How to Marry a Matador (Exclusive Sneak Preview) Read Online Free PDF

host of heated memories.
    “After you,” he said, gallantly stepping
aside and letting her pass.
     
    Eve pulled the ballpoint pen from her hair
and anxiously thumped its cap against her desktop. Married to a
matador! How could the normally sensible Jessica have let
herself get talked into that? What was more concerning still was
that she actually seemed to be considering staying in that hasty
marriage. Eve turned toward her laptop and quickly pulled up a
search engine, typing in Fernando Garcia de la Vega,
bullfighter . Links for the name “Garcia de la Vega” popped up.
More than two thousand results. Wow. She selected “search images,”
and photos of the devastatingly handsome Fernando flooded the
screen. Fernando as a boy beside his equally attractive father,
both dressed in full matador regalia… Fernando in the ring at
twenty-two… A more mature Fernando with a gorgeous woman on his arm
at an animal rights fundraiser in Madrid… What?
    Eve clicked on the related story and began
reading. It seemed that Fernando’s grandfather had not only been
one of Spain’s most prized matadors, he’d also introduced a new
form of “ a mano ” bullfighting in which the bull was killed
cleanly with one stroke. Picadors were still present in the ring
but only for show. None were allowed to injure or torment the bull.
This was a game of pure skill, man versus beast, each with his own
pointed weapon. One matador’s blade against two deadly horns. His
insistence on fighting this way had made him more than a famous
matador; he’d become something of a folk hero, known for his
respect for the bulls as well as his utter bravery. He’d died in
the ring before the age of fifty, just as his son—Fernando’s
father—had, leaving behind an enormous estate.
    Eve returned to the images, studying the one
of Fernando as a boy who appeared to be about eight. She scanned
the date of the picture, mentally calculating that Fernando must
now be in his early thirties. Jessica was twenty-eight, and
beautiful and talented. She hadn’t had the best luck with men to
date, but that didn’t mean she’d have to run off and marry some guy
in Spain! If Eve had the leave-time and the money, she’d get on a
plane herself and talk some sense into Jess. Eve drew a deep
breath, hoping that wouldn’t be necessary. Eve twisted her hair
back up and penned it in place. Surely, Jess would come around on
her own and quickly extract herself from that marriage by
mistake . If she didn’t, Eve might just have to go begging to
her boss and break out the credit card. What else on earth were
best friends for?
     
    “Jessica! Wait up!” Fernando called,
galloping after her.
    It had been years since she’d been on a
horse, and she delighted in the freedom of the ride.
    Fernando gave a loud call, and his bay
Andalusian stallion picked up speed, drawing alongside Jess’s gray
mare.
    “You are moving awfully fast for a woman in
your condition.” He shot her a charming grin. “Not that I’d expect
anything less from a spitfire like you.”
    Jess slowed her horse to a trot as Fernando
kept pace. “The pregnancy thing was really over the top,” she said,
giving him a glance. “Even for a flamboyant inventor like you.”
    He tilted his chin in her direction, easily
reining in his horse. “I know, and I apologize for surprising you.
It’s just—when the idea occurred, it fit so perfectly with
everything else.”
    “What everything else?”
    He gestured to a grove of olive trees up
ahead in the distance. “We’ll find some afternoon shade over there.
Let’s stop for a while and rest the horses.”
    Jess was irritated he kept putting her off.
She was ready for the truth and deserved it now.
    Fernando dismounted, then held out his hand.
She accepted his help in getting off her horse, nearly sliding into
his arms. He was ruggedly handsome out here on these windswept
plains, the sun dancing above them in a nearly cloudless azure
sky.
    “Would you mind