Cassandra slipped in the mud, and made a grab for Matt’s lean waist to break her fall. He stopped and turned, steadying her onto her wobbling feet.

“Hang in there, okay? It’s not much further now.” He gave her a smile edged with pain, and continued down a trail that had turned into something from her nightmares. They had been walking for what felt like hours. Their world had turned into a dreary gray bubble from which there seemed no escape. To add to the misery, someone up above had forgotten to turn off the water tap. She’d never been more wet and miserable in her life.

And to top it all off, she had a feeling they were lost.

Matt wasn’t saying, but his dratted valley couldn’t have been that far away. They were missing in the middle of a Texas thunderstorm and their bodies would never be found. Jeff would be a widower before he even got married. And her dad… It hurt too much to think of her dad so she concentrated on the broad back of her nemesis.

This was all his fault.

If he hadn’t yanked her off her horse and into his arms… well, none of this would have happened. Never mind that her heart had thrilled to his touch. He’d been about to kiss her silly. She’d seen it in the flare of his pupils and felt it in the touch of his hands before the ground exploded beneath them. His first instinct had been to protect her. He’d rolled to keep her safe, ignoring his own danger. Much as the man annoyed her, no one had ever done anything like that for her before.

He confused her.

He had a lot of qualities to admire. His dedication to family and the depth of love for his grandmother for one, enough to bring a stranger into his home under false pretences if it made her happy. He may have gone about it the wrong way, but his heart was in the right place. If she were honest with herself, she’d enjoyed getting to know the Shaughnessy clan. Sophia was sweet, their brother, Aaron, funny, Grandma Shaughnessy seemed kind, and Matthew… Matt was too handsome for his own good. Charismatic, self-confident, and trouble for her peace of mind. The sooner this week was over and she got back to normal, the better.

After all, she was getting married.

And if the expected excitement was missing, well who could blame her? She didn’t think too many brides came into their final days before a wedding pretending to be another man’s fiancée. Bet there was a romance novel in there.

She smiled just as Matt turned around to check on her.

“Glad you’re having fun back there, princess. That color of brown is particularly attractive on you.” He grinned. “Do you think you could pick up the pace a little? We’re not out for an afternoon stroll.”

Ooh, that man.

Unable to resist, Cass bent down the moment he turned around, and grasped a handful of Texas topsoil turned sludge. She took careful aim and wound up like a professional baseball pitcher, before letting her missile fly. It hit him square in the back of his egotistical head with a satisfying thwump.

She was so busy snickering that she failed to realize he’d grabbed his own handful of muck. Next thing she knew a big splat landed on her chest, little bits flying to blend with the rain bathing down her face.

She looked down, shocked. He’d hit her. Not physically, but still… She glared at him while wiping the worst of the mud off. She was going to owe Sophia some clothes. Scratch that, her brother was going to owe her.

“Are you serious?” she asked, her tone screeching worse than the howling wind.

Matt raised his hands in the universal sign for peace. “Hey, you started it. Good thing there were no rocks in there, you could’ve given me a concussion.”

“Like I could be so lucky,” she muttered.

“What’s that?” He rubbed a satisfyingly big glob out from behind his ear.

“I’m sorry,” she said louder. “The devil made me do it.”

He grinned again, and held out his hand. Butterflies twirled in her tummy. “That, I believe. C’mon, let’s get dried up.”

She looked at him like he was nuts. They were in a monsoon. Hoping to humor the crazy man, she grasped his hand and let him lead her where he wished.

* * *

Matt slipped and slid over the muddy terrain grinning like a loon. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this much fun. Maybe never.

He glanced down at the sodden female by his side and had a hard time corresponding her with the immaculately put together young lady he’d met on the stairs in Las Vegas. That woman he’d been physically attracted to, with her perfect body and uppity attitude. But, this female next to him… she called to him on a whole other level. He wanted to get to know her, spend time with her, make love to her.

Not sex. Love.

What the hell was he thinking?

She was so far out of his reach she could be in another galaxy. Besides the fact she was engaged, she was also a senator’s daughter. Somehow, he didn’t see her falling for someone like her father. A gambler.

For once, his profession bothered him.

Usually, he saw it as a means to an end. He won, the ranch survived. Simple. Now though, he wished he’d taken on almost any other occupation; doctor, lawyer, race car driver. Okay, maybe not that one, but something Cassandra could accept from a potential beau.

Beau?

Was he on a soap opera for crying out loud?

“What’s that?”

He startled, thinking he’d said something for a moment, but she was pointing to a gap in the rock face they were quickly approaching.

He squeezed her chilled fingers. “That,” he said. “Is the entry to Eden.”

She dug in her heels. “You want us to go in there?” She shook her head and wet hair sent spray flying into his face. “Uh, uh. There might be snakes, or spiders, or who knows what else. I’m not going in there.”

Well, when she put it that way.

He picked her up over his uninjured shoulder and entered the crevice, her shrieks rebounding off the walls.