Come Together Read online

  “Noah showed me some photos. He’s the spitting image of his daddy at that age.”

  “He sure is. Adorable.”

  “Hannah is infuriated that we didn’t know about him until now,” Elmer said.

  “Can’t say I blame her. It’s egregious.”

  “She wants Noah to file for full custody, but he’s not doing that. It’s not what’s best for the boy.”

  “No, it isn’t. It’ll take a while for Hannah to get past that, but she will.”

  “She said she’ll never forgive Melinda for any of it. You heard the full story about him catching her with his foreman?”

  “Yeah, Molly told me the other day. It’s horrible. No wonder he retreated from everything for a few years.”

  “Don’t blame him at all. That’s a bitter pill to swallow.”

  “Ah, well, he’s on the right path now.”

  “Thanks to us,” Linc said, raising his mug to toast his father-in-law.

  “Oh, please,” Elmer scoffed. “Sending Noah and Brianna to dinner was my idea. There was no we involved in that. You’re getting your ass kicked in this competition. You’re so far behind, you might never catch up.”

  “Whatever. Who do you think called Cabot to tell him Izzy was in the hospital?”

  “Mia called him.”

  “Au contraire, mon frère. The first call came from me.”

  Elmer eyed his son-in-law with respect. “Is that right?”

  “Yep, and I can have my friend Cabot testify to that.”

  “Very interesting. I’ve taught you well, my young protégé.”

  Lincoln rolled his eyes to high heaven. “Protégé, my ass. If things work out between Cabot and Izzy, that one is all mine.”

  “I’ll concede that one to you, but only if they make a go of it. It’s about time you won a round.”

  “Have you heard anything about how things are going at Izzy’s?” Linc asked.

  “Nothing more than Cabot is waiting on her hand and foot and plans to stay for as long as she needs him.”

  “He’s a little bit older than our Izzy,” Linc said. “How do we feel about that?”

  “From everything I’ve seen of him, he seems like a wonderful guy.”

  “I think so, too. I’ll be on the lookout for anything I can do to help things along so I can score this point you say I need.”

  Elmer sipped his ice water. “You need a lot of points to catch up to the master.”

  “Don’t count your chickens just yet. I’ve still got six Colemans and one Abbott to work with.”

  Elmer leaned forward, grinning. “Cluck, cluck.”

  Preorder the next book in the series, Here, There and Everywhere, Izzy and Cabot’s story, now!

  Thank you for reading Noah and Brianna’s story! Noah has been a bit of an enigma during the series, so it was fun figuring out what made him into a cranky loner and finding the right woman to bring him back to life. I hope you enjoyed getting to know the Colemans as much as I did.

  Many thanks to all the people who help me behind the scenes, including Julie Cupp, Lisa Cafferty, Tia Kelly, Jean Mello, Andrea Lopes, Ashley Lopez and Kristina Brinton, for the gorgeous cover of Come Together. I appreciate the hard work of my editors, Linda Ingmanson and Joyce Lamb, and my beta readers, Anne Woodall and Kara Conrad. Also, a big thanks to the Vermont series beta readers: Marchia, Alice, Nancy, Betty, Katy, Jennifer, Deb, Doreen

  A special thank you to Melissa Shufon for the insight she provided into the role of women in the construction business.

  As you can probably imagine, Izzy and Cabot are up next in Here, There and Everywhere, and I’m looking forward to finding out more about them and whether they can make a go of it. After that, I’ve made the decision to end the Butler, Vermont series with Max Abbott’s book, which will jump the timeline ahead a little so we can see what everyone is up to before we leave the Abbotts and Colemans, for now anyway. I won’t rule out a return to Butler at some point in the future, but after the next two books, I’ll no longer be regularly adding to this series.

  Preorder Here, There and Everywhere now to read it on March 22, 2022!

  Thank you again for reading Come Together and for your excitement for more in this series.

  xoxo

  Marie

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  Other Books By Marie Force

  * * *

  Contemporary Romances Available from Marie Force

  * * *

  The Green Mountain Series

  Book 1: All You Need Is Love

  (Will & Cameron)

  Book 2: I Want to Hold Your Hand

  (Nolan & Hannah)

  Book 3: I Saw Her Standing There

  (Colton & Lucy)

  Book 4: And I Love Her

  (Hunter & Megan)

  Novella: You'll Be Mine

  (Will & Cam’s Wedding)

  Book 5: It's Only Love

  (Gavin & Ella)

  Book 6: Ain’t She Sweet

  (Tyler & Charlotte)

  * * *

  The Butler, Vermont Series

  (Continuation of Green Mountain)

  Book 1: Every Little Thing

  (Grayson & Emma)

  Book 2: Can’t Buy Me Love

  (Mary & Patrick)

  Book 3: Here Comes the Sun

  (Wade & Mia)

  Book 4: Till There Was You

  (Lucas & Dani)

  Book 5: All My Loving

  (Landon & Amanda)

  Book 6: Let It Be

  (Lincoln & Molly)

  Book 7: Come Together

  (Noah & Brianna)

  Book 8: Here, There and Everywhere

  (Izzy & Cabot)

  * * *

  The Butler, Vermont Series Boxed Set: Books 1-4

  * * *

  The Gansett Island Series

  Book 1: Maid for Love

  (Maddie & Mac)

  Book 2: Fool for Love

  (Joe & Janey)

  Book 3: Ready for Love

  (Luke & Sydney)

  Book 4: Falling for Love

  (Grant & Stephanie)

  Book 5: Hoping for Love

  (Evan & Grace)

  Book 6: Season for Love

  (Owen & Laura)

  Book 7: Longing for Love

  (Blaine & Tiffany)

  Book 8: Waiting for Love

  (Adam & Abby)

  Book 9: Time for Love

  (David & Daisy)

  Book 10: Meant for Love

  (Jenny & Alex)

  Book 10.5: Chance for Love, A Gansett Island Novella (Jared & Lizzie)

  Book 11: Gansett After Dark

  (Owen & Laura)

  Book 12: Kisses After Dark

  (Shane & Katie)

  Book 13: Love After Dark

  (Paul & Hope)

  Book 14: Celebration After Dark

  (Big Mac & Linda)

  Book 15: Desire After Dark

  (Slim & Erin)

  Book 16: Light After Dark

  (Mallory & Quinn)

  Book 17: Victoria & Shannon (Episode 1)

  Book 18: Kevin & Chelsea (Episode 2)

  A Gansett Island Christmas Novella

  Book 19: Mine After Dark

  (Riley & Nikki)

  Book 20: Yours After Dark

  (Finn & Chloe)

  Book 21: Trouble After Dark

  (Deacon & Julia)

  Book 22: Rescue After Dark

  (Mason & Jordan)

  Book 23: Blackout After Dark

  (Full Cast)

  Book 24: Temptation After Dark

  (Gigi & Cooper)

  * * *

  Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 1-3

  Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 4-6

  Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 7-9

  Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 10-12

/>   Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 13-16

  Gansett Island Series Boxed Set, Books 17-20

  * * *

  The Miami Nights Series

  Book 1: How Much I Feel

  (Carmen & Jason)

  Book 2: How Much I Care

  (Maria & Austin)

  Book 3: How Much I Love

  (Dee & Wyatt)

  * * *

  The Quantum Series

  Book 1: Virtuous

  (Flynn & Natalie)

  Book 2: Valorous

  (Flynn & Natalie)

  Book 3: Victorious

  (Flynn & Natalie)

  Book 4: Rapturous

  (Addie & Hayden)

  Book 5: Ravenous

  (Jasper & Ellie)

  Book 6: Delirious

  (Kristian & Aileen)

  Book 7: Outrageous

  (Emmett & Leah)

  Book 8: Famous

  (Marlowe & Sebastian)

  * * *

  Quantum Boxed Set: The Complete Series

  * * *

  The Treading Water Series

  Book 1: Treading Water

  Book 2: Marking Time

  Book 3: Starting Over

  Book 4: Coming Home

  Book 5: Finding Forever

  * * *

  Treading Water Boxed Set: The Complete Series

  * * *

  Single Titles

  * * *

  Five Years Gone

  One Year Home

  Sex Machine

  Sex God

  Georgia on My Mind

  True North

  The Fall

  The Wreck

  Love at First Flight

  Everyone Loves a Hero

  Line of Scrimmage

  * * *

  Beach Reads Boxed Set

  * * *

  Love Always Boxed Set, First Books in Four of Marie’s Bestselling Series

  * * *

  Romantic Suspense Novels Available from Marie Force

  * * *

  The Fatal Series

  One Night With You, A Fatal Series Prequel Novella

  Book 1: Fatal Affair

  Book 2: Fatal Justice

  Book 3: Fatal Consequences

  Book 3.5: Fatal Destiny The Wedding Novella

  Book 4: Fatal Flaw

  Book 5: Fatal Deception

  Book 6: Fatal Mistake

  Book 7: Fatal Jeopardy

  Book 8: Fatal Scandal

  Book 9: Fatal Frenzy

  Book 10: Fatal Identity

  Book 11: Fatal Threat

  Book 12: Fatal Chaos

  Book 13: Fatal Invasion

  Book 14: Fatal Reckoning

  Book 15: Fatal Accusation

  Book 16: Fatal Fraud

  * * *

  The First Family Series—a Fatal Series Spin-Off

  Book 1: State of Affairs

  Book 2: State of Grace

  * * *

  The Wild Widows Series—a Fatal and First Family Series Spin-Off

  Book 1: Someone Like You

  * * *

  Historical Romance Available from Marie Force

  * * *

  The Gilded Series

  Book 1: Duchess by Deception

  Book 2: Deceived by Desire

  About the Author

  Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance, romantic suspense and erotic romance. Her series include Fatal, First Family, Gansett Island, Butler Vermont, Quantum, Treading Water, Miami Nights and Wild Widows.

  Her books have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have appeared on the New York Times bestseller more than 30 times. She is also a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller, as well as a Spiegel bestseller in Germany.

  Her goals in life are simple—to finish raising two happy, healthy, productive young adults, to keep writing books for as long as she possibly can and to never be on a flight that makes the news.

  Join Marie's mailing list for news about new books and upcoming appearances in your area. Follow her on Facebook and on Instagram. Join one of Marie's many reader groups. Contact Marie at [email protected].