Cathy Thacker - Lone Star Twins

Hand against her spine, he brought her as close as the full skirt of her wedding gown would allow. Poppy let her body sway to the beat of the music, relaxing now that the big picture moments were finished. Their first dance, the toasts, the cake-cutting and endless picture-taking.

All of which had prompted an extended trip down memory lane. “Remember our very first dance?”

“The senior prom? You quarreled with your date a few days before …”

“So he ended up taking someone else.”

“And I stepped in, as your friend.”

She’d come very close to falling head over heels in love with Trace that night. But knowing how he felt about romance in general, she had come to her senses in time to preserve their growing friendship. To the point they hadn’t even shared a good-night kiss when he’d finally dropped her at her front door, at dawn.

“And you’re still doing it.”

Lone Star Twins

Cathy Gillen Thacker

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CATHY GILLEN THACKERis married and a mother of three. She and her husband spent eighteen years in Texas and now reside in North Carolina. Her mysteries, romantic comedies and heartwarming family stories have made numerous appearances on bestseller lists, but her best reward, she says, is knowing one of her books made someone’s day a little brighter. A popular Mills & Boon author for many years, she loves telling passionate stories with happy endings and thinks nothing beats a good romance and a hot cup of tea! You can visit Cathy’s website, www.cathygillenthacker.com, for more information on her upcoming and previously published books, recipes and a list of her favorite things.

Contents

Cover

Introduction Trace whisked her back into the crowd of swaying couples. Hand against her spine, he brought her as close as the full skirt of her wedding gown would allow. Poppy let her body sway to the beat of the music, relaxing now that the big picture moments were finished. Their first dance, the toasts, the cake-cutting and endless picture-taking. All of which had prompted an extended trip down memory lane. “Remember our very first dance?” “The senior prom? You quarreled with your date a few days before …” “So he ended up taking someone else.” “And I stepped in, as your friend.” She’d come very close to falling head over heels in love with Trace that night. But knowing how he felt about romance in general, she had come to her senses in time to preserve their growing friendship. To the point they hadn’t even shared a good-night kiss when he’d finally dropped her at her front door, at dawn. “And you’re still doing it.”

Title Page Lone Star Twins Cathy Gillen Thacker www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author CATHY GILLEN THACKER is married and a mother of three. She and her husband spent eighteen years in Texas and now reside in North Carolina. Her mysteries, romantic comedies and heartwarming family stories have made numerous appearances on bestseller lists, but her best reward, she says, is knowing one of her books made someone’s day a little brighter. A popular Mills & Boon author for many years, she loves telling passionate stories with happy endings and thinks nothing beats a good romance and a hot cup of tea! You can visit Cathy’s website, www.cathygillenthacker.com , for more information on her upcoming and previously published books, recipes and a list of her favorite things.

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

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

“Christmas has come early this year,” Poppy McCabe announced from her impeccably decorated living room in Laramie, Texas.

Lieutenant Trace Caulder stared at the screen on his laptop. He’d never seen his best friend look happier.

The only bummer was that they were separated by thousands of miles, as was usually the case. Determined to enjoy every second of their video-slash-web chat—despite the fact he was currently stationed on an air base in the Middle East—he kicked back in the desk chair and drawled in the native Texas accent that mirrored hers, “Really, darlin’? And how is that?” Given that even Thanksgiving was still several days away.

“You remember when you were home on leave two months ago?”

Hard to forget that weekend in Fort Worth. For two people who’d never been in love and likely never would be, they sure had amazing chemistry.

Oblivious to how much he wanted to hold her lithe, warm body in his arms and make sweet love to her all over again, Poppy persisted on her verbal trip down memory lane. “When we went to the Stork Agency and met Anne Marie?”

That had been the only serious part of the entire rendezvous, but important nonetheless. “Sure, I remember,” Trace said, pausing to take in the sexy fall of her thick, silky mahogany hair. A sweep of bang framed her oval face; the rest tumbled over her slender shoulders. Lower still, the five-foot-seven interior decorator had shapely calves, delicate feet, a taut tummy and trim waist, and full, luscious breasts that were meant to be worshipped. Very little of which he could actually see, given that the image on the screen only showed her from the ribs up...

But then, given how much time he’d spent paying homage to her lovely form, and vice versa, he didn’t really need to see her body to remember it. Fondly. He could tell by the way she often gazed at him that Poppy felt the same.

“Anne Marie was a nice kid.” And at seventeen years old, Trace recollected, way too young to be pregnant. That was why she was giving up her children for adoption.

“Well, she’s picked us to raise her twins!” Poppy exclaimed with a joyous twist of her velvety-soft lips.

“Seriously?”

“Yes! Can you believe it?” She paused to catch her breath. “There’s only one itty-bitty problem...”

Trace saw the hesitation in Poppy’s dark brown eyes. Waited for her to continue.

She inhaled sharply. “She wants us to be married.”

Whoa now. That had never been on the table.

Trace swung his feet off the desk and sat forward in his chair. “But she knows we’re just friends—” and occasional lovers and constant confidantes “—who happen to want to be parents together.” He thought the two of them had made that abundantly clear.

Poppy folded her arms in front of her, the action plumping up the delectable curve of her breasts beneath her ivory turtleneck. Soberly she nodded, adding, “She still gets that neither of us want to get hitched.”

No woman prized her independence more than the outspoken Poppy. For a lot of very different reasons, he felt the same. “But?” he prodded.

Wrinkling her nose, she reluctantly explained. “Anne Marie’s decided she would feel better if we were actually married at the time of the adoption. And, as it happens, the Stork Agency apparently has a requirement of their own—that any time more than two children are adopted simultaneously, there be two married adults with a longstanding relationship doing the adopting.”

“The agency officials didn’t say anything about this when we were there, meeting Anne Marie and the other girls.”

“Apparently they didn’t expect Anne Marie to choose us...but they wanted to give her a basis for comparison. As it turns out there was another couple that was also in the running, which Anne Marie’s mother met and prefers, and they are married. But in the end, Anne Marie decided she wants us. On the condition,” Poppy reiterated with a beleaguered sigh, “that we get hitched and the kids have the same last name.”