Dangerously Irresistible. Kristin Gabriel

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СКАЧАТЬ when he’d met Hannah.

      And that’s when fate had decided to play a trick on Tanner. Hannah had taken one look at Cabe and fallen hard and fast. It had been love at first sight for both of them. Hell, even Tanner had seen that. They’d both politely waited to act on their affection until Tanner had offered to step aside.

      What else could he do? Hannah wanted someone who could sweep her off her feet. A man who would think it was romantic to marry western-style in an old dilapidated barn.

      A man the exact opposite of Tanner Blackburn.

      He’d realized that he’d almost made a big mistake. Hannah was a nice woman, but she wasn’t the right woman. Not for him. He wasn’t even sure such a woman existed, but he intended to keep looking. Instead of heading home for Dallas, he’d bought an airplane ticket to Jamaica. With over ten weeks in vacation time built up, Tanner thought it was time for a little rest and relaxation. And, if he was lucky, a little romance.

      It had taken some juggling to arrange a week off from his job at the law firm of Collins and Cooksey, but he’d refused to put it off. This was the first vacation he’d had since… Well, he couldn’t remember when. Vacations were a luxury his parents hadn’t been able to afford, especially after their divorce.

      By the time Tanner had worked his way through college and law school, he’d been too busy paying off his school loans to take any time off. Plus, he’d wanted to keep an eye on his sister.

      All of which hadn’t left him much time for a love life.

      But his little sister had graduated from high school this year and was leaving for college in the fall, which meant he’d be on his own. That was one of the reasons he’d agreed to let Lauren place his picture in the Texas Mail-Order Men magazine. It was just a lark, though he’d felt duty bound to go out on a date with every woman who contacted him.

      All thirty-four of them.

      The problem was, most of them weren’t looking for love. Not really. They wanted a knight in shining armor. Someone to rescue them from the jerks in their lives—men who preyed on a woman’s vulnerabilities.

      Men like his brother, Ronnie—although Ronnie had recently turned over a new leaf. He was now a missionary in Guam, of all places. The former bronc rider, once coined the Romeo of the rodeo, now kept himself busy doing good deeds. Tanner wasn’t totally convinced by his brother’s abrupt metamorphosis from playboy to preacher. Still, he’d been gone for the past few months and showed no sign of returning.

      Now Tanner was ready for a change, too. He’d had enough of bachelor life and was ready to settle down. The hard part seemed to be finding the right woman. After his recent experiences on the dating scene, he longed for a woman who desired him. Just him. Not his bank account. Or his handyman abilities. Or his new Chevy Tahoe SUV.

      He had high hopes of finding his fantasy woman in Jamaica. Strolling along a white sand beach in a string bikini. A woman with a thirst for banana daiquiris and making love in the moonlight. A woman who liked the thrill of the chase and could give him something that had been missing in his life for far too long—a challenge.

      A horse whinnied in the stall behind him, reminding Tanner to pay attention to the wedding rehearsal. The minister wore blue jeans and a faded chambray shirt. Tomorrow, the entire wedding party would be decked out in western wear, complete with boots, cowboy hats, chaps and spurs. Tanner had left his spurs back at the hotel for the rehearsal, but he’d worn the new boots he’d purchased in Dallas, along with his black felt cowboy hat.

      An old-fashioned pump organ was set up in the hayloft and the nesting barn swallows kept swooping down at the organist’s head. Her rendition of Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” was punctuated with shrill yelps of terror.

      Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the minister to run through the vows and position the wedding party in the appropriate places. Tanner’s only duty as best man was to hold on to the wedding rings and stand by Cabe—and to pretend it didn’t matter to him that he’d lost the only woman he’d given a second glance in over a year.

      The minister wiped his perspiring brow with a handkerchief. “At this point, you may kiss the bride.”

      Tanner’s smile froze as he watched Cabe pull Hannah into his arms and rehearse a kiss that they’d obviously practiced many times before.

      The kiss went on and on and on.

      “Hey, Cabe, save something for the ceremony,” Tanner joked, determined never to let Cabe or Hannah see the envy twisting inside of him.

      Hannah laughed when Cabe finally released her. “If this is the rehearsal, I can’t wait to experience the real thing!”

      Cabe grinned. “Maybe we should just have the minister marry us right now so we can proceed straight to the honeymoon.”

      Hannah’s eyes widened. “Oh, Cabe, you’re not serious!”

      “Why not?” Cabe turned to Tanner. “Do you have the rings?”

      Tanner patted his jeans pocket. “They’re right here, safe and sound. But you’ve already reserved the barn and put a down payment on the reception hall. Then there is the caterer to consider, and the band. Both will demand to be paid even if you don’t use their services.”

      “See,” Hannah said with a laugh, “at least someone is sensible around here.”

      Tanner’s jaw clenched. Sensible. Now he was not only dull and boring, but sensible. How much worse could it get?

      Hannah turned to him. “Oh, before I forget, I wanted to tell you that my cousin Jane is coming to the wedding tomorrow. You’ll adore her, Tanner, I just know it. She’s so sweet—a little quiet though. But she loves to talk about embroidery, so that would be a good icebreaker.” Hannah turned back to Cabe. “Jane embroidered ten sets of matching pillowcases for us as a wedding present.”

      Cabe winced at Tanner over his fiancée’s head. “Honey, maybe Tanner already has a date for the wedding.”

      “Oh,” Hannah exclaimed, turning to Tanner. “I never thought of that. Do you?”

      “Yes,” he improvised, before he found himself shackled to a blind date for the wedding reception. He’d had more than his share of dreary dates lately. He didn’t want someone sweet and quiet. He wanted a woman who excited him. A woman who was completely unpredictable. A woman who would agree to attend a wedding with a perfect stranger at a moment’s notice.

      And now he had less than twenty-four hours to find her.

      SHE’D FOUND HIM.

      Maddie took a deep, calming breath as she looked around her hotel room, making certain everything was in place. She hadn’t been thrilled about the two-hundred-dollar-a-night room charge, although it would definitely be worth it if she could pull this off.

      She’d arrived in Texas three days ago and traced Tanner Blackburn to a house in Dallas. It had been surprisingly easy, but then he probably hadn’t expected a bounty hunter to locate him through the Texas Mail-Order Men magazine, especially since ninety-nine percent of the bounty hunters were men.

      A chat with Tanner’s next-door neighbor had revealed that Mr. Blackburn was planning a weekend trip to Abilene to attend СКАЧАТЬ