âYou make me feel things I havenât in a long time. Iâm sorry, Jase. I canâtââ
He didnât wait for her to finish. There was no way he was going to listen to the word canât coming from her, not when sheâd basically told him she wanted him. In one quick movement, he leaned down and brushed his lips over hers.
The moment was cut short when a dog barkedâthe sound coming from his houseâand Emily pulled back. âYou have a dog?â
âA puppy,â he said, scrubbing a hand over his jaw and trying to get a handle on the lust raging through him. âRubyâmy pupâwas the runt. She was weaker than the rest and her brothers and sister tended to pick on her.â
âYou rescue puppies, too? Unbelievable.â
âItâs not a big deal.â
âTell that to Ruby.â She reached up on tiptoe, touched her lips to the corner of his mouth and then moved away. âYouâre damn near perfect, Jase Crenshaw.â
âIâm notââ
âYou are.â She shook her head. âItâs too bad for both of us that I gave up on perfect.â
* * *
Crimson, Colorado: Finding homeâand foreverâin the West
Chapter One
Some women were meant to be a bride. Emily Whitaker had been one of those women. For years sheâd fantasized her walk down the aisle, imagining the lacy gown, the scent of her bouquet and the admiring eyes of family and friends as she entered the church.
When the day had finally arrived, there was no doubt sheâd been beautiful, her shiny blond hair piled high on her head, perfect makeup and the dressâoh, her dress. Sheâd felt like a princess enveloped in so much tulle and lace, the sweetheart neckline both feminine and a little flirty.
Guests had whispered at her resemblance to Grace Kelly, and Emily had been foolish enough to believe that image was the same thing as reality. Her fairy tale had come true as her powerful white knight swooped her away from Crimson, the tiny Colorado mountain town where sheâd grown up, to the sophisticated social circles of old-money Boston.
Too soon she discovered that a fantasy wedding was not the same thing as real marriage and a beautiful dress did not equate to a wonderful life. Emily lost her taste for both daydreams and weddings, so she wasnât sure how sheâd found herself outside the swanky bridal boutique in downtown Aspen seven years after her own doomed vows.
âYou canât want me as your maid of honor.â
Katie Garrity, Emilyâs soon-to-be sister-in-law smiled. âOf course I do. I asked you, Em. Iâd be honored to have you stand up with me.â Katieâs sweet smile faltered. âI mean, if youâll do it. I know itâs short notice and thereâs a lot to coordinate in the next few weeks so...â
âItâs not that I donât want to...â
Katie was as sweet as any of the cakes and cookies sold in the bakery she owned in downtown Crimson. Sheâd been a steadfast best friend to Emilyâs brother, Noah Crawford, for years before Noah realized that his perfect match had been right in front of him all along.
Emily was happy for the two of them, really she was. But if Katie was pure sugar, Emily was saccharine. She knew she was pretty to look at but after that first bite there was an artificial sweetness that left a cloying taste on the tongue. Emily didnât want her own bitterness to corrupt Katieâs happy day.
âYou have a lot of girlfriends. Surely thereâs a better candidate than me?â
âNone of them are going to be my sister-in-law.â Katie pressed her fingers to the glass of the shopâs display window. âI remember the photos of your wedding that ran in Town & Country magazine. Noah and I donât want anything fancy, but Iâd like our wedding to be beautiful.â
âIt will be more than beautiful.â Emily swallowed back the anger that now accompanied thoughts of her marriage. âYou two love each other, for better or worse.â She took a breath as her throat clogged with emotion sheâd thought had been stripped away during her divorce. She waved her hand in front of her face and made her voice light. âPlus all the other promises youâll make in the vows. But Iâm notââ
âIâm a pregnant bride,â Katie said suddenly, resting a hand on her still-flat stomach. She smiled but her eyes were shining. âI love your brother, Emily, and I know weâll have a good life together. But this isnât the order I planned things to happen, you know?â