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  “As soon as I met you, I was attracted to you. Really attracted, obviously.” She reached for his hand and entwined their fingers together. “But I think I was in love with you by the time dessert came.”

  “In love?” Josh asked. Nothing had ever made him so happy as those two words.

  She blinked away the tears that were welling in her eyes. “Of course.”

  He brought their joined hands up to his mouth and kissed her fingers. “God, I love you too. So much. I was so scared last night.”

  “So was I. But mostly, I was afraid that something would go wrong, and I’d never get the chance to tell you how I felt.”

  A tear tracked down her cheek, and he wiped it away with his thumb. “Do I need to ask you again?”

  She laughed shakily. “Technically, you never asked me the first time.”

  “No,” he said, “I guess I never did get to that part.”

  He locked his arms around her waist and looked down into her upturned face, her eyes filled now with happy tears.

  “Hope Callahan, will you marry me?”

  “As if you had to ask,” she laughed, her eyes shining. As she leaned up to kiss him, he kissed her back with everything he had in his heart, trying to make her feel how precious she was to him. When the kiss ended, she rested her cheek over his heart.

  “And you’re sure you want to marry into this crazy family?” he asked.

  She straightened up and punched him lightly in the arm. “Stop doing that. You keep warning me about your family. Yes, there are a lot of them. They’re loud and argumentative. They’re also funny and warm and good-hearted.”

  “You’re right,” he realized. “I’ve been so worried about losing you, I guess I got kind of fixated on how different they were from how you grew up.”

  “Just promise me no more kidnapping.”

  He knew she was only teasing, but it stung a little. “I should have protected you.”

  She shook her head at him. “You can’t protect me every time I want to go for a walk.”

  “I can try,” he insisted.

  “I don’t want someone to protect me every second of every day.” Her lovely blue eyes were serious, and she took his face in her hands. “I want a partner. Someone who will love me for the rest of my life.”

  “Always,” he vowed to her. “I’ll always love you.” He had found his mate, and no matter what happened, he would always be with her.

  Epilogue

  “I can’t look,” Hope said, scrunching her eyes closed.

  “Come on,” Kathy said. “You have to look.”

  “It seemed like a good idea at the time. What if I regret it?” She forced her eyes closed even tighter, so tight that she saw sparks behind her eyelids.

  “I am literally looking at you and telling you that you look great. And I thought you were done being scared.”

  Good point, Hope thought to herself. Slowly, first opening her right eye, then her left, she gazed at her reflection in the full-length mirror.

  Instead of a traditional wedding gown, which would have made her look like a five-foot-three blob of blandness, she’d opted for a vibrant blue dress. And Kathy was right—she looked amazing. The blue dress brought out the color of her eyes, and the flattering shape nipped in tight at the waist and then flared out, falling to the ground in beautiful folds.

  “Oh, my God,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

  “You are not allowed to cry yet!” Kathy reminded her. “One, because you’ll ruin your makeup. And two, because if you cry, I’m going to cry, and I want to look hot for all of your new unmarried uncles and cousins.”

  She took the tissue Kathy handed her and carefully blotted the tears. “Oh, Kathy, I owe you everything.”

  “Not everything,” Kathy teased. “Only most of it.”

  “I’m serious!” She laughed through the tears still crowding her throat.

  “I’m serious too!” Kathy moved to stand next to her, appearing in the mirror like a column of flame in her red and orange dress. “You did this. You did all of this. I gave you a tiny little push.”

  She’s right, Hope thought to herself. I did this. I was scared, and I did it anyway, and now look at where I am.

  “I think it’s time,” Kathy said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze.

  Hope took a final look at her reflection.

  “You’re right,” she agreed. “I look amazing.”

  Kathy led the way down the aisle, a path between the white wooden chairs that led up to the arch Josh and Rick had built. Everything looked exactly as Josh had described it, on that first night that had come so close to separating them. Blue skies above, green grass all around them, tiny yellow flowers that released a sweet scent when the hem of her dress brushed them.

  Hope proceeded down the aisle, her hand wrapped in Rick’s arm. When she’d asked him to give her away, he’d been stunned for a few seconds, and then agreed before suspiciously leaving the room. Hope thought she’d seen him wiping his eyes.

  Josh couldn’t take his eyes off her, and she knew how he felt. In his blue suit and tie, he looked almost unfamiliar, a tall, handsome stranger. Then he smiled. There was the man Hope knew and loved.

  When they reached Josh, Rick proffered a hand to Josh, who shook it firmly.

  “You better take care of her,” Rick threatened. “I know where you live.”

  “Always,” Josh swore.

  Rick kissed her on the cheek, then moved away to take his seat next to his wife in the first row. Hope stepped up next to Josh and took his hand, lacing their fingers together. She couldn’t help smiling, a smile so big that her cheeks hurt.

  “Look at you,” he whispered, echoing the words she’d spoken when she first saw him shifted.

  “Look at us,” she countered.

  He lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her fingers. “You ready for this?”

  “I’m ready for anything,” she promised. “As long as I’m with you.”

  ***

  A note from Zoe Chant

  Thank you for buying my book! I hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like to be emailed when I release my next book, please click here to be added to my mailing list. You can also visit my webpage, or follow me on Facebook or Twitter.

  Please consider reviewing Putting the Heart Before the Horse, even if you only write a line or two. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.

  Page down to read a special sneak preview of Rancher Lion.

  The cover of Putting the Heart Before the Horse was designed by Mara Williams.

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  Special Sneak Preview

  Rancher Lion

  by Zoe Chant

  Sasha sat on the bed, her eyes never leaving the tall, broad frame of the man standing by the stove.

  She didn’t know what it was about him, but after the initial surprise of finding him standing in the middle of the cabin looking down at her, she felt... well, she wasn’t even sure she could put it into words. She felt... comforted by him, somehow. When he’d touched her ankle to check it over, his hands had been sure and gentle, the tips of his calloused fingers warm against her skin. Maybe it wasn’t so much that she didn’t know how to put it, but more that it had been so long since she’d felt safe that she couldn’t explain how it felt anymore.

  Clenching her fists where they rested on the bed, Sasha closed her eyes, trying to blink away her bad memories. Instead, she tried to focus on the amazing smells that were drifting through the cabin from the pot Joe was heating over the stove.

  “If that tastes as good as it smells, you’ll never be able to get rid of me,” she said, her mouth watering. It was no exaggeration: another thing she couldn’t remember was the last time she’d had a decent meal, as opposed to whatever scraps Colfax and his followers had thrown to her.

  “Believe me – it definitely does taste that good,” Joe said, as he flashed her a grin.

  Sasha’s heart fluttered a little at the sight. Not only did Joe have the most comforting and gentle manner of any man she’d ever met, he was also completely gorgeous: broad, lean and muscular, with the kind of tanned skin and hardy look that came from being a true outdoorsman. He had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to reveal forearms that were corded with muscle, and she would’ve had to be blind not to have noticed the way his biceps bulged against the material, and the way his broad chest tapered to narrow hips. He looked like something out of a pin-up calendar, if Field & Stream magazine put out a beefcake edition.

  Swallowing, Sasha forced herself to look away. Stop it. You only just met the man. And it was man trouble that got you into this mess in the first place.

  The reminder of why she was here in Joe’s cabin in the first place was sobering. She’d been an idiot to trust Larssen – but he’d told her he loved her. He’d told her he’d protect her. She’d even been willing to stick with him after he’d told her about what he was – about what he could do. In fact, it’d been part of what had attracted her to him in the first place. She couldn’t imagine she’d been the only one – whatever else he was, Larssen was a damn fine looking man, with a damn fine motorbike, and a damn fine way of talking his way into what he wanted. The fact that he could turn into a massive, shaggy wolf... well, that had only added to his air of danger.

  That air of danger should’ve been a warning to her; Sasha could see that now. She should’ve picked up and run the first time he’d shifted in front of her. But hindsight was 20/20, of course.

  A shiver ran down her spine. She didn’t want to think about Larssen right now. She didn’t want to think about him, or any other member of his creepy pack, and definitely not the Blackwood Pack’s alpha, Colfax. For whatever reason, she was safe here. They hadn’t been willing to follow her to the cabin.

  And Joe’s here now, too.

  The thought popped into her head unbidden.

  Stop it, she quickly told herself again.

  Sure, Joe was kind and helpful. But she couldn’t expect him to get roped into this. She didn’t even know him – and besides, from what she’d seen of shifters, they were a lot tougher than ordinary humans. She couldn’t ask Joe to help her. It’d be asking a perfect stranger to put himself at risk to fix a problem she’d created.

  Plus, she didn’t even know how she’d begin to explain it: Yeah, so my ex-boyfriend dumped me, but the leader of his creepy cult in the mountains told me I wasn’t allowed to leave. Oh, yeah, and all of them can turn into animals at will. Help me out?

  She’d be lucky if Joe didn’t wheel her to the nearest nuthouse.

  “I guarantee, you’ve never had beans like this before.” Joe’s voice interrupted her thoughts. While she’d been lost in her reverie, he’d served up what he’d been cooking over the stove, and was holding out a steaming bowl to her.

  She took it gratefully,
cupping her hands around it a moment to warm them. The fire had died down during the night, and her hands felt a little cold. The smell of the beans was too good, though, and she was just too damn hungry to go on just using them as a hand-warmer for long.

  She lifted the spoon to her lips. Joe was right – the beans were amazing. The rich, buttery taste filled her mouth. There was something slightly sweet and a little tangy about them, every ingredient perfectly balanced. Sasha had eaten beans before – but she felt like she’d never truly tasted them until now.

  “Oh, wow,” she said, when she could bring herself to pause in her eating. “Who cooked this? You?”

  Joe shook his head ruefully. “I wish. No, it’s all my cousin’s wife’s doing.”

  “That’s a pity,” Sasha said, lifting another spoonful to her mouth. “Because I was going to hassle you for your secret recipe.”

  Joe laughed, low and deep. It sent a warm shiver down Sasha’s spine. “No secrets here. I’m sure Charity would be glad to teach you how she does it, when you come back to the main house.” Joe seemed to check himself quickly. “I mean, if you decide that’s what you’d like to do.”

  Sasha looked down into the bowl of delicious beans. In truth, staying with Joe and his family was a tempting offer – but then again, accepting offers of hospitality from handsome men had been what had got her into trouble in the first place. And Larssen had seemed kind at first, too.

  The beans suddenly caught in her throat. What if she was just making the same mistake all over again? She was only just out of Larssen and Colfax’s clutches, but here she was, maybe running headlong into danger again.

  To keep reading Rancher Lion, click here!