THE COWBOY WINS A BRIDE
by Cora
Seton
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
All
Jamie Lassiter wants is to marry his best friend's sister and settle down for
the rest of his life in Chance Creek. He's saved his money, bought into the
Cruz Guest Ranch and he's ready for that wedding, but Claire Cruz is nowhere to
be found.
Claire's
too busy leaving Montana behind to care about cowboys or their wedding plans.
She's got plans of her own - a trip around the world. She'll go as soon as she
buys her tickets and she doesn't care if she ever sees Chance Creek again.
Desperate
to change Claire's mind, Jamie proposes a bet: give him six weeks to convince
her to marry him. If he can't, he'll pay for her round-the-world tickets
himself.
Claire
can wait six weeks if it means free tickets and a chance to get a little
revenge on a man who once broke her heart. She's got only one stipulation:
Jamie can't touch or flirt with her - or any other woman - while the bet is on.
Now
Jamie's on the run from a bevy of cowboy-groupie ranch guests, and Claire's
learning she cares about the ranch - and Jamie - more than she dreamed
possible.
Maybe
it's time to lose that bet.
As
long as Jamie loses it first.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt 3
Ethan
tugged her closer. “Stop it – you’ll hurt someone with that fake smile. Why
didn't you just say yes to Jamie? You could be as happy as I am. Wait a minute
– are you wearing his ring? Did you say yes?”
Claire
gaped at him, her eyes stinging once more. She couldn't believe Ethan was in on
this joke and would carry it to such an extreme – on his wedding day. She and
her brother had their spats over the years, but he'd never been cruel. She
opened her mouth to tell him so, but he pulled Jamie into a man-hug, pounding
him on the shoulder.
“Congratulations!
When's the happy day?“
He
was in on the joke, wasn't he? But he was doing an incredible job acting like
it was real. She couldn't remember ever seeing Ethan this happy – especially
not since their parents' deaths.
“Labor
Day,” Jamie said emphatically and grinned at her, daring her to deny it.
She
looked from one to the other, at a total loss for what to do.
“You're
getting married?” Autumn shrieked, grabbing her hand and pulling it close to
see her ring. “Oh my gosh, Claire – it's beautiful. I'm so happy for you!” She
threw her arms around Claire and gave her a stifling hug.
This
can't be happening, Claire thought, waiting for Jamie to tell them it was all a
joke – waiting for Ethan at least to let Autumn in on it. Her stomach twisted
when she realized both of them were going to play it straight. Ethan was
beaming, and Jamie…he looked like the cat who'd swallowed the canary.
Damn
it, she wasn't a helpless bird.
But
as she turned to set Autumn straight, her new sister-in-law cupped her hands to
her mouth and called out, “Everybody! Everyone – can I have your attention?
Yoo-hoo!“
The
crowd immediately quieted, all eyes turned to the bride.
“I
just have to share the happy news – I'm so excited!” Autumn's face was flushed
and her eyes shining. She pointed to Claire.
“Wait…”
Claire began, but Autumn rushed on.
“Claire
and Jamie have just gotten engaged – they're getting married on Labor Day, so
everybody better save the date! We'll all be right back here in a couple of
months to do this all over again.“
As
the crowd cheered and clapped, Claire turned to Jamie, begging him silently for
help. He just threaded an arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head.
As people surged in to offer their congratulations, she once more pasted a
happy expression on her face.
She
would be a laughing-stock when September rolled around and no wedding took
place.
If
she survived this day she would never speak to any of them again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Cora
Seton loves cowboys, country life, gardening, bike-riding, and lazing around
with a good book. Mother of four, wife to a computer programmer/eco-farmer, she
ditched her California lifestyle nine years ago and moved to a remote logging
town in northwestern British Columbia.
Like
the characters in her novels, Cora enjoys old-fashioned pursuits and modern
technology, spending mornings transforming a neglected one-acre lot into a
paradise of orchards, berry bushes and market gardens, and afternoons writing
the latest Chance Creek romance novel on her iPad mini. Visit www.coraseton.com
to read about new releases, contests and other cool events!
Blog:
www.coraseton.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/coraseton
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/coraseton
Barnes
and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/cora-seton
Smashwords:
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/coraseton
Cora will award a $100 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.
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