One Hot Cowboy Wedding (30 page)

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She had her hand on the gearshift to put it in reverse when her phone rang. The ring tone was “Redneck Woman,” which meant Pearl was calling.

“I’m glad you called. I just found out today that I’ve married you. Does Wil see a good therapist and is he taking new clients?” Jasmine asked.

“Whoa, girl! What are you talking about?” Pearl gasped.

“I found Ace’s little black book only it’s a little red book and I didn’t read it but I flipped it and there’s more stars than the galaxy in it, and some woman gave it to him named Mallory and she gave him five stars for sex,” Jasmine said without taking a breath.

“And that means you married me?” Pearl asked.

“No, I married the male species of you. You were the party girl of north Texas. It looks like Ace is the good- timin’ cowboy of the whole damn state,” she said.

Pearl giggled.

“What’s so funny?” Jasmine asked.

“Two things. One is that you didn’t go into this blind, girl. Ace was the good- timin’ cowboy of the whole state like you said, but you knew that. Hel , you knew his secrets and the women’s names. You could have black-mailed him but you married him so don’t come bitchin’

to me about findin’ his past. And two, I was thinkin’ of my little purple book.”

“And what happened to it?”

“I gave it to Lucy the day before the wedding and told her to make sure it was burned to nothing but ash. I sure didn’t want Wil to find it. Which brings me to the reason I called, now that we’ve established that you did not marry me. I’ve got two things in that category too.

Number one: How is Lucy doing out there on the ranch?” OneHotCowboyWedding.indd 261

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“Great. She fit in from day one like she’d been there her whole life. I think she’s even going to bring Tyson back to the living with her cooking and patience. I’m wondering how the Double Deuce ever survived without her. Now back to the book. What should I do with it, in your opinion?”

“Give it to Lucy and then tel Ace what you did,” Pearl said.

“Or?”

“No or’s in this case. Just do it. I’m surprised you haven’t called me to carry on about his women callin’

every hour all day like they used to do.”

Jasmine got angry all over again. His women probably were calling. She tuned back in to hear Pearl saying,

“But then when your marriage is broadcast over national television, I guess most of them know he’s branded and leave him alone. Still there would have been a few who wouldn’t care if he was married or not. Only advice I’ve got is to give it to Lucy.”

“Okay, y’all are still coming to the party, aren’t you?”

“Of course,” Pearl said. “I still can’t believe you stood up to Kelly like that. If it wasn’t for the fact that you are selling her the café she’d probably be commis-sioning someone to build a gal ows to hang you from.

Which brings me to item number two.”

It was Jasmine’s turn to gasp. “I’m not selling her my café. She wants to buy it, but the Chicken Fried is not for sale.”

“She’s going to gripe and complain until you get pregnant with her grandbaby. You might as well go on and sell the café to keep her mind off you for a while,” Pearl told her.

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“No, thank you! And what’s item two?”

“Your dad asked me how much you still owed on the café. He said that he was using the wedding money to pay off the café for you and that they were going to give you fair market price for it too, since it would be an investment. He’s got it all figured out and I got the check for the café today so you now own it, lock, stock, and barrel.”

“Holy shit!” Jasmine said.

“No, just a check. Been a pleasure doin’ business with you. And here’s a beep. It’s Momma and if I don’t answer, she’ll be in the car driving over here. Good- bye and good luck holding on to that café.”

The line went dead.

The year before Pearl had loaned her the money to buy the café and Jasmine had made regular monthly payments. Now it was paid for with her wedding money. More and more complications! She flipped her phone shut and tossed it in her purse. She put the truck in gear and headed home. She didn’t notice that there was an extra pickup truck parked in the line in front of the house until she was already on the porch.

Then she turned around and counted with her forefinger. Four. That meant they had company. She slung open the door and stepped to find a tall blonde with her arms around Ace in what looked like a pretty serious hug. The hussy was dressed in a white strapless sundress, had a killer tan, big blue eyes, and long, long legs.

The scenario stopped the earth from turning as if someone pushed a pause but on on life. The sun stood still. Everything and everyone froze in place. The fly OneHotCowboyWedding.indd 263

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that had been buzzing around her head stopped. The hug went on and on.

And then the woman stepped back and smiled at her.

“You must be Jasmine. Acey said you’d be home pretty soon. Tomorrow, then?” She looked back at Ace.

At least he had the good grace to step back two steps and blush. “Honey, this is Mallory. She’s a photographer from over in Wichita Falls. She’ll be here tomorrow to take pictures of me for next year’s cowboy calendar. I’m Mr. July,” he said.

Mallory laid a possessive hand on his arm. “We’ve been doing this for ten years now. Acey makes a wonderful Mr. July.”

“Tomorrow?” She was stunned to hear even one word come out sounding normal and that she hadn’t slapped that grin off Mallory’s face. Would this day never end?

“We got plans?” Ace asked.

“No,” she said. But if she’d had some forewarning they would have definitely had plans.

“Good. Then I’ll see you about three. I’ll bring the flag for the backdrop for Ace. You wear the same as last year. We’ll take them in the old barn this year rather than out in the field for something different. Blake, we might do yours by that old rusty tractor out behind the barn, and Dalton, I’m thinkin’ of yours in the hayloft,” Mallory said.

She breezed past Jasmine leaving a cloud of expensive perfume in her wake. When she was gone, Jasmine looked at Ace who threw up his hands defensively.

“I forgot that she was coming by. It was written on the calendar in my computer but I haven’t looked at it in weeks. We’ve done this for years. Blake is Mr. June OneHotCowboyWedding.indd 264

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and Dalton is Mr. August. I’ll be wearing jeans but the top button will probably be undone and no shirt, but I’ll have my boots on. You got a problem with it?” Ace folded his hands across his chest.

“Of course not. Why would I? I’m doing a hotrod calendar. I’ll be wearing little red velvet hip- slung short shorts and no top, but the photographer is shooting it from behind and my hair covers most of my back when I lean back. Last year, it only showed the shadow of my boobs. The hotrod I get to lean back on this year is candy apple red so I’l have to shop for some lipstick that color. Want to go with me this Saturday or should I ask Lucy to shop with me while you get ready for your photo shoot?” The outlandish lie got bigger with every sentence.

“You wil not! You are a married woman. I don’t want men looking at you half naked.” He raised his voice.

“Deal with it, darlin’.” She deliberately and slowly brushed her body across his on her way to the living room.

He glared at her.

She ignored him.

The living room smelled like a Stetson factory had exploded right smack in the middle of it. Blake and Dalton lazed on the sofa with their feet propped on the coffee table. They wore clean jeans, ironed shirts, and polished boots. Jasmine turned to take more notice of Ace and found him dressed up too.

“What’s going on here? Are we having a party no one told me about?” she asked.

“Nope. Just Mallory coming by,” Blake said.

Jasmine’s hands clenched into fists. “And you forgot?” OneHotCowboyWedding.indd 265

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“Remembered this morning when I looked at the calendar,” he said coldly. “Why are you so jealous? We’ve all been doing this for years.”

“Ten? Right?”

“Right. How long have you been modeling for the hotrod calendars?” he asked.

“Since I was sixteen,” she lied again.

“What’s going on in here?” Lucy came in the back door. “I can feel the tension all the way in the yard.

Was that one of your girlfriends that just left, Blake?

I swear if one of your bimbos let Delilah out the front door like the last one did, I’m going to put a curse on your sorry ass.”

“Jasmine is all hot under the collar because Ace is going to model for a cowboy calendar. He’s been posin’

for years, but this is just me and Dalton’s second time to get to do it,” Blake said. “That was the photographer, Mallory, who takes the pictures. She catches all three of us at one time.”

“Yep, the hottest cowboys in Texas in the hot sum-mertime,” Dalton said.

Jasmine shot him a stinging go- to- hell look.

“What? That’s what she said, not me,” he said.

“Acey?” Jasmine stepped up into his face.

“Boy, you are in a heap of big- time trouble,” Lucy said. “You and Jasmine better go on to the bedroom and get this settled once and for all.”

Jasmine dug in her purse and tossed the red book across the room to Lucy.

“That’s mine!” Dalton tried to catch it in midair.

Blake tackled him for it. “No, he’s married and I get it.”

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Lucy picked it out of the air above their heads like a football pass into the end zone. “This what I think it is?” Ace stared at the book and wondered how it got from under the lamp on his nightstand into Jasmine’s hands.

Jasmine answered Lucy, but she looked straight into Ace’s eyes. “Found it hiding under the bed this morning. I understand you know how to cremate those things.

Wash out one of Delilah’s fancy cat food cans and put the ashes in it. Seems like a fitting urn, doesn’t it?” Lucy nodded seriously. “Belong to you or Ace?” It was the first time that it occurred to Ace that Jasmine might have a book filled with stars and names like his. Just thinking about another man rubbing her back after a stressful day’s work at the cafe made his chest clinch up in knots.

“It’s mine,” Ace growled with his gaze locked with Jasmine’s. “Burn it and spread the ashes over the hog lot. My rooting days are over.”

“Ah, man, give it to me. Don’t waste all that good research,” Dalton said.

“Man has to do his own research. Now your turn, Jazzy. Where is your book?”

“Already gone,” she said. It wasn’t really a lie. It had never existed so it was gone.

“You really going to pose for that hotrod calendar?” he asked.

Blake looked up from the sofa. “Wow! You model for hotrod calendars! Damn, I’ll buy a dozen for my friends.”

“You really going to pose for the cowboy calendar?” she asked.

He nodded. “This year. I won’t next year.”

“Then I won’t next year either,” she said.

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“Now, there! We’ve got a truce.” Lucy smiled. “But I still feel some tension so you two get on back in your room and don’t come out until the fight is really finished.”

“After you.” Ace motioned toward the door.

“Thank you, Acey,” she said.

“Enough!” he said.

She pointed her finger at his nose. “Not yet, darlin’.

When I hear you tel your sweet Mal ory that this is your last time to model, then it will be enough… Acey.” He picked her up like a sack of flour and tossed her over his shoulder. “Married people don’t fight in front of the children. We’ll finish this in the bedroom. We’ll be in the bunkhouse in plenty of time for supper, Lucy, and she’ll have a smile on her face.”

“You are full of bullshit!” Jasmine had trouble breathing and her words came out in short spurts.

“So are you, Mrs. Riley,” he whispered as he carried her down the hall and into the bedroom. He kicked the door shut with his boot heel and tossed her on the bed.

She bounced twice before he landed on top of her, his lips connecting to hers in a clash of passion that sent sparks dancing around the room, and heat flowing over every inch of Jasmine’s body.

“I’m still mad at you,” she said.

He propped up on his elbows. “And I’m still mad at you for telling Lucy to burn my book.”

“You put stars in front of their names, Acey baby!”

“You actually read it!” He gasped.

“No, but I flipped through it.”

A wide grin split his face. “You got more stars than any of them, darlin’.”

She blinked so fast he was a blur. “I was in that atrocity?” OneHotCowboyWedding.indd 268

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He lowered his lips to brush across hers. “Now you will never know unless you go out to the hog lot and sift through the ashes or else tell Lucy you want it back.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and nipped his lower lip. “Don’t tease me, cowboy. Kiss me right,” she whispered.

“My pleasure.” He devoured her lips, tasting, teasing, tempting until he was so aroused that he couldn’t bear it another minute.

He didn’t know when it happened, but she had his belt buckle undone and her hand around an already hard erection. He wondered how something so small and so cool as her hand could have so much heat and power over him.

She wasn’t aware of when he’d unfastened her bra, but suddenly his mouth left her lips and was kissing its way toward her breast. His tongue was velvet heat when it found its destination and she arched against him.

“Still mad?” he asked.

“I’ll be even madder if you don’t finish what you’ve started,” she panted.