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“We’re not talking about a real marriage,” she assured him. “It would be a marriage on paper.”
She was desperate, Rick realized. So desperate she was on the verge of tears. Walking away from Megan Ford would be hard to do. He’d be haunted forever by those big blue eyes.
“What kind of coffee do you make?”
She blinked several times. “What kind? I—I usually grind my own beans. I like—”
“Grind your own beans? Tell me you can cook, too.”
Megan gave him a befuddled stare. “Well, yes. Of course.”
He grinned at her, hoping to chase away those tears that still lingered. “Honey, looks like we got a deal.”
Come back to Cactus, Texas, in Judy Christenberry’s bestselling series TOTS FOR TEXANS! You’re guaranteed to have a grand ole time!
The Great Texas Wedding Bargain
Judy Christenberry
MILLS & BOON
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Judy Christenberry has been writing romances for fifteen years because she loves happy endings as much as her readers. Judy quit teaching French recently to devote her time to writing. She hopes readers have as much fun reading her stories as she does writing them. She spends her spare time reading, watching her favorite sports teams and keeping track of her two daughters. Judy’s a native Texan, living in Plano, a suburb of Dallas.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
Chapter One
He was the one.
Megan Ford nibbled on her bottom lip as she stared at the dusty cowboy leaning against the feed-store counter. She’d heard Mr. James, the store owner, call him by name, confirming his identity.
Richard Astin.
Her mother’s friends had recommended him.
If she weren’t so desperate… But she was. Time was of the essence.
“Well, hello, there, Megan. What can I do for you?” Mr. James called out, having finally seen her in the dim shadows of the store.
“Good afternoon, Mr. James.” She remembered he’d gone to school with her mother and treated her as if she were a favorite niece even though she’d only met him a month ago.
The cowboy turned around to glance at her, and she sucked in a deep breath. He might appear tired, dirty and down-at-the-heels, but he was good-looking. Maybe he wasn’t as perfect for her plans as she’d thought. But she didn’t have any other candidates.
She stepped forward and extended her hand to the stranger. “I don’t think I’ve met you. I’m Megan Ford.”
“Sorry, I should’ve introduced you,” Mr. James said. “This here is Richard Astin. We call him Rick. He’s got a smart little spread outside of town.”
She smiled politely. “How nice.”
His eyebrows raised over his warm brown eyes. “Yeah. Are you ranching in the area?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m a nurse. I work for the doctors.” She didn’t need to give their names. Dr. Greenfield had been the only doctor in the west Texas town of Cactus for a number of years. He’d recently taken in a partner, Samantha Gibbons. She’d married one of the local men last summer.
The cowboy didn’t look terribly interested in her history. Even better.
Turning back to Mr. James, the cowboy finished his business and started to go, tipping his hat at her as he strode past.
She wanted to grab his sleeve, to stop his departure, but she certainly didn’t want to conduct a conversation in front of Mr. James. That would never do.
With a quick nod in the older man’s direction, she followed Richard Astin outside.
“Mr. Astin?” she called out. He’d covered a lot of territory in the two minutes he’d been out of her sight and was now standing at the door of an old pickup.
“Yes, ma’am?”
In the sunlight, though his gaze was shaded by his cowboy hat, the strong planes of his face were visible, making Megan hesitate. He wouldn’t be easy to manipulate.
She drew a deep breath. It was now or never. “Could I have a word with you?”
RICHARD ASTIN stared at the pretty woman on the porch of the feed store.
Not another one.
