Dad's E-mail Order Bride. Candy Halliday

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СКАЧАТЬ her dark hair in a buzz cut; her jewelry and wardrobe so outrageous she turned heads everywhere she went.

      “Courtney likes to claim her being born on Valentine’s Day was Cupid’s idea of a cruel joke,” Beth had said. “She also likes to claim that the reason she’s still single is because there aren’t any real men left in the world.”

      Everyone had laughed.

      “So I decided to prove her wrong on both accounts,” Beth had announced proudly. “Love is out there waiting for her if she’ll look for it. And where better to look for real men than the last frontier?”

      That’s when Beth had held up a printed-out page with Courtney’s picture on it—a full-body shot Courtney had forgotten about. Courtney had posed for it when she did an interview for a magazine about the changing trends in advertising—dressed for success and leaning casually back against her desk with a confident smile on her face.

      “This,” Beth had said, handing Courtney the sheet, “is your new profile page on LoveFromAlaska.com. And when I checked the site an hour ago, you had thirty-five real men dying to meet you.”

      Courtney had thought Beth’s gift was hysterical. So had everyone else.

      Except, of course, Courtney’s mother.

      Her mother had remained silent all through dinner. She’d remained silent through the birthday cake dessert. She’d even remained silent during a heated debate about the direction they should take with a new ad campaign when they were having brandy later—and her mother remaining silent during any debate was unprecedented. It wasn’t until they were alone in her mother’s private town car on the way home from the restaurant, however, that Courtney had received an earful.

      “I expect you to cancel the membership to that disgusting dating site immediately before anyone sees it,” her mother had demanded. “If word gets out you’re peddling yourself on the Internet like some cheap tramp, it would be a total embarrassment to the agency.”

      “News flash, Mother. Online dating is the norm today.” Trying to appease her, Courtney had added, “Besides, it isn’t likely any of our clients will be checking out some dating site from Alaska.”

      “It isn’t a risk I’m willing to take,” her mother had snipped. “As vice president you have a reputation to uphold and I expect you to do that.”

      Courtney had assumed the discussion was over.

      She hadn’t been that lucky.

      “What I don’t understand,” her mother had said, “is where Beth got the idea you wanted some man in your life. If your so-called best friend knew you at all, she’d understand the agency will always be your first priority.”

      Like mother, like daughter.

      The thought had scared the hell out of Courtney.

      Within minutes of being dropped off in front of her apartment building, Courtney had her laptop open. And that’s when she’d found the first e-mail from Rachel.

      Reading what Graham had written about defining what you wanted before life defined it for you had been the equivalent of grabbing Courtney by the shoulders and shaking her until her teeth rattled. In every aspect of her life, in and out of the boardroom, she had the reputation of being assertive and confident—except when it came to her mother. At that exact moment, Courtney knew it was time to cut the cord.

      That’s why she’d really come to Alaska. She’d come hoping to find herself.

      But talk about material for a daytime talk show! She could already hear Dr. Phil now. “And how’s online dating working for you so far, Courtney?”

      Still, things could have been worse.

      Graham could have been a real ass about the whole situation. And who could really blame the poor guy? A crazy e-mail female from New York City had shown up on his dock, not only unannounced, but even demanding to know why he’d lied to her.

      Courtney groaned just thinking about it.

      At least Graham had agreed to a truce for the weekend. And she would do her best to make sure he didn’t regret that decision. She could handle being the peacekeeper, but she didn’t want to be the referee.

      Especially since, in spite of everything, she was completely smitten with the man she’d come to meet. Graham had touched her deeply with his journal entries: his sensitivity; his appreciation of the type of assets you’d never find in some financial portfolio; his insight in being able to look back over his life and identify his mistakes. Plus, now that she’d actually met him, Courtney was so physically attracted to Graham the only way she knew how to describe it was freakishly scary.

      And that was so unlike her.

      Beth had always accused her of being too picky. Of always finding something not to like about the guys she dated, rather than focusing on things she could learn to like about them.

      And maybe she was too picky. She’d just been holding out for that one guy who would make her heart pound, her palms sweat and who completely took her breath away. Courtney had never met such a man.

      Until now.

      Her thoughts went back to that kiss on the dock. Her heart had definitely been pounding. For a second she’d thought Graham was going to kiss her again. She’d seen a little flicker of desire in his eyes signaling there might be some fireworks between them.

      Of course, that was before they both knew the whole situation. Now Graham would spend the weekend worried she was some cyber stalker. And she would spend the weekend pretending she wasn’t disappointed that he didn’t send the e-mails—which, in fact, she was.

      But she’d get over it.

      The ever-changing world of advertising had taught her one valuable lesson: when things aren’t working, take them in a different direction and make them work. Courtney couldn’t think of a better time to stick to that principle than now.

      She let out a long sigh and remained standing on the balcony, looking out at the shimmering water. She could certainly understand how troubles could melt away here.

      Or maybe it was being somewhere so different from New York City. No horns blowing. No streets packed with cars stuck in gridlock traffic. No sidewalks filled with anxious-looking people all scurrying about, cell phones to their ears, hurrying to make that next important meeting or make it to and from work on time.

      The only things moving below the lodge were several boats tied to the dock, all bobbing in the water like corks tied to a fishing line. Rachel called the boats skiffs, and Courtney knew Graham used them for his fishing expeditions and for local travel to other communities around Port Protection, since this part of Prince of Wales Island had no road access whatsoever.

      She’d been intrigued by the quaint community from the moment she visited the lodge’s Web site: the elaborate boardwalk system running throughout the rain forest; the steps called The Stairway to Heaven leading from the boardwalk up to the ridgeline; the pictures of the scenic view from the ridge so beautiful they took your breath away.

      Courtney had even imagined climbing that stairway with Graham. She’d fantasized about Graham taking her into his arms and…

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