His First Love - Liz Isaacson Page 0,115
her.
Swallowing, she said, “Thank you.” She turned and went back to Molly, whose sisters were now pinning her flower crown in place. “We should go, Matt.” She stopped next to Molly, trying to figure out which words to use.
“They complete that outfit,” Molly said, holding very still. “You were gorgeous before, but now you’re over the top.” She grinned. “You’re going to have so many men asking you to dance. Hunter has practically everyone from HMC here. There’s a very good looking lab technician named Larry….” Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and Gloria shook her head though she smiled.
She sort of lunged at Molly and hugged her tight. So tight, Molly grunted. “Thank you.” Gloria released her and walked past Matt, not able to look him in the eyes. Behind her, he said something to Molly, and before she knew it, he’d caught up to her.
He didn’t offer his arm again, and they’d already started down the hall anyway. “Those earrings are stunning,” he said.
“It’s too much,” she said. “I shouldn’t have taken them.”
“You know the Hammonds are billionaires, right?” he asked.
Gloria’s step slowed, and she cut a look at Matt out of the corner of her eye. “I mean, I haven’t asked, and I haven’t seen their bank accounts.”
“Every one of them,” he said. “Hunter, all of his siblings, though they don’t know it yet. His dad. All the uncles. The grandfather. Billions.” He smiled in a soft, friendly way. “They can afford a pair of earrings.”
Gloria wanted to argue with him that principles had to be maintained. At the same time, she didn’t want to argue with him.
His fingers brushed hers, and Gloria pulled in a breath. On the next step, she inched a little closer to him, and this time his hand caught right on hers. He fumbled slightly but quickly aligned their fingers.
“Is this okay?” he asked, his voice a near-whisper as they approached the end of the hall. Beyond that doorway, the grand hall would arch above them, and they’d attend the wedding.
Gloria couldn’t get her voice to work, so she simply nodded.
Matt squeezed her hand, and she wondered how she could tell him everything that had happened in the past twenty years. One piece at a time, she thought.
He increased his step and jumped in front of her right as they reached the doorway. “Are you staying for the whole thing?”
She had no choice but to look into those eyes. His curiosity lived there, shrouding something else she couldn’t identify.
“The wedding, the dinner, the dance?” he asked. “All of it?”
“I was planning on it.”
He took a step closer and looked down at the narrow space between their bodies. She had no choice but to breathe in the sexy, male scent of him, and while her brain screamed at her to back up, her feet didn’t move a single centimeter.
“Are you really going to dance with anyone who asks?”
Gloria emitted a light scoff. “No one’s going to ask.”
“I’m asking,” he said. “Right now.” He took her other hand in his and met her gaze. “I don’t want you to dance with anyone but me tonight.”
She had no idea what to say. He wore his confidence well, and he always had. Well, he’d been a bit different than she remembered when they’d first reunited in Ivory Peaks. She’d learned he was only four months out of a marriage, and he’d seemed softer. Still strong and hardworking, but not so filled with bluster and laughter.
Months had passed since then. Over a year. Slowly, she’d watched him heal into a new version of himself, and surprisingly, Gloria had done the same. Her attraction to Matt had never really left her; it had only been lying dormant.
Until now.
“What do you think?” he whispered. “Will you dance with me—and only me—at this wedding?”
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About Liz
Liz Isaacson is a USA Today bestselling author and a Top 20 Kindle All-Star Author. She is the author of the #1 bestselling Three Rivers Ranch Romance series, the #1 bestselling Horseshoe Home Ranch Romance series, the Brush Creek Brides series, the USA Today bestselling Steeple Ridge Romance series (Buttars Brothers novels), the Grape Seed Falls Romance series, the #1 bestselling Christmas in Coral Canyon Romance series (Whittaker Brothers and Everett Sisters novels), the Quinn Valley Ranch Romance series, the #1 bestselling Last Chance Ranch Romance series, and the #1 bestselling Seven Sons Ranch in Three Rivers Romance series (Walker Brothers novels), the #1 bestselling Christmas as Whiskey Mountain Lodge Romance series (Hammond Brothers novels), the #1 bestselling Shiloh Ridge Ranch in Three Rivers Romance series (Glover Family novels), and the Ivory Peaks Romance series.
She writes inspirational romance, usually set in Texas and Montana, or anywhere else horses and cowboys exist. She lives in Utah, where she writes full-time, walks her two dogs, and eats a lot of peanut butter M&Ms.
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His First Love
Book One in the Ivory Peaks Romance series
by Liz Isaacson
Copyright © 2020 by Elana Johnson, writing as Liz Isaacson
Published by AEJ Creative Works
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in, or encourage, the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
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