Is he getting too close to this damsel in distress?
Coming to the rescue of a wronged colleague is all in a day’s work for Wyoming attorney Archer Templeton. But Nell Brewster isn’t just any lawyer; Archer has long had his eye on his stepsister’s best friend. She accepts his help but when their motion to dismiss a growing attraction is overruled by a one-night stand, there are unexpected consequences...
New York Times Bestselling Author Allison Leigh
She jerked and looked up.
Archer had been in her condo twice now in the span of six weeks. It was a record. And she was far less shocked to see him than she ought to have been.
“What are you doing here?”
He held up a package wrapped with brown kraft paper and twine. “A care package from Meredith for Ros. Only since she hasn’t bothered informing anyone of her new address, I don’t know where to take it.”
“Could have taken it to her office,” Nell pointed out waspishly.
“Yeah, but then I wouldn’t have an excuse to see your cheerful face. You know, anyone and their mother’s brother could walk in through your open front door.”
“Anyone did.”
“I’m not just anyone.”
She gave him a look. “Seriously. What do you want?”
“Seriously, maybe I don’t want anything. That so hard to believe?”
It wasn’t, and that should have been a relief. So why did his words cause her heart to sink to her stomach in disappointment?
* * *
RETURN TO THE DOUBLE C: Under the big blue Wyoming sky, this family discovers true love!
Dear Reader,
Why is it that it takes so long for some people to just...get...a...clue?
As usual, from an observer’s standpoint, that is an easy question with a shake-one’s-head response. From the perspective of the individual or individuals involved? Not such an easy thing.
Such is the case for Nell and Archer. They’ve known one another for a very long time. Occasionally danced around their mutual attraction. More often preferred to stick their heads in the sand.
But nature tends to shake things out, including truths that may or may not be easy to face. Nell, who has trusted her head over her heart for all of her adult life, learns that life is so much better when she finally starts listening to her heart. Because when it comes to Archer and the things that really are true, her heart has always had the “clue.”
Allison
Lawfully Unwed
Allison Leigh
Though her name is frequently on bestseller lists, Allison Leigh’s high point as a writer is hearing from readers that they laughed, cried or lost sleep while reading her books. She credits her family with great patience for the time she’s parked at her computer, and for blessing her with the kind of love she wants her readers to share with the characters living in the pages of her books. Contact her at allisonleigh.com.
Books by Allison Leigh
Harlequin Special Edition
Return to the Double C
The BFF Bride
A Child Under His Tree
Yuletide Baby Bargain
Show Me a Hero
The Rancher’s Christmas Promise
A Promise to Keep
Lawfully Unwed
The Fortunes of Texas: The Rulebreakers
Fortune’s Homecoming
The Fortunes of Texas: The Secret Fortunes
Wild West Fortune
The Fortunes of Texas: All Fortune’s Children
Fortune’s Secret Heir
The Fortunes of Texas: The Lost Fortunes
Fortune’s Texas Reunion
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
For Amanda and Chad with all of my love.
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
Excerpt from The Marine’s Road Home by Brenda Harlen
Chapter One
“Delicious cake, Nell.”
“It’s going to be a great year, Nell.”
“Don’t look a day older, Nell.”
With a smile that felt wooden on her face, Nell Brewster returned hugs as the well-wishers departed The Wet Bar one after another.
Fortunately, there weren’t as many people at the pub as Nell’s best friend, Rosalind, had expected. She was the one who’d insisted on the party for Nell. Her reasoning was that Friday afternoon on a holiday weekend would be perfect. Prime time for their crowd to escape their offices for a little more R&R before the long weekend. The July Fourth holiday—on the coming Monday—meant no court proceedings until Tuesday.
“It’s not every day a girl turns thirty-six,” Ros had said on a laugh not even a month ago when she’d emailed the invitations.
Thank God for that, is what Nell had thought. At the time, she’d been thinking only about becoming another year older and feeling like she was spinning the same wheels she’d been spinning for years.
Now, as far as birthdays went, she couldn’t have imagined a worse one. If she could have skipped the celebration altogether, she would have.
Ros had—a fact that had earned more than a few comments.
Instead of telling the truth behind her absence, Nell had just let everyone assume that her friend was stuck on a case. Anyone who knew Ros knew that she wasn’t the type who would have escaped for an early holiday celebration if she still had work to do. She was too devoted to her career.
And why not? Rosalind Pastore was the heir apparent at her father’s law firm. She’d just been made a partner. Working was a reasonable excuse for her absence that afternoon, and a far more preferable one than the truth.
That was going to come out soon enough.
The legal community in Cheyenne—in the entire state of Wyoming for that matter—was a tight one.
Nell suffered through a final hug from Scott Muelhaupt—the newest associate at Pastore Legal—as he wished her a happy birthday for what felt like the tenth time. He hugged her longer than necessary, but she supposed he figured he had a right to, given the fact that they’d been casually dating for several weeks now.
“Sure I can’t take you out somewhere for dinner?” He smiled hopefully. He was a nice-looking guy. Decent. He smelled clean and he even took his mother out for dinner every Sunday afternoon.
He just didn’t make any real bells ring for Nell, much less any cymbals crash.
She wondered if he’d be as interested in her once word got out that she’d quit her job at Pastore Legal. Or
