Less-than-Innocent Invitation

This month in

LESS-THAN-INNOCENT INVITATION

by Shirley Rogers

Her ex-fiancé, Logan Voss, is the last man Melissa Mason wants to see. But see him she must since his ranch is the last available place to stay. She'll simply avoid him…which is easier said than done once he makes it clear he wants to renew their acquaintance.

SILHOUETTE DESIRE
IS PROUD TO PRESENT

A new drama unfolds for six of the state's wealthiest bachelors.

 

And don't miss the next installments of the Texas Cattleman's Club: The Secret Diary series

STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL ATTRACTION

by Brenda Jackson

and

ROUND-THE-CLOCK TEMPTATION

by Michelle Celmer

Available from Silhouette Desire!

Dear Reader,

Welcome to another fabulous month of novels from Silhouette Desire. Our DYNASTIES: THE ASHTONS continuity continues with Kristi Gold's
Mistaken for a Mistress
. Ford Ashton sets out to find the truth about who really murdered his grandfather and believes the answers may lie with the man's mistress—but who is Kerry Roarke
really? USA TODAY
bestselling author Jennifer Greene is back with a stellar novel,
Hot to the Touch
. You'll love this wounded veteran hero and the feisty female whose special touch heals him.

TEXAS CATTLEMAN'S CLUB: THE SECRET DIARY presents its second installment with
Less-than-Innocent Invitation
by Shirley Rogers. It seems this millionaire rancher has to keep tabs on his ex-girlfriend by putting her up at his Texas spread. Oh, poor girl…trapped with a sexy—wealthy—cowboy! There's a brand-new KING OF HEARTS book by Katherine Garbera as the mysterious El Rey's matchmaking attempts continue in
Rock Me All Night
. Linda Conrad begins a compelling new miniseries called THE GYPSY INHERITANCE, the first of which is
Seduction by the Book.
Look for the remaining two novels to follow in September and October. And finally, Laura Wright winds up her royal series with
Her Royal Bed
. There's lots of revenge, royalty and romance to be enjoyed.

Thanks for choosing Silhouette Desire. In the coming months be sure to look for titles by authors Peggy Moreland, Annette Broadrick and the incomparable Diana Palmer.

Happy reading!

Melissa Jeglinski

Senior Editor

Silhouette Desire

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

From the diary of Jessamine Golden

August 10, 1910

L
ogan Voss checked his watch for the third time in the space of fifteen minutes. Damn! The 125th Anniversary celebration of Royal, Texas, had started only an hour ago, but he felt as if he'd been there for hours. From the excitement in the air, it appeared to be a huge success.

Scanning the festively decorated ballroom of the Texas Cattleman's Club, he took a sip of the whiskey he'd been nursing for the past half hour. The August event was in full swing. Conversation and laughter flowed just beneath the song being belted out by a local country band. Logan knew just about everyone here. Many of the men were members of their elite club, some of them the same men who had talked him into attending this party.

He spotted Jake Thorne and Christine Travers dancing and smiled. Seeing as Jake had sworn he wasn't
ready for anything serious with a woman, and most especially with Christine, Logan couldn't have helped but give his friend a hard time when he'd greeted him earlier in the evening. Now Jake had taken the proverbial fall, and he and Christine were planning to be married

Better him than me, Logan thought, loosening the tie around his neck. He'd been down that road before, had ended up buying his freedom from a marriage that never should have taken place.

Despite their divorce and financial settlement, Logan held no hard feelings for his ex-wife. It had been mostly his fault that their relationship hadn't worked out. Though he'd failed to realize it at the time, he'd married her for all the wrong reasons—his breakup with Melissa Mason being at the top of the list.

Melissa
.

Hell, he hadn't thought about Melissa in what…at least a month. That was probably a record for him. Even after more than ten years apart, she usually crossed his mind every week or so. It was said that you never really forget your first love. Logan had to agree. Melissa's beautiful smile and sexy green eyes still haunted him.

He sighed and shoved away from the wall. What was wrong with him? The last person he needed to think about tonight was Melissa.

“Hey, Logan. What are you doing over here by yourself?”

“Mark.” Logan greeted Mark Hartman, another single member of their elite club. After the death of his brother and sister-in-law, Mark had been named the guardian of his nine-month-old niece. How he managed
taking care of a baby, operating his ranch and running a self-defense studio puzzled Logan, especially since Mark seemed to have trouble holding onto a nanny. “Actually, I was just thinking about leaving,” Logan admitted.

“You're kidding, right?” Mark took a sip from his glass, then gestured with the same hand toward the crowd. “With all these pretty ladies to dance with?”

“I notice you're not out there.” From their conversations, Logan had learned Mark was also hesitant about becoming involved with a woman. Years ago while he was overseas on a mission, the ex-marine's wife had been abducted and killed. Though he rarely spoke of her death, from the sadness that lingered in his friend's eyes, Logan suspected Mark had never gotten over it.

“Point taken.” Mark drained the last of his drink. “Some celebration, though. There's even a reporter with a crew here from a Houston television station.”

“Yeah?” Logan wasn't really interested in the coverage of the city's anniversary. Working his ranch didn't leave much time to watch television. Even if he met the reporter, he doubted he'd recognize the guy.

Mark nodded his head, indicating a group of people across the room. “A woman. Pretty, too. I heard she used to live here.”

The small hairs on Logan's neck prickled. He shifted his attention to the crowd. He didn't see anyone who he suspected could be the reporter. But… He scanned the group again, slower this time, and his gaze landed on a woman, her back turned to him.

Layers of auburn curls cascaded past her shoulders. She wore a sparkly white cocktail dress made to en
hance her slender figure. As if she sensed him watching her, she looked in his direction.

Logan's breath whooshed out as if he'd received a hard punch to his midsection.

Melissa
.

“Damn,” he muttered.

“You know her?” Mark asked, not missing the change in Logan's demeanor.

“I used to.” Logan tracked her movements as she lifted her hand and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. Every muscle in his body tightened.

How could she have an effect on him after all this time? It had been more than ten years since he'd set eyes on her. But watching her now, it felt as if it had only been yesterday when he'd fallen in love with her and asked her to marry him.

Pain sliced through him. Logan remembered only too well how she'd come to his ranch the day after she'd accepted his proposal and told him she'd changed her mind and was leaving town. Melissa had spoken of leaving Royal when they'd begun dating. But after seeing each other nearly every day, he'd believed her when she'd said she loved him. Apparently she hadn't meant it.

The music throbbed around him as he thought about the last month he'd spent with her. Everything in his life had fallen into place. He'd always loved the Wild Spur, the ranch he'd been raised on. He'd loved it as much as his younger brother, Bart, who had been spoiled by their father, hated it. He'd moved into Royal as soon as he graduated and Logan rarely ran into him.

When their father had died of a heart attack, the
brothers had made plans for Logan to buy out Bart's portion. The plan suited both of them. They'd never been close and Bart had wanted no part of the Wild Spur. But neither of them had known about the stipulation their father had put in his will.

The first son to marry would get the Wild Spur.

At first angry at their father, Logan and Bart had discussed how to get around the will. Then they realized they didn't have to worry. Logan was already in love with Melissa. When they married, everything would be his and he still could buy out Bart's part of the inheritance.

So he'd proposed to Melissa and she'd accepted.

Except a day later she'd changed her mind.

Without looking back, she'd dismissed him from her life. He hadn't been able to tell her she was ripping him apart inside.

Vulnerability wasn't an emotion Logan was familiar with. Losing his mother at the age of eleven, he'd been raised by a demanding father who hadn't encouraged sharing feelings. Logan had learned to hold what he thought and wanted to express inside.

He watched now as Melissa laughed at something the man beside her said and his chest began to ache. Afraid that she'd met someone else, he hadn't gone after Melissa, hadn't given her a chance to hurt him further. He'd always believed himself a smart man. He knew he should let bygones be bygones. The last thing he needed to do was to stir up unwanted memories. But damn it, he wanted answers. He wanted to know why she'd left, why she hadn't talked to him.

Would he accomplish that if he confronted her?
Would he see a fraction of the pain that he'd felt for years in Melissa's face? Would that make him feel any better? Would it heal his heart and let him move past the torment he'd endured?

And how would he react if it didn't? What if she looked at him as though she barely remembered him? God, if she did, he didn't know how he'd handle it. Could he walk away from her and salvage his dignity?

What if she gazed at him and he saw regret in her lovely green eyes? It wasn't as if they could pick up where they left off before, right?

And he wouldn't want to, anyway. He wouldn't trust his heart to her again. No, sir. Not again. But he damn sure wanted some answers from her. And if she didn't want to talk, he'd figure out some way to convince her.

He threw back the remainder of his drink, then set the glass down with a thud on a nearby table. Whether hearing the truth from Melissa would heal his pain or not, he deserved to know what had happened and he wasn't letting her leave town until he knew.

“See you later,” he muttered to Mark. Logan's boots echoed with a steady beat on the hardwood floor as he started across the room.

 

With something close to fear squeezing her chest, Melissa watched Logan Voss storm across the ballroom, aimed in her direction. No, not fear, she quickly corrected herself. Anxiety? Oh, yeah. Anticipation? Most definitely. Awareness? Yes, even awareness, she admitted to herself, unable to deny the quick stir of her heart.

From the moment she'd been given the assignment
to cover the anniversary celebration of her hometown of Royal, Texas, she'd known the odds were high that she'd run into Logan.

But considering the promotion she'd been promised if she did the story, the risk had been worth it. Of course, that was
before
she'd arrived.

And before she'd seen Logan.

She should have known that she'd run into him tonight. All day while filming in Royal, she'd been feeling edgy, almost sensing impending doom about to strike her. Now that doom was heading straight for her in the form of one very determined and grim-faced rancher.

Melissa quickly searched the room for the nearest exit. After the rumors she'd heard about the secret missions of the wealthy members of the Texas Cattleman's Club, she'd wanted to satisfy her curiosity by talking with a few of the members.

Too bad she had to cut her visit short.

Hoping to escape before Logan reached her, she broke off her conversation with her videographer and sound person, Rick Johnson. However, before she could take a step, Logan blocked her path. Her gaze traveled up his broad chest, over his set jaw and finally connected with his gorgeous gray-green eyes.

She acknowledged what any warm-blooded female had to admit—the years had been awfully good to Logan. He was what, thirty-four now, three years older than herself. The only wrinkles she could make out on his sexy face were tiny lines crinkled around his eyes. Laugh lines, weren't they called?

Only Logan didn't look as though he had laughing on his mind.

Steeling herself, Melissa offered Logan a polite smile, one she'd perfected as a reporter. She'd be damned if she'd let him know just how hard her heart was beating.

“Logan, hi. It's been a long time.” It was an effort to keep her voice light and appear at ease when it took all of her strength just to stand there in front of him.

“Over ten years,” Logan replied, then cursed under his breath for making it sound as if he'd been counting. At least she knew who he was. One hurdle crossed.

Melissa tilted her head as if trying to recall the time, when in reality it was etched permanently in her mind. “Yes, I guess you're right. How have you been?” she asked, her tone more nostalgic than she'd intended. It wasn't every day she made polite conversation with the only man she'd ever loved, the same man who had ruthlessly used her for his own greed.

Logan propped his hand on his hip as his gaze dropped lazily over her. “Well, sweetheart, I've been just dandy. How about you?”

Melissa's breath dammed in her lungs. Though barely discernable, she caught the underlying sarcasm in his voice. What did
he
have to feel put off about? He was the one who had hurt
her
all those years ago.

But she refused to be baited by him. Dredging up unpleasant memories was not on her list of things to do while in town. “I've been fine. I'm in Royal covering the anniversary celebration,” she explained, feeling it was safer to keep their conversation on a neutral subject.

He remained silent, forcing Melissa to pick up the
conversation again. “I'm a reporter for WKHU, a television station in Houston.”

Logan's jaw tautened. “So you got what you wanted.”
A life away from Royal.

Away from me.

He mentally shut himself off from the hurt of their breakup. Crossing his arms, he stared at her. He'd heard rumors that Melissa was a journalist somewhere, but the rare times her name came up in a conversation, he excused himself because he didn't want to know where she was.

Or who she was with.

Houston. All these years she'd been here in the state of Texas. Hell, what did it matter? She'd made her choice a long time ago.

Melissa stiffened her carriage. “A life as a reporter? Yes.” Her answer held little truth. She'd wanted him. Forever. Until she'd learned the selfish truth of why he'd asked her to marry him.

Logan raised a skeptical eyebrow. She frowned, a bit put off by his cynicism. “Don't look so shocked. I've been doing this a long time, and I've worked hard, taking assignments other reporters have turned down.”

Including coming back to this town.

After years of proving herself by covering every type of story imaginable, she'd begun to believe if she was ever going to get a desk assignment, she might have to move to another station in a larger market. Although she liked and respected the station's news director, Jason Bellamy, he had yet to give her a chance.

Until last week. She had Jason's word that if she covered this one last story, she'd be promoted to a week
end news position becoming available in a month. Her dreams lay before her. She only had to complete this last assignment.

“Actually, I'm impressed,” Logan admitted. And he was. His love hadn't been enough to make Melissa happy, but apparently she'd found what she'd been searching for in her work. Had her satisfaction also come in the form of another man? He glanced at her left hand and noticed it was free of any wedding rings.

“Thank you.” From the hard edge in his voice, Melissa doubted his sincerity. Their parting had been traumatic for her. How had he handled it? She wanted to know, but she wasn't going to ask.

Silence fell between them. With her emotions in turmoil, she had to get out of there. She sent Rick a desperate look, but he was engaged in a conversation with Daniel, her story producer, who had come to Royal as part of their crew.