THE PERFECT CANDIDATE
Single mom and aspiring perfectionist Becca Johnston is determined to be the next mayor of Cupidâs Bow, Texas. She canât afford distractions like her new tenant, rugged rodeo champ Sawyer McCall. Having a good man around the house means so much to her young son, and Becca is definitely enjoying the handsome cowboyâs attention. But the election is too important to risk scandalous town gossip.
Sawyer only planned on staying in Cupidâs Bow long enough to help with the upcoming centennial celebration, but with Becca and her son, heâs finally found home. When she treats him like heâs a dirty little secret, hiding him from her voters and her son, Sawyer is crushed. How can he convince her that love is the one thing she canât control?
Beccaâs eyes widened. The gorgeous cowboy from the bar? What was he doing here?
His mouth curled in a slow, satisfied smile.
âMarc, you run along and take your shower,â she instructed.
Her son, who was fairly well behaved for a second-grade boy, picked that moment to exhibit his rare rebellious streak. âHi, Iâm Marc.â
The cowboy smiled as he came closer, his long-legged stride graceful and annoyingly mesmerizing to watch. âIâm Sawyer.â
âMr. Sawyer, do you like pizza?â Marc said.
âAs a matter of fact, I do.â Sawyer grinned.
âThen you shouldââ
âMarc! Scoot.â Becca tried to cut him off.
ââhave dinner with us,â her son invited.
Becca bit back a groan; Sawyerâs eyes glittered with knowing humor as he met her gaze. He was amused by her discomfort, which did nothing to raise her opinion of him, but he had the decency to wait until her son was inside to laugh outright.
âWell,â he said as the front door slammed, âat least one of you likes me.â
Dear Reader,
Welcome back to Cupidâs Bow! Or if this is your first visit to my fictional town, Iâm so glad youâre here.
The fun thing about returning to the same community over and over again is that the characters start to feel like family. I care about them and want them to be happy. When single mom Becca Johnston showed up in my first Cupidâs Bow book, Falling for the Sheriff, she was a strong-minded woman who knew how to get stuff done, practically running the town through all of her volunteer efforts and her work on the town council. Becca has really grown on me over time, and I wanted to make sure this take-charge heroine met a hero worthy of her.
Enter rodeo cowboy Sawyer McCall, who needs a place to stay for a couple weeks and rents Beccaâs attic apartment. In many ways, heâs Beccaâs opposite, guaranteed to drive her crazy. But sometimes the person you didnât know you wanted in your life is exactly who you need.
I hope you enjoy Becca and Sawyerâs story and that youâll come back to Cupidâs Bow! Iâm already working on the next two books in the series. Follow me on Twitter, @TanyaMichaels, or like me on Facebook (AuthorTanyaMichaels) for updates about the series, anecdotes about my family and the writing life and to chat about favorite books and TV shows.
Hope to talk to you soon!
Tanya
TANYA MICHAELS, a New York Times bestselling author and five-time RITA® Award nominee, has been writing love stories since middle-school algebra class (which probably explains her math grades). Her books, praised for their poignanÂcy and humor, have received awards from readers and reviewers alike. Tanya is an active member of Romance Writers of America and a frequent public speaker. She lives outside Atlanta with her very supportive husband, two highly imaginative kids and a bichon frise who thinks sheâs the center of the universe.
Chapter One
âSorryâI was trying to listen, but I got distracted by the hot cowboy in tight jeans.â Even as Hadley made the apology, her gaze remained fixed across the dining room of the barbecue restaurant. The two women on either side of her craned their heads to look.
Across the table from the oglers, Becca Johnston sighed in exasperation. âLadies, this is Cupidâs Bow. Good-looking cowboys in Wranglers are a common occurrence. Whatâs uncommon is a female mayor. So, could we focus?â If Becca won the electionâno, when she wonâshe would be only the third woman in the townâs hundred-year history to be mayor.
Sierra Bailey, seated next to Becca, smiled in encouragement, not at all distracted by the prospect of a hot cowboyâprobably because she went home to her own cowboy every night. Locals had been placing bets on when her devoted rancher would officially pop the question. âYouâre going to make a wonderful mayor.â
âThank you.â Becca truly appreciated the other womanâs support and all the hours sheâd spent volunteering on the campaign, in addition to her full-time job as a physical therapist. âYouâre forgiven for your poster idea.â Sierra had suggested the slogan Vote for Our Favorite Control Freak!