Everything’s hotter in Texas

Workaholic Manhattanite Renee Gainey is in Texas for her sister’s wedding, and waiting for her is none other than Jeremiah Richards, the irresistible cowboy Renee is not allowed to have. Her sister would freak out if there were sexy shenanigans going on right before her nuptials! But what single maid of honor could resist the best man when he’s a red-hot Texan?

As the wedding draws closer, the burning attraction between Renee and Jeremiah consumes them both. Soon they’re finding ways to sneak out of wedding duties to satisfy their cravings for each other. In her sister’s spare room. Up in the barn’s hayloft. Every chance they can get. But once the wedding is over, Renee is going back to New York. Hopefully, with her heart intact...

Dear God, he’d kissed her...

Any self-control Jeremiah could have used to pull away dissipated when she leaned into the kiss, her tongue sliding against his, sending tendrils of heat through his entire body.

Before he could deepen the kiss, though, she pulled away. Her breath was heavy and her eyes wide, and he realized what had just happened.

“That was so bad,” she moaned.

He grimaced. “The kiss was bad?” he asked, unable to help himself.

She shook her head even more furiously. “The kiss was too good. That’s what makes it so bad.”

“So you liked the kiss?”

She looked at him through her fingers. “That’s not helping. There’s no way we can do that again. Jessica will flip if she finds out.”

“I’m not going to tell her about it. Are you?”

“No way,” Renee responded immediately.

“So,” Jeremiah said slowly, picking his words with care, “if neither of us tells her, and she doesn’t see us, is there any reason why we can’t do it again?”

Dear Reader,

So much has changed since my first book, Her Sexy Vegas Cowboy, was published: my husband and I started traveling full-time; we welcomed our sweet baby, Annabelle, into the world; and I completed my second Harlequin novel, which you hold in your hands. Quite a bit of it was typed one-handed on a phone while caring for a newborn. Lucky for me, she was a pretty good sport about the whole thing and let me bounce ideas off her.

Once I finished Her Sexy Vegas Cowboy, it was clear that Jeremiah would need his own story; with his humor and constant optimism, he’s my kind of hero, and I wanted to hear more from him and whether or not he would ever find his own happily-ever-after. In addition, the first “fan” email I received from a reader (shout-out to Caitlin!) asked if I was planning on writing a book about him.

I struggled with this book at first, though. I wasn’t sure who the heroine was or where the story would be set. After going through a lot of (bad) ideas, I realized the story had to happen right before Jessica and Aaron’s Texas wedding, and then it became obvious who Jeremiah would fall for—the sister of the bride. After that, everything fell into place.

The antics of Renee and Jeremiah made me smile, giggle and sigh. I hope it is the same for you and that you enjoy reading about these two as much as I enjoyed writing about them.

Cheers,

Ali Olson

Her Sexy Texas Cowboy

Ali Olson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ALI OLSON is a longtime resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, where she has been teaching English at the high school and college level for the past seven years. Ali has found a passion for writing sexy romance novels, both contemporary and historical, and is enthusiastic about her newly discovered career. She loves reading, writing and traveling with her husband and constant companion, Joe. She appreciates hearing from readers. Write to her at authoraliolson.com.

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For my baby girl, Annabelle. You’re going to read this one day. That’s going to be a very weird day.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

1

“JESSICA, IT’LL ALL be fine. You just need to stop worrying,” Renee said in her most soothing voice, trying to calm her sister’s newest anxiety issue. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes, though, and was glad her sister couldn’t see her through the phone.

“I know you’re rolling your eyes at me over there,” her sister chirped back, “but this is important. What if the whole thing is a disaster? I’ve been planning for months for every possible problem, but I never expected this.”

Renee sighed. “Stew is a nice guy. You’re just freaking out because you haven’t met him yet and it’s a little weird to think of Mom having a boyfriend. What do you think he’ll do, scream obscenities during the ceremony? Take off all his clothes and bathe in the potato salad at the reception?”

She snorted, picturing her mother’s slightly stuffy boyfriend doing anything of the sort. “Besides,” she continued, “I thought your wedding was going to be super low-key. You’re having it at your house. How much could there possibly be to plan, or to screw up? You said you were keeping it casual.”

She looked at the bridesmaid’s dress hanging on the back of her door. It was all clean lines and conservative cuts. Pretty, but definitely not something she would wear to a gala or anything. The only thing that kept it from being something Renee might wear to a dinner with friends—besides the fact that she was always too busy to go to dinner with friends—was the color: a gorgeous violet, the color of a summer evening right after the sun set.

It was a beautiful color, but Renee knew it was all wrong for her. She pushed her shoulder-length, strawberry blond hair behind her right ear, wishing she’d been gifted with Jessica’s lustrous auburn locks. Her sister could pull off that color just fine, but Renee was certain it just made her look even more washed-out and freckly than normal. Not that she’d say anything like that to her worrier of a sister.

“It’s casual,” Jessica replied, “just a very planned casual. I don’t want to have to worry about anything that day, and the only way that’ll happen is if I have everything planned. That way, I won’t need to feel anxious about anything.”

“That’s why I’m flying in tomorrow, Jess. I’m tying up the last few things at work tomorrow morning, and then I’ll have the whole week completely free to help with everything. We’ll make sure it’s all ready and you can enjoy the weekend without needing to triple-check anything, because we’ll have already taken care of it.”

Renee waited for her sister to see the logic in what she said, though she seriously doubted Jessica’s ability to go an entire day, especially her wedding day, without feeling anxious. Still, it was her job to keep her sister from freaking out, and she was prepared to do her damnedest. No matter how difficult it was for her to go an entire week away from her job.

She heard Jessica let out a deep breath and smiled to herself. After twenty-six years as sisters, she’d gotten pretty good at figuring out how Jessica was feeling, and she knew she’d said the right thing.

“You’re right, Renee. It’ll be great, I’m sure. Thanks again for coming down early and helping. I owe you.”

“It’s nothing,” she answered, even though her fingers itched when she thought of all the work she’d be missing over the next week. “I have the vacation time just sitting there, and we can spend some time doing sisterly things. It’s been a long while since just the two of us hung out.” Renee picked up another pair of jeans and tossed them into her half-filled suitcase.

“Definitely. Oh! I almost forgot. Is it okay if Aaron’s friend Jeremiah picks you up from the airport? He’s going to be in town anyway. You remember him from Vegas, right?”

Renee felt her ears burn, so glad her sister couldn’t see her blush. She remembered Jeremiah, all right. Her heart thumped harder in her chest just thinking about Aaron’s drop-dead-gorgeous friend. She had flown to Las Vegas in early December to surprise her sister with her perfect “bachelorette party,” which meant dinner and drinks with family and Jessica’s best friend, Cindy.

Renee hadn’t expected to be introduced to the sexiest man she’d ever met, but when Jeremiah walked in with Jessica’s fiancé, she nearly fell out of her chair. Even over a month later, she could still picture his sparkling brown eyes, easy smile and thick dark hair, which she had spent more time than she’d like to admit imagining running her fingers through. The blood rushed away from her face and to a much more intimate location just thinking about it.

“Renee?”

She was brought abruptly out of her reverie by her sister’s voice. “Sure, that’s fine,” she responded, hoping her sister didn’t notice her sudden breathlessness.

“Great. He said he’d meet you at baggage claim. See you tomorrow, little sis. Thanks again.”

“Love ya, big sis. See you tomorrow.”

She hung up and sat at her table, letting her mind wander right back to Jeremiah. She hadn’t really talked to him that night in Vegas, and that was on purpose. Throwing herself at the best friend of her sister’s soon-to-be husband was definitely a no-no, and trying to have a normal conversation with someone that sexy seemed impossible. Avoiding the situation altogether had been her only plan of action.

Still, she couldn’t help but notice how friendly and easygoing he was with the whole group. She also couldn’t help but notice the way his muscles moved under his shirt and the way his lips begged to be kissed. He had been playing the starring role in her fantasies since then, and those lips had played a very important part.

And now she was going to be spending a significant amount of time with him in close quarters. She gave herself about a fifty percent chance of getting through the car ride without saying or doing something incredibly stupid.

Renee shook her head, trying to get herself together. This week was about Jessica and Aaron, not her desire to jump into bed with Jeremiah. Maybe if she told herself that enough times, she’d remember it when she actually saw him.

* * *

JEREMIAH’S EYES, THE color of coffee, captured her and sent jolts of excitement along her spine. He stepped so close she could feel the heat from his body all the way down hers, and he placed his hand on her neck, his thumb rubbing along her jawline, making her purr in response.

His other arm slid around her waist, pulling her even closer, until her body was pressed against his and she could feel his hardness and strength. Renee let her hands graze over the muscles of his arms as they moved up and around his neck.

When he spoke, his voice was a low growl, his usual carefree tones darkened with primal urgency. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this.”

Her breath came in short gasps as she waited while he leaned toward her with agonizing slowness, his lips drawing ever closer. Her mouth opened for him, inviting him in.

Renee sighed and opened her eyes. Her dark bedroom greeted her, feeling much colder and emptier than it usually did. She glanced at her phone for the time and groaned. Her alarm would be going off in five minutes. Not nearly enough time to slip back into her dream and enjoy the image as completely as she would like.

She told herself to get up, but stayed under the covers with her eyes closed, allowing the picture to last just another moment.

Finally, after another sigh, she pulled herself out of bed and turned on the light, running her fingers over her face and through the tangles of her hair. She hadn’t seen Jeremiah in weeks, yet she could still picture exactly how sexy he was. And if she couldn’t keep her hands off him in her dreams, how was she possibly going to get through the next week around him?

Maybe he wasn’t as fantastic in real life, she told herself. Maybe she’d let her imagination run away with her since Vegas, and he’d end up being a complete disappointment when she saw him again.

Yeah, right.

She shook her head to quiet her thoughts and tried to refocus her mind on the tasks she wanted to tackle this morning, but even her job couldn’t completely erase the image of Jeremiah with his arm encircling her. She shook her head again and went to make some coffee. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

FORTY MINUTES LATER, Renee walked through the snowy streets to work. It was only a couple of blocks from her apartment, but her toes felt frozen by the time she stepped into the building, and she gratefully breathed in the blast of hot air that greeted her. New York City was bitterly cold in February, and her dress slacks and heels didn’t exactly keep her toasty. At least Texas would be warmer, she reminded herself, trying to create some excitement about her trip to replace her nerves over seeing Jeremiah again and the guilt of being away from her job for so long.

In the elevator, she took off her thick coat and brushed her hair back off her shoulders, watching the numbers climb until it stopped on the twentieth floor. As the doors slid open, the two-foot-high letters loomed above her, as they did every day, and just like every other day, they made her smile. The Empire Magazine head office had been her home for almost four years, since she became an intern fresh out of college, and she felt her heart jump with excitement in the same way it had since her first day.

Renee’s friends constantly told her she was a workaholic and needed to take a break, but the truth was, she loved her job. She had meant to take today off as well as next week, but in the end she hadn’t been able to do it—there were a few last things she wanted to tweak before going, and Renee couldn’t bring herself to leave the work for the others on her team. Or worse, just submit everything as it was.

Striding quickly through the hallways, Renee made her way to her office, smiling at coworkers as she went.

As her computer booted to life, she settled into her chair. She just needed two hours to finish perfecting one of her spreads for the next issue, and then she would leave, she promised herself.

A head covered in black curls popped into her doorway as Jeff, a man on Renee’s design team, leaned in. “You’re not supposed to be here, remember? That’s how vacations work.”

Renee smiled. “I know. I’m just not quite finished with the layout of one of my articles. Then I’ll go, I promise. I’ve got a flight to catch.”

“Well, Patty heard you were in the office. She wants to see you, whenever you have a second.”

She thanked him, wondering what her boss could possibly want to see her about. She was probably just going to lecture her about overworking again. Patty did that every few weeks, and had been overjoyed when Renee told her she needed to use some of her vacation time.

Renee glanced at her computer once more before leaving her office. The spreads would need to wait a few more minutes.

Four hours later, Renee rushed out of the building into the icy air, praying she would make her flight. Her mind was such a jumble with what Patty had told her that there was hardly any room for anxiety to creep in.

After forty years in the business, Patty was retiring. And she wanted Renee to take over her position. Renee still couldn’t believe it. She had thought it would be years before she’d get this opportunity, and here it was, so close she could taste it.

As she hopped out of the cab and dashed into the airport, thoughts of her new job stuck with her, sending flurries of excitement through her stomach.

Or maybe that was from the thoughts of Jeremiah, who would be waiting for her when she landed Texas. He hadn’t been far from her thoughts the whole morning, either.

2

JEREMIAH PARKED HIS truck in the concrete structure outside of the airport. He was glad Renee’s plane wouldn’t be landing for another fifteen minutes, because he needed some time to pull himself together and calm down. Not that he’d been able to do that all day, or really since he’d met her in Vegas weeks ago.

For the thousandth time, he reminded himself that this was Jessica’s little sister and he’d have to be an idiot to even try to make something happen with her, no matter how fast his blood surged through him when he pictured her. He’d spent enough time around Jessica since she moved down to Texas from New York to know exactly how badly it would go if he made a move on Renee.

Not that he and Jessica didn’t get along, but dating someone in her family was a whole different story. He knew just how protective Jessica was about her little sister, and he was pretty sure Jessica thought of him as some kind of pickup artist. Not the kind of guy you’d want your sister with.

He could only imagine what Jessica had told Renee about him. Even if she wasn’t off-limits, the chance that she’d be interested was slim enough. She probably thought he was a playboy who spent the majority of his time flirting with random strangers. Which, he had to admit, wasn’t far from the truth for the majority of his adult life. But he was almost thirty now, and for the past year or so the excitement of that life had dwindled and died.

And then he met Renee, who put the final nails in that coffin without even knowing it. She had passed into and out of his life like a breath of fresh air, making the prospects of other women seem dull and stale in comparison.

He didn’t even know what it was about her that had struck him so forcefully, but he’d been knocked backward when he first saw her. Their first night in Vegas, he and Aaron and Jessica had gone to dinner with her bachelorette party, which consisted of Jessica’s best friend, sister and mother. The moment they entered the restaurant and he saw Renee laughing about something her mother had said, he’d been awestruck.

She was beautiful, certainly, but no beautiful woman had ever made his jaw drop like that. It was also the first time he’d actually felt nervous when meeting someone. He never felt anxious, even that one time he’d asked out and been summarily dismissed by that supermodel. Aaron had laughed about that one for weeks. Somehow, Renee cut right through what Jessica called his “devil-may-care attitude” and left him feeling awkward and uncertain.

There was something about the way she laughed, the sparkle in her eyes, the way her light red hair fell over her shoulders, the freckles across her nose that made her look wonderfully fresh and happy, the sexy tilt of her chin that seemed to exude self-confidence. Whatever it was, something about her made it hard to think straight.

And even though they’d hardly talked, he had a suspicion that she might just be interested in him, too. When they’d been introduced, a light flush had spread up her neck, and she had let go of his hand just as quickly when they shook for the first time. Like she had felt the same jolt of electricity as he had.

Just the memory of her was enough to make his body jump to attention, and he felt an uncomfortable swelling in his jeans.

Jeremiah took another deep breath, trying to relax his body, and climbed out of the truck. If he could just get through the next hour without doing anything stupid, he would be able to keep his distance from her for the rest of the week and avoid the almost-overwhelming temptation to kiss her.

* * *

RENEE STEPPED INTO the airport restroom and went straight to the mirror, looking at the damage done by her flight and trying to put herself back together. She glanced at her skirt and blouse, trying to straighten out the wrinkles, ignoring the tiny voice reminding her that Jeremiah was off-limits.

Of course he was off-limits. She knew that, and he certainly wasn’t the reason she’d opted to ditch her comfy travel clothes and instead wear makeup, heels and her black skirt that hugged in the right places—not to mention the silky black underthings. She just thought it would be nice to look her best when she showed up at her sister’s house.

The voice laughed at her unconvincing lies.

After taking one last look in the mirror and trying to wish away the dusting of freckles across her nose that made her look like a Girl Scout, she gave herself one more silent pep talk. Remember, nothing can happen with Jeremiah, and he probably just thinks of you as Jessica’s little sister, so seeing him for the first time since Vegas is no big deal. There’s definitely no reason for your stomach to feel like this. So stop staring into a mirror like a crazy person and leave this bathroom.

She didn’t budge. Renee swore under her breath at her idiocy and steeled herself for what would assuredly be a very not-sexy week full of helping Jessica and staring at a guy who hardly knew she existed. Then she finally managed to walk out of the bathroom and through the terminal exit doors to baggage claim. She found herself standing in a cavernous room studded with numbered carousels slowly circling luggage.

Her first thought was that she’d never find Jeremiah in this huge area, but that lasted less than four seconds before she spied him standing about twenty yards away, looking at her. Their eyes met, and she froze for a moment like a deer in headlights.

He wasn’t as gorgeous as she remembered. He was even more so. Her daydreams hadn’t done justice to the way his slightly shaggy, dark hair fell across his forehead or how his shirt clung to his chest. Not to mention his low-slung jeans and what was sure to be underneath. The quivering in her stomach turned into melting, an ache that made her knees feel weak.

Then someone bumped her elbow as they tried to walk around her, and she realized she was blocking the doorway and staring like Meg Ryan in one of her romantic comedies Renee loved to watch. She could feel a blush start low on her cheeks as she imagined how ridiculous she must look to him. How was she ever going to get through an entire drive alone in the car with him without making a complete fool of herself?

Another person knocked against her. She adjusted the bag on her shoulder and started moving toward the sexy cowboy who was waiting for her. As she got closer, Renee smiled and gave a tiny wave, vividly remembering the first time they shook hands. If she was going to get through this, there had to be no touching, that was for sure. If she could keep things casual, everything would be fine and Jessica wouldn’t need to kill her for groping someone she hardly knew instead of helping with the wedding.

“Hi, Jeremiah. Thanks for picking me up,” she said, hoping she sounded normal.

He smiled back, a little stiffly, making her wonder exactly how inconvenient this errand had been. But then he shrugged and his lips softened. “No problem. I was coming into town anyway. Do you have a bag to pick up?”

She looked up and noticed that the carousel closest to them displayed her flight information and luggage was starting to slide down the chute. She nodded, and after an awkward pause that seemed to stretch between them, she was grateful to see her bag coming her way. Before she could do more than place her hand on it, though, he had it by the handle and was picking it up as if it weighed nothing. She briefly imagined him picking her up with the same strength before stopping herself.

No sexy thoughts, she reminded herself yet again. Jessica freaking out. Jeremiah not interested.

Except something in the way he looked at her made her think that maybe that second one wasn’t true.

She tried to shake off the thought as she followed him out of the airport and into the parking structure, where he stopped at a large silver truck that screamed cowboy. It was huge. Everything’s bigger in Texas, she thought to herself, sneaking a peek at Jeremiah, her mind drifting off into forbidden, jean-clad areas. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, a good-natured grin on his face as he broke the silence between them.

She blushed for the second time in as many minutes, a bad omen for their drive together. There was definitely no way she would admit where her thoughts had gone, so she thought up something else as quickly as she could. “Nothing. Just the sheer number of trucks. It’s all so very...Texas.”

He smirked, and her heart skipped a beat. He said, “Most people in the city drive them for that reason. They don’t actually get used to haul stuff around.”

He settled her suitcase into the truck bed, among a variety of boxes, some plants, a bunch of metal rods and a number of other things Renee couldn’t identify. Before she could reach for the door, he had it open for her and helped her climb in, making her fingers tingle where they touched. She tried to keep her mind on acceptable topics. “You clearly use yours to haul around plenty. What is all that stuff?”

He gave her a crooked grin. “Most of it’s for your sister, actually. She had a whole list of things she needed to pick up, and I volunteered since I was coming into town to replace a broken generator.”

She looked out the back window and tried to identify the wedding items. “Those metal rods are some kind of arch thing, I’m guessing?” He nodded. “And the plants, of course. And me. She’s really putting you to work,” Renee finished, laughing.

Jeremiah chuckled and raised an eyebrow. “I’m positive it’s nothing compared to what she has in store for you.”

Renee laughed again. A little of the awkward tension was gone and she felt lighter than she had since seeing him, but that ache didn’t go anywhere. He was even sexier when he was being funny, God help her.

Jeremiah swung the truck out of the parking structure. Renee racked her brain for any safe topics that could keep the silence from settling between them again. When they were quiet, her mind wandered, and she didn’t want to spend the entire drive wondering whether or not the bench seat of his vehicle was long enough for them to act out a few of her spicier fantasies.

“So, how far away do you guys live from the airport?”

“You guys?” he repeated with a thick Brooklyn accent. “You’re never going to fit in around here with talk like that. We say y’all around here.”

Renee tried again, this time putting the thickest drawl she could muster into her voice. “Well lookee here, Jeremiah, just how long of a ride do we have in this here fancy horse buggy till we mosey into y’all’s neck of the woods?”

He let out a peal of laughter that reverberated through her chest, so loud and genuine that it made her laugh in response. He had an amazing, infectious laugh, and she was swept away in the silliness of the moment. When was the last time she’d joked with a guy? It seemed far too long.

“We all live about sixty miles away,” he said, finally getting himself enough under control to answer her question, adding an adorable Texas accent to his words.

An hour alone with him. God help her. Renee looked out the window. The city—if you could call it that—was already shrinking in the distance, leaving them surrounded by a few homes and a lot of open land. “And that’s the closest town to you? To get a generator, you need to drive all the way to, um—” she panicked for a moment as she realized she didn’t remember the name of the city she had just flown into “—Tyson?” she finished, hoping it was right.

He raised his eyebrow and smiled at her again in the way that made her insides twist. “You mean Tyler?”

She flushed, embarrassed. “Yeah. That.”

“There are a couple of small towns that are closer, but Tyler’s the biggest nearby. We’ll be at Jessica and Aaron’s before you know it.”

Although that was what she told herself she wanted, the idea was not a pleasant one. She was enjoying talking to Jeremiah, and didn’t want it to end too quickly. “Was it weird to start calling it ‘Jessica and Aaron’s’ instead of just ‘Aaron’s place’?”

He thought for a moment, tilting his head. “Not really. They just fit together so well that the moment she moved in, it became their place, you know?”

Renee nodded, but didn’t really understand. She looked at the window as they flew past large homes and swaying trees, already well out of the city. The fields in the distance were a wintry brown, showing off a wide expanse of countryside. How did Jessica transplant her whole life to this strange place and settle in so smoothly? Renee felt like a fish out of water looking at the vast nothingness around her.

* * *

JEREMIAH TRIED TO keep his eyes on the road, but his gaze was continuously drawn to the woman only a few feet away. He’d been failing miserably at self-control since the moment she walked into baggage claim in that sexy, curve-loving skirt and heels that made him want to drop to his knees and worship her legs. There were a lot of things he’d like to drop to his knees and do to her, in fact.

He focused back on the present, trying to stop those thoughts. They were exactly what he couldn’t let himself get caught up in this week if he wanted to survive.

He glanced at her again. Instead of thinking about the way her shirt moved against her breasts as she shifted in her seat, he tried to think of something to say to her. Her mood had switched from silly to thoughtful in a matter of seconds, and he wasn’t sure what he should do. For a guy who’d always felt so confident around women, this was a new one on him.

He grabbed at some new topic of conversation. Anything to keep her talking. “It’s nice of you to fly in a week early to help your sister. According to Aaron, she’s been fighting off a state of panic for the past week or so, worrying that things won’t be ready in time.”

Renee nodded, as if this wasn’t new information. “She’s always been the anxious one. She wouldn’t be Jessica if she wasn’t worried. Really, though, it should be Cindy here. She’s always been the enthusiastic, creative one. I’m not sure how I’m going to be able to help much, but with the pregnancy and all, Cindy couldn’t take that much time off from work.”

“If Jessica’s the anxious one and Cindy’s the enthusiastic one, what are you?” He wasn’t sure if he was prying, but he just had to know more about her.

She paused, thinking. “I guess I’m the focused, driven one.”

Jeremiah tried to read between the lines. “Is that code for ‘workaholic?’”

Renee gave him a small smile. “Pretty much.”

“And what else are you?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I think that’s about it.”

He could think of some other adjectives that described her, but didn’t say them out loud. He wasn’t sure if she even realized she was the funny one, the sexy one, the dear-God-I-wish-she-was-in-my-arms-right-now one.

He tried to think of something else to talk about. Normally he’d be fine with silence, but silence around her made him want to say and do things that were all on the “terrible ideas” list. At least when they were talking, he could focus on their conversation instead of on the way her hair fell across her shoulders and that one darker freckle just below her left ear.

Lucky for him, she seemed just as willing to keep up continuous chatter as he was, and the rest of the drive passed quickly while she described her favorite things about New York, asked questions about her sister’s life in Texas and told him about her job.

“It’s not a sure thing yet, but the lead designer spot would be amazing. I’ve been working toward that exact position since high school. It’s my dream job.”

He glanced at her out of the side of his eye, even though her face was already indelibly printed in his mind. She couldn’t possibly be older than twenty-eight. “You’ve managed to land your dream job before turning thirty? Is that some kind of a record?”

Renee smiled and her eyes lit up, changing her face from beautiful to stunning. “I’m younger than a lot of people on my team, but I have just as much experience as pretty much anyone there if you look at the work I’ve done. I usually pick up a few extra pages each issue, and my work hardly ever needs to be retouched. I don’t think my age will matter.”

“I guess you were right about being the workaholic one.”

“That was your word,” she pointed out. “I said I was the focused one.”

Jeremiah was impressed, but something about her dedication to her job sent up an alarm. “How do you manage to do all that and still have fun? Doesn’t it make it hard to relax, take vacations, date?”

Jessica had mentioned at one point that Renee was single—Jeremiah was sure she had no idea how that offhand comment had affected him—and he’d been perplexed as to why. Now he was beginning to suspect the reason.

“I don’t really have the time for that kind of stuff. My job is too important to me and I wouldn’t want to screw that up because of those types of distractions.”

Renee’s shrug seemed casual, but her voice sounded very serious to him. Jeremiah wondered if she was sending him a message between the lines. If she was, he got it loud and clear.

Even though he’d known from the start that there would be no dating this woman, here was yet another example of why he needed to let go of all the little fantasies and quit mooning over her.

For a guy who was normally so great at looking on the bright side of things, he couldn’t seem to find the silver lining for this one.

Relief swept through him as he drove up to Jessica and Aaron’s house. He’d made it through the entire drive without saying or doing anything inappropriate, and now he could try to keep his distance and avoid being alone with her for the rest of her visit. Once she went back to New York, it would probably be years before he saw her again.

He didn’t enjoy that thought.

He parked on the side of the large yellow ranch house, angling the truck so it would be easy to empty the wedding contents from the back. After turning off the engine, he shifted to look at Renee, who had turned her body toward him, as if she wanted to say something.

“Thanks for the ride, Jeremiah,” she said, and he looked into her eyes deeply for the first time since they had left the airport.

It was no problem.

Anything for Jessica’s sister.

That’s what you do for friends.

All of the correct responses died in his throat. There was only one way he wanted to answer her, and before he knew what he was doing, he leaned across the small distance between them and pressed his lips to hers, his hand grazing across the soft skin of her cheek.

It took him less than a second to realize how awful that decision was, but then she pressed back into him, parting her lips and tilting her head, her urgency matching his. Any self-control he could have used to pull away dissipated when her tongue slid against his, sending tendrils of heat through his entire body.

His hand slid from her cheek down her neck, slowly inching lower. Before he could fall deeper into the kiss or his hand could move past her collarbone, though, she leaned back, separating from him. Her breathing was heavy and her eyes wide, and he realized what had just happened. He rubbed his hand across his face and tore his eyes away from her, checking to be sure Jessica was nowhere in sight. Dear God, he’d kissed her. How could he have been so stupid?

Still, he couldn’t help but feel excitement course through him. She had kissed him, too. He looked at her again. She was shaking her head, her eyes closed, her hands covering her face.

“I’m so sorry—” he began.

“That was so bad,” she moaned, cutting him off.

He grimaced. “The kiss was bad?” he asked, unable to help himself.

She shook her head even more furiously. “The kiss was too good. That’s what makes it so bad.”

Jeremiah knew he should feel awful, but he was happier than he’d been in a very long time. Just to be sure, he asked, “So you liked the kiss?”

She looked at him through her fingers. “That’s not helping. There’s no way we can do that again. Jessica will flip if she finds out. She doesn’t take unexpected new information well, and this is her wedding week. A curveball like that might send her into seizures.”

Jeremiah wasn’t sure if Renee was talking to him or herself, but her arguments seemed much less convincing than they might have been a few minutes before. There seemed to be one pretty glaring way around the issue, after all. “I’m not going to tell her about it. Are you?”

“No way,” Renee responded immediately.

“So...” he said slowly, picking his words with care, “if neither of us tells her, and she doesn’t see us, is there any reason why we can’t do it again?”

3

RENEE WAS ABOUT to roll her eyes at Jeremiah and explain exactly why they could never do anything like that again, but something stopped her before she could. Her libido spoke up with full force, demanding why exactly that was such a terrible idea.

She’d been thinking about this guy for weeks, and here he was offering her a chance to live out a few of those fantasies that had been running through her mind. It wasn’t like she’d have another chance this good again.

And the look on his face wasn’t helping her make any prudent decisions, either. The hope in his eyes combined with a smile that promised so much more. How could she let this opportunity go by?

Renee took a deep breath and looked out the front windshield in order to keep herself from leaning toward Jeremiah again. She tried to focus some of her attention on the view, but the trees and mountains spread before her were overshadowed by the sexy cowboy sitting inches away. “Okay,” she answered, and out of the corner of her eye she saw his smile widen into a full grin. She had to force herself not to smile back. “But,” she continued, “there have to be ground rules. Number one—Jessica and Aaron absolutely cannot find out about this. Jessica would turn it into such a big deal, and even though Aaron’s your best friend, he might tell Jessica. And number two—once I go home, we’re done. This is just a casual thing. Just sex.”

She continued looking out the windshield, waiting for a response, but was met with silence. It was only then that she realized he’d never said anything about them having sex. They’d had one two-second kiss and she had already good as told him that she was ready to jump into bed with him at a moment’s notice. What kind of woman did that make her?

The kind of woman that hadn’t gotten laid in a long time and had spent way too much time thinking about getting laid by this particular guy. But had she gone too far too quickly?

She looked over at him, hoping for some kind of positive response. Jeremiah was looking at her, that half smile still on his face.

* * *

JEREMIAH STARED AT RENEE, surprised. She couldn’t get much more straightforward than that. Just sex? He had given up the casual-sex thing months ago, and was serious about finding something more than that. Did he really want a secret one-week fling? To risk hurting his best friend’s fiancée for something that would be over in just a few days?

Then she looked at him, her green eyes silently questioning, and reminded himself that Jessica wouldn’t find out, and therefore couldn’t be hurt. He knew it was a weak argument, but really, there was only one answer he could possibly give this beautiful woman beside him.

He leaned forward again, pulling her into another kiss, this one slow and deep, full of the promise of more to come.

She responded immediately, falling into the kiss, but he pulled away after just a few moments. The indignant expression on her face made him want to laugh. The way her erect nipples showed through her shirt made him want to tear her clothes off. He took a breath. “Rule number one, remember? It’ll probably be pretty hard to keep this thing a secret if Jessica finds us making out in front of her house.”

Renee’s eyes grew wide and she turned to look out the back window, searching for her sister, worry evident on her face. This time he couldn’t stop the laughter.

Once she had carefully scanned for any sign of Jessica, she looked back at him and smiled. “Right, so maybe this isn’t the most discreet location.”

He knew they only had a few more seconds of privacy together, and he didn’t want to separate without planning something. He needed to have another opportunity to kiss her in the near future, or it would drive him crazy. “When can we meet?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know what Jessica has planned for me. I might be able to get away at some point tonight, but won’t you need to go home?”

Jeremiah smiled. “I think I can manage to stick around here for the evening.”

She looked like she was about to say something else, but before she could, a door somewhere nearby closed loudly and two voices started moving toward them. Jeremiah tried not to look too disappointed. “That’ll be Jessica and Aaron,” he said, opening his door and tearing his eyes away from the beauty next to him.

He climbed out of the truck cab just as Aaron and his tall, leggy fiancée walked around the corner of the house. Before Jeremiah could walk around the truck to help Renee down, she was clambering out herself and moving with quick footsteps to hug her sister.

Jeremiah watched, comparing the two women. At first glance, they looked very different: Jessica was tall, with long auburn hair and lightly tanned skin. Renee looked almost petite next to her, though she couldn’t be under five foot six, with strawberry blonde locks barely grazing her shoulders and freckles dotting her pale cheeks and nose.

There were plenty of similarities when looked at more closely, though. They had the same shape of face, and something about the way they stood made it clear they were related.

He watched them embrace, their wide smiles nearly identical. He kept looking at Renee, studying the way she held herself, the tilt of her head, and thinking about what he might expect when they managed to find themselves alone together. Would she be as straightforward as her talk and her kisses implied? If so, he was in for one hell of a week.

He relived the kiss in his mind, feeling the sensations again as her tongue slid across his teeth. His heart revved back up to sprinting speed just thinking about it.

“Hey man, thanks for grabbing all that stuff and picking up Renee and everything,” Aaron said, startling Jeremiah out of his reverie. While he’d been absorbed in every movement Renee made, he had completely failed to notice that his friend had come up beside him.

Jeremiah looked at Aaron and tried to sound casual, as if he hadn’t been mentally undressing his buddy’s sister-in-law. “No problem.”

“Everything okay?” Aaron asked, his forehead creasing as he lifted an eyebrow. “You seem a little distracted or something.”

Jeremiah wanted to smack himself. It hadn’t even been two minutes and Aaron could already tell something was up. How was he going to manage to keep this thing quiet? It didn’t help that he was a horrible liar. He just had to act normal, that’s all. Jeremiah shrugged and replied, “I’m fine,” then waited to see if he had pulled it off.

Aaron looked at his friend for another moment, then moved toward the bed of Jeremiah’s truck. “Let’s get this stuff unloaded,” he said.

Glad to be out of the spotlight, Jeremiah immediately went to work.

* * *

JESSICA HUGGED HER AGAIN. “It’s great to see you! How was your flight? And the drive in? I hope it was okay that Jeremiah picked you up.”

More than okay, thought Renee as she glanced at Jeremiah, who was standing with Aaron. Just the sight of him made her heart beat loud in her chest, and she hoped she hadn’t started blushing. She suddenly felt warm despite the cool February weather.

“Everything’s been great. I’m ready to be put to work. Should we start unloading the truck?”

Before she could even turn to make good on the offer, though, Aaron and Jeremiah were tackling the job. Jeremiah climbed into his silver monolith of a vehicle, and Aaron shook his head at the two women. “We’ll take care of this. You ladies go catch up.”

Jessica ran over to her fiancé and gave him a kiss, which seemed to Renee as if it was going to turn into much more when Aaron looped his arm around Jessica’s waist and lifted her up, pressing her body against his. Renee looked at Jeremiah again, and found him looking back at her and smiling. She wasn’t sure if it was because of his friend’s antics or because he was thinking of what he would do to her when he got the chance to get an arm around her. The latter was probably wishful thinking and she was definitely projecting some of her own thoughts on him.

But a girl could hope.

Then Jessica was back, a little breathless. She grabbed Renee’s hand and started steering her toward the front of the house.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t help?” Renee asked, partly because her New York sensibilities rankled a bit at the idea of letting the guys do all the work and partly because she wanted to watch Jeremiah using those very sexy muscles she could see straining beneath his shirt.

She didn’t let herself think about how much weight each reason held in her mind.

Jessica shrugged. “Nah. It’s a bit of a battle trying to get these Texas boys to stop doing stuff for us. They’re very gentlemanly. There are definitely worse problems to have. Anyway, I want to show you around and hear how things are going, so we can let them win this one.”

If Texas is a state where “letting the guys win” means sitting back while they unload a full truck, maybe it isn’t such a bad place after all.

She had without doubt warmed up to Texas over the past ten minutes. And if she kept thinking about Jeremiah’s lips against hers, it would soon become one of her favorite places.

Before Jessica could pull her around the corner, Renee took one look at Jeremiah. He stood in the back of his truck, his body all muscle and hard lines, which made the perpetual smile crinkling his lips and eyes that much more breathtaking.

* * *

JEREMIAH WATCHED RENEE disappear around the corner of the house. Just before she was out of sight, she turned and gave him a smile. Not the sweet smile he’d seen her use on her sister, or the tentative one he’d seen when he first picked her up from the airport. This smile held a promise that made his pulse pound in his ears. It was only for a moment, but it was enough.

He had to figure out how to get her alone as soon as possible, or he might internally combust from all the heat flowing through his veins.

He would have kept staring at the place where he’d last seen her, picturing all the things that smile hinted at, but Aaron interrupted his train of thought.

“You’re staying for dinner, right?”

You couldn’t drag me away. Aloud, though, all he said was, “Yeah, if that’s okay.”

Aaron nodded distractedly as he started pulling at the assorted bars and wires which would eventually become a wedding arch. Jeremiah moved to help him. As they pulled out each wedding-related item, Jeremiah said, “It looks like there’s still quite a bit to do before the ceremony next weekend. Will everything be done in time?”

He really wanted to ask if Renee would have any free time at all or if Jessica would keep her so busy that he would almost never see her, but he couldn’t think of a way to say it that didn’t sound too much like he was asking when he’d be able to bang Aaron’s sister-in-law.

“It should be pretty simple, actually, but Jessica wants to double-check everything, so that’ll take some time.”

“She’s really putting in the effort to make sure nothing unexpected happens, huh?”

Jeremiah didn’t know why he would ask that. Maybe he was trying to remind himself exactly why he had to keep his hands off Renee. In public, at least.

Aaron smiled what Jeremiah called his “Jessica smile.” It was full of love, pure and simple. “Jessica wants everything to be as planned as possible, and she’s willing to do everything she can to make that happen.”

Jeremiah had no idea why that made Aaron smile, but he was glad his friend was so happy. Ever since Aaron had met Jessica in Las Vegas two years ago, he’d been happier than Jeremiah had ever seen him.

Being in love definitely didn’t seem that bad.

* * *

RENEE SAT AT the small circular kitchen table, trying not to fidget with her cup of tea. What was taking Jeremiah and Aaron so long?

After Jessica had taken Renee on a quick tour of the large, beautiful home she shared with Aaron, complete with white lace curtains like something out of a movie, they had settled into the kitchen so Jessica could keep an eye on dinner while they went over her notebook of wedding details to complete that week.

If Renee hadn’t been so focused on finding some time to get Jeremiah to herself, she would’ve probably had trouble not rolling her eyes at her sister’s binder full of lists, receipts and diagrams. It was detailed to the point of seeming neurotic.

Finally, after Jessica was nearly through all the pages regarding flowers, the back door opened and Aaron walked in, followed by Jeremiah. Aaron went over to the stove to check on something bubbling in a pot, while Jeremiah leaned against the counter near the back door they had just entered.

Jessica stopped her monologue and joined Aaron in the inspection of the meal, and Renee took advantage of the moment free from her sister’s view to take in all the glory of the man from her fantasies as he moved toward her. She stared at his jean-clad legs and slowly moved her eyes up his body, lingering on a few choice places. God, he was gorgeous. It made her breath catch in her throat.

When she finally reached his face, he was looking right at her, a sexy smile on his lips, as if he knew exactly what she’d been doing. His eyebrows were raised in question, and she gave him her final assessment with a smile of her own and the tiniest of nods. She very much approved of what she saw.

At the end of their silent conversation, Jeremiah turned to the two talking at the stove. He said, “I’ll take Renee’s suitcase upstairs and get her set up in a guest room.”

Renee jumped up from the table, nearly knocking over her tea, in her eagerness to follow him out of the room. After he’d gotten the nod from the couple and started to make his way toward the stairs with her suitcase, though, she hesitated for a moment. Was this really such a good idea? Flirting and some quick kisses in his truck were one thing, but was she really going to go through with this idea? The whole clandestine affair thing was so not like her.

But then Jeremiah turned and crooked a half smile and her insides melted, and she knew she wouldn’t give up this opportunity for anything. She scurried after him up the stairs, nearly bowling into him on the landing, where he’d stopped to wait for her.

As soon as she was near enough, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in close, pressing her body against his. She gasped at the heat and strength she could feel where her breasts and stomach touched him. Her nipples budded at the contact.

The force of her reaction to him made her nervous for a moment, but then he was kissing her and her ability to think evaporated.

As soon as his mouth was against hers, every notion of stopping fell away at once, and she leaned even closer into his heat. In the truck, the first kiss had been quick and impulsive; the second short, slow and full of promise. This one, however, could only be described as passionate. Very very passionate.

So passionate she was vaguely surprised her clothes didn’t disintegrate on contact.

Jeremiah’s tongue plunged into her mouth, taking everything he could, but giving so much in the process. Time slowed as every ounce of her focused on the physical sensations: the feel of his mouth against hers, the tingling of her fingers, the warm heat that had pooled low in her belly, making her push against his body even harder.

And what she felt there, hot and hard against her, only turned her on more.

* * *

JEREMIAH HATED TO pull away from Renee’s kiss yet again, but he managed to force himself to break away, though he kept his arm around her waist. When she tried to lean back in, he chuckled. She was deliciously disheveled, and he wanted both to tuck her hair behind her ear and to mess it up even more. He was able to keep himself in check, though. “We should probably move to someplace a little more...private...than here.”

Renee looked down the stairs, as if she expected to see Jessica looking up and glaring at them. “Right,” she said once she seemed sure that they were still alone. Her voice was low and she sounded out of breath, which sent even more blood pumping straight to his already-painful erection. “Which room is mine?” she asked, looking at the doors on both sides of the hallway.

Jeremiah gestured with his chin to the door on the left, keeping his eyes on her lips, only just able to keep himself from kissing her again. She broke away and turned to open the door. He reluctantly let her withdraw from his embrace. It surprised him how much he hated to have her leave his side, even if it was only for the moment it took to get inside the room.

He lifted her suitcase and followed her into the room, hoping he hadn’t ruined the moment enough that he’d just be setting down the luggage and walking back downstairs, but he didn’t have to wait long to be satisfied on that count.

He walked into the room and only had enough time to notice that Renee hadn’t turned on the overhead light, leaving the room in only the dim sunlight filtering through the window, before the door was closing behind him. He turned around just as the door clicked shut and Renee rushed back into his arms, picking up right where they’d left off.

Every curve of her was touching him, driving him wild. He pressed against her until she was backed up against the door, slipping one hand under her shirt. She moaned deep in the back of her throat as his hand slid up from her waist to her breast, and he echoed the sound as his fingers found her nipple, hard and erect.

He teased the peaked tip as he moved his mouth to her earlobe, eliciting another moan from her, and his unoccupied hand moved down to her thigh. Jeremiah knew they didn’t have much time, but he planned to take full advantage of this moment. The skirt she was wearing had ridden up dangerously high, leaving so much of her shapely legs exposed for his viewing pleasure. He drank in the sight as he pulled the skirt even higher, wishing the room was brighter so he could see Renee in all her glory.

When his fingers slid past her lacy panties to her folds, she gasped, and his entire body tensed as he felt her wet heat. He put his mouth to the place on her neck where her heartbeat throbbed as he stroked her with his fingers, dipping first one inside her, then two, and continuing to rub at her mound until she was holding on to him tightly, her head pressed back against the door, her eyes closed.

* * *

RENEE COULD BARELY stand as Jeremiah continued stroking her core, kissing along her throat and teasing her breast. He was playing her like a violin and damn if he wasn’t good at it. The growing tension low in her belly built until she couldn’t resist the wave as it crashed over her. She came hard, her entire body shivering with it as it ran through her.

She opened her eyes and saw Jeremiah smiling at her, his eyes smoldering with barely controlled need. And how she wanted to fill that need.

Renee reached down to the button of his jeans, anticipation boiling inside her. Just as she pulled down the zipper and moved to expose what, from the feel of it against the fabric, was a huge erection however, Jessica’s voice floated in from downstairs.

“Dinner’s ready! Time to eat!”

Damn. Renee stopped what she was doing and looked at Jeremiah. His expression was so pained that it made her laugh.

“Really? This is funny?” he asked, a smile crossing his own lips.

Renee leaned her head forward, letting it rest against Jeremiah’s chest as she tried to take a few breaths to calm herself down. But when she breathed in his scent, a mixture of some cologne that made her think of the outdoors and his own masculine smell, she had to lean back again. She wasn’t ready to go be around her sister and talk wedding so soon after that spectacular orgasm.

As if Jeremiah knew what she was thinking, he took a deep breath of his own. “I’ll head down first,” he said. “I can tell them you’re getting settled in your room and washing up.”

He sent one last smile her way as she moved away from the door, and then he was gone.

One thing she could say for him: Jeremiah was a good sport.

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