache remained. He rubbed his hand and turned to see if she was really gone. Celina had a voice made for music. If life was really a dance like the good ol’ John Michael
The Millionaire's Bride Chapter 28
Celina spent a few more hours with her head beneath the kitchen sink. She felt defeated as she slid the bowl back under the disassembled sink pipes and went to pick up Emma from her parents’ house. Celina hadn’t remembered half of what Gabe had told her to do at the store. She’d been too focused on his bright smile and charming eyes. Why was she always a sucker for the impractical men? She mentally kicked herself and hoped that one day she’d learn from her mistakes. It didn’t really matter what Gabe had said. The parts didn’t fit, and she’d have to make another run to the hardware store tomorrow after work. She couldn’t take off another day to get this sink in order. She’d have to work on it at night after Emma was in bed. Celina stepped into her parents’ house and the smell of cookies made her stomach rumble. She’d forgotten to eat lunch. “Hello!” she yelled into the quiet house. Within seconds, she heard the quick beat of her daughter’s running steps down the hallway. “Mommy!”
The Millionaire's Bride Chapter 29
Celina scratched her head and adjusted the frizzy bun atop her head. She could’ve run to her parents’ house for a shower this morning, but she’d needed the extra minutes to catch up on the work she’d missed during her failed attempts to fix the sink. She’d been so behind, she’d worked straight through lunch and forgotten she still needed to go back to the hardware store. She’d run by there after her mother dropped off Emma, then work on it later. Celina glanced at the clock on her laptop and saw that it was after five in the afternoon. Her mother was never late bringing Emma home in the evenings. Her parents’ house wasn’t far up the road, and the drive took less than five minutes. She checked the time on her phone before dialing her mother’s number. “Mom, are y’all okay?” “Oh, yeah. We just had a stop to make. We’ll be there in a sec.” Her mom’s tone was reassuring, and Celina’s shoulders relaxed. Shutting down her computer, Celina scratched her scalp again. She’d need to go to
The Millionaire's Bride Chapter 30
Gabe Gabe felt the warmth of the long-sleeve shirt instantly envelope his body. Someone had turned the thermostat to frostbite lately, and the February air was frigid but still as he made his way back into Celina’s house for dinner. When Rhonda Manning had stopped by the store today, he’d thought it was a nice surprise to see her. When she and the giggling Emma had told him the reason for their visit, he’d been bursting with excitement at the second chance to see Celina. Finding out that Emma was Celina’s daughter was a shock at first, but Rhonda had felt the need to whisper to him the details of Emma’s paternity. Apparently, Celina’s ex-husband had abandoned her soon after Emma’s birth. Rhonda’s abbreviated tale of Celina’s relationship with Emma’s father had stoked a fire inside him. He’d been relieved to find out that Celina was single at first, but then, the realization that some jerk had left her and Emma sickened him. He’d been captivated by Emma since meeting her, and he co
The Millionaire's Bride Chapter 31
Gabe Gabe was passing his friends’, Declan and Addie’s, house on his way home and decided to stop by and ask Addie to take the stage at Rusty’s on Friday night. Gabe’s hand wasn’t feeling much better at this point, and he knew it wouldn’t be healed in the next few days. Declan and Addie had spent a week in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains after their wedding, and Gabe hadn’t spoken to them since they’d returned. He wasn’t surprised to find Sissy’s SUV parked in the driveway. Addie and Sissy were almost inseparable. Gabe was sidetracked by Reaper, Declan and Addie’s playful German Shepherd, as soon as he stepped out of the Jeep. Gabe never missed an opportunity to roughhouse with a pup. His own dogs liked to wrestle with him in the backyard most nights. He eventually broke away from Reaper and walked in the front door without knocking. Declan, Addie, Sissy, and Tyler sat in the living room. “Gabe! I missed you!” Addie jumped up from her seat on the couch next to Declan and greeted Ga
The Millionaire's Bride Chapter 32
Celina looked out the window of the bedroom she’d commandeered as her office. The sky was as dark as night, but the clock on her computer read three in the afternoon. Thunder shook the hardwood floorboards beneath her feet, and she saved her work just in case the power went out and her laptop battery died before she finished the project she was working on. She always volunteered to pick Emma up from her parents’ house when it rained, but she dreaded that stupid puddle at the front door. It seemed to get worse with each storm. Thankfully, Gabe was coming to fix it tomorrow. The rain should be gone by then, and hopefully he’d know what to do. A distant sound caught her attention, and she turned her head and stilled to listen. Moments passed in silence before she heard the sound again. Someone was at the front door. Celina’s heart was beating frantically by the time she reached the living room. Another wave of thunder rolled through the house, and she turned on the porch lights. It w
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