Free The Marshal Takes A Bride by Sylvia McDaniel

say to her?
    “I don’t know what to say,” he mumbled, taken aback.
    “She came by the clinic the other day, and I thought I had made it abundantly clear to Eugenia that you and I would never marry. She sent this veil to me to show her faith in just how much she believes we belong together.”
    Tucker cringed and shook his head in disbelief. “I tried to warn you.”
    Sarah watched him, a frustrated expression on her beautiful face. “I was bluntly honest with her, and she didn’t hear me.”
    “Did she send a note with the veil?”
    “Yes. She had the gall to ask me to wear the thing when I married you.”
    Tucker burst out laughing. “Well, she’s going to be waiting a long time.”
    “I’m glad you find this amusing. I’ve been rather annoyed.”
    “I’m sorry. Even I never thought she would go this far,” he said, wondering if anything he said to his mother would do any good.
    Sarah sighed. “I attempted to talk to her, let her know that we would never be a couple, but she obviously chose to ignore me.”
    He cringed. Sarah’s words sounded so final, yet that was what he wanted.
    “I’ll talk to her again, and tell her to leave you alone.”
    “What makes you think she’s going to listen to you?” Sarah sighed. “I hate to admit this, but I think you’re right about your mother.”
    She stared at him, the blue of her eyes reminding him of a clear bright sky, where he wanted to lose himself.
    “I’ve been reconsidering your suggestion.”
    “Oh?” Tucker said, suddenly uneasy. Maybe the idea of her courting other men wasn’t such a good idea after all.
    “Maybe it would be good for me to be seen with other men. Maybe then she would understand that there will be nothing between the two of us and leave us both alone.”
    “That’s what I was thinking,” he said, but somehow the scheme just didn’t seem quite as agreeable as before.
    The thought of her being with one of his friends made him wince. How could he look at the two of them together without remembering how it felt to be in Sarah’s arms? How could he look at Sarah without thinking even the slightest nod in his direction would have him back in her bed, as long as there were no commitments, no promises.
    She looked damn good standing here, her blue eyes sparking with indignation, her blond hair pulled up off her delicate neck. He wouldn’t hesitate at an opportunity to kiss her succulent lips. Hell, he wouldn’t hesitate at an opportunity to share her bed again.
    “Okay, I’m willing to try this idea of yours just so she will leave me alone. You line up the men, and I’ll agree to have dinner with them, be seen with them,” Sarah said “I’m willing to try this at least once.”
    Tucker stared at her a moment, thoughts racing through his mind. How could he back out of this plan? How could he admit to her that he didn’t want to see her with other men? He couldn’t.
    “I’ve already got the first one in mind. I’ll contact him and see if he’s interested,” Tucker agreed ignoring the apprehension he felt at her seeing other men. This was what he wanted. Right? He couldn’t back out now.
    “All right. In the meantime, what do you want me to do with the veil?” she asked.
    “Keep it.”
    “The veil is your mother’s. I’ll return it to her when I go to see Rose. That way I can tell her to her face just how her plan isn’t going to work.”
    Tucker picked it up and looked at the pearl headdress. “I’m surprised she didn’t send you the entire dress.”
    “Maybe we were never the same size,” Sarah acknowledged.
    Tucker couldn’t help but glance over Sarah’s body. No, he doubted very seriously if his short, plump mother had ever had as many curves as Sarah, or was ever built to make a man dream about running his hands over her generous breasts and small waist.
    The urge to wrap her in his arms and let his fingers glide across her velvety skin engulfed him. He wanted to feel her naked flesh beneath his