Something Borrowed. Jule Mcbride

Fancy Abs, of course, since that era of her life, which had included Chris, was over. Her second thought was that she could never survive a week of dream dates with any man, much less Cash Champagne, at least not without having sex, which she’d foregone for a year now. And even if she could, the wedding curse would continue to wreak havoc with her future….

      But what was she thinking? she chastised herself. She had to get off this show; otherwise, Edie was going to disown her as a sister.

      “Really,” Marley protested. “I’ve had second thoughts. I know it’s unusual, but it would be great if you could call back the alternates. Anyone backstage will tell you I was trying to cancel. I really don’t think…”

      Trevor bellowed, “What does the studio audience say?”

      The crowd punched buttons again. Another ding sounded, and Trevor shouted, “Double underdog! These are two-time losers. She says she doesn’t want to dream-date this man, studio audience! It’s a tough sell. If these two win, the prize is now set at two-hundred thousand dollars for Cash and Edie!”

      Marley was definitely weakening. But she was pretty sure the dream dates involved a lot of music, flowers and dressing up in fancy gowns provided by the studio, all romantic things Marley had shut the door on—for life. “That’s an awful lot of money, Trevor, but I don’t think…”

      “Cash,” Trevor interrupted. “You’re a southern gentleman. Can you convince your date to help you win this pot of gold?”

      Marley’s already stuttering heart missed another beat as Cash sent the camera a devastating smile. He really was gorgeous, with tanned, reddish-chestnut skin, black hair that swept from his face like midnight, and eyes that promised he’d be scrumptious in bed, even if Edie had claimed it was false advertising.

      “Why, Trevor,” Cash drawled, “I can be quite persuasive with the ladies.”

      Persuasive? Oh no! Surely he didn’t mean…

      Marley watched in horror as Cash slowly rose to his feet, dressed in well-worn jeans that lovingly wrapped around his sculpted thighs, pointy-toed western boots and a sport coat the tawny color of a fawn. Turning, he gave the camera his delicious-looking backside, then placed sun-bronzed hands on the armrests of Marley’s chair and hunkered down to eye level.

      Ever so slowly, he ducked his head another notch. Her breath caught. So did his. Then he leaned another fraction and feathered his mouth across hers, offering a satisfied, smacking sound that Marley couldn’t help but remember was reverberating over all the airwaves in America.

      And then everything went black for just a heartbeat.

      Fluttering her eyes, she wondered what had happened. Maybe she’d swooned. Her already woozy head swam, and even though her eyes were shut, the light seemed to shimmer as if she were walking through a desert under a hot sun. Vaguely, she was hoping Edie wasn’t watching this, but she could almost hear Edie’s phone ringing, and their mother’s excited voice saying, “I know you’re not there, Edie. I just wanted you to know that Daddy and I are watching you on TV right now! I know you said you weren’t experiencing any sparks with your new fellow, but that’s not what I’m seeing!”

      Or what her sister was feeling. Molten heat had raced through her veins, zipping through her bloodstream, and she could only thank heaven that her feet were enclosed in Edie’s painful high heels, so no one could see the unnatural angle at which her toes had curled.

      As Cash drew back, the studio audience took in her stunned expression and screamed with delight, and then Trevor said, “Well, folks, it sure looks as if Edie’s decided to be on our show!”