Prologue

       A beautiful June day

      “OMG, who’s the latecomer to the wedding?”

      “Don’t know, but I’m glad he made it to the reception.”

      “Look at that body.”

      “Look at that walk.”

      “He should come with a warning sign that says Extremely Hot.”

      Several ladies in the wedding party whispered among themselves, and all eyes were trained on the tall, ultra handsome man who’d approached the group of West more land male cousins across the room. The reception for Micah Westmoreland’s wedding to Kalina Daniels was in full swing on the grounds of Micah Manor, but every female in attendance was looking at one particular male.

      The man who’d just arrived.

      “For crying out loud, will someone please tell me who he is?” Vickie Morrow, a good friend of Kalina’s, pleaded in a low voice. She looked over at Megan Westmoreland. “Most of the good-looking men here are related to you in some way, so tell us. Is he another Westmoreland cousin?”

      Megan was checking out the man just as thoroughly as all the other women were. “No, he’s no kin of mine. I’ve never seen him before,” she said. She hadn’t seen the full view yet, either, just his profile, but even that was impressive—he had handsome features, a deep tan and silky straight hair that brushed against the collar of his suit. He was both well dressed and good-looking.

      “Yes, he definitely is one fine specimen of a man and is probably some Hollywood friend of my cousins, since he seems to know them.”

      “Well, I want to be around when the introductions are made,” Marla Ford, another friend of Kalina’s, leaned over and whispered in Megan’s ear. “Make that happen.”

      Megan laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

      “Hey, don’t look now, ladies, but he’s turned this way and is looking over here,” Marla said. “In fact, Megan, your brother Zane is pointing out one of us to him … and I hope it’s me.” Seconds later, Marla said in a disappointed voice, “It’s you, Megan.”

      Marla had to be mistaken. Why would Zane point her out to that man?

      “Yeah, look how the hottie is checking you out,” Vickie whispered to Megan. “It’s like the rest of us don’t even exist. Lordy, I do declare. I wish some man would look at me that way.”

      Megan met the stranger’s gaze. Everyone was right. He was concentrated solely on her. And the moment their eyes connected, something happened. It was as if heat transmitted from his look was burning her skin, flaming her blood, scorching her all over. She’d never felt anything so powerful in her life.

      Instant attraction.

      Her heart pounded like crazy, and she shivered as everything and everyone around her seemed to fade into the background … everything except for the sound of the soft music from the orchestra that pulled her and this stranger into a cocoon. It was as if no one existed but the two of them.

      Her hand, which was holding a glass of wine, suddenly felt moist, and something fired up within her that had never been lit before. Desire. As potent as it could get. How could a stranger affect her this way? For the first time in her adult life, at the age of twenty-seven, Megan knew what it meant to be attracted to someone in a way that affected all her vital signs.

      And, as an anesthesiologist, she knew all about the workings of the human body. But up until now she’d never given much thought to her own body or how it would react to a man. At least, not to how it would react to this particular man … whomever he was. She found her own reaction as interesting as she found it disconcerting.

      “That guy’s hot for you, Megan.”

      Vickie’s words reminded