The Texan's Reluctant Bride. Judy Christenberry

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      “You seem nervous around me.”

      Even as Pete spoke those words, he advanced on her, his eyes never leaving hers.

      “I am,” Thomasina replied. “We don’t fit together, Pete. I’m a career woman. You’re an old-fashioned guy. It’d be a mistake for us to get too close.”

      Close was exactly what they were now. He stood mere inches from her as he said, “It felt pretty good the other day when I held you.”

      “Use your head, Pete. This’ll never work.”

      He took her by the shoulders, closing the tiny gap between them. “It’s not my head I want to use. It’s my lips.” A millisecond later his mouth claimed hers and his arms wrapped around her.

      Any protest she could muster disappeared like mist, and her heart raced. But how could that be? Pete Schofield was not The One.

      Or was he?

      Dear Reader,

      Working with talented writers is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job. And I’m especially pleased with this month’s lineup because these four authors capture the essence of Silhouette Romance. In their skillful hands, you’ll literally feel as if you’re riding a roller coaster as you experience all the trials and tribulations of true love.

      Start off your adventure with Judy Christenberry’s The Texan’s Reluctant Bride (#1778). Part of the author’s new LONE STAR BRIDES miniseries, a career woman discovers what she’s been missing when Mr. Wrong starts looking an awful lot like Mr. Right. Patricia Thayer continues her LOVE AT THE GOODTIME CAFÉ with Familiar Adversaries (#1779). In this reunion romance, the hero and heroine come from feuding families, but they’re about to find out there really is just a thin line separating hate from love! Stop by the BLOSSOM COUNTY FAIR this month for Teresa Carpenter’s Flirting with Fireworks (#1780). Just don’t get burned by the sparks that fly when a fortune-teller’s love transforms a single dad. Finally, Shirley Jump rounds out the month with The Marine’s Kiss (#1781). When a marine wounded in Afghanistan returns home, he winds up helping a schoolteacher restore order to her classroom…but finds her wreaking havoc to his heart!

      And be sure to watch for more great romances next month when Judy Christenberry and Susan Meier continue their miniseries.

      Happy reading,

      Ann Leslie Tuttle

      Associate Senior Editor

      The Texan’s Reluctant Bride

      Judy Christenberry

      Lone Star Brides

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Books by Judy Christenberry

      Silhouette Romance

      The Nine-Month Bride #1324

      *Marry Me, Kate #1344

      *Baby in Her Arms #1350

      *A Ring for Cinderella #1356

      †Never Let You Go #1453

      †The Borrowed Groom #1457

      †Cherish the Boss #1463

      **Snowbound Sweetheart #1476

      Newborn Daddy #1511

      When the Lights Went Out…#1547

      **Least Likely To Wed #1570

      Daddy on the Doorstep #1654

      **Beauty & the Beastly Rancher #1678

      **The Last Crawford Bachelor #1715

      Finding a Family #1762

      ††The Texan’s Reluctant Bride #1778

      Silhouette Books

      Hush

      The Coltons

      The Doctor Delivers

      A Colton Family Christmas

      “ The Diplomat’s Daughter”

      Lone Star Country Club

      The Last Bachelor

      JUDY CHRISTENBERRY

      has been writing romances for over fifteen years because she loves happy endings as much as her readers do. She’s a bestselling author for Harlequin American Romance, but she has a long love of traditional romances and is delighted to tell a story that brings those elements to the reader. A former high school French teacher, Judy devotes her time to writing. She hopes readers have as much fun reading her stories as she does writing them. She spends her spare time reading, watching her favorite sports teams and keeping track of her two adult daughters.

      Contents

       Chapter One

       Chapter Two

       Chapter Three

       Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

       Epilogue

      Chapter One

      Thomasina Tyler pasted her most charming smile on her face, smoothed down the jacket of her best suit and opened the door to her boss’s office.

      “Ah, Tommie, come in,” Isabel Landon said. “I’ve been telling Mr. Schofield all about you.”

      Tommie turned to the gentleman who had risen to his feet as she entered the office, her hand extended. But when she got her first look at the president of the prestigious Boston software company that was moving to Fort Worth, she almost fell off her three-inch heels.

      “How do you do, Mr. Schofield,” she managed to eke out, hiding her surprise. Peter Schofield was handsome and young and tall. Even wearing heels, she came