The McCormicks The Ultimate Collection

The series that readers are calling,"touching, funny, sweet and gut-wrenching all mixed together." By USA Today Bestselling Author, Elena Aitken!

Love in the Moment
She can’t get over the past. He's falling for a lie. Is their love strong enough to survive the truth?

Only for a Moment
She’s sworn off relationships. He’s ready to find ‘the one’. The last thing either of them expected was each other.

One More Moment
Can love in the spotlight really have a chance to shine?

In This Moment
She needs a fiancé. He’s happy to help. Can they see that the love that was never supposed to be real, is as real as it gets? Or will it be too late?

From This Moment
Two men. Two very different futures. The problem? She’s falling for both of them.

Our Perfect Moment
He’s totally off limits and wrong for her in so many ways. That’s why he’s perfect…for the moment.

Our Forever Moment
They've spent a lifetime apart. Is it too late for love? Or will the magic of Christmas give them the second chance they need?

Book One - Love in the Moment

“Speak of the devil.”
Gwen swung around in her seat, knowing in an instant exactly who Deanna was talking about. She confirmed it for herself and turned back to her drink.
The first vodka and soda had left a warm feeling in her stomach, and just enough of a buzz for her to sip the second one much slower. A buzz she was grateful for now that Ian was in the same room.
What was it about him that turned her into a crazy person? She hadn’t behaved like a high school girl around a man since…well, since high school. And Ian McCormick.
“Who are we talking about?” Marcus, Deanna’s boyfriend, asked. He’d joined them halfway through the first drink and had missed all the details, which was probably a good thing. At least as far as Gwen was concerned. She was embarrassed enough about the way she’d crushed on him all those years ago. Now that she was a grown woman, she didn’t need her embarrassment rehashed. Especially considering he still didn’t seem to know she was alive.
“Ian McCormick,” Deanna filled him in. “Do you remember? He was at—”
“Slade and Beth’s wedding? Oh I remember.” Marcus grabbed his girlfriend’s hand. “I remember he was dancing with my girl.” He winked at Deanna. “Don’t worry.” Marcus laughed. “We’ve chatted a few times over the last few weeks. He’s a good guy. Did you know him, Gwen?”
“No,” she answered quickly. Deanna gave her a look, but she ignored it. She needed to start fresh this time around. And that meant no baggage in the form of Ian McCormick. “Not really.”
“Well, it looks like he’s coming over here.” Marcus gestured with his head and took a sip of his beer.
She only had a few moments to compose herself before Ian was standing next to them. His presence made her tremble involuntarily. She forced herself to take a breath and smile in his direction.
“Hi, Deanna.” He nodded at her. “Marcus.” Ian extended his hand and Marcus shook it.
“Good to see you, Ian. Have you met our friend, Gwen?”
Ian turned to look at her then. Really look at her. His eyes took her in. Surely he’d recognize her then? But there was nothing. No flicker of recognition. Nothing. Gwen swallowed hard. He really didn’t remember her. Pain, hurt, and a flash of anger flowed through her all in a split second.
“Oh,” Deanna said across the table. “You must remember—”
“No.” Gwen cut her off smoothly, as an idea formulated in her head. “I don’t think we’ve met before.” She gave him her most radiant smile. The one that she knew from recent experience men couldn’t resist. “I’m sure I would remember meeting you.” She held out her hand.
“The feeling is mutual.” Ian took her hand softly in his and squeezed it. For a moment, she thought he might bend and kiss it. But no, they weren’t in some old Western romance movie. “I would absolutely remember meeting someone as beautiful as you,” he said. It would have sounded like a line coming from anybody else’s mouth, but from Ian, it sounded sincere. “My name is Ian McCormick. I’ve just moved back to town to open up the marina.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Ian.” Gwen avoided her friend’s gaze, but she couldn’t miss the half cough, half choking sound Deanna made. “Would you like to sit?”
“I really don’t want to intrude.”
He took a step back, but Gwen reached for him, her hand sliding around his wrist. It took all the willpower she had to keep from yanking him toward her. But no. If she was going to play this, she was going to play it for all it was worth. She squeezed his wrist just enough to be flirty. “You’re not intruding at all. Join us.”
Ian looked to the others. Marcus nodded with a shrug. Deanna opened her mouth to say something, but Gwen delivered a small kick to her friend’s shin to shut down whatever it was she was going to say. “Fine with me,” Deanna ended up saying.
“I think I have a few minutes.” Ian looked over his shoulder, checking the room for someone. “Thanks.”
She slid over in the booth to make room for him. But not too much room. His leg pressed up against hers; her body filled with warmth at his touch. It was ridiculous. She should not be feeling any of those feelings for Ian McCormick. Not after so much time. And especially not after he’d so clearly had no idea who she was. She’d all but thrown herself at him when they were teenagers. She should be over him.
But she wasn’t.
They sat, making conversation. Hearing all about his new marina project, the Dockside. Flirting didn’t come naturally to Gwen; it never had. Likely because she’d spent her formative flirting years overweight, awkward, and worst of all, with a complex about all of it. Now that she had the gift of time and distance from her past self, Gwen knew that she shouldn’t have hid herself away all those years ago. She’d ostracized herself. But she couldn’t go back in time. Especially with Ian.
The longer she listened to him, the more she could see that he was into her. He cocked his head when she spoke, tilted his body toward her and seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say. Talking to him was easy. Really easy. Especially with Deanna and Marcus there to act as a buffer. As residents of Cedar Springs, they were both keenly interested in Ian’s new marina and it was easy to see why. Ever since the Springs had moved in, tourism had exploded in the area and the town was growing once again. That meant more patients for Deanna’s medical practice and a busier ski hill for Marcus up at Stone Summit, his twin brother Malcolm’s ski hill.
More than once, Ian tried to steer the conversation toward Gwen, but each time she deflected his questions. Not to be coy, but because as they chatted, an idea began to formulate in her head.
He doesn’t remember you.
He’s into you.
It was only natural that she quickly formed a correlation between those two facts. He didn’t remember her because he hadn’t noticed her back then. He was into her now because she was thin and gorgeous. No matter what her feelings for him had been once, that was unforgivable. Fundamentally, she was the same person as she was when she was fat. If she hadn’t been good enough for him then, that only meant that she was too good for him now. No matter how attracted to him she was. And she was.
He didn’t deserve her attention. That’s exactly what her readers would say.
In fact…
“Excuse me for a moment.” She slipped out of the booth, grabbed her purse and headed for the restroom. The minute she was in the stall, she pulled out her cell phone and logged into her blog. Just as she suspected, her readers had already begun to comment on the post she’d only published a few hours ago. And just as she’d hoped, they’d already started leaving their opinions.
“Tell him who you are and show him what he missed out on.”
“Don’t waste your breath. He’s not worth even a second of your time.”
“Give him another chance. Everyone made poor choices when they were teenagers.”
And then there was one comment that confirmed the idea she’d just had. “Have a little fun with him,” Shasta, a reader in Indiana, wrote. “If he doesn’t remember you, why not pretend to be interested in him and then hurt him the way he hurt you?”

Why not do just that? Except hurt him. She didn’t want to hurt anyone. But surely it would be okay to play a little game and see how far she could take it before he remembered her. If he would.
She could get away with it, too. Deanna hadn’t told him who she was. Gwen opened a text message and quickly tapped Deanna a message. Don’t tell him who I am!!!
Three exclamation marks should do the trick.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she pulled up a new post screen on her blog app and started to write.

Dear Reader,
I’ve decided on a bit of a summer experiment. As women who have been challenged by our weight and our self-esteem, haven’t we all had that one man in our life who just didn’t notice us? The one we were madly in love with, but wouldn’t give us the time of day? The man who gave his attention freely to thin, beautiful women while we barely got a nod?
Yes.
We’ve all had that man at some point.
How often have you wished that “one day” you’d love to have the chance to show him just what he missed by overlooking you?
Well…I have that chance.
Mr. Summer is here in my summer town, just like the old days. And, if you read my previous post, he doesn’t remember me. However, based on the last few hours, I think it’s fair to say that while Gigi wasn’t good enough for him, Gwen most certainly is.
So…my summer experiment will be to test the theory that for some men…beauty really is only skin deep.
Stay tuned…

Satisfied, Gwen did a quick proofread and hit the Post button, effectively sending her post out into cyberspace. She tucked her phone away into her purse. Her readers were going to love it. And she was definitely going to have some fun.