Kimberly Lang - Last Groom Standing

Marnie Price’s guide to surviving the bridesmaid blues…

1. Get a new man

2. Find a new job

3. When in doubt, drink wine!

Having watched her three closest friends all find love, Southern belle Marnie Price feels as if she’s the only single girl left. Luckily she’s found a solution—one sizzling night with Dylan Brookes. This man wears a wedding tux better than anyone, but all Marnie wants to do is get beneath it!

Dylan is all about making the sensible choice, and a fling with his ex’s friend Marnie is about as far from sensible as he can get! Marnie might prove to him that taking risks is worth it, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to give up his bachelor status quite yet, does it…?

Marnie had forgotten about Dylan, who seemed to also be finishing off a drink—something dark in a glass, on the rocks. ‘Tough day?’

‘I lost my job this morning.’

‘That does suck. I think I should buy you a drink.’

She could well afford to buy her own drinks, even without a job, and she didn’t really need his company, either. Dylan Brookes wouldn’t have been her first choice of drinking partners, but it did beat a total stranger, and he didn’t seem in a hurry to leave, making her wonder if maybe he had a few woes to drown, as well.

‘All right, then.’

‘Another chardonnay? Or perhaps something stronger?’

She waved over a server. ‘I’d like a shot of Patrón, two limes, with a Dos Equis back, please.’ She turned to Dylan and shot him an innocent smile. ‘And for you?’

Dylan shot her a smile that said there was some sign of life in there. ‘Same.’

The server returned with their drinks, and Dylan lifted his shot glass in a toast.

She lifted her own glass and nodded. Then Dylan licked the salt off the rim of the glass and she nearly fell off her chair in shock.

Things were looking up.

Dear Reader,

I was so excited to be asked to be part of the first MODERN TEMPTED™ continuity—especially when I found out that I’d be lined up with Aimee Carson, Amy Andrews and Heidi Rice. We had so much fun creating the characters and the concept, and it was just an awesome experience working with such talented writers.

But the downside to working with such talented writers is that they’re so darn good. Like utterly intimidatingly good. And my book would come last in the line-up. Talk about pressure! (Picture me hyperventilating into a bag of jelly beans when I read their fabulous books.)

In the end, though, I couldn’t be more pleased with what we did. While I love Marnie and Dylan to pieces, I also love Gina and Carter, Cassie and Tuck, and Reese and Mason. Marnie and Dylan may be ‘mine,’ but I’m quite invested in the others, as well—very much like a doting auntie. I hope you come to love them as much as we do.

So big kisses to Aimee, Amy and Heidi—thanks for making this experience an amazing one. You ladies (and your books) rock!

And, as always, I’d love to hear from you, dear reader. You can find me on Facebook and Twitter or on my website at www.booksbykimberly.com.

Kimberly

THE WEDDING SEASON

Look out for Gina’s story this month in Maid of Dishonour by Heidi Rice!

Don’t miss Reese’s and Cassie’s stories, out last month!

It’s a reunion to remember—with sizzling, scandalous, and very surprising consequences …

Last Groom Standing

Kimberly Lang

www.millsandboon.co.uk

KIMBERLY LANGhid romance novels behind her textbooks in junior high, and even a master’s program in English couldn’t break her obsession with dashing heroes and happily ever after. A ballet dancer turned English teacher, Kimberly married an electrical engineer and turned her life into an ongoing episode of When Dilbert Met Frasier. She and her Darling Geek live in beautiful north Alabama with their one Amazing Child—who, unfortunately, shows an aptitude for sports.

Visit Kimberly at www.booksbykimberly.com for the latest news—and don’t forget to say hi while you’re there!

This and other titles by Kimberly Lang are available in eBook format—check out www.millsandboon.co.uk

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To my aunt Lou Ann, who introduced hundreds of children to the magic of books and the joy of reading. I hope some of them are reading this now. ~Grin~

(And a quick shout-out to Jane—again—since your dedication didn’t make it into the last book!)

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Epilogue

Excerpt

PROLOGUE

Ten years ago, Hillbrook University campus, upstate New York...

“She had s-sex with Carter.”

Marnie Price stumbled over the word—sex wasn’t something she was overly comfortable talking about, and ironically it was Gina’s influence over the past year that had gotten her to the point where she could even talk about it at all.

She didn’t know who was more in the wrong: Gina, who was supposedly her friend, or her brother, Carter, who had succumbed to Gina’s wiles even though he was engaged to another woman. The betrayal cut deep for Marnie, and she couldn’t quite make sense of it.

Lord, just when she thought she was beginning to figure things out... Everything she thought she knew was crumbling down around her, making the situation worse.

Reese stroked her hair, making soothing noises. Although technically her roommate and landlady, Reese was also the big sister she’d never had. At least Reese would understand. “I’m sure we’re missing part of the story,” she began.

Reese’s willingness to let Marnie live with her so her family would believe she was being properly looked after in the big, bad world was the only reason she’d been allowed to enroll at Hillbrook in the first place. And while Marnie would be forever grateful for that, Reese’s attempted defense of Gina only drove the knife deeper. “It seems pretty straightforward to me. How could Gina do that? She seduced my brother, took advantage of him. Does she not think any man is off limits?”

“Carter’s an adult, and he’s equally responsible for his actions.”

Marnie couldn’t believe this was Carter’s fault. They’d been raised with the same values, the same knowledge of right and wrong. Sex was for marriage, something saved solely for your future spouse, but Carter had still betrayed that fundamental belief—as well as his bride—making him a hypocrite of the worst sort.

Her heart constricted with pain for her best friend, who’d spent the past year planning the perfect wedding to start their perfect life together. Missy would be heartbroken.

She’d never been comfortable with Gina’s overt sexuality, the way she treated sex like a recreational sport and men like disposable items, but there was something in her spirit and embrace of life that was attractive, too. It hadn’t been enough to sway her morals, but then Gina had never tried to seduce her, either. The girl was a proud, self-proclaimed maneater.