Kennedy Martin is shocked when her ex calls days before his wedding, expressing serious second thoughts. Doesn’t he see his fiancée’s actually the glaze to his doughnut? Now she’s got no choice but to crash his wedding and convince the man he’s with the right woman.

Instead, she crashes into the absolute last man she ever wanted to see: Maverick Owens, her old college nemesis. Maverick is still as awful, infuriating, and just The Worst as ever?even if he looks way too sexy in his cowboy hat. And of course he’s convinced she’s actually at the seaside ranch to ruin the wedding.

Now the only way to get some face time with the groom and save this marriage is to participate in all sorts of pre-wedding events…with Maverick. Stuck on a canoe, making small-talk at cocktail hour, and even a hoedown with her worst enemy? This just might be the longest week of her life…

Excerpt

“I hear you and my brother had a good time today.”

“How did you hear that?” Certainly not from Maverick. She doubted he’d characterize their time together as “good.”

“I guess it was more of an observation. I asked him how it went with the tour of the trees and he got an annoyed look on his face.”

She laughed.

“Which, for the record, I hope means you weren’t annoyed, too. What’s the story with you two?”

“No story.” She didn’t want to be rude and tell Hunter his brother had been an A-plus jerk in college.

“There’s some story there. Only one other girl has ever gotten him worked up like you do.”

She stared at the yellow and orange flames of the fire, unsure what to make of that. Her cheeks heated, from the heat but also—weirdly—from the pleasure of knowing she affected Maverick on more than a superficial level. That saying about knowing your enemy and keeping them close might be true for reasons she’d been afraid to examine too closely.

She was about to ask Hunter about this other girl when a man cleared his throat from behind them. That she knew without a glance it was Maverick sent a string of goose bumps up her arms.

“Hey, big brother, we were just talking about you.”

Maverick frowned. “I came to find you. I think it’s time.”

“Yeah?” Hunter’s voice rose an octave, excitement clear as the star-filled sky.

“Time for what?” Kennedy asked.

“Barley is having her babies,” Hunter said. At Kennedy’s confused expression, he added, “Barley is Mav’s dog.”

“Oh, wow. Can I come? I’ve never seen puppies being born before.” She might not be keen on horses and mules, but she liked dogs and loved the practice of medicine in all its forms.

“Sure,” Hunter said, while Maverick pressed his nice lips together in coolness.

Nice lips? She must be on a sugar high if she was assigning an adjective to his mouth. For the rest of the night, she vowed not to notice them again.

“Come on,” Maverick said. “I’ve got my truck.”

“Where are we going?” Kennedy asked, following the men at a good clip. With Reed nowhere in sight and no communication from him, she couldn’t think of anything better than watching puppies come into the world.

“My house.” Maverick opened the front passenger-side door for her, effectively directing Hunter to the back seat. Rather than complain, Hunter simply smirked at his brother.

Kennedy clicked her seat belt into place. She had a million questions. Was the vet meeting them there? Were home births common? How long was labor? Was this Barley’s first litter? But when Maverick slid into his seat and looked at her, he must have seen the curiosity written all over her face because, before she could get out a single word, he pressed his finger to her lips. So surprised to feel his calloused skin on one of the softest parts of her, she stayed absolutely silent.

“All your questions will be answered there,” he said calmly.

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About the Author

Robin Bielman is the USA Today bestselling author of over fifteen novels. When not attached to her laptop, she loves to read, go to the beach, frequent coffee shops, and spend time with her husband and two sons.

Her fondness for swoon-worthy heroes who flirt and stumble upon the girl they can’t live without jumpstarts most of her story ideas. She writes with a steady stream of caffeine nearby and the best dog on the planet, Harry, by her side. She also dreams of traveling to faraway places and loves to connect with readers. To keep in touch, sign up for her newsletter on her website! www.robinbielman.com