Have Bride, Need Groom - Maureen Child

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      “I’ll Pay You To Marry Me...” Letter to Reader Title Page MAUREEN CHILD Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Copyright

      “I’ll Pay You To Marry Me...”

      Jenny was getting desperate. “Five minutes. That’s all I ask. One little wedding. One hundred dollars? Two hundred?”

      

      The stranger edged past her, gave her one last, regretful look and scurried away.

      

      “Do I hear five?” a familiar deep, male voice asked.

      

      Jenny spun around quickly and teetered precariously on her heels. Nick Tarrantelli grabbed her elbow and steadied her. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

      

      “You do know you could be arrested for soliciting?” Nick said casually.

      

      Jenny gasped in outrage. “Soliciting? I don’t see how. I’m not asking anyone for money. In fact, I’m offering to pay them.” Suddenly a tear slid down her cheek. Then another one.

      

      Nick tried to calm her down, to make her stop crying. Nothing seemed to work. Desperate, he heard himself whisper, “I’ll marry you, Jenny.”

      Dear Reader,

      

      I know you’ve all been anxiously awaiting the next book from Mary Lynn Baxter—so wait no more. Here it is, the MAN OF THE MONTH, Tinght-Fittin’ Jeans. Mary Lynn’s books are known for their sexy heroes and sizzling sensuality...and this sure has both! Read and enjoy.

      

      Every little girl dreams of marrying a handsome prince, but most women get to kiss a lot of toads before they find him. Read how three handsome princes find their very own princesses in Leanne Banks’s delightful new ministries HOW TO CATCH A PRINCESS. The fun begins this month with The Five-Minute Bride.

      

      The other books this month are all so wonderful...you won’t want to miss any of them! If you like humor, don’t miss Maureen Child’s Have Bride, Need Groom. For blazing drama, there’s Sara Orwig’s A Baby for Mommy. Susan Crosby’s Wedding Fever provides a touch of dashing suspense. And Judith McWilliams’s Practice Husband is warmly emotional.

      

      There is something for everyone here at Desire! I hope you enjoy each and every one of these love stories.

      Senior Editor

      Please address questions and book requests to:

      Silhouette Reader Service

      U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo. NY 14269

      Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont L2A 5X3

      Have Bride, Need Groom

      Maureen Child

      

      

www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MAUREEN CHILD

      was born and raised in Southern California and is the only person she knows who longs for an occasional change of season. She is delighted to be writing for Silhouette and is especially excited to be a part of the Desire line.

      

      An avid reader, she looks forward to those rare, rainy California days when she can curl up and sink into a good book. Or two. When she isn’t busy writing, she and her husband of twenty-five years like to travel, leaving their two grown children in charge of the neurotic golden retriever who is the real head of the household. She is also an award-winning historical writer under the names Kathleen Kane and Ann Carberry.

      To Susan Mallery,

      the once and future goddess, with my thanks

      One

      The bride wore polka dots.

      Elvis was in sequins.

      The bounty hunter wore jeans.

      And the groom was in handcuffs.

      Jenny Blake gripped the hard plastic handle on her complimentary paper gardenia bouquet a little tighter and stared at her would-be groom. So close, she thought. If that bounty hunter had been only five minutes later, she would have been safely married.

      But there was no chance of that now. She shifted her gaze to the man who had introduced himself as Nick Tarantelli, bounty hunter. A tall, lean man with night-black hair and eyes that seemed even darker, he had her bridegroom in a grip that told Jenny he had no intention of letting go any time soon.

      Overhead, a set of speakers, hidden behind oversize paintings of The King on black velvet, sent strains of “Hunka-Hunka-burnin’ love” into the tiny, air-conditioned chapel. The Reverend Elvis Throckmorton signaled wildly for his wife, Priscilla, to turn off the tape player.

      Elvis Presley’s voice was cut off mid-verse and the small group of people gathered in the Love Me Tender Wedding Chapel stared at each other.

      “Sorry, honey,” Jenny’s would-be groom finally said. “But I guess the wedding’s postponed.”

      “For how long?” she heard herself ask.

      “My guess...” The bounty hunter spoke up as he gripped the groom’s elbow. “About five to ten.”

      “Years?” Jenny said, and stared into the black eyes.

      “No,” he answered. “Minutes.”

      She knew sarcasm when she heard it and ordinarily she would have tried for a quick comeback. But at the moment Jenny was much too busy feeling sorry for herself.

      It was all her own fault, of course. As usual, she’d left everything for the last minute. If she’d taken care of things months ago, none of this would be happening. But who would have thought it would be so difficult to buy a husband?

      “C’mon, T.,” the groom wheedled. “At least let

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