Jenny had to remind herself to breathe while she waited to hear what he would say.

"I want you to know I think you're probably the best person I've ever known. You have the face of an angel, the heart of a warrior and the backbone needed to put up with me. I would like for you, Jenny Wilks, to come along with me the rest of the way, to build an amazing future together that also pays homage to the past you shared with Toby. I want to bring him with us, too, because he's part of you and thus part of who we are together. I love you, I need you, I believe I've proven I want you, but I'm available to provide additional evidence upon request."

Jenny laughed as she wiped away tears.

"I know I'm asking a lot of you by bringing you into my family at this particular juncture, but I'm hoping you'll be by my side wherever this journey we're on with my mom takes us."

"Alex..."

"Wait, I'm not finished. This is the important part. I want us to have a family together and watch them grow up and then get really, really old together, but still have a lot of sex. I'll take the little blue pills if necessary, but let's hope to God it doesn't come to that."

She laughed even harder. "You've landed your spot in the history books as the first guy to bring erectile dysfunction into a marriage proposal."

"I believe these things should never be left to chance," he said gravely.

"Are you done now?"

"I think I might be."

She leaned forward to give him a lingering kiss. "You had me at the best person you know, and you sealed the deal with Toby."

"So, wait... I could've skipped the rest of it?"

"Not on your life, buster. That would've been the most romantically hilarious proposal in recorded history, except for one small detail."

"What small detail?"

She rolled her eyes. "I can tell you've never done this before."

"You're damned right I've never done this before, and I can't believe you're actually critiquing me."

His righteous indignation sent her into hysterical laughter. "You never asked the question, dummy!"

"Yes, I did."

"No, you didn't. I would've remembered that."

"Fine," he said with a scowl. "Are you going to marry me or not?"

Jenny raised a brow, letting him know he'd have to do better than that.

"Will you officially be my ball and chain so all the pain you inflict upon me will come with legally required sex?"

She shook her head, shaking with silent laughter.

And then he brought her hand to his lips, his face serious and earnest and as handsome as she'd ever seen it. "Jenny Wilks, best person I've ever known, masterful chucker of tomatoes and the only woman I've ever truly loved, will you put me out of my self-inflicted misery and do me the tremendous honor of being my wife?"

"Yes," she said softly. "Now, was that so hard?"

"I'll tell you what's hard," he muttered, making her laugh again as he got back in bed with her.

"You're nothing if not predictable, Martinez."

"And you love my endless desire for you."

"Yes, I do."

"I'll get you a ring. As soon as I can."

"You don't have to do that."

"Since I only plan to endure this torture once, I'm doing it right."

Jenny batted her lashes at him. "When you put it so sweetly, how could a girl say no?"

He looked over at her, his heart in his eyes. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I'll never do it again."

"Yes, you probably will, but I'll always forgive you as long as you grovel so beautifully."

"I'm getting pretty good at that since I met you."

She wrapped her arms around him, cradling his head to her chest. "Then we ought to do just fine."

Thanks so much for reading Meant for Love! Join the Meant for Love Reader Group, to discuss Jenny and Alex's story with other fans with spoilers allowed and encouraged. If you enjoyed the book, please consider leaving a review at the retail site of your choice or on Goodreads to help other readers discover the McCarthy Series.

Much more to come from Gansett Island, so stay tuned to the McCarthy Reader Group on Facebook and make sure you join my mailing list at marieforce.com to be updated when new books are available.

Meant for Love Contest Details We have a contest with fabulous prizes to go along with the release of Meant for Love! The contest will run from Nov. 18 through midnight, Nov. 25 EST and will require you to provide Marie with your TOP FIVE favorite lines from Chapter 2 and beyond in the book. Make plans to read the book in time to submit your favorite lines by the deadline!

Click here to enter the contest. This link will also be posted to Marie's website and social media sites. A winner will be contacted and announced the first week of December.

Randomly selected winners will receive one of these great prizes!

First prize winner will receive a trip to the 2014 Memorial Day Reader Weekend in Rhode Island (airfare in continental US, three nights hotel and registration fee). The Reader Weekend includes a day in Block Island (weather permitting), the inspiration for Gansett Island. International winner must be able to get to a US point of entry. Click here for details about the Reader Weekend in RI.

Second prize $250 gift card to the e-book retailer of the winner's choice Third prize $100 gift card to the e-book retailer of the winner's choice Two runners up: Signed copies of all 10 print books in the McCarthy Series and a Gansett Island beach towel Gansett Island T-Shirts, Ball Caps and Stickers!

Check out the Gansett Island store where you'll find Tiki Bar and McCarthy's merchandise, including beach towels, beach bags, stickers, ball caps and T-shirts. Newly reduced prices on most items!

Kindle Readers! Please sign up to receive notifications from Amazon whenever new books is available! You can find the sign-up under the Stay Up To Date heading on the top right side of my page.

Turn the page for the first-ever sneak peek at All You Need Is Love, Book 1 in my new Green Mountain Series, out on Feb 4, 2014.

If you enjoy the McCarthys, you're going to LOVE the Abbotts of Vermont!

The family-run Green Mountain Country Store is cherished by locals as a reminder of simpler times. The Abbott children are determined to keep it that way-but their father has different plans...

When Cameron Murphy heads to Vermont to build a website for a new client, she imagines a more relaxing trip than she gets. After wrecking her car by colliding with the town moose, she meets the most handsome hero she's ever seen. Unfortunately, her savior, Will Abbott, is also the son of her client-and he wants nothing to do with the new website or the city girl creating it.

For all Will cares, Cameron can march her fancy boots right out of town and out of his family's business. But he can't seem to get her out of his head. As his family's dispute heats up, so does the chemistry between the two, leaving them wondering if simple is better after all-especially when it comes to matters of the heart.

Watch for All You Need Is Love on February 4, 2014!

All You Need Is Love Green Mountain Series, Book 1 By: Marie Force

Chapter 1.

A hard job is like forty miles of rough road.

-The Gospel According to Elmer Stillman "What the heck is a frost heave?" Cameron asked Troy, who'd briefly been her boyfriend until they realized they made better friends than lovers.

"Searching," Troy said, indulging her as he had on and off during her long journey from Manhattan to the end of the earth.

"Well?"

"I need a freaking PhD in geology to understand these explanations, but if I'm reading it right, it's what happens when water freezes under the road and the pavement heaves upward."

"Apparently, there're a lot of them around here. Signs every two minutes." Cameron's stomach tightened along with her fingers on the wheel of her gleaming cherry red Mini Cooper, purchased yesterday with this trip in mind. "What do you suppose I do if I happen upon one?"

"Um, I guess you hit the gas and jump it?"

"Thanks. That's really helpful."

His loud yawn had Cameron choking back one of her own. What should've been a leisurely five-and-a-half hour trek up the scenic Taconic State Parkway had turned into seven tense hours as her paltry driving experience had proven no match for the twists and turns of mountain roads.

"Are you almost there? I'm getting tired."

"The GPS says twenty more minutes." All at once, the phone made a series of weird clicking noises. "Troy? Hello? Ugh!" Colleagues had warned her that mountain cell phone reception was spotty at best, but she'd refused to imagine a scenario in which she didn't have the world at her fingertips. It didn't bear thinking about.

Cameron hit Redial on the smart phone and reached Troy's voicemail. At least he was trying to call her back.

She put down the phone and focused on driving. In addition to the frost heave signs, the frequent moose-crossing warnings were also unsettling. What were the rules of the road when it came to moose? Who had the right of way? The questions reminded her that she had lots more research yet to do about her destination.

When the phone rang, she pounced on it. "Are you there?"

"I'm here."

"Good," Cameron said, relieved to hear his voice. "Reception sucks up here."

"How long do you have to be there anyway?"

"If they hire us, and that's a huge if at this point, hopefully just a week, maybe two. I'll pacify my father, and then get back to civilization." Cameron didn't like to think about what was riding on her landing this big job.

"Sounds like a plan," he said, yawning again.

"Stop that, will you?"

"Sorry."

Cameron had never driven on such a dark road and had visions of missing a turn and pitching off the side of a cliff. Her fingers ached from gripping the wheel so tightly. "Talk to me," she said.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Over the course of their ten-year friendship-that-defied-definition, they'd covered every subject under the sun. "I don't know. Think of something."

"You never did tell me much about the project."

She released a rattling deep breath, seeking to calm her nerves. "The Green Mountain Country Store needs a website. From what I hear, they're still living in the early-twentieth-century dark ages. My dad went to school with the majority partner, and they ran into each other at their Yale reunion. Dad told him what I do, and one thing led to another."

"You mean one thing led to frost heaves and moose crossings."

Despite her tension, Cameron laughed. "God, Troy, what am I doing here?"

"Taking one for the team the way you always do."

"Yeah, I guess." Her father was one of her weak spots, and he'd taken full advantage by all but ordering her to meet with his old friend. But since her website development company was still recovering from the economic downturn a few years back, any new business was welcome-even if it required a trek into the wilderness. "It's so dark I can barely see where I'm going."

"You're talking hands-free, right?"

"Since both my hands are surgically attached to the wheel at the moment, yes."

"I should've driven you up there," he said, sounding regretful.

"You've got court this week." Her friend was an up-and-coming attorney in Manhattan, and Cameron was proud of all he'd accomplished-and appreciative of the pro bono work he did for her company.

"Still, we could've gone up yesterday. I would've been back in time."

"That's sweet of you, but I wanted to do this on my own."

"Had something to prove to yourself, huh?"

"Well, when was the last time I drove? Or even left Manhattan? I'm almost thirty, and until yesterday I'd never owned a car."