Anthony's Bride: Mail-Order Bride

She is on a mission to bring justice to her father’s killer. The handsome cowboy appoints himself her bodyguard - even if she doesn’t want it. But a stolen kiss threatens to ignite a passion that could change everything.

It all started with a kiss…

Monica Thompson is determined to find the man who murdered her father, even if she has to break some rules to do it. She suspects one of Montana's wealthy businessmen to be the killer. Justice needs to be served even if she does it herself. But when she meets the businessman's incredibly handsome bodyguard, Anthony Keller, she worries the cowboy will become her worst distraction. Monica thinks she has things handled until he steals a kiss. It is all downhill from there…

Pinkerton agent, Tony Keller is undercover, hoping to gather evidence on Stumptown’s businessman. Instead, the mail-order beauty who has been hired as a nanny has his undivided attention. How can he concentrate on his job when all he wants to do is take her into his arms and enjoy her passion?

Experience this sweet and wholesome Historical Romance, where the passion is tenderly implied, leaving the rest to your imagination.

Montana, 1877

Monica Thompson stared down at the fresh grave of her father. Tears filled her eyes as she bunched her hands into fists as a mixture of anger, and sorrow filled her soul. His death had been such a shock, considering he had been in such great health. The undertaker had promised Monica he’d try to discover what had truly killed her father.

She knelt and placed a rose on his grave. “I miss you.” Her voice cracked as tears slowly slid down her cheeks. “Give Mother a hug from me and tell her I miss her, too.”

It had been Monica and her father for fifteen years. Being only five years old when her mother died, Monica didn’t remember much. Thankfully, her father told her stories of her mother and what a kind and loving woman she’d been. But it was her father who had become Monica’s best friend lately. She’d helped him in his cobbler shop so many times, which only strengthened their bond.

And now… What was Monica’s life without him? She had her mother’s sister and her family close by, but it wasn’t the same. Still, that was where she would live now until she found a man who wanted to marry her. Of course, she didn’t see that happening anytime soon. She wasn’t as pretty as some of the other girls in town. A wallflower was what she would be for the rest of her life.

It was difficult to leave the grave, but she must. Life continued, even though her heart was reluctant to heal. Besides, she needed to finish getting her room in order. Her trunks hadn’t been unpacked, and she hadn’t fully settled in Aunt Sally and Uncle Stephen’s house. Then again, her cousin, Annie, had tried to keep Monica’s mind occupied since her father was found dead in his cobbler’s shop.

She wiped the tears off her face and brushed her moist fingers on her dark gray mourning dress as she walked slowly from the cemetery in Littleton, Montana, toward the place she would now call home. Because she was unwed, she couldn’t live by herself in the two-bedroom house that she’d grown up in.

Keeping her gaze on the ground as she walked, she didn’t want to look at anyone. She was tired of seeing their pitiful stares and hearing you poor dear. Because poor definitely described her now.

Although she had known enough about how to be a cobbler, Uncle Stephen wouldn’t have it. He said an unmarried woman owning a place of business just wasn’t done. And so, within days after her father’s death, the shop was sold.

Monica’s feet seemed to stop on their own, and when she lifted her gaze and looked at the street, she knew why. Emotion tightened her chest. She stood in front of the mercantile, and across the street was the cobbler’s shop. She prayed the new owners would change the outside of the old building to where it didn’t resemble the place she’d spent so much time in lately.

On weary legs, she moved inside the mercantile. She didn’t have any money to use at the store, but she couldn’t stop looking out the window at the old cobbler building. Memories swept through her, and her tears clouded her vision.

From outside the window, there was a movement in front of the shop. She blinked until the scene cleared for her to see that a fancy carriage had just pulled in front of the shop and stopped. Zeroing in her attention on the carriage, she sighed in awe. She’d never seen such a beautiful vehicle in town. Whoever owned it was indeed very wealthy.
The driver was dressed in a blackish-gray suit and appeared almost as grand as any royal family member she’d read about. He jumped down from the top seat and opened the carriage door. Never had Monica gazed upon a man who made opening doors for others look like an art form.

An elaborately dressed man in a black suit, crisp white shirt, and black cravat ascended from the vehicle. He stood in front of the old cobbler shop as he placed a top hat on his head.

She frowned. This must be the new owner.

As Monica peered closer, she bumped her nose against the store’s window. Grumbling, she pulled back and rubbed the sore spot, continuing to watch the activities across the street. The fancy dressed man stood in front of the store and pulled out a ring of keys. When he unlocked the door, and he and his driver entered, her heart picked up rhythm.