Walker Bride (22 page)

“You felt me up to measure me for it. I don’t
know why you couldn’t just use the measurements from before.”

“I love what I do,” she said with a wink.

“You two better get that tux and dress loaded
into the car. Your flight leaves in four hours,” Sunshine
instructed.

“She’s right, we’d better go. There’s a
Hawaiian sunset waiting for us, and only us,” Pearl beamed. “Let me
just get my dress.”

I hope you enjoyed the third installment
of

The Walker Family Series.

Here is a preview of book four

WANDERLUST

Horses had a way of knowing when a person
needed peace. Fairy Godmother was that kind of horse, Dane thought
as she stood in the middle of the pasture and let Dane take in the
peace of the moment.

He was back in Georgia for another family
wedding. That was three weddings in two months, although no one had
attended Pearl and Tyson’s wedding.

As he’d packed his bag for this journey, he’d
quietly thanked them for not making anyone else reschedule their
lives. But now that he was home, he was glad he’d come.

Ohio wasn’t his kind of place. His job wasn’t
his kind of job. Somewhere his life hadn’t become his either.

He now found that he envied his brother Eric
for getting married and staying at home on the land they called
theirs. Their father had promised them all they could build a house
there if they wanted. All that time Dane had refused. There had to
be more for him, he thought. But now he just wasn’t so sure.

The sound of a rider was coming up from
behind him. No doubt it would be Lydia, who housed her horses at
the Walker’s barn, taking her morning ride, he thought as he turned
Fairy Godmother toward the sound.

With the sun to the rider’s back, he could
only see her outline, but it wasn’t Lydia. A high ponytail swung
behind the rider who was obviously new to the saddle. He wondered
who had let her wander off.

As the rider drew near, she waved.
“Hello.”

“Hi,” he called back.

“Beautiful morning.”

Her accent was familiar, but he had to think
to where he knew her from. But the moment she came into full view,
he remembered.

“Gia, right?” he asked, hoping that was, in
fact, her name.

“Gia Gallow. You are correct. And you are
Dane.” There was no question in her voice. She’d remembered
him.

“Dane Walker,” he mimicked James Bond when he
said it.

“I met you at Pearl’s dress shop a few months
ago.”

“I remember.”

“I assume you’re here for Bethany’s
wedding.”

“I am. I guess if all my cousins and brothers
keep getting married, I’ll be visiting a lot.”

Her horse moved quickly, and Dane was ready
to adjust on Fairy Godmother to help her out, but she got the horse
under control and just smiled at him.

“He is a fidgety one, Mr. Melancholy.”

“Mr. Melancholy?” he chuckled. “Eric gave me
a hard time about my horse’s name.”

“Brothers are like that. I have knowledge
that he named this one himself. I would not let him judge you on
the name of your horse.”

He eased back in the saddle. “I’ll keep it in
mind for when I need to pick a fight.”

“Well, I only have another half hour before
they will come looking for me. Besides, I need to get back into
town and go to work.”

“You have the Italian gift store, right?”

She smiled that beautiful smile that he knew
was fueled by pride. “You remember.”

“I know that it was mentioned that you moved
into the same building with Susan, Pearl, and Lydia.”

“I did.” She nudged Mr. Melancholy closer to
Fairy Godmother. “Will you be in town this week?”

He shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Drop by. I would love to give you a tour of
my shop.” With a wink, she turned Mr. Melancholy around and headed
back to the barn.

Dane remained in the pasture watching her
disappear. The thought to ride after her only entered his mind
after he couldn’t see her any longer. But he knew it was a bad
idea. First of all, riding up on her would spook Mr. Melancholy,
and he’d toss her. Second, there was no need to get worked up over
the beautiful Italian woman. He was heading back to the hell known
as Ohio on Monday. He might as well forget about Gia Gallow.

Bestselling Author Bernadette Marie is known
for building families readers want to be part of. Her series
The
Keller Family
has graced bestseller charts since its release in
2011, along with her other series and single title books. The
married mother of five sons promises
Happily Ever After
always…
and says she can write it, because she lives it.

When not writing, Bernadette Marie is
shuffling her sons to their many events—mostly hockey—and enjoying
the beautiful views of the Colorado Rocky Mountains from her front
step. She is also an accomplished martial artist with a second
degree black belt in Tang Soo Do.

A chronic entrepreneur, Bernadette Marie
opened her own publishing house in 2011,
5 Prince
Publishing,
so that she could publish the books she liked to
write and help make the dreams of other aspiring authors come true
too. Bernadette Marie is also the CEO of
Illumination Author
Events and Services.