Dangerously Irresistible. Kristin Gabriel
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was ready for a change, too. He’d had enough of bachelor life and was ready to settle down. The hard part seemed to be finding the right woman. After his recent experiences on the dating scene, he longed for a woman who desired him. Just him. Not his bank account. Or his handyman abilities. Or his new Chevy Tahoe SUV.
He had high hopes of finding his fantasy woman in Jamaica. Strolling along a white sand beach in a string bikini. A woman with a thirst for banana daiquiris and making love in the moonlight. A woman who liked the thrill of the chase and could give him something that had been missing in his life for far too long—a challenge.
A horse whinnied in the stall behind him, reminding Tanner to pay attention to the wedding rehearsal. The minister wore blue jeans and a faded chambray shirt. Tomorrow, the entire wedding party would be decked out in western wear, complete with boots, cowboy hats, chaps and spurs. Tanner had left his spurs back at the hotel for the rehearsal, but he’d worn the new boots he’d purchased in Dallas, along with his black felt cowboy hat.
An old-fashioned pump organ was set up in the hayloft and the nesting barn swallows kept swooping down at the organist’s head. Her rendition of Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” was punctuated with shrill yelps of terror.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the minister to run through the vows and position the wedding party in the appropriate places. Tanner’s only duty as best man was to hold on to the wedding rings and stand by Cabe—and to pretend it didn’t matter to him that he’d lost the only woman he’d given a second glance in over a year.
The minister wiped his perspiring brow with a handkerchief. “At this point, you may kiss the bride.”
Tanner’s smile froze as he watched Cabe pull Hannah into his arms and rehearse a kiss that they’d obviously practiced many times before.
The kiss went on and on and on.
“Hey, Cabe, save something for the ceremony,” Tanner joked, determined never to let Cabe or Hannah see the envy twisting inside of him.
Hannah laughed when Cabe finally released her. “If this is the rehearsal, I can’t wait to experience the real thing!”
Cabe grinned. “Maybe we should just have the minister marry us right now so we can proceed straight to the honeymoon.”
Hannah’s eyes widened. “Oh, Cabe, you’re not serious!”
“Why not?” Cabe turned to Tanner. “Do you have the rings?”
Tanner patted his jeans pocket. “They’re right here, safe and sound. But you’ve already reserved the barn and put a down payment on the reception hall. Then there is the caterer to consider, and the band. Both will demand to be paid even if you don’t use their services.”
“See,” Hannah said with a laugh, “at least someone is sensible around here.”
Tanner’s jaw clenched. Sensible. Now he was not only dull and boring, but sensible. How much worse could it get?
Hannah turned to him. “Oh, before I forget, I wanted to tell you that my cousin Jane is coming to the wedding tomorrow. You’ll adore her, Tanner, I just know it. She’s so sweet—a little quiet though. But she loves to talk about embroidery, so that would be a good icebreaker.” Hannah turned back to Cabe. “Jane embroidered ten sets of matching pillowcases for us as a wedding present.”
Cabe winced at Tanner over his fiancée’s head. “Honey, maybe Tanner already has a date for the wedding.”
“Oh,” Hannah exclaimed, turning to Tanner. “I never thought of that. Do you?”
“Yes,” he improvised, before he found himself shackled to a blind date for the wedding reception. He’d had more than his share of dreary dates lately. He didn’t want someone sweet and quiet. He wanted a woman who excited him. A woman who was completely unpredictable. A woman who would agree to attend a wedding with a perfect stranger at a moment’s notice.
And now he had less than twenty-four hours to find her.
SHE’D FOUND HIM.
Maddie took a deep, calming breath as she looked around her hotel room, making certain everything was in place. She hadn’t been thrilled about the two-hundred-dollar-a-night room charge, although it would definitely be worth it if she could pull this off.
She’d arrived in Texas three days ago and traced Tanner Blackburn to a house in Dallas. It had been surprisingly easy, but then he probably hadn’t expected a bounty hunter to locate him through the Texas Mail-Order Men magazine, especially since ninety-nine percent of the bounty hunters were men.
A chat with Tanner’s next-door neighbor had revealed that Mr. Blackburn was planning a weekend trip to Abilene to attend a wedding. Several phone calls later, Maddie had all the information she needed. Tanner Blackburn had a room reserved for two nights at the Huntington Hotel in Abilene.
She’d tailed him from Dallas. Seen him register at the hotel, then leave again. After registering for her own room and setting everything in place for the takedown, she’d gone back to the lobby for surveillance.
After spending three hours in the lobby pretending to read the newspaper, she’d finally seen him return with a small group of people, half of them heading for the elevators, the other half making a beeline for the bar. Blackburn had joined the group at the bar.
He’d played into her plan perfectly.
Maddie had returned to her hotel room to make certain everything was ready when she brought Blackburn here. She knew she had to play this game carefully. One screwup and she’d lose not only the Kissing Bandit, but her dream to join the family business.
She walked over to the bed, adjusting the pillows. Then she checked once more for anything he might be able to use as a potential weapon. She’d already hidden the glasses, ashtrays, mirrors and other breakables.
Not that she expected him to turn violent. Her extensive study of the Kissing Bandit’s methods had taught her that he preferred to use his wiles instead of weapons.
But a girl could never be too careful.
“It’s almost time,” Maddie said aloud. She’d waited for this moment for so long. Her first takedown. And since she hadn’t seen or spoken to her father or brothers in over a week, she didn’t have to worry about Tate and Ben interfering this time. She’d taken extra care to make certain they couldn’t trace her whereabouts.
The Texas Mail-Order Men magazine lay open on the desk. She picked it up and studied the man’s picture once more. Blackburn had altered his appearance somewhat, which was only natural when you were a fugitive from justice. She stared at the photograph, a tingle of excitement racing through her veins. Soon she’d be meeting the elusive Kissing Bandit face to face.
Maddie slid the magazine into the desk drawer, then slipped into a pair of high heels, ignoring that her knees were shaking. She checked her makeup in the mirror, applying a last dab of cherry-red lipstick to her mouth. Her plan was definitely risky. Playing the femme fatale had never been her forte. Although she’d attracted her share of men, they always seemed to lose interest in her after the first date. And she couldn’t entirely blame her overprotective brothers.
Maddie knew her flaws better than anyone. She was too stubborn, too bossy, too self-reliant. Most men liked to play the hero for a woman. Impress her with his muscles and machismo. They didn’t like a woman who knew how to take care of herself. Her own family had taught her that much.
She smoothed her hands over the snug fabric of her red dress, hoping the exorbitant price she’d paid would be worth it. The agency would receive eight thousand dollars if Blackburn was turned over to the court in time. But that time was running out. A bail jumper had to be returned to the custody of the court within one hundred and eighty days of his failure to appear. Otherwise the bail bondsmen had to pay the entire amount of the bond, which in this case was eighty thousand dollars.
The Griffin Bail Enforcement Agency was on the payroll of several Chicago area bail bondsmen,