Had that been her task? Not to find her sister, but to, find herself?
Luke fished in his pocket and withdrew a ring, a beautiful square-cut sapphire in a setting designed to complement her necklace. He slid it onto her finger, then took both her hands in his. “I love you, Maribeth McBride, Menace extraordinaire. With you at my side, I feel like the luckiest man alive. I vow I will guard your luscious body and protect your tender heart all the days of my life.”
“Oh, Luke. I love you, too, and I’m the one who’s lucky. Because of you, my family is whole, with brand-new hopes and dreams of the future. Because of you, my heart is mended, my spirit is found and my soul is complete. I vow I will cherish your love and honor it as long as we both shall live.”
He kissed her again, long, and deep, and oh-so-sweet. When it was over, he looked up at the minister and asked, “Are we done here?”
“This is quite irregular,” muttered the reverend.
Quack. Quack. Quack.
“Actually, this is exactly what Fort Worth has come to expect from a McBride family wedding.” Wilhemina Peters sniffed with disdain as she rose from her seat in the pew just behind the giggling McBride boys. “Pronounce them, Reverend, so I can make my deadline. I had the story already written, you see. All I need to do now is fill in the type of animal.”
“I put twenty dollars down on rabbits,” Trace McBride observed, his gaze on a downy white duck quacking its way up the aisle.
“I had twenty-five on turkeys,” Jenny McBride added.
“Turkeys!” Emma turned and scowled at her mother. “Please. I knew Mari would pick something more refined than turkeys.” She smiled at her sister. “I put my money on kittens.”
Kat let out a chortle. “You’re all a bunch of losers. I had fifty on ducks at ten-to-one odds.”
The minister hung his head. “I now pronounce you man and wife. Mr. Garrett, you may now kiss your bride. Um, again.”
Quack. Quack. Squawk! Luke had leaned in to kiss his wife for the very first time when Billy shouted, “Uh-oh! Watch out. Everybody, duck!”
As the angry, feathered fowl launched toward Mari, Luke reacted instinctively to guard her body. He swept her into his arms and lowered her gently to the floor, then covered her body with his own. The orange bill nipped at his shoulder, but Luke firmly shoved it away. His hot, hungry gaze remained locked on Mari, who didn’t stop giggling until his mouth captured hers.
The newspaper headline read McBride Menace Gets Lucky In Church.
The End
Don’t miss Kat McBride’s story, now available as an ebook.
HER SCOUNDREL,
Book Two of the Bad Luck Brides trilogy
and Book Seven of THE BAD LUCK WEDDING series.
THE BAD LUCK WEDDING SERIES in order:
THE BAD LUCK WEDDING DRESS
THE BAD LUCK WEDDING CAKE
SIMMER ALL NIGHT (Bad Luck Abroad trilogy #1)
SIZZLE ALL DAY (Bad Luck Abroad trilogy #2)
THE BAD LUCK WEDDING NIGHT (Bad Luck Abroad trilogy #3)
HER BODYGUARD (Bad Luck Brides trilogy #1)
HER SCOUNDREL (Bad Luck Brides trilogy #2)
HER OUTLAW (Bad Luck Brides trilogy #3)
Other historical romance titles available in digital format:
THE WEDDING RANSOM
THE KISSING STARS
Coming soon:
THE TEXAN’S BRIDE
CAPTURE THE NIGHT
TEMPTING MORALITY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Geralyn Dawson is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over twenty-five novels written in a variety of sub-genres including historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and women's fiction. She is a three-time Finalist for Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA award and a recipient of Romantic Times magazine's Career Achievement Award. Her novel THE WEDDING RANSOM was named one of Romance Writers of America's Top Ten Favorite Novels of the Year.
Geralyn is currently writing romantic women's fiction for Ballantine Books under the pseudonym Emily March. The first novel of March's Eternity Springs series, ANGEL'S REST, was named a Top 100 Book of 2011 by Publishers Weekly magazine. It, along with the next two books in the series, HUMMINGBIRD LAKE, and HEARTACHE FALLS each earned coveted starred reviews from Publishers Weekly magazine. The fourth book of the series, LOVER'S LEAP will be published December 27th, 2011 with NIGHTINGALE WAY to follow in Fall 2012.
Visit her website: www.emilymarch.com
Sign up for her newsletter: www.emilymarch.com.
Join her on Facebook: facebook.com/emilymarchbooks
Follow her on Twitter @geralyndawson and @emilymarchbooks
Table of Contents
Title page
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
EPILOGUE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Table of Contents
Title page
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
EPILOGUE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Her Bodyguard Page 31