Girl, get over it!
Another familiar refrain, one she’d repeated daily to herself over the last few weeks, echoed in her head. Getting back to normal—whatever that might be— was harder than she thought.
That morning after Nolan left, she’d cleaned up the room as best she could. She then hurried home, determined to live up to the agreement they made. To make sure everything stayed the same. Between her and Nolan. Her and the Murphys. Her and the job she loved so much.
Easier said than done.
Yes, her actions had been dumb that night. Not just dumb, but careless, too. Hey, it wasn’t the first time she’d done something stupid in her never-ending search for—
Nope, don’t use the L word.
What happened that night had been a combination of lust, booze and foolishness. She’d been lucky the man she’d fallen into bed with had been someone like Nolan.
To allow herself to think one night of great sex would lead to … to something … was crazy. He’d made his feelings about their night together clear when he said they should go on with their lives as if nothing had happened.
Nothing. Yeah, right.
Welcome to Destiny:
Where fate leads to falling in love
His Destiny Bride
Christyne Butler
CHRISTYNE BUTLER is a USA TODAY bestselling author who fell in love with romance novels while serving in the US Navy and started writing her own stories in 2002. She writes contemporary romances that are full of life, love and a hint of laughter. She lives with her family in central Massachusetts and loves to hear from her readers at www.christynebutler.com.
To my sisters Peggy and Jennifer
and the sisters of my heart,
the Gamma Theta Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi.
Thank you for letting me borrow your names
to populate the characters, businesses
and locations in my books …
The yellow roses are always for you!
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
Chapter Thirteen
Friday night before Halloween
It was time.
Katie Ledbetter unscrewed the lid to the almost empty mason jar, offered a quick salute and shot back the last mouthful of tequila, lime, triple sec and crushed ice.
Wow, that burned. Still, the heavy layers of self-inflicted what-was-I-thinking and why-didn’t-I-see-this-coming fuzziness she’d suffered through since the end of summer were finally gone.
Now she was ready to trudge back into the eighth layer of hell, otherwise known as the dating world. It’d been two months. A long enough sabbatical to nurse any heart, even one as used and bruised as hers.
What better night than when people dressed in costumes to hide their true selves?
At least here amid the noise and crowd at the Blue Creek Saloon’s annual Halloween party the deception was on purpose. Tonight one could pretend to be anyone or anything. From sexy to humorous to superhero—even happy.
Then there was the dashing pirate on the other side of the room.
She’d first seen him not long after she arrived, but that’d been a fleeting glance. Since then, she’d spotted quite a few in that same popular costume...
But there was something different about this one.
Even with the distance between them, she could see his masked profile over the turned-up collar of his coat and the long hair hanging from a tricorn hat. From the way he stared into his beer, she’d say he was a pretty gloomy swashbuckler. In a room full of partygoers he seemed very much alone.
It takes one to know one, matey.
“You totally kill in that outfit.” Her friend Peggy Katz had stepped up beside her, drink in hand.
Katie blinked and wobbled on her high heels, surprised to find she’d taken a step toward the guy. Then the crowd shifted and her pirate disappeared. Ignoring her disappointment, she turned and propped a hand on one hip. “Hmm, not exactly what I was going for.”
Then again, dressed as she was...
Katie had come up with her own version of the comic book villainess Harley Quinn, going old-school with a black-and-red corset, matching fishnet gloves, and a voluminous tulle skirt. A ponytailed blond wig hid her long naturally red hair. She wore a black mask over the top of her face, and white pancake makeup and deep red lips completed her look.
Either way, she appreciated her friend’s words. “The object is to capture, honey, not kill.”
“Well, you’ve accomplished that much.” Peggy sucked the last of her drink through the straw. “If one more cop, cowboy or clown hits on you and ignores me, I’m going to take it personally.”
“Are you kidding?” Katie dropped the throaty Brooklyn accent that went along with her character. “You’re a terrific-looking witch, even beneath that crazy orange wig, black cape and pointy hat. Aren’t you hot?”
“Oh, please, my hands are like ice. And not because our typical Wyoming winter is swirling outside even though it’s October. Besides, I’ve got plenty to hide. My hourglass figure is shaped more like these mason jars.” Peggy gave her almost empty glass a shake. “You ready for another?”
“Sure, why not?” Unlike her friend, Katie was quite warm but figured it had more