“How do you get used to it?” Jason asked her.

  “The darkness,” he explained when he realized that Addie had tilted her head in his direction and was giving him a quizzical look.

  “Oh, it’s not always so dark,” Addie assured the builder.

  “Yeah, in the daytime there’s the sun,” he deadpanned.

  Addie looked at him patiently. “I wasn’t talking about that. Some of the time,” she went on, “there’s a full moon out and that casts a lot of light.”

  “But most of the time there isn’t a full moon,” he reminded her. “Like when there’s a new moon out and the area is pitch-black.”

  Addie really didn’t see anything wrong with that. “Oh, I don’t know. That can be pretty romantic at times,” she pointed out. “Haven’t you ever been out with a woman and wished that the surrounding area wasn’t quite as brightly lit as it was?” she asked as she turned toward him. “In a way, the darkness makes people bolder. It gives them permission to do things that they might not be brave enough to attempt to do in the light of day,” Addie maintained.

  And then he moved closer toward her. As if on cue, her heart began pounding. Jason slowly reached out to frame her face. Addie anticipated what was going to happen next.

  She stood very, very still.

  What happened next happened almost in slow motion.

  Jason bent over her and then his lips covered hers. Addie’s breath caught in her throat while her heart went on pounding.

  Wildly.

  Dear Reader,

  Welcome back to the little town of Forever. The good news is that the hardworking, friendly citizens are finally getting a general hospital of their own. That means they will no longer have to travel over fifty miles when time is of the essence in life-and-death cases.

  Of course, along with the erection of this all-important new edifice, there is also the all-important romance. Ellie and Neil’s (from Secrets of Forever) wedding has been put on hold until Miss Joan is strong enough to take over the wedding arrangements. And there are two new romances, too! After years of suffering from guilt, Miss Joan’s younger sister, Zelda, finally falls for a good man, the widower Eduardo Montenegro. Contrasting this couple’s slow progress toward love is Adelyn Montenegro, Ellie’s sister, and Jason Eastwood, Neil’s cousin who has been tapped to be Neil’s best man. Their path is more tempestuous. So there are actually three weddings in this book, as well as a new, much-needed hospital. How’s that for a happily-ever-after?

  As always, I thank you for picking up one of my books. I hope you find reading it as enjoyable as I found writing it. And from the bottom of my heart, I wish you someone to love who loves you back.

  Love,

  Marie

  The Best Man in Texas

  Marie Ferrarella

  USA TODAY bestselling and RITA® Award–winning author Marie Ferrarella has written more than three hundred books for Harlequin, some under the name Marie Nicole. Her romances are beloved by fans worldwide. Visit her website, marieferrarella.com.

  Books by Marie Ferrarella

  Harlequin Special Edition

  Forever, Texas

  The Cowboy’s Lesson in Love

  The Lawman’s Romance Lesson

  Her Right Hand Cowboy

  Secrets of Forever

  Matchmaking Mamas

  Coming Home for Christmas

  Dr. Forget-Me-Not

  Twice a Hero, Always Her Man

  Meant to Be Mine

  A Second Chance for the Single Dad

  Christmastime Courtship

  An Engagement for Two

  Adding Up to Family

  Bridesmaid for Hire

  Coming to a Crossroads

  The Late Bloomer’s Road to Love

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  To

  The Real Ellie and Addie

  Two Adorable Little Girls

  Who Won My Heart

  From The Day They Were

  Each Born

  Never Lose That Special Magic

  That Is You

  Love,

  G-Mama

  Contents

  Prologue

  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

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Excerpt from Mistletoe Season by Michelle Major

  Excerpt from The Cowboy’s Christmas Retreat by Catherine Mann

  Prologue

  It was all coming together.

  Thinking about it, Dr. Neil Eastwood smiled to himself. After what had seemed like an endless wait, Neil could finally—finally—see the goalpost. His wedding to Ellie was no longer a nebulous mirage shimmering seductively off in the distance. It would actually be here in thirty days.

  If he was being honest with himself, he would have preferred that the wedding would be here within a day or two. But in the last six months, he had learned that things didn’t exactly move all that fast in Forever, Texas.

  Not unless it was an emergency that involved Miss Joan, the town’s undisputed matriarch. And although this did involve Miss Joan, it wasn’t her opinion but her health that had been the problem these last six months.

  To make things more complicated, he was the one who had to sign off on her, the one who had been brought in to operate on the woman in order to stabilize her heart and now had the last word when it came to her ability to get back to life as she knew it.

  Who would have ever imagined, Neil now thought, that his own heart would come into play when he had gotten involved in what had amounted to this selfless act—he hadn’t charged Miss Joan for the operation.

  But his heart had definitely gotten involved. He had fallen in love with Elliana Montenegro, the feisty, independent pilot who had flown out to fetch him so he could attend to the opinionated matriarch.

  He had quickly learned that Miss Joan all but ran Forever.

  And now the woman was putting together their wedding in her own inimitable way. Quite honestly, he could have sworn that planning this wedding had actually contributed to and insured her complete recovery. It didn’t take him very long to look beneath the layers and see that the crusty Miss Joan really enjoyed leaving her mark on people’s lives.

  The added bonus to having saved a life was that if it hadn’t been for his coming out to attend to Miss Joan, he would have never met the woman of his dreams. He certainly wouldn’t be anxiously waiting now to finalize their union.

  The smile on Neil’s lips intensified. All that was left to do on his end was to secure his best man.

  He knew just the man for the job, had known him ever since they had been young boys together, growing up in New York City.

  It occurred to Neil as he put his cousin’s number into his cell phone that he hadn’t talked to Jason in over six months.

  Had that much time really gone by? Neil caught himself wondering. It seemed like one day he was answering an old friend’s request and getting on a plane to Texas, the next he was getting involved with a bright-eyed, sexy pilot, and suddenly, the entire structure of his life had completely refocused.

  Hearing the phone on the other end being answered, Neil straightened in his office chair. “Jason?” he asked the moment he heard his cousin say “Hello?”

  There was a pause on the other end and then a deep, puzzled male voice asked, “Neil?”

  “Yeah, it’s me,” Neil confirmed happily, leaning back in the chair again.

  “Wow,” Jason marveled, happy to hear from his cousin. “It’s really you. I was beginning to think you had fallen into an abyss. So what’s it been, nine months?”

  “Six,” Neil corrected.

  Jason laughed softly under his breath. “Six,” he repeated, then confessed, “I’ve been busy myself. I guess I kind of lost track of time. Where are you these days?”

  There was a time when their paths crossed with a fair amount of regularity, but that hadn’t been for a while now.

  “I’m still in Forever, Texas,” Neil replied, just about to launch into his request. This, he was certain, was bound to knock Jason’s socks clean off.

  “Sorry to hear that,” Jason said, cutting in. “The locals decide they couldn’t pass up the chance of having a cardiac surgeon in their midst and took you prisoner?”

  “Not exactly, although technically I am a prisoner—” Neil began, only to have his cousin cut him off again.

  Jason wasn’t sure if his cousin was putting him on or not. “You’re kidding, right?” he asked Neil.

  Rather than explain his comment, Neil went right to the heart of the reason behind his call. “Listen, Jason, what are you doing in a month?”

  The question stopped Jason in his tracks. He assumed that his cousin was asking him ab
out his work. While the rest of the family had gone into some discipline of medicine, including his parents, Jason had gone into the practical aspect of building and outfitting the medical facilities where surgeries could take place. Lately he had been building or updating hospitals.

  “As it is,” Jason told his cousin, “I’m just wrapping up my latest project in Staten Island and looking for something new to work on. Why? What’s up?”

  Neil felt that although there was no one to witness it at the moment, his grin would split his face. “I want you to fly out here and be my best man.”

  Neil heard the sound of the cell phone being dropped, then the sound of that same phone being grabbed and picked up again.

  “Jason? Are you still there?” Neil asked. He had figured that his cousin would be surprised, but not this surprised.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m still here. I thought I heard you saying something about wanting me to be your best man,” Jason explained, certain he must have misheard. He had just assumed that he and his cousin were eternal bachelors.

  “I did and I do. Will you?” Neil asked.

  When he spoke, Jason sounded nothing less than stunned. “This must have been some rescue mission you were on,” he said, referring to his cousin’s last communication via email.

  Neil laughed. “You don’t know the half of it. But I’m more than willing to fill you in on all the details once you get here. Which leads me back to my first question—can you come?”

  “To your wedding?” Jason asked incredulously, finally getting his bearings back. “Just try and stop me. All I need to know is exactly where and when,” he said, remembering the boyhood pact they had made long ago to be there if the other ever found “someone dumb enough to marry you.” They had been ten and twelve at the time.

  Neil quickly gave his cousin the date and the location, and added, “Oh, and Ellie and I will meet you at the airport so she can fly you in the rest of the way.”

  “Fly me in the rest of the way?” Jason repeated. “Why?”

  “There’s no connecting flight to Forever,” Neil explained. “The closest airport is over fifty miles away.”

  That caught Jason off guard. He had been aware, from what Jason had said before he left, that Forever was a small town. But he had just assumed the airport was only a hop, skip and jump away from the place.

  “You’re kidding, right?” Jason asked.

  “No.” Neil thought his cousin was referring to his bride-to-be doing the piloting. “Ellie has her own plane. Like I said, I’ll explain everything when you get here,” he promised again. And then he thought about the town needing a hospital. “And, if you’re interested, I’ve also got a really great project for you to sink your teeth into.”

  This whole proposition was beginning to sound more and more enticing, Jason thought, as he looked at the calendar on his desk.

  “I can be there in three weeks,” he told Neil, his mind already making all the necessary arrangements. It wouldn’t hurt to come out early so that he and Neil could spend some time catching up before everything took off. “Oh, and Neil?”

  “Yes?” Neil asked, preparing to terminate his call.

  “I’m really happy for you,” Jason said warmly, even though he was still trying to get used to the idea that Neil was actually getting married.

  Neil laughed, picturing what life would be like four weeks in the future. The thought definitely excited him.

  “Yeah,” he answered, “me, too.”

  Chapter One

  “So you’re telling me that Neil’s younger cousin is planning on coming out to Forever a week early?” Ellie’s younger sister, Adelyn, asked her in surprise.

  This was the first she was hearing about this, Addie thought. But then, she had been extremely busy these last few months. Aside from helping to get ready for Ellie’s wedding, she had finally completed her business degree in what had been lightning speed. In the last six months, Addie had done what amounted to a total about-face. But then, once she decided to do something, there was just no deterring her from her path.

  And Addie had witnessed so many changes taking place in Ellie’s own life. It was finding out that Ellie was getting married that finally convinced her to go after her own degree. She felt the need to take charge of her own life.

  And, just like that, getting that degree was suddenly what really seemed to matter to her.

  Her priorities were shifting.

  Addie’s mouth curved suddenly. Who would have thought? she mused.

  Meanwhile, Ellie kept her face averted as she continued cleaning her plane. Knowing nothing about him except that he was very important to Neil, she wanted to create a good first impression on Neil’s cousin.

  As she worked, she answered her sister’s question.

  “That’s the word—early,” Ellie replied. “Neil hasn’t seen his cousin in almost seven months. They were always very close when they were kids. According to Neil, they occasionally lost track of each other here and there, but they always managed to get together whenever they could,” Ellie told her sister. “Actually, they seem closer than brothers,” she said.

  “The wedding gives them both the perfect excuse, especially since Jason told Neil he just finished work on a project.” Ellie smiled, thinking how excited Neil had been, telling her about the plan he had come up with. “That was when Neil asked him to be his best man. Coming out a week early is the perfect opportunity for the two of them to catch up on each other’s lives before the big day takes place.”

  Her curiosity aroused, Addie asked her sister, “Is his cousin a doctor, too?”

  Ellie shook her head. “The rest of his cousin’s family are all in the medical profession. Jason is the ‘black sheep.’ He focuses on working on buildings.”

  “Buildings,” Addie repeated. “You mean like he gets businesses up and running?” she asked, trying to understand what Neil’s cousin actually did for a living.

  “No,” Ellie answered. “He switched his major and got, among other things, a degree in structural engineering. Lately, he’s been overseeing building or renovating hospitals.”

  Addie started thinking about all the conversations she had overheard about Forever needing to have its own hospital. This was beginning to sound better and better. “He builds hospitals?” Addie asked, making sure she wasn’t just reading into this.

  Ellie put down her cloth. “That’s what Neil said. I didn’t get too much of a chance to talk to him about his cousin.”

  “Why not?” Addie asked. She would have thought that would be the main topic, given that the wedding was almost here and, according to Ellie, Neil’s cousin was going to be here even sooner.

  “Frankly, Neil was too busy reviewing Marion McCarthy’s recent records on her heart,” Ellie told her. “The woman has been having chest pains.” Ellie laughed softly to herself as she shook her head. “It seems now that we have a cardiologist in our midst, everyone who is experiencing chest pains is coming in for EKGs and EEGs to make sure they’re not going to keel over.”

  Ellie looked up to see her sister rolling her eyes at her comment. “What?” she asked, looking at Addie curiously.

  Her sister frowned slightly. “You and Neil are still in the romantic stage of your lives together, Ellie,” she pointed out. “And I’m really thrilled that you two found each other. Just don’t let Neil’s cousin—or anyone else, for that matter—divert your attention from each other. At least wait until you’ve had a chance to spend your first year together. You’ll have the rest of your lives to deal with other people’s interference,” she predicted.

  Ellie didn’t look convinced. Neil was a doctor and she was very proud of him. In her opinion, trying to get him to focus on her just didn’t seem right. “That would be selfish.”

  There were times, Addie thought, that Ellie came off like a saint, although she would never say as much to her sister.

  “No,” Addie contradicted, looking into her sister’s eyes. “That would be wonderful. You deserve it, Ellie.”

  Ellie couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, who are you and what have you done with my sister?”

  Addie raised her shoulders, then let them drop. “Well, you’re always telling me to grow up. So I just decided to finally take you up on your advice.”