Texas Two Step: Texas Montgomery Mavericks, Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page A

the front and stops. Then you will all turn as a group toward the couple. Start walking,” she said to Olivia. Olivia had taken one step when Mrs. Peters thrust a bouquet of silk flowers in her hand. “For practice in handing off.”
    Olivia gave a nod of understanding and tried to swallow, but her mouth had become the Sahara Desert. The white silk roses hissed as the petals scratched against each other in her shaking hands. Her breathing dropped to a shallow, rapid pant. She prayed she wouldn’t pass out from lack of oxygen. As she made her way toward her make-believe groom, she wobbled the first couple of steps before she got control of her trembling legs. The walk down the aisle toward Mitch felt surreal, almost painful. Could this weekend get any worse?
     
    To Mitch’s right, Wes stood as rigid as a statue. Mitch understood. His stomach was queasy and he wasn’t even the real groom.
    Livie took her first step down the aisle. The black silk dress accentuated her curves, shifting with each swing of her hips. The diamonds in the necklace laying in her soft cleavage—his birthday gift to her seven years ago—winked as the heart locket jostled with each step.
    Mitch hardened at the sight of Olivia walking toward him carrying a bridal bouquet. He tilted his head toward one shoulder and then the other, trying to loosen the stiffness in his neck. Although he wore a custom-made shirt, the collar was strangling him. He resisted the urge to tug it away from his neck. The shirt felt two sizes too small. The material squeezed everywhere—his shoulders, his chest, across his gut. He moved his shoulders around in a circle, thinking—hoping—the motion might loosen the material at the neck and back. Nothing helped. If anything, the damn shirt shrank more with each step Livie took toward him.
    Tiny tingles pricked his toes. He wiggled them. His new cowboy boots seemed to have also shrunk, cutting off the blood supply to his feet. Discreetly, he stomped one foot, then the other. It didn’t help. The tingling continued.
    Olivia stopped after taking a couple of steps. The white flowers shoved in her hands shook slightly before she began again.
    Mrs. Peters stepped alongside her. “You’re walking a little too slow. I would say most girls would rush down the aisle to him.” With a wink, she tilted her head toward Mitch.
    Heat infused Mitch’s face. Wes slapped Mitch’s shoulder with a loud guffaw. The rest of the wedding party tittered.
    Mrs. Peters looked at Emily and raised her voice. “Tomorrow, you’ll want to walk at about this pace.” With measured steps, she walked about halfway down the aisle. “Got it?”
    Emily nodded.
    “Let’s start again.”
    Olivia started her walk down the aisle at a pace that put a smile on the wedding planner’s face.
    Mrs. Peters flashed a thumbs up and returned to her position near the door. “Much better,” she shouted from the rear of the room.
    A band tightened around Mitch’s chest as Livie walked toward him. Each breath required concentrated effort. Figuratively and literally, this woman from his past took his breath away.
    Her long blonde hair had been secured into a twist at the back of her head. As she moved, the glow from the overhead lights sparkled off her hair. Her modest dress highlighted every curve of her body. The sexy swoosh of silk stockings teased him as she neared. He swallowed hard. Mitch’s heart got a beat faster with each step she took, until it raced as she stepped beside him.
    She smiled and all those years fell away. Six years ago, this wedding could have been for them. He’d tried to forget her. Tried to move on without her. Tried to love another woman. But getting past a love like theirs had proved damned impossible. What an egotistical fool he’d been to decide what was best for her, instead of grabbing the best thing that’d ever happened to him.
    Together they turned toward the wedding’s chaplain.
    Following Mrs. Peters’ tutelage, they walked