He's The One - an Excerpt       

By Jane Beckenham

To Cade Harper, she was a prim little girl, about to be bad.

Without speaking, Cade opened the car door, and she slid in, careful not to get too close. However, once seated Taylor wasn’t so sure accepting his offer was a good idea. The interior was small and far too intimate and only served to fire her wayward hormones.

In clipped tones, she gave him her address and retreated into silence.

As the car eased out of the car park, excitement, fear and anticipation all rolled into one coursed through her veins. It forced Taylor to focus on emotions she’d never experienced before, and she felt totally inadequate. Nothing in her life had prepared her for Cade. Being engaged to Rob held nothing on being taken for a ride by Cade Harper.

And there lay her problem.

“So how come wedding planning? Don’t the couple and their families do that?” Cade asked as they drove through the silent suburb.

Her tension eased with a sigh of relief. This was her forte, and at last she could relax. “In the past, yes. But today people want something different.”

“And you can give it to them?” he questioned. Although Cade drove, Taylor read the true interest in his expression. She smiled, and then chuckled with laughter.

“What?” And he gave her a comical expression. “What did I say wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just the same expression I’ve seen many times before. The grooms would be happy with a tent and few beers, then the bride gets some ideas, and it’s never the same again. Horrified groom versus excited bride.”

“So what do you do?”

“Dr. Phil says if the ‘wife ain’t happy, then neither will anyone else be’. So seems to me there’s a bit of meeting in the middle to get it sorted.”

Cade looked suitably appalled, then refocused on the road. “And does it—get sorted I mean?”

“Mostly.”

“So what sort of weddings, besides expensive, do you conjure up for ‘happy’ couples?”

“Fantasy, of course,” she said proudly. “I create fantasies and give the couple the dream wedding they’ve always wanted.”

Cade brought the Mustang to a halt right outside her house. The night-light switched on automatically. Taylor frowned. No necking on the doorstep. She’d have to get rid of that light first thing in the morning.

He switched the engine off, and suddenly everything was silent.

“What about your dreams, Taylor?”

Her stomach clenched. “I haven’t got any.”

“None?”

“No.” Not any more. She wouldn’t allow herself to dream, and uncomfortable with his questioning, she stared out the window at the night.

“You like Devonport?” Cade asked, looking around at the character houses. “It seems a nice suburb.”

“Mm, I like the close-knit community. It’s the oldest suburb, so a sense of unity has built up over many years.”

“Not afraid of the ghost on Mt. Victoria?”

“Never seen it, so how can I be afraid of it?”

“But you’re afraid of me,” he stated.

Taylor looked at him. Was she? She eyed his strong hands. She’d already felt their touch, knew what they could do to her. She imagined them touching her, again. Everywhere. “No, I’m not afraid of you, Cade. Only of what I don’t know.”

“And you think you know me?”

“Enough,” she said succinctly.

“Enough to trust me?”

Taylor hesitated. “Not quite,” she admitted, and then smiled a little shyly. “But...soon.”

“That’s good.”

“I’m sorry if I put you on the spot tonight.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“So you get propositioned all the time?”

Cade shrugged. “Goes with the job.”

She unlocked the door and pushed it open.

“One more thing.” Cade’s hand touched her bare shoulder and sparks flew. Her breath stalled in her lungs. She turned back to him, but when he cupped her face in an almost tender embrace, its gentleness sucked everything from her.

Then he kissed her.

Taylor gasped and inhaled his scent. The physicality of him. Pure sex. Pure male. It almost sent her over the edge, to a place she didn’t know. She kissed him back.

He teased her mouth, grazing her bottom lip with the scrape of his teeth and once again, Taylor began to drown.

“You can’t bury yourself in your fantasy weddings, Taylor Sullivan.” His voice almost purred against her cheek.

But Taylor’s brain had shut down to everything but the taste of him, and the aching need that swelled deep down inside her.

“This is our fantasy. Is this what you want?” he asked.

Definitely. But Taylor didn’t say so. She couldn’t admit it. Not out loud. Not even to herself, really. She pulled away and grappled for oxygen. She needed to breathe. But oh, how she needed Cade’s kiss to go on forever.

Nothing is forever.

With shaking fingers she battled for control, fumbling in her purse. She refused look at the condoms. “Here’s my card. If you...”

“I haven’t changed my mind.” Cade’s gentle touch caressed her cheek. He looked directly at her, dark eyes earnest. “It’s still yes, Taylor.”

The card slipped from her fingers. “It is?”

“Uh huh. So what’s next?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s your call. You’re the boss, Taylor.” But Cade saw her hesitation. “What? You thought you’d just jump my bones and get it over with tonight?”

Taylor swallowed her embarrassment. Yes, that was exactly what she’d thought. Businesslike. Organized. Get it over with and get on with life.

He lifted her hand in his, turning it over, then back again as if he tried to read her palm. He smiled then—slow and sweet. It made Taylor want to reach up and trace his mouth, to feel his smile.

“Sorry, no can do.”

“Why not?” God, did she actually ask that?

“Because, call me old fashioned, but I think we need to take it slow, let it smolder, heat up and get in the mood. Making love isn’t wham bam thank you, ma’am, it’s an art.”

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