“Do you think we should tell your parents about the baby?” Monica asked quietly.

  He shook his head. “Not yet. Mom can only handle so much excitement in one day, and I think she’s reached her quota.” He flashed a glance to just below the dais, where his mother was talking exuberantly with several guests. “We’ll tell them later.”

  She nodded.

  They separated a fraction when Ned approached them, an eager expression on his face. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said, still dressed in the clothes he’d worn to work this morning. “This was delivered to the ranch a couple hours ago, and I thought it looked kinda important.”

  Ryder took the official-looking envelope and Ned turned toward the buffet table. Reading the return address, Ryder muttered, “How important could something from the Nevada Breeders’ Association be?”

  Monica gave a small squeak and grabbed the document out of his hands. Tearing it open, she scanned its contents and squealed again, throwing her arms around his neck.

  “We won! We won!” she cried, bouncing up and down.

  More confused than he thought a groom deserved to be on his wedding day, Ryder took the paper and read for himself. “Ryder’s Royal Rumpelstiltskin?” he asked, arching a brow.

  Monica stepped back, her face awash with delight. “That’s Rumpy,” she explained. “I thought it sounded regal.”

  And then she flattened the page and pointed to a specific line. “This is the important part. Twenty-five thousand dollars. That little horse you keep calling Stumpy instead of Rumpy just won you twenty-five thousand dollars!”

  Ryder stared at her in patented disbelief. And then his eyes narrowed. He’d seen the entry form in his Association newsletter every year, but had never thought of entering, always lacking the steep entry fee, a suitable foal, or both. “And when, exactly, did your precious Rumpy enter this contest?”

  “When he was only a few days old. He’s a very advanced colt,” she said with an air of maternal smugness.

  Ryder chuckled, pulling her close for a hug as other couples flooded the dance floor and a faster-paced song began to play.

  If he’d learned anything in the past year and a half, it was that his wife was an amazing woman. She’d brought in thousands of dollars by using the ranch for photo shoots, which had pretty much single-handedly kept them afloat. She helped pick out new livestock at auction, delivered foals and calves in the dead of night, steered the wheels of justice toward her swindler of an ex-fiancé just so no one else would be cheated by him, and in her free time scoured the internet for deals on quality equine therapy equipment. They weren’t able to build the new barn just yet, but she’d wheeled-and-dealed her way into enough of the necessary trappings that when the time came, they’d be well ahead of the game.

  Ryder thought he’d better watch his back or she’d oust him out of a job.

  “I guess that just goes to show you,” he said, swaying side to side with her to the low bass beat of the music. “We fairy tale folk don’t need anything but a tower and a little bit of pixie dust. Right, Rapunzel?”

  She laughed, letting him spin her in a circle in the middle of the dance floor. “I think you’re mixing your fairy tales again,” she told him. “Peter Pan is the one with Tinkerbell and pixie dust. Rapunzel just had the tower.”

  Ryder gave a deliberate, sensual smile. One he hoped got his point across loud and clear, because he planned to drag her out of here in another two seconds.

  “Well, then…Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.” And he kissed her, long and slow like every good Prince Charming should.

  Did you love this book from Entangled’s Amara imprint? Check out more of our titles here!

  Don’t miss Heidi Betts’s next book! Sign up for our newsletter here!

  Acknowledgments

  An additional tip of my Stetson is owed to reader @MSmeowsie for the suggestion of “Nash” as the last name for Ryder and his family when I realized they needed a new one…

  And to Rebecca Andrews for the Las Vegas maps and information, and for answering all my questions. Any mistakes or fudging of details are my own, because your help was invaluable.

  Thanks a bunch, ladies!

  About the Author

  USA Today bestselling author Heidi Betts loves to laugh and bring a smile to others’ faces whenever possible—which is why she writes fun and flirty romance. Often described as “delightful,” “sizzling,” and “wonderfully witty,” Heidi’s books mix sassy heroines with sensational heroes to create smexy tales of love and laughter. When she’s not writing, Heidi is usually busy wrangling furbabies, encouraging readers to Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy! or poking around online in the name of “research.”

  The next time you’re online, take a minute to visit Heidi’s hangouts and learn more about all of her fabulously sexy titles:

  HeidiBetts.com (the website)

  HeidiBetts.com/WIPSandChains (the blog)

  HeidiBetts.com/newsletter (the mailing list)

  Twitter.com/HeidiBetts (the tweets)

  Facebook.com/FansofHeidiBetts (the posts)

  Pinterest.com/TheHeidiBetts (the boards)

  Discover more Amara titles…

  Butterface

  a novel by Avery Flynn

  I’m not what most people would call “pretty” and, well, high school was rough. Fast forward ten years and life is good… Until a bunch of jerks put the “butterface” (AKA me) on a wedding Kiss Cam with the hottest cop in Waterbury. But then he kisses me. Then he tells everyone we’ve been dating for months. Soon everything starts to feel too real. But there’s something he’s not telling me about why he’s really hanging around, and I’m pretty sure it has to do with my mob-connected brothers. Because this is not a make-over story, and Cinderella is only a fairy tale…

  What Happens in Vegas

  a Girls Weekend Away novel by Shana Gray

  Tough-as-nails detective Bonni Connolly is on a girls’ getaway in Vegas with her friends and she splurges on a little luxury, including a VIP booth in an exclusive club. That’s when she sees him. Professional poker player Quinn Bryant is in town for one of the largest tournaments of the year. What starts as a holiday fling soon turns into something more, as Bonni learns to see the man behind the poker face. Even though Bonni’s trip has an end date and there is another tournament calling Quinn’s name, their strong connection surprises them both. And by the end of the weekend they start to wonder if what happens in Vegas doesn’t have to stay there…

  Handle with Care

  a Saddler Cove novel by Nina Croft

  First grade teacher Emily Towson always does the right thing. But in her dreams, she does bad, bad things with the town’s baddest boy: Tanner O’Connor. But when he sells her grandmother a Harley, fantasy is about to meet a dose of reality. Tanner spent two hard years in prison, with only the thought of this “good girl” to keep him sane. Before either one thinks though, they’re naked and making memories on his tool bench. Now Tanner’s managed to knock-up the town’s “good girl” and she’s going to lose her job over some stupid “morality clause” if he doesn’t step up.

  Screwed

  a novel by Kelly Jamieson

  Cash has been in love with his best friend’s wife forever. Now Callie and Beau are divorced, but guy code says she’s still way off-limits. Cash won’t betray his friendship by moving in. Not to mention it could destroy the thriving business he and Beau have worked years to create. But this new Callie isn’t taking no for an answer. He’s screwed…

 

 

  Heidi Betts, One Wedding, Two Brides

 

 

  Thank you for reading books on GrayCity.Net
Share this book with friends