A Ranch For The Runaway Bride
Weeks before her wedding, Emily Weber walks away from her planned society shindig and her cheating fiancéâstraight to her cousinâs New Mexico ranch. Everyoneâs advice: Emilyâs got to work it out of her system, and her childhood acquaintanceâall six feet of dark good looksâis just the guy to help.
Colin Talbot recognizes someone on the run from their life. Hell, the rootless photojournalist hasnât been on his ranch in years, till now. But heâs not about to indulge in a promise of pleasure, not with a potential for disaster. Emily still wants marriage and babies; he canât wait to bolt. So heâll keep his distance before she has him wanting what he canât have: a family and a forever love.
âIâm your man.â
She laughed. âActually, Iâm your woman. Iâm here if you need someone to talk to. In the past few weeks youâve let me be me more than anyone else ever has. Only fair to return the favor.â She leaned back on the picnic table, stretching the fabric across her breasts. âAnd the best part? Once we go back to our lives, weâll probably never see each other again. But even a momentary connection is better than nothing.â
He had a feeling there was an underlying meaning to that last part. âAre we still talking about... talking?â
Emily turned to him, giving him a glimpse of gorgeous leg.
âThis is me going with the flow.â She drew in a deep breath. âSeizing the moment.â
âBeing reckless.â
âThat, too. But the great thing about knowing what the possibilities areâor arenâtâfrom the get-go is that there are no expectations. So you can relax and enjoy the moment.â
His blood pumped so hard he could hardly hear her. He didnât need to; he knew what she meant. Still... âEmily, I canât take advantage of you.â
âIâm not asking you to. But hey, if you donât want toââ
âWant has nothing to do with it.â
She leaned in close to him. âActually, it has everything to do with it.â
* * *
Wed in the West: New Mexicoâs the perfect place to finally find true love!
KAREN TEMPLETON is an inductee into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. A three-time RITA® Awardâwinning author, she has written more than thirty novels for Mills & Boon. She lives in New Mexico with two hideously spoiled cats. She has raised five sons and lived to tell the tale, and she could not live without dark chocolate, mascara and Netflix.
To my five guys
Who made our home more than we could have ever imagined. Love you.
Chapter One
The young woman had been eyeing him from the other side of the luggage carousel for several minutes, her pale forehead slightly crimped. Far too wiped out to be paranoidâor return her interest, if thatâs what it wasâColin instead focused on his phone as he reflexively massaged an unyielding knot in the back of his neck. Although truthfully his entire body was one giant screaming ache after nearly two days either on a plane or waiting for oneâ
âUm... Colin? Colin Talbot?â
Instinctively clutching his camera bag, he frowned into a pair of sweet, wary blue eyes he was pretty sure heâd never seen in his life. Clearly he was even more tired than heâd realized, letting her sneak up on him like that.
With a squeaky groan, the carousel lurched into action, the contents of the planeâs belly tumbling down the chute, bags and boxes jostling each other like a bunch of sleepy drunks. The other passengers closed in, ready to pounce, many sporting the standard assortment of cowboy hats and beat-up boots youâd expect to see in New Mexico. Colin squinted toward the business end, keeping one grit-scraped eye out for his beat-up duffel, then faced the young woman again. Crap, his backpack felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. Not to mention his head.
âHave we met? Because I donâtââ
âI was a kid, the last time I saw you,â she said, a smile flicking across a mouth as glossy as her long, wavy hair, some undefined color between blond and brown. âWhen I visited the ranch.â She tucked some of that shiny hair behind one ear, the move revealing a simple gold hoop, as well as lifting the hem of her creamy blouse just enough to hint at the shapely hips her fitted jeans werenât really hiding. Hell. Next to this perfect specimen of refinement, Colin felt like week-old roadkill. Probably smelled like it, too, judging from the way the dude next to him on that last leg from Dallas kept leaning away.
The smile flickered again, although he now saw it didnât quite connect with her eyes. She pressed a slender, perfectly manicured hand to her chest. âEmily Weber? Deannaâs cousin?â
Deanna. His younger brother Joshâs new wife. And their dadâs old bossâs daughter. Now, vaguely, Colin remembered the gangly little middle schooler whoâd spent a few weeks on the Vista Encantada that summer more than ten years ago. Vaguely, because not only had he already been in college, but she was right, they hadnât talked much. If at all. Mostly because of the age difference thing. That she even recognized him now...