Mary Larkin was hard at work as the office manager at the Green Mountain Country Store when Cameron Murphy brought her dad, Patrick, in to visit. That fateful first meeting, which took place in You’ll Be Mine, sets the stage for Mary and Patrick’s long-awaited romance in Can’t Buy Me Love!

Mary enjoys her predictable, satisfying life in Butler. If it’s a little lacking in excitement, well, that’s okay with her. But after meeting Patrick and getting to know him better at his daughter’s wedding, Mary is intrigued by the well-known, sexy billionaire businessman.

Patrick is equally intrigued. For the first time since he suddenly lost his wife thirty years ago, he has met a woman who makes him feel less lonely, and all he wants is more of his Sweet Mary from Vermont. Flirty phone calls become a weekend away together that takes his relationship with Mary to the next level.

But with six hours and two vastly different lives standing between them, can Mary and Patrick find happily ever after together? And after telling her father to keep his hands and everything else off Mary, will Cameron approve of her father’s new romance?

Excerpt

Later that night, they sat in front of the fire playing a competitive game of checkers that she was winning, but not by much.

“Are you sure you’re not cheating?” he asked as he refilled both their glasses with Chardonnay. The firelight cast her in a warm glow that only made her more attractive to him. Her cheeks bore the slightest flush from the heat of the fire and the wine. Patrick remembered that wine had made her cheeks rosy at Will and Cameron’s wedding. He remembered every minute he’d spent with her, and that alone made her different from any other woman he’d spent time with since he’d lost his wife.

“I do not cheat,” she said indignantly—and adorably. “You’re just mad because you win at every game you play, which makes you a sore loser when things don’t go your way.”

“That’s very true,” he replied bluntly, making her laugh. “I don’t like to lose.”

“I would imagine you have very little experience with losing.”

“I have some.” His brows furrowed as he examined the board, delight unfurling inside him when he saw the chance to win—and win big. “And I’m very sorry to say that I’m not going to add to my loser résumé tonight.” With his one king, he performed a triple jump that basically wiped out her remaining checkers.

Stunned, she stared at the board where she’d been thoroughly decimated. “You did not just do that.”

“I’m afraid it had to be done.”

“That was not nice.”

“No, it wasn’t. But all’s fair in love and checkers.”

“Of course I knew you had this ruthless side to you. You don’t get to where you are without being ruthless, but that… That was just…”

“Brilliant?” He loved to goad her and to watch her expressive face as she formulated what was certain to be a witty reply.

“Evil is the word I would use.”

“I’m very sorry.”

“No, you’re not! And P.S., I quit.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You want to play Monopoly instead?”

“Absolutely not. I can’t even imagine how good at that you must be.”

He flashed a smug grin. “I’ve never lost a game of Monopoly.”

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About the Author

Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 50 contemporary romances, including the Gansett Island Series, which has sold nearly 3 million books, and the Fatal Series from Harlequin Books, which has sold 1.5 million books. In addition, she is the author of the Butler, Vermont Series, the Green Mountain Series and the erotic romance Quantum Series, written under the slightly modified name of M.S. Force. All together, her books have sold more than 5.5 million copies worldwide!

Her goals in life are simple—to finish raising two happy, healthy, productive young adults, to keep writing books for as long as she possibly can and to never be on a flight that makes the news.

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