Her Perfect Match
Successful businessman Griffin Haddon just wants a quiet place to start over againâ¦alone. Griff doesnât realize that in a small town like Serendipity, Texas, solitudeâs hard to come by. Especially at Redemption Ranch, where the stunning Alexis Grainger struggles to keep her ministry for troubled teens afloat. The last thing Alexis needs is a distraction like slick city-boy Griff with his designer jeans and boots. But her meddling, matchmaking twin has other plans. As Alexis and Griff work to save the ranch, can they also heal his broken heart?
Serendipity Sweethearts:
Three small-town matchmakers finding Texas-size love.
âIâm amazed at how youâve turned these kids around.â
Griff shook his head and grunted softly. âI remember how unruly they were at that first dinner with you.â
Alexis choked on a laugh. âThem? I remember how unruly you were at that first dinner.â
Griff blushed. âTouché.â
âYouâve improved some upon acquaintance.â Her lips quirked.
He smiled crookedly, his gaze warm and inviting. âYou havenât.â
âGee, thanks,â she quipped back at him. The way he was looking at her was causing her stomach to do all kinds of crazy somersaults.
âAnd by that,â he drawled lightly, âI mean you are already perfect the way you are.â
âFlattery, my dear man, will get you everywhere.â
âIs that so?â He planted his cowboy hat on his head and winked. âIâll have to keep that in mind.â
âDonât get lost,â she teased.
âSame to you. I know how massive piles of paperwork can bury a person.â
âI wonât,â she murmured belatedly as she watched Griff walk away.
Even as she said it, she knew it wasnât quite true. She was getting lost, but it wasnât the paperwork she was worried about.
She was in danger of losing her heart.
DEB KASTNER
lives and writes in colorful Colorado with the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains for inspiration. She loves writing for Love Inspired Books, where she can write about her two favorite thingsâfaith and love. Her characters range from upbeat and humorous to (her favorite) dark and broody heroes. Her plots fall anywhere in between, from a playful romp to the deeply emotional. Debâs books have been twice nominated for the RT Reviewersâ Choice Award for Best Book of the Year for Love Inspired. Deb and her husband share their home with their two youngest daughters. Deb is thrilled about the newest member of the familyâher first granddaughter, Isabella. What fun to be a granny! Deb loves to hear from her readers. You can contact her by email at [email protected], or on her MySpace or Facebook pages.
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
âMatthew 5:3â8
To Natasha Kern, my fabulous agent.
Iâm so grateful for all the invaluable career guidance you offer. You are a special and remarkable person who is such a blessing to me in so many ways. Thanks for believing in me.
Chapter One
Alexis Grainger awoke to the smell of bacon and the tinny sound of pots and pans being shifted around in one of the kitchen cupboards. It might have been a pleasant surpriseâif it wasnât for the fact that she lived alone.
With a start, she bolted out of bed, shakily wrapping a plush magenta-colored cotton robe around herself. She reached for her cell phone, which she usually kept on the nightstand, but it wasnât there. Her pulse ratcheted up right along with her thoughts. Where was her stupid phone? In her purse? Her coat pocket? Not good either way, since she routinely dumped them both in an inglorious heap on one of her kitchen chairs.
Her heart slammed in her chest as she looked around for anything she could use as a weapon against the intruder. In a panic, she swiped the largest item from her vanity and tucked it into the pocket of her bathrobe.
Oh, why didnât she keep a baseball bat by her bed?
Maybe because she didnât play baseball. And maybe because she resided in small town Serendipity, Texas. Crime was virtually nonexistent here. Only businesses secured their doors at night. Regular townsfolk rarely bothered to lock their cars, much less their houses. There was simply no need.
At least until now there wasnât. She sucked in a breath and held it. She had locked her door last night, hadnât she?
Yes. Of course she had. Or at least, she thought she had, since her ranch was also technically a nonprofit ministry. Out of habit, if nothing else. Oh, Lord, please let there be a rational answer. But how else would someone have gotten in? Only her twin sister,