Mistletoe Cowboy

Read the Excerpt

She’d made a hash of things with Cody once, risked the love and respect of her
family, then been betrayed by him. That wouldn’t happen again. And yet… Here he was.
She couldn’t stop looking at him. His eyelashes swept down like fans to hide his dark
eyes, and a short silence followed before she said, “You’ve changed, lost some weight.”

Cody pretended to examine his forearm, all corded muscle. “Yeah, but take a look
at my tan.” And her heart turned over. His T-shirt read Navarro Correctional Facility. “I
did a lot of work outside there.” His mouth set. “How long, angel?” His once-familiar
endearment for her went through Willow like a sword. “How long did it take you to
forget? To start seeing Thad Nesbitt—” The man, the lawyer who’d sent Cody to prison.

So, he’d heard about their engagement.

He looked at her ring, a yellow diamond set in platinum, which needed to be
resized. “Go big or go home, huh?”

She gave a weary sigh. “Cody, stop. We were through before you went to trial.”
Her voice shook. “You’d better go. I’m glad your sentence was shortened. I hope that’s
behind you now. I wish you all the best—”

“Wow. That sounds like some Dear John letter.”

“Yes,” she said.

For a long moment Cody didn’t speak. Then, with his voice barely above a
whisper, he said, “Do you love him as much as you said you loved me?”