“No one but Marie could have done that. That’s easy to fix.”
“For you, maybe. You fire her, and everything’s fine. What do I do the next time I face your parents, Rafa? What? Whether you called it a job or a marriage, I didn’t love you when I agreed to marry you. What does that make me?”
“The woman I love.”
She blinked away tears.
“No.” She shook her head and caught his hands, trying to make him understand. “Rafael, we haven’t been together long enough to love each other. And even if we had, I can’t let my family harass and push and poke until they break us.”
“Toby didn’t break, Esmeralda. He went off to find a way to be with you—to be with you always. I want the chance he didn’t have.”
Esmeralda’s throat constricted and she couldn’t answer. She just turned again to pick up a bag, but he pulled it out of her hands and tossed it aside.
“You sat with me in Laredo, and I told you about the little girl I lost—the girl who was like my sister. There was this huge hole inside me after I lost Pioja. And then I had Cody, and I lost her. Don’t walk away, Esme. Don’t be the wife I love and lose.”
“I’m not sure I’m worth the risk you’d be taking,” she whispered.
“Could you love me?”
“I do.”
“Then that’s worth everything,” he murmured and let her pull him close.
Acknowledgments
We live in a world where there are at least two truths: there’s an app for everything, and there’s a country song for everything. His Temporary Wife let me indulge my passion for country music while telling the story of Esmeralda Salinas and Rafael Benton, and the very different roads that bring them together—for love or for money.
I owe special thanks to author and karaoke guru MJ Schiller. I don’t do karaoke, but if I did, I’d do it like her. She taught me everything I know about the practice, and I’m grateful for that. By the way, there’s a song for that—Toby Keith and Jimmy Buffet’s “Too Drunk to Karaoke.” A song for everything, I tell you!
I’ve lived in Laredo for thirty plus years, and I eat out occasionally. But not often enough or widely enough that I could decide where former Laredoans would eat if they came back for a brief visit. I can’t name all my Facebook friends who commented, but want to thank Norma Y. Flores, Mary Lopez Perez, Jamie Ortiz, Lourdes Jasso, Emma Perales Gonzalez, Gina Oceguera, and Erica P. Salinas for their boisterous discussion of the nominated restaurants. To find out where “real” Laredoans would go after a lengthy absence, read on.
Without my sister Victoria M. Potter, I’d crash any book three or four times and never recover it, and that doesn’t account for the times I e-mail her in the middle of the night to look something over. She’s a skillful editor, a great writer—if I’d just give her the time to write—and an incredible sister.
Finally, I can’t give enough credit to my Crimson Romance editors Tara Gelsomino, Julie Sturgeon, and Jess Verdi. For most of my life, I wanted to be able to say “my editors,” but it was more a product of romanticized hope than an acceptance that editors are key to good writing. Tara, thanks for wanting His Temporary Wife. Julie, how you can keep me organized and more or less functioning on schedule, I’m not sure. And Jess—wow. Your ability to spot both the gaping holes and the missed punctuation in a story astounds. Without your help, His Temporary Wife would be a rough draft rather than a finished story. Thanks.
Leslie
About the Author
Leslie P. García grew up here and there, spending much of her childhood in rural Georgia, and virtually all her adult life in deep South Texas. Married and surrounded by children and grandchildren, much of her writing touches on family. A passion for animals, a twenty-year teaching career, and the strange twists and turns that life can take have provided more stories than time to write.
His Temporary Wife is the second in the Texas Heart and Soul series. Watch for Jade Brockton’s story in the future.
Leslie loves to hear from readers, and can be reached at all the electronic haunts:
E-mail: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LeslieP.Garcia
Twitter: @LesliePGarcia
Please drop by Return to Rio for updates, guest posts by exciting authors, and other miscellaneous content!
Copyright © 2014 by Leslie P. García.
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
Published by
Crimson Romance
an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street
Avon, MA 02322
www.crimsonromance.com
ISBN 10: 1-4405-8094-4
ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-8094-9
eISBN 10: 1-4405-8095-2
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-8095-6
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events, or locales in this novel are either the product of the author's imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. The resemblance of any character to actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.
Cover art © iStockphoto.com/katielittle25
We hope you enjoyed reading this Simon & Schuster ebook.
* * *
Get a FREE ebook when you join our mailing list. Plus, get updates on new releases, deals, recommended reads, and more from Simon & Schuster. Click below to sign up and see terms and conditions.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
Already a subscriber? Provide your email again so we can register this ebook and send you more of what you like to read. You will continue to receive exclusive offers in your inbox.
Nashville Nights Page 83