by Diana Palmer
Part of Long, Tall Texans, book 22
First published 2004
Christabel Gaines lives in a marriage that exists only on paper. Five years earlier, Texas Ranger Judd Dunn arrested her father and sent him to prison. Now Judd has become her husband in a business arrangement designed to prevent their shared ranch from going under. He keeps his distance and ignores the attraction that sparked between them from the start. Christabel has grown from a naive girl into a determined woman who wants more than this cold partnership. Just as Judd prepares to end their fake marriage, a dangerous enemy emerges. This threat targets Judd by going after what matters most to him: Christabel. The couple must face armed confrontation while wrestling with feelings they have tried to suppress. Christabel proves she will risk everything, even her life, to protect the man she loves. Their survival depends on confronting both external enemies and the passion they can no longer deny.
Genres: romance, suspense, thriller, contemporary-romance
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, second-chance
Setting: Texas
Period: Contemporary
357 pages · Mass Market Paperback · MIRA