One Husband Required! Read online

  Letter to Reader

  Title Page

  Dedication

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Copyright

  Three brides in search

  of the perfect dress—

  and the perfect husband!

  Welcome to this fabulous new trilogy by

  talented Presents® author Sharon Kendrick.

  On a bride’s special day, there’s nothing

  more important to her than a beautiful

  wedding dress—apart from the perfect

  bridegroom! Meet three women who are

  about to find both....

  In February you met Holly Lovelace in

  One Bridegroom Required! In March,

  Holly’s very special wedding dress was worn

  by Amber for her big day in

  One Wedding Required! And this month in

  One Husband Required!, Amber’s sister,

  Ursula, walks up the aisle in it, too!

  Read on and share the excitement as

  Holly, Amber and Ursula meet and marry

  their bridegrooms!

  Dear Reader,

  Planning a wedding is like writing your first book—you should stick with what you know! My husband and I were flat broke when we got married, and the only way to guarantee a showstopping dress was to have it made for me (refusing to accept that my curvy shape looked nothing like the supermodel on the front of the pattern!). So I bought slippery satin and filmy organza and the dress was made, and...

  And I looked like a whale!

  Two weeks before the ceremony, I had to rush out to buy a replacement dress. Luckily, I found one—but I ended up with two wedding dresses and a lot of extra expense!

  With weddings it’s best to play safe....

  At least until after the service is over!

  SHARON KENDRICK

  One Husband Required!

  TORONTO NEW YORK LONDON

  AMSTERDAM PARIS SYDNEY HAMBURG

  STOCKHOLM ATHENS TOKYO MILAN MADRID

  PRAGUE WARSAW BUDAPEST AUCKLAND

  To the Fabulous Fozards—

  Baz (Benito), Gill (Wigs), George, Franny and Tot

  PROLOGUE

  THE wedding dress gleamed pearl-gold in the morning light. Finest silk-satin and sheer organza. A drift of tulle, like a summer cloud. Ursula ran her fingers lightly over the plastic cover which protected it, and sighed.

  It was sleek, stark and stunning—the perfect gown to make a beautiful bride. Ursula’s mother had bought it for her daughters for just that reason, but Ursula knew in her heart that she would never wear the dress.

  For a start it was much too small.

  And the man she loved was married to someone else...

  CHAPTER ONE

  July

  ‘URSULA?’

  ‘Yes, Ross?’

  ‘Um...are you doing anything on Saturday?’

  Ursula O’Neil was a practical woman who usually ran on automatic pilot until at least midday. But this one question was enough to make her hand hover over the telephone. She looked up at her boss in amazement

  It was the ‘um’ as much as the question itself that made Ursula sit up and take notice.

  Six years of working for a man meant you got to know him pretty well. He could be distracted when he was working, irritable on a deadline, and soft as butter with his daughter—but Ross Sheridan hesitating? Never!

  Words were his business, his stock-in-trade. What Ross couldn’t do with a few words wasn’t worth knowing... He could make you weep, or giggle, or rush out to buy a certain brand of dog food—even if you didn’t own a dog! These days he was Chairman of the agency, true, but at heart he was still a simple copywriter.

  And a man who never hesitated.

  Ursula forgot all about the telephone call she had been about to make. ‘Would you mind repeating what you just said, Ross?’

  Ross studied the pencil which was positioned between his long fingers like a spear. Then he looked up and smiled, and Ursula was caught in the crossfire of eyes so dark they were almost black. Inky, brilliant and unforgettable.

  But the eyes were obscured by a frown. ‘I said, are you doing anything on Saturday?’

  Well, he wasn’t asking her for a date, that was for sure. But Ursula allowed herself the brief and guilty fantasy that he was before she said, ‘Well, no, I’m not, as it happens. Why?’

  ‘We’re having a party.’

  ‘You’re having a party?’ she repeated carefully.

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘Where do people usually hold parties? At home, of course.’

  ‘Oh. I see.’ But she didn’t. Ross and his wife had held parties before and never bothered sending her an invitation. So why the sudden change in behaviour?

  ‘And I wondered whether you’d like to come along?’

  Ursula continued to gaze at Ross, as if seeking clues for the invitation in a face which was much too interesting to be described as merely handsome. But it came pretty close...

  ‘Me?’ she squeaked, realising as she said it that she sounded like some latter-day Cinderella!

  ‘Yes, you,’ he agreed, frowning even more. ‘For pity’s sake, Ursula—I’ve never seen you so lost for words before! What do you think’s going to happen? I’m not planning to cosh you over the head and sell you off to the highest bidder!’

  Interesting fantasy, decided Ursula.

  He leaned back in his chair. ‘Have I shocked you so much by asking you?’

  ‘Not shocked,’ she corrected primly. ‘I think it would take a little more than that to shock me, Ross! Bemused might be a better description. I mean, in all the years I’ve worked with you—’

  ‘Please don’t remind me how many!’

  ‘I won’t.’ Years which had just blurred and flown. The reality of just how many should have disturbed Ursula far more than it seemed to disturb Ross—but then she never let herself stop to think about it. Because then she might start thinking she was in a rut and that it was time for a change.

  And she didn’t want to change. For who in their right mind would ever change the perfect job and the perfect boss?

  ‘Ever since I first entered the mad, mixed-up world of advertising...’ she smiled ‘...and you plucked me from the obscurity of the general office to become your personal assistant—’

  ‘And?’ he cut in impatiently, as he was in the habit of doing if he thought something was irrelevant. ‘What’s that got to do with me asking you to a party?’

  ‘Well, you’ve never invited me to anything at your house before.’

  ‘That’s because you once told me quite emphatically that you didn’t like to mix business with pleasure!’

  Ursula thought about this for a moment. ‘That’s true,’ she admitted. Well, true that she had said it, not that she had meant it, of course. Not deep down. It had been a survival technique to protect herself from the buckets of charm her boss possessed. She could have quite happily spent every evening in Ross’s company if the truth were known. Every lunchtime. Every breakfast. Every waking hour if she was being embarrassingly and brutally honest, and only one thing stopped her.

  He was married.

  And even if he wasn’t married—even if he wasn’t—there was no way he would look twice at her. Men like Ross Sheridan were never attracted to women with unfashionably curved bodies of s
oftly cushioned hips, and breasts which looked like overripe melons. They liked their women slim. No. Skinny. With plenty of bones showing, like sleek racehorses. Classy women.

  Like Jane. Ross’s wife.

  Jane, who was tall and creative and possessed the kind of qualities which readers of teenage magazines were always aspiring to. Jane who could throw on a tatty old dress bought from the thrift shop and look like a million dollars in it.

  Swallowing down whatever stupid emotion it was which had caused her throat to constrict, Ursula stared at her boss. ‘So what’s it in aid of—this party?’

  For the first time in all the time she had known him Ursula saw Ross’s face grow slightly uncomfortable, as if he couldn’t quite make up his mind how to answer. So. First hesitation. Now tension. And all in the space of a single conversation. How very odd.

  ‘We promised Katy that she could have a birthday party,’ he drawled. ‘And Jane thought it might be a good idea to swell the numbers. Invite a few adults. And I immediately thought of you.’

  ‘Ah!’ Ursula smiled with pleasure. ‘Now I see!’

  Katy was Ross’s daughter and Ursula loved her to bits. Sometimes he brought her into the office with him during the school holidays, when Jane was extra busy. Katy liked to trot round after Ursula like a little dog, and Ursula genuinely enjoyed her company.

  She had taught Katy how to use the computer, and to play gin rummy, and in return Katy kept her up to date on the current fashions and music scene! It only seemed five minutes since the last birthday, when—come to think of it—Ursula had accompanied Katy and Ross on a trip to London Zoo. She screwed her nose up as she tried to remember. Now where had Jane been that day?

  ‘I can’t believe her birthday has come around again!’ she told him. ‘She’ll be eleven, won’t she?’

  He shook his dark head. ‘Ten.’ He twirled the pencil like a drum majorette’s baton, in the way he always did when something was on his mind. ‘She just looks older.’

  ‘Acts older too,’ observed Ursula thoughtfully as she thought about Katy’s remarkable self-possession. ‘She’s a very grown-up young lady, and she knows more about fractions and base numbers than I ever will!’

  ‘Well, that doesn’t say very much,’ mused Ross, a glint of mischief lightening his dark eyes, ‘since you are the most mathematically challenged person I know!’

  ‘If that means I hate anything to do with figures, then you’re right!’ Ursula observed the twirling movement he was continuing to make with his fingers. ‘Is something wrong, Ross?’

  His fingers stilled and his eyes narrowed warily. ‘Wrong?’ he repeated suspiciously. ‘What makes you ask that?’

  If she admitted to studying his body language, and detecting an edginess simply by looking at his hands—then wouldn’t that make her look a bit sad? ‘You just seem a little preoccupied this morning,’ she told him truthfully. ‘You have done all week, to be honest.’ Indeed, all month if she was being brutally honest.

  ‘You know me too well, Ursula,’ he said quietly, only it sounded more like an accusation than a compliment.

  ‘Well?’ She ignored the warning look in his eyes. ‘What’s the matter?’

  ‘My deadlines are mounting—’

  ‘Then delegate!’ she told him sternly. ‘You’re the Chairman of the agency, for heaven’s sake!’

  ‘But the client wants me.’

  That was the trouble—the client always did want him. ‘Well, the client may not be able to have you!’ she glowered. ‘They may have to use Oliver instead, or one of the many creative whizkids you pay huge salaries to!’

  ‘We’ll see.’ He gave a dismissive shrug, then turned on his lazy smile. ‘So will you come, Ursula? Katy would love you to be there.’

  Ursula only pretended to think about it. She had always refused to attend social events when they were connected with work, but this was the first time he had ever invited her to his house. She told herself that it was simply a genuine desire to help Katy celebrate her birthday which had her itching to attend. And it was. But deep down she was dying for a glimpse into his home life. Would he be as messy as he was in the office? Would Jane be clucking round the kitchen like a mother hen? ‘Thanks very much. I’d love to come.’

  ‘Good.’

  ‘What time on Saturday?’

  ‘About six o’clock? We promised Katy that she could have an early-evening party.’

  There it was again, the ‘we’ word, reminding Ursula—if she had needed any reminding—that Ross was already spoken for.

  ‘So no jelly and ice cream?’ she questioned lightly.

  ‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that! If you’re very good, I’ll see if I can organise chocolate cake!’ He grinned back and began to draw funny little shapes onto the large sheet of paper in front of him, which told Ursula that he was about to go into creative mode.

  Unusually—and lucratively—Ross Sheridan managed to combine the twin accomplishments of being artistic and yet having a strong head for business. In the competitive world of advertising he was already a bit of a legend—and he was still only thirty-two! As a copywriter, he was second to none—his the dizzy success story which others aspired to. As people said—any campaign with Ross Sheridan’s name on it was Midas-kissed!

  His rise had seemed effortless—but Ursula knew how hard he had worked to get to where he was today. He had started out at Wickens, one of London’s biggest agencies, where he had quickly established himself as one to watch. Early on he had produced two brilliantly successful ads which had gone on to win national awards. That was where he had met Ursula, who had been temping because the money had been better and she had needed as much as she’d been able to get her hands on.

  In Ursula, Ross had recognised talents which complemented his own. She was punctual, efficient and sensible. She didn’t spend hours on the phone to her boyfriend or come back from lunch all giggly with wine.

  When Ross had left Wickens he had taken Ursula with him—to the buzzy ‘hotshop’ agency where all the brightest talents had converged, and where Ross had met Oliver Blackman. And when Oliver and Ross had formed Sheridan-Blackman—their own breakaway agency—Ursula had been their first full-time member of staff.

  She’d been with Ross so long that sometimes she felt like part of the wallpaper—while at others it seemed that her life with him had sped by in a flash. And the one great constant was his charisma. That never dimmed, just kept drawing you to him, like a moth to the flame.

  Like all creative personalities, he had his flaws. He could be irritable and exacting, short-tempered and impatient. But he compensated with his enthusiasm, his brilliance and the occasional smile which could make grown women swoon.

  She looked at him now, trying to analyse his appeal.

  Every day was dress-down day at Sheridan-Blackman, and today Ross was wearing trousers which made his legs look spectacularly long. He wore these with an open-neck shirt which couldn’t disguise those lumberjack shoulders or the lean body which every woman in the building dreamed of.

  He topped six feet in his bare feet—which everyone knew because he often kicked his shoes off after arriving at the office! His hair was lighter than black but darker than brown—wavy, thick and usually in need of a trim.

  Ursula sighed. It wasn’t easy working for a man who looked as if he should be starring in a jeans commercial!

  Forcing herself to concentrate on something else, Ursula rose to her feet. ‘Do you want some coffee?’ she asked him.

  ‘Coffee sounds good.’

  She was almost at the door when he said, ‘Ursula?’

  She turned round, noticing blue-black shadows beneath his eyes, and thinking that he looked as if he needed a good night’s sleep. ‘Yes, Ross?’

  ‘Any chance of a couple of aspirin to go with that coffee?’

  When he turned those big dark eyes on her like an abandoned puppy, there was every chance that she would grind the chalk to make the tablets herself!

  ‘Hangover?
’ she quizzed sweetly. ‘Or some ongoing complaint I should know about?’

  He scowled. ‘I just asked you for a couple of pills—I didn’t expect to have you carry out a full medical on me!’

  Unwanted, X-rated thoughts went sizzling across her mind, but Ursula didn’t miss a beat. ‘Yes, boss,’ she said crisply. ‘You just carry on sitting there quietly relaxing while I run around and fetch for you.’

  ‘Thanks,’ he replied absently, scribbling on a notepad and not seeming to notice the sarcasm in her voice.

  In the office’s adjoining kitchen, Ursula ground some coffee beans, then plugged the kettle in. She looked out of the window at the London skyscape as she waited for it to boil, reflecting on how lucky she was to work slap-bang in the centre of London, and in such a stunning suite of offices. For a girl with just a clutch of typing certificates to her name she hadn’t done too badly!

  Like the rest of the building, the kitchen had been designed with the kind of flair you would expect from an advertising agency. Glossy and slick. As Ross had informed her on her first day at Wickens, ‘Image is everything in this business.’ Ursula remembered that he had said it in a very cynical, jaded kind of way, and she recalled wondering whether he was happy or not.

  She remembered the day she had discovered that he was married, with a young daughter, and the great stabbing feeling of disappointment she had felt. Which had been utterly ridiculous when she had thought about it afterwards. Surely she hadn’t been expecting that a dreamy hot-shot like Ross would be interested in a plump Irish orphan like her?

  But having her hopes dashed—however futile they had been—had meant that she had gone on to develop a strong working relationship with her boss, one that wasn’t based on false expectations of having him clasp her in his arms one day! That wasn’t to say that she didn’t still sometimes have the occasional little fantasy about him—but she wasn’t alone in that. So did every other woman in the building!

 
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