The Morning-After Proposal

The Morning-After Proposal
Sheri WhiteFeather

Like a man possessed, Dylan Trueno had searched for—and finally found—Julia Alcott, the one woman he could not forget.Though they were practically strangers, he vowed to brand her as his own…even if it meant preserving a secret that could destroy their very souls. How to resist such an uncompromisingly sexy man?Julia had fought so long to keep her identity, how could she allow herself to be swept into Dylan's conflicting world where secrets, scandals and the sensual danger of becoming his wife awaited her?

The

Morning-

After

Proposal

Sheri Whitefeather

To Diana Ventimiglia, my editor’s assistant.

Sometimes Diana seems like my assistant, too.

She helped me with the production schedule on this

series, one hectic day after the other. Thanks, Diana.

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

Epilogue

One

Dylan Trueno had finally found her. And he wasn’t letting her go.

Not this time.

Determined to make his point, he stared straight into her eyes, making her catch a stunned breath.

Instant recognition, he thought. The reoccurrence of a time-bomb attraction.

They stood face to face in the doorway of a cozy old house on the Rocking Horse Refuge. Dylan had been searching for her for eight months, and today he’d hit pay dirt.

He moved a little closer, and she took a step back. Just seconds ago, she’d answered the door to find him standing there, flinching at the sight of him.

She didn’t say anything and neither did he. He kept staring at her, piercing her with his gaze. She wore a floral-printed blouse and slim-fitting jeans with a frayed hemline. Her face was devoid of makeup and her jewelry consisted of a simple gold cross.

He thought she looked much too lean, as if she’d lost weight since the last time he’d seen her, as if she’d been to hell and back.

But he knew she had.

Trapped, she glanced away and fidgeted with the ends of her hair. It was blonde now, but she was still the same girl who’d purposely disappeared.

“Julia,” he finally said.

“My name is Janie Johnson,” she replied, using her alias, pretending to be someone else. “But my boss calls me JJ.”

Dylan assumed she worked for the old man who owned the refuge. “I spoke with Henry on the phone, and he’s expecting me.”

“He told me we were having company. A famous horse trainer. But I didn’t even think—”

“That it would be me?” He wanted to reach out, to hold her, to lift her into his arms like he’d done before. But he kept his hands to himself. “This isn’t a coincidence. I came here looking for you.”

“You’re mistaken. I’m not Julia.”

“Yes, you are. We both know you are.”

Silence stretched between them, and Dylan cursed beneath his breath. Finding her had become his relentless pursuit. And now that he’d located her, she denied being Julia.

Her stubbornness struck a frustrated chord. She wasn’t supposed to mess with his emotions. She wasn’t supposed to twist him out of shape, to contort every gut-clenching part of his life.

But she did.

Because he wanted her. He didn’t care if they were practically strangers. That wasn’t an issue for him. They’d shared a moment in time that went beyond logic.

The day they’d met, he thought. The day she’d cried in his arms. The day she’d almost kissed him.

“Why is Henry expecting you?” she asked suddenly.