A Christmas Wedding

A Christmas Wedding
Tracy Wolff

Desiree is determined to hold on to her husband.She's loved Jesse Rainwater since the day the legendary horse trainer came to work at her father's ranch. Now, on the eve of their daughter's wedding, Jesse hits her with a bombshell that forces Desiree to reexamine their life together. And she isn't going down without a fight.She hasn't struggled all these years to lose the thing that's most precious to her. Desiree knows they share something true and strong, even if they lost sight of it somewhere along the way. Now her toughest battle lies ahead: to prove to Jesse that theirs is a love worth fighting for.

She shuddered at the first touch of his lips

There was an unbearable sweetness that came from being touched by Jesse. Before he could move, before he could stop, Desiree wrapped her arms around his back, pulling him even more tightly against her.

His lips closed over hers gently, sweetly, and for a moment the earth ceased to spin. Warmth started in her belly, as her body came to life for the very first time. His mouth moved against hers once, twice, and the warmth became a burning she never could have imagined. She moaned softly and opened her lips.

And then it was over. Jesse was thrusting her away from him, his breathing harsh. “Desiree—”

“Shh.” She reached up, her fingers once again resting against his mouth. “Don’t beat yourself up over this. I was the one who kissed you.”

Then she spun around and ran toward home, knowing—deep inside—that her life had irrevocably changed. It might take her a few years, but Jesse Rainwater was going to be hers. He just didn’t know it yet.

Dear Reader,

It is with great joy and excitement that I write this, my first letter to you, about A Christmas Wedding. This is a story near to my heart, not just because it is my first (which would be reason enough) but because it takes place very close to my own home.

I got the idea as I was driving through central Texas one summer day with my entire family. We had just passed a Thoroughbred farm and my oldest son, who was eight at the time, was fascinated by the place. His questions prompted me research to help him find the answers, and that research hooked me on the idea of a book set in the Thoroughbred racing world.

And though I had the setting down right away, the characters were a little harder to come by. I wanted a tough-as-nails Thoroughbred rancher, but I wanted her to be a woman. Imagine, I thought, the struggles she would have as she fought for her place in a sport still dominated largely by men. Well, Desiree Hawthorne was born, and because she needed a hero as strong and sexy and smart as she was, so was Jesse Rainwater.

I’ve written a number of books since A Christmas Wedding and have loved all of my characters. But Jesse and Desiree are my favorite, perhaps because they have to fight so hard to find—and hold on to—each other in a world that is constantly shifting beneath their feet.

I’ve been a Harlequin reader for twenty years now, ever since my mother first stuck a Harlequin Romance novel in my hand after a fruitless trip to the bookstore, where I had read every young adult novel on the shelves. Therefore it is a huge thrill to me to have my first novel be a Harlequin Superromance book. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it—drop me a line at tracy@tracywolff.com and let me know what you think.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Tracy Wolff

A Christmas Wedding

Tracy Wolff

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tracy Wolff collects books, English degrees and lipsticks, and has been known to forget where—and sometimes who—she is when immersed in a great novel. Married for twelve years to the alpha hero of her dreams, she is the mother of three young sons and an English professor at her central Texas community college. Tracy loves to hear from her readers, so check out her Web site at www.tracywolff.com and her blog at sizzlingpens.blogspot.com.

For my mom,

who started this whole roller-coaster ride

so many years ago, and for Jenn, who swears

she always knew I could do it.

Thanks to both of you for sticking by me.

Acknowledgments

Beverley Sotolov for believing in this story and

for her patience as she helped a brand-new writer

get her feet wet so beautifully; and to

Wanda Ottewell for helping make this novel

the best it could be and answering

a million or so questions.

Thank you both.

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 ONE

“I’VE HAD IT, DESIREE. I can’t do this anymore. Not for one more day. Not for one more minute.”

“What’s the matter?” Desiree Hawthorne-Rainwater asked with raised eyebrows, glancing up from her jewelry box just in time to see her husband of twenty-seven years hurl a large manila envelope at the center of the bed they hadn’t shared in more than a year.

“This.” Jesse’s eyes darkened to obsidian as he used a sweeping gesture to encompass everything in the room, his voice vibrating with contained fury. “All of this.”