by Lori Wilde
“Let me just show you.” Then slowly, seductively, she undid the buttons on his stiff white shirt.
Epilogue
Six months later Lacy came down the aisle on her father’s arm looking resplendent in her long white wedding gown, her blond hair caught back with a gold clip, a bouquet of old-fashioned tea roses and baby’s breath clutched in her hand. Her father left her beside her groom, Dr. Bennett Sheridan, who honestly looked thunderstruck and was smiling for all he was worth.
Next came CeeCee on the arm of a man who looked exactly like the guy she was going to marry. Zack and Jack were identical twins, Janet had told Gage. CeeCee’s wedding dress was short, sleek, and modern, her red hair, capped with a short lace veil, fanned out like a flame down her back. She grinned and waved to guests as she went up the aisle. Her groom, Dr. Jack Travis, held out his hand and took her from his brother. Jack looked as if no curse on earth could break the delicious spell of their love.
And last, but not least, came Gage’s bride-to-be.
Gage’s heart hung in his chest like a kite on high line wires at the sight of her.
Janet, my love. My one and only. My soul mate. The other half of me. We two are now joined. Not needy, but loving freely. Helping, giving, sharing for the rest of our days.
The vows he’d written circled in his head. He would not forget them.
Ever.
Janet was gorgeous in a mid-calf gown with a bodice that showed off her curves. Her black hair piled loosely atop her head, soft tendrils framing her face the way he liked. Her indigo eyes glistened with joy. Pinned to her shoulder was Saint Jude, a lost cause no more. At last Cupid had coaxed Janet’s heart around love.
His heart hammered. His mouth grew dry. He didn’t know about Bennett or Jack, but Gage felt as if he were the luckiest man on the face of the earth to be marrying such a fabulous woman. A woman brave enough to face her fears to learn that true and lasting love existed. He loved her beyond measure.
Janet was trembling as she ended her walk beside Gage. He took her hand and squeezed it, giving her strength. She’d thought once that she didn’t need him, didn’t need love, didn’t need anyone. Thank heavens for Gracie, Nadine, and that infernal prediction or she might never have overcome her stubbornness long enough to find her one true love.
Taking a deep breath to quiet her pounding heart, she glanced around her. A triple wedding. Three best friends sharing the happiest day of their lives together. Her heart filled to overflowing.
The minister began the ceremony, starting with Lacy and Bennett. In the pews behind them sat Lacy’s vast family and Bennett’s parents from Boston.
On the opposite side of the church sat CeeCee and Jack’s guests, which included all the single women in CeeCee’s family and a group of guys from their skydiving club.
Janet’s mother was in attendance, naturally. With Sam and his daughters May, Suzie, Jenny, Jenny’s husband and brand-new baby Kyle. Gracie was Gracie Pinkerton now. She and Sam had gotten married in a hot-air balloon two months ago and spent their honeymoon in Australia. That made her Kyle’s grandmother now, successfully averting Nadine’s dire prediction. She was a grandmother before fifty-two.
There were coworkers from the hospital, and everyone from the Blanton Street Group had shown up, not to mention the paparazzi hanging around outside.
But what pleased Janet the most was that her father had walked her down the aisle, then just before he handed her to Gage, he’d leaned close to whisper, “You’re going to make a splendid wife and mother, Janet. I’m sorry I never told you this when you needed to hear it, but I’m so proud of you.”
When the minister reached them, having already pronounced Lacy and Bennett, CeeCee and Jack, man and wife, Gage turned to face her, squeezed her hand again and smiled for all he was worth.
Janet caught her breath. Her heart soared like an eagle. For her deepest held dreams had come true. She’d finally found the love she’d craved for so long.
Dear Reader,
Readers are an author’s life blood and the stories couldn’t happen without you. Thank you so much for reading. I do appreciate more than you could ever know!
As a nurse for twenty-two years, I brought my medical knowledge to this series and it was such fun using my background in telling these stories.
If you enjoyed The Hotshot, I would so appreciate a review. You have no idea how much your input means to an author! We work long hours alone and your comments are a hopeful light in the darkness.
You can check out all the books in the Heartthrob Hospital series here.
Don’t miss my upcoming book in the Kringle, Texas series, A Perfect Christmas Surprise.
If you’d like to keep up with my latest releases, you can sign up for my newsletter @ https://loriwilde.com/subscribe/ Or follow me on Bookbub.
To check out my other books, you can visit me on the web @ www.loriwilde.com.
Much love and light!
—Lori
Excerpt from A Perfect Christmas Surprise
Caleb Sutton walked into the lobby of the Kringle Animal Clinic, looked around, and bit back a curse. Dogs were barking, cats meowing, and Christmas carols playing loudly. The place was packed wall to wall with animals, all controlled to varying degrees by their owners.
Man, he hated surprises.
“Hey, there, Caleb, welcome to the party.” His good friend, local rancher Zach Delaney, was dressed up as Santa and he waved jovially. Zach was obviously a good sport to agree to do the Santa thing.
You wouldn’t catch Caleb agreeing to such nonsense. Zach had become such a soft touch since making his relationship with Suzannah Owens official.
“Ho, ho, ho to you too.” Caleb strolled farther into the clinic. “What’s going on?”
“Pictures with Santa. You need to move. You’re in the shot.” Ava Miller stood behind a tripod holding a camera. She was dressed in a crazy candy cane costume and, at the moment, looked more than a little annoyed with him.
Caleb choked off another curse. This day was going downhill fast. How had he not seen Ava sooner?
“Please move,” she repeated, waving her hand to indicate he needed to step farther into the waiting area.
He took a few steps forward until he was certain he was no longer blocking her vantage point.
“Okay?” he asked, trying to keep any negative overtones out of his voice. He didn’t want to upset the crowd. Just because he would rather dance barefoot across hot stones than talk to Ava didn’t mean he had to right to ruin anyone else’s day.
“Great.” She gave a thumbs up. “Thanks.”
Caleb had a million questions, but right now, he needed to calm down. In addition to the pets and their adult owners, more than a few wide-eyed children were roaming around. He should find a spot to chill. Finally, he spied a small chair tucked in the far corner and sat down next to the local librarian, Trudy Manfred.
Trudy held two small brown dogs wriggling in her arms. Both dogs were dressed as reindeer, complete with felt antlers. In his opinion, they looked quite silly.
“Hi, Caleb,” Trudy said. “Mind holding Buttons?”
The questions appeared to be rhetorical since she’d already deposited Buttons in his arms. Still, manners required him to say, “Sure.”
“It’s nice Ava is back,” Trudy said, happily patting her other dog. “Isn’t it?”
Nice was the last word Caleb would have chosen. “Yes,” he mumbled because he’d been raised not to voice his real feelings.
Truth was, he was far from happy. He breathed a lot easier when Ava stayed far away from Kringle. It might be her hometown and her parents might still live here, but Ava Miller had caused him more problems than a coyote in a hen house. Throughout high school, they’d either been madly in love or madly in hate. There had never been any middle ground.
She’d been his first girlfriend, his first love, and his first heartbreak. His first everything in fact and he’d had enough of her to last a lifetime.
Buttons let out a small yip. It seemed the dog was no happier about this situation than Caleb. He couldn’t blame the little fella. Buttons did look ridiculous in that outfit.
“Good boy.” He scratched Buttons behind his ears and glanced over at Zach, who looked about as happy as a rancher could when he dressed as Santa. Caleb would bet his favorite horse that some woman had convinced poor Zach to put on that getup and his money was on Abby, Savannah’s ten-year-old daughter.
Just some woman had convinced him to show up here today. Marjorie, Ava’s mother, had coaxed him to pick up some of the homeless animals that had been dropped off at the vet for vaccinations. Marjorie and her husband Ted ran a dog rescue on a small section of his ranch. He’d donated the land to them years ago when it looked like he and Ava were getting married. After Ava left town, he’d let them keep the land. Just because Ava had been a pill didn’t meant her folks had to suffer for it.
No sense making a bad situation worse by being petty.
“We are too agreeable,” he said to Buttons. The dog looked up at him with somber eyes, and Caleb knew if the pup could agree, he would.
“Who is too agreeable?” Trudy asked.
Thankfully, he was spared from answering because it was Trudy’s turn to get her dogs pictures taken.
“Caleb?” Trudy said. “Could you lend a hand.”
“Sure.” He helped Trudy get her dogs settled on poor Zach’s lap for their picture with Santa, and then scooted out of the way. He deliberately avoided looking at Ava. He didn’t need to see at her. He knew what she looked like. Even after seven years, he still remembered every detail about her.
She was beautiful. Always had been. She had a smile that lit up a room and amazing brown eyes that sparkled when she was amused, which was often. Ava liked to laugh, and she had great one.
He missed her laugh most of all.
Ava finished take the photo of Trudy’s dogs on Santa’s lap and Caleb couldn’t help sneaking a surreptitious peek at Ava. In his estimation, she was still the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen. Had thought that from the moment he walked into his fifth-grade class and there she’d been. The new kid at Kringle middle school.
“Caleb, can you help Trudy to her car?” asked Dr. Chloe Anderson, the vet who owned and operated the Kringle Animal Clinic. Caleb was a big fan of Chloe’s. She was one smart cookie and a terrific vet.
“Sure,” he said, taking Buttons again when Trudy once more shoved the poor dog his way. He and Buttons were becoming good pals. He looked down at the little dog who seemed almost to roll his eyes. Caleb chuckled.
“What’s funny?” Ava asked, her tone light, but there was a flinty edge to her eyes.
“Nothing worth mentioning,” he said.
He kept his focus on Trudy and her dogs, helping the senior citizen get her dogs outside and settled in her car. As he turned to go back inside, Trudy leaned through the open driver’s side window and fixed him with a serious stare.
“You watch out, Caleb,” Trudy said. “Lord knows, we all love Ava, but she’d bad for you. Take care of your heart.”
With that, she gave him a quick pat on the cheek and rolled up her window. Caleb watched her back out of the parking spot. Yeah, Trudy was right. No doubt about it. He agreed completely.
Ava Miller was bad for him.
Also by Lori Wilde
HEARTTHROB HOSPITAL
The Thunderbolt
The Jinx
The Hotshot
* * *
KRINGLE, TEXAS
The Perfect Christmas Gift
The Perfect Christmas Wish
The Perfect Christmas Surprise
* * *
TEXAS RASCALS
Keegan
Matt
Nick
Kurt
Tucker
Kael
Truman
Dan
Rex
Clay
Jonah
About the Author
Lori Wilde s the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of ninety-one works of romantic fiction. Her books have been translated into twenty-six languages, with more than six million copies sold worldwide. Her breakout novel, The First Love Cookie Club, has been optioned for a TV movie as has her Wedding Veil Wishes series. Lori is a registered nurse with a BSN from Texas Christian University and she holds a certificate in nursing forensics.
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Did you love The Hotshot? Then you should read A Perfect Christmas Surprise by Lori Wilde!
After a nomadic childhood, dependable rancher, Caleb Sutton, loves his quiet, simple life in Kringle, Texas. That is until his footloose ex-fiancée, the only woman he's ever loved blows back into town. Globe-trotting, freelance photographer, Ava Miller has come home for the holidays to help her parents with their animals rescue, but she's not about to stay in Kringle, no matter how hot the old embers for salt-of-the-earth Caleb still burn. The town is simply too staid for her restless ways and nothing exciting ever happens here.Nothing that is, except spending time with Caleb. And when they share one special Christmas night together, Ava gets the biggest surprise of her life…
Read more at Lori Wilde’s site.