have some serious toasting to do.”
“Yep, we certainly do.” Adam tucked Valerie in close as they walked into the bar. What a stroke of luck that he’d been in the right place at the right time that fateful night.
Will had told him it was meant to be. Then he’d sent Valerie out to the ranch. Adam had accused him of matchmaking, like that was a bad thing. It occurred to Adam that not only had it been a very good thing, but he’d neglected to thank Will properly. He’d do that tonight.
But Will was about to get his reward. Adam had found him a poker game. And Adam had never met anyone who could beat Will Bryan at poker.
* * *
Two hours later, Valerie returned from a quick trip to the ladies’ room and paused to survey the crowd. Everywhere she looked, people were smiling and laughing. Some had arrived as strangers and all were from different walks of life, but sharing in the happiness of three joyous couples had made everyone instant friends.
Nothing else seemed important tonight—not social standing, and certainly not wealth or the lack of it. Seasoned ranch hands swapped stories with billionaires. Wealthy matriarchs talked earnestly with soccer moms. All around her, walls were coming down and stereotypes were being smashed.
Glancing across the room, she caught and held Adam’s gaze. He smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. She’d been a little worried that this eclectic group wouldn’t jell, but it had. And now she knew why. All that mattered, all that ever really mattered, was love.
Keep reading for a preview of the first installment in Vicki Lewis Thompson’s Perfect Man trilogy
ONE NIGHT WITH A BILLIONAIRE
Available now from InterMix
I’m in Paris.
Melanie Shaw stared at the façade of Notre Dame as the deep-throated bells counted down the hour. Ten o’clock in the morning. Instead of mucking out stalls or riding the fence line at her daddy’s ranch outside of Dallas, Texas, she was standing in front of frickin’ Notre Dame. Amazing.
Her plane had landed two hours ago, and she still couldn’t believe she had both feet planted in Paris, France. Only one thing could have made this moment better—if her friends Val and Astrid could be here with her.
They’d become friends in college, and five years later, they were tighter than ever. A few months ago all the planets had been aligned for this trip. They’d found a killer plane fare and had spontaneously booked it. Then Val had been unlucky enough to get caught in a bomb scare during a concert. She’d suffered a broken arm and two broken ribs. Although those had healed, she avoided crowds and wouldn’t be traveling anytime soon.
Melanie had adjusted to having Val stay home. Astrid was a great traveling companion and they’d still have fun, even without Val. Then, a couple of weeks ago, one of Astrid’s clients developed a problem with a pregnant mare. With the mare’s life on the line, Astrid had reluctantly canceled her trip, too.
Melanie had almost given up once her friends had bailed. The hotel they’d booked was way too expensive for her to handle alone, so she’d cancelled that reservation. But she’d held onto her airline ticket because she couldn’t bear to think of not going. An online search had yielded a cheaper hotel, although it was also far from the main attractions.
Her boyfriend Jeff had said she was crazy to consider traveling alone, but he wasn’t about to go with her to someplace where he didn’t speak the language. His provincial attitude had pounded the nail in the coffin, and she’d ended their relationship. It had been on the skids, anyway.
Now that she was actually here, though, she’d better get busy and take some pictures with her phone. She’d left her suitcase with the hotel desk clerk because she couldn’t check in until noon, but she had her backpack with all her sightseeing essentials crammed inside. Shrugging it off, she unzipped a side pocket and reached for her phone.
Without warning, the
“Yep, we certainly do.” Adam tucked Valerie in close as they walked into the bar. What a stroke of luck that he’d been in the right place at the right time that fateful night.
Will had told him it was meant to be. Then he’d sent Valerie out to the ranch. Adam had accused him of matchmaking, like that was a bad thing. It occurred to Adam that not only had it been a very good thing, but he’d neglected to thank Will properly. He’d do that tonight.
But Will was about to get his reward. Adam had found him a poker game. And Adam had never met anyone who could beat Will Bryan at poker.
* * *
Two hours later, Valerie returned from a quick trip to the ladies’ room and paused to survey the crowd. Everywhere she looked, people were smiling and laughing. Some had arrived as strangers and all were from different walks of life, but sharing in the happiness of three joyous couples had made everyone instant friends.
Nothing else seemed important tonight—not social standing, and certainly not wealth or the lack of it. Seasoned ranch hands swapped stories with billionaires. Wealthy matriarchs talked earnestly with soccer moms. All around her, walls were coming down and stereotypes were being smashed.
Glancing across the room, she caught and held Adam’s gaze. He smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. She’d been a little worried that this eclectic group wouldn’t jell, but it had. And now she knew why. All that mattered, all that ever really mattered, was love.
Keep reading for a preview of the first installment in Vicki Lewis Thompson’s Perfect Man trilogy
ONE NIGHT WITH A BILLIONAIRE
Available now from InterMix
I’m in Paris.
Melanie Shaw stared at the façade of Notre Dame as the deep-throated bells counted down the hour. Ten o’clock in the morning. Instead of mucking out stalls or riding the fence line at her daddy’s ranch outside of Dallas, Texas, she was standing in front of frickin’ Notre Dame. Amazing.
Her plane had landed two hours ago, and she still couldn’t believe she had both feet planted in Paris, France. Only one thing could have made this moment better—if her friends Val and Astrid could be here with her.
They’d become friends in college, and five years later, they were tighter than ever. A few months ago all the planets had been aligned for this trip. They’d found a killer plane fare and had spontaneously booked it. Then Val had been unlucky enough to get caught in a bomb scare during a concert. She’d suffered a broken arm and two broken ribs. Although those had healed, she avoided crowds and wouldn’t be traveling anytime soon.
Melanie had adjusted to having Val stay home. Astrid was a great traveling companion and they’d still have fun, even without Val. Then, a couple of weeks ago, one of Astrid’s clients developed a problem with a pregnant mare. With the mare’s life on the line, Astrid had reluctantly canceled her trip, too.
Melanie had almost given up once her friends had bailed. The hotel they’d booked was way too expensive for her to handle alone, so she’d cancelled that reservation. But she’d held onto her airline ticket because she couldn’t bear to think of not going. An online search had yielded a cheaper hotel, although it was also far from the main attractions.
Her boyfriend Jeff had said she was crazy to consider traveling alone, but he wasn’t about to go with her to someplace where he didn’t speak the language. His provincial attitude had pounded the nail in the coffin, and she’d ended their relationship. It had been on the skids, anyway.
Now that she was actually here, though, she’d better get busy and take some pictures with her phone. She’d left her suitcase with the hotel desk clerk because she couldn’t check in until noon, but she had her backpack with all her sightseeing essentials crammed inside. Shrugging it off, she unzipped a side pocket and reached for her phone.
Without warning, the
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