Best Man Under The Mistletoe
This Christmas romance will blossom!Planning a wedding with the gorgeous, sexy best man would have been a lot easier if he weren’t Chelsea Hunt’s second-worst enemy. Gabe Walsh is furious that he’s being blamed for the sins of his uncle, but soon his desire to prove his innocence turns into the desire to make Chelsea his!
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Christmas wedding bells are ringing!
Everyone in Royal, Texas, now knows former special agent Gabe Walshâs connection to the blackmailer terrorizing the town. And Gabeâs suddenly guilty by association. Worst thing is, Chelsea Hunt blames him for the compromising photos of her that everyoneâs talking about. But since he and Chelsea are planning the Christmas wedding of their best friends, Gabe has many opportunities to show the sexy cowgirl just what a good guy he really is. And apparently heâs pretty convincing, because she soon winds up in his bed! But is this just a holiday fling or the real thing?
âYou came here to tell me that weâre going to bed?â Chelsea asked.
âI came here to tell you that Iâm backing off,â Gabe said. âIâm respecting the fact that youâre torn up about everything thatâs happened and thatâs why youâre avoiding me. I donât want to make things more difficult, especially with our best friends getting married.â
Chelsea opened her mouth, then closed it.
âSpeechless?â he asked with a slight grin. âThat wasnât the reaction I expected.â
âWhat did you expect?â
âWell, you didnât slam the door in my face, so Iâm already a step above where I thought Iâd be.â
She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling, but failed.
âAnd a sexy grin? Hell, I better leave while Iâm ahead.â
Chelsea took a step back. As much as her body wanted to invite him in, she also had to be smart.
No one had ever tempted her the way Gabe Walsh had.
* * *
Best Man Under the Mistletoe
is part of the series Texas Cattlemanâs Club:
Blackmailâ No secretâ
or heartâis safe in Royal, Texasâ¦
National bestselling author JULES BENNETT has penned over forty contemporary romance novels. She lives in the Midwest with her high-school-sweetheart husband and their two kids. Jules can often be found on Twitter chatting with readers, and you can also connect with her via her website, www.julesbennett.com.
To the Harlequin Desire team:
Stacy, Charles & Tahra.
They say it takes a village to raise a childâ¦
The same is true for books.
Contents
âThis investigation has really been a community effort. Thanks to the diligence of so many in Royal, the final piece of the puzzle has been put into place. Maverick has been identified as Royalâs own Dale, a.k.a. Dusty, Walsh.â
Gabe Walsh muted the TV and tossed the remote onto the leather sofa. He didnât want to hear any more about his late uncleâs betrayal. The old bastard had passed away last week from a brain tumor and now the mess heâd caused to so many in the town of Royal, Texas, would have a ripple effect on Gabeâs security firm. He would undoubtedly have a hell of a mess to clean up.
He still couldnât believe it. His uncle Dusty was Maverick, the cyber criminal who had terrorized members of the Texas Cattlemanâs Club for months now, revealing their secrets online and often resorting to blackmail.
Perhaps worst of all, heâd leaked nude photos of Chelsea Hunt, taken without her knowledge in the locker room at her gym.
According to Gabeâs law-enforcement sources, all evidence pointed to Dusty working alone, except when it came to the locker room photos. There was now another person of interest in that particular crime. A woman, the police claimed. They were still studying months of surveillance-camera footage from the public areas of the gym to figure out who could have planted the camera.
Who the hell had aided his uncle? And was that the only instance when Dusty had taken on an accomplice? The man had been dying. There was no way Dusty couldâve done so much on his own. The man had been too feeble, too weak.
Though not so weak that he couldnât plot to destroy lives. Luckily, the citizens of RoyalâChelsea Hunt includedâhad risen above his attempts to take them down. Investigators had also seen through his elaborate attempt to pin the crimes on someone else.
Gabe raked a hand through his hair and glared at the screen as Sheriff Nate Battle continued his press conference. A picture of Gabeâs once robust, smiling uncle filled the top right corner of the TV screen while the sheriff spoke.
How and why Uncle Dusty had pulled off such a grand scheme of blackmail and betrayal were open questions, but one thing was undeniable. Heâd managed to put a big dark cloud over the family security firm, the Walsh GroupâGabeâs new baby. As if taking over a company wasnât difficult and risky enough, now he was forced to deal with the backlash of questions from clients, both old and new, because of his relationship with Dusty.
How the hell was he supposed to dodge all of this bad press? The businessâs reputation was on the line. Sure, finances were the least of his concern. Heâd busted his ass from the start of his career, saved every dollar, invested wisely and had worked his way up to be the best in the industry. He could close up shop and never work another day in his life, but he valued his reputation and family loyalty. Ironic now, wasnât it?
