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      Also by New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sherryl Woods

      SWEET TEA AT SUNRISE* HOME IN CAROLINA*

      HARBOR LIGHTS***

      FLOWERS ON MAIN***

      THE INN AT EAGLE POINT***

      WELCOME TO SERENITY*

      SEAVIEW INN

      MENDING FENCES

      FEELS LIKE FAMILY*

      A SLICE OF HEAVEN*

      STEALING HOME*

      WAKING UP IN CHARLESTON

      FLIRTING WITH DISASTER

      THE BACKUP PLAN

      DESTINY UNLEASHED

      FLAMINGO DINER

      ALONG CAME TROUBLE**

      ASK ANYONE**

      ABOUT THAT MAN**

      ANGEL MINE

      AFTER TEX

      *The Sweet Magnolias

      **Trinity Harbor

      ***Chesapeake Shores

      Look for Sherryl Woods’s next novel HONEYSUCKLE SUMMER available June 2010

      Dear Readers,

      Welcome back to Serenity for Sarah’s story! The Sweet Magnolias series is all about long-standing friendships, and the one between Annie, Sarah and Raylene, despite an interruption by time and distance, is now stronger than ever.

      Many of you may identify with Sarah’s self-esteem issues. I know there have been times in my life when I certainly would have. And for a woman like Sarah, whose husband planted seeds of doubt in her head for many years, finding her way back to being self-confident can’t happen overnight.

      It seems at first glance that a sweet-talking man like Travis McDonald is exactly what Sarah needs, but will she find the courage to trust his pretty words? Recovering from years of self-doubt isn’t easy, but Travis is a determined, patient man, one definitely worthy of loving.

      I hope you’ll enjoy their story, along with catching up with a very unexpected turn of events for Mary Vaughn and Sonny. For me one of the greatest joys of writing these books is the chance to catch up with old friends. I hope you’ll feel the same way, and that you’ll be anxiously awaiting the conclusion of this latest Sweet Magnolias trilogy, Honeysuckle Summer, in stores next month.

      All best,

      Chapter One

      For a few days now the same man, clad in snug denim and a T-shirt that caressed impressive biceps, had spent precisely thirty minutes in the back booth at Wharton’s, lounging against the red vinyl as if he owned the place, and studying Sarah as if he found her to be the most fascinating creature on the planet. No man had looked at her like that since she’d first crossed paths with her ex-husband back in college. And even before the divorce, it had been a couple of years since Walter had regarded her with that degree of interest. It was unnerving.

      Of course, a lot about her life these days was unnerving. With a whole lot of support from her two best friends, Annie Sullivan Townsend and Raylene Hammond, Sarah had finally gotten up the gumption to divorce Walter and—equally important—his entire controlling, uptight family. She’d fought to win custody of her two kids, Tommy and Libby.

      And, mostly in the interest of getting out of the house and doing something, she’d taken a part-time job waiting on tables at Wharton’s, where just about everyone in Serenity congregated at one time or another during the week. It might not be making use of her degree in elementary education, but it was surprisingly satisfying. She’d discovered she had a knack for getting people to open up, a necessity in a restaurant that prided itself on being the hotbed of local gossip.

      No one, however, seemed to have any idea of who the mysterious man in that back booth might be. Sarah had asked.

      Just now, she’d even asked the man himself point-blank if he was new in town, here to stay or just passing through. He responded with a slow, sexy, dimpled grin that had unexpectedly sent her recently comatose libido into overdrive.

      “I suppose I could be persuaded to stay if the right offer came along,” he said in a low voice that hummed across her senses. “You offerin’, sugar?”

      Sarah was so taken aback by the flirtatious question, she scurried straight off to the kitchen to place his order. It was one thing to chat up old man Watson from the feed and grain, or the town mayor, whom she’d known since she was in diapers. It was quite another to have a man with dreamy eyes and a voice that could lure a woman straight to bed act almost as if he wanted to take her…well, straight to bed.

      Which, of course, he didn’t. She knew that. Hadn’t she heard often enough about all her flaws—her weight, her disorganization, her lack of mothering skills—from her ex-husband? In retaliation for her decision to file for divorce before he had a chance to, Walter had made it his personal mission in life to see that she had not one shred of self-esteem left by the time they ended their marriage. Worse, even knowing that he was just being his ornery old self, she’d been so low that she’d taken every mean-spirited word to heart.

      In the past few months, she’d worked hard to get herself back into shape. Annie had been her personal trainer at The Corner Spa, and Sarah had finally knocked off most of the weight she’d gained during two pregnancies. She had another ten pounds she’d like to sweat off, but if it didn’t happen, well, she could live with that, too. Despite her success, though, she sometimes still