Non-Refundable Groom

Non-Refundable Groom
Patty Salier

THE GROOM CANDIDATE Elena Martin thought she'd hit the jackpot when a computer dating service that guaranteed marriage paired her with darkly handsome businessman Garrett Sims. No man had ever made Elena feel so protected, and his bone-melting kisses ignited unknown passions. So, after their three prearranged dates, she was ready to say "I do."But Garrett was saying "Oh, no!" Seems Garrett had no intention of setting foot near any altar. But thanks to a favor for a family member, he was up to his irresistibly broad shoulders in trouble. Trouble in the form of a warmhearted woman who set his hormones racing and whose blue eyes spelled forever. Now what was a nonmarrying kind of man to do?

“Your Date Will Be Here Any Moment.” (#ueafdecba-2948-5aab-ab26-24d7cb570fdd)Letter to Reader (#u23170513-d413-50d3-a1f3-622345568cab)Title Page (#u727175d3-84d3-5722-9502-fd4c566dde7b)PATTY SALIER (#u3c2c6d02-f625-5ee3-aaec-c65d47f23167)Dedication (#u1b51ea56-439e-5f63-83b1-66936c5eb217)Chapter One (#u428b59e2-28ec-57c6-821e-82aecba72539)Chapter Two (#ub24a3e8e-7105-55ed-9f67-796eba3198f9)Chapter Three (#u89acffc2-a8d6-57c3-a1b3-04a8912d85e1)Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

“Your Date Will Be Here Any Moment.”

Elena turned around to meet the man the dating service had picked for her. Her eyes widened when she saw Garrett standing there!

“Garrett, I can’t believe—” She was so thrilled that she could barely speak. “This is so incredible!”

He looked incredible. He was starkly handsome in a black tuxedo that stretched across his broad shoulders and solid chest.

She wanted to ask him a zillion questions about his signing up with the dating service, but she was so flustered being with him that she couldn’t remember the name of the service.

Garrett slipped his hand in hers and led her to the dinner table. As he sat across from her, her heartbeat raced when she felt his knees touch hers.

“To us,” he said, tapping her sparkling glass with his.

She nodded, unable to believe that her dream of being with him had come true.

Dear Reader,

This month, Silhouette Desire celebrates sensuality. All six steamy novels perfectly describe those unique pleasures that gratify our senses, like seeing the lean body of a cowboy at work, smelling his earthy scent, tasting his kiss...and hearing him say, “I love you.”

Feast your eyes on June’s MAN OF THE MONTH, the tall, dark and incredibly handsome single father of four in beloved author Barbara Boswell’s That Marriageable Man! In bestselling author Lass Small’s continuing series, THE KEEPERS OF TEXAS, a feisty lady does her best to tame a reckless cowboy and he winds up unleashing her wild side in The Hard-To-Tame Texan. And a dating service guarantees delivery of a husband-to-be in Non-Refundable Groom by ultrasexy writer Patty Salier.

Plus, Modean Moon unfolds the rags-to-riches story of an honorable lawman who fulfills a sudden socialite’s deepest secret desire in Overnight Heiress. In Catherine Lanigan’s Montana Bride, a bachelor hero introduces love and passion to a beautiful virgin. And a rugged cowboy saves a jilted lady in The Cowboy Who Came in From the Cold by Pamela Macaluso.

These six passionate stories are sure to leave you tingling... and anticipating next month’s sensuous selections. Enjoy!

Regards,

Melissa Senate

Senior Editor

Silhouette Books

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

Non-Refundable Groom

Patty Salier

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

PATTY SALIER

Born and raised in Gravesend, Brooklyn, in New York, Patty credits her mother for her keen logic and her father for her curious, creative mind. She has been a published writer for many years. To Patty, her wonderful husband and two great children are everything she could want in life. “I’ve got so much to be thankful for.”

To my wonderful children,

Diana and Jeff

One

At Grant Property Management in Santa Monica, Elena Martin took a deep breath of courage as she stood up from her desk behind her office partition.

I’m going to get that promotion, she silently repeated like a mantra. I’ve got to get that job!

As she blindly grabbed the folders of the accounts she handled as a property manager, she anxiously thought of ways to convince her boss, Stanley Grant, that she was the perfect person to fill the now-empty seat of vice president.

Glancing down, Elena noticed that a button of her white silk blouse was open, revealing a peek of lacy white bra. She quickly tried to button her blouse and realized that the button hole had stretched too large to hold the button closed.

Everything’s going wrong! she silently screamed.

Ever since she woke up that morning, her emotions had been in an uproar about getting the promotion. She’d left her wallet at home. She didn’t even have her credit card to put gas in the near-empty tank of her car when she drove to work.

Realizing she was a couple of minutes late for her appointment with Stanley, Elena held the files in front of her chest, trying to hide the blouse button in case of another reopening. Then she headed toward his office, walking past the three junior property managers.

“Elena, wait,” called out Grace, a woman in her early sixties who was the receptionist. “Stanley stepped out of his office for a few minutes.”

Elena was too revved up with nervous energy to return to her desk. “He won’t mind if I wait for him inside.”

“But there’s someone else—” Grace’s voice trailed off.

The moment Elena entered Stanley’s office, she came to a sudden halt.

“Stan, I—” a deep male voice began and then stopped.

He was standing by the window with a brown calf leather briefcase in hand. She instantly took in his curly black hair and six-foot, solid frame dressed in a gray suit, pressed white shirt and pale blue print tie.

“You’re definitely not Stanley,” the man said, his twinkling gaze appreciatively taking her all in.

His visual caress sent a tingle straight down to her toes. “I’m Elena Martin,” she stammered, caught off guard by her sensual reaction to him. “I’m a property manager here at the Santa Monica branch.”

His warm charcoal eyes held hers. “I’ve heard Stanley mention your name, but I can’t believe I’ve never met you before,” he said. “I’m Garrett Sims, a property manager at the Sherman Oaks branch.” He stepped closer and extended his hand to her. She noticed that he wasn’t wearing a wedding band.

His large hand covered hers, and she felt a jolt of electricity that completely overwhelmed her. She hadn’t allowed herself to feel close to a man since what happened with her ex-boyfriend, Ted.

She quickly released her hand from his, trying to focus on her promotion goal. “I have a meeting with Stanley.”