The Best Man Plan, стр. 1
PRAISE FOR JACI BURTON
AND HER NOVELS
“Jaci Burton’s stories are full of heat and heart.”
—New York Times bestselling author Maya Banks
“A wild ride.”
—#1 New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh
“Jaci Burton delivers.”
—New York Times bestselling author Cherry Adair
“One to pick up and savor.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Jaci Burton’s books are always sexy, romantic and charming! A hot hero, a lovable heroine and an adorable dog—prepare to fall in love with Jaci Burton’s amazing new small-town romance series.”
—New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis
“A heartwarming second-chance-at-love contemporary romance enhanced by engaging characters and Jaci Burton’s signature dry wit.”
—USA Today
“Captures everything I love about a small-town romance.”
—Fresh Fiction
“Delivered on everything I was hoping for and more.”
—Under the Covers Book Blog
“A sweet, hot small-town romance.”
—Dear Author
“Fun and sexy.”
—Fiction Vixen
“The perfect combination of heat and romance.”
—Heroes and Heartbreakers
“Plenty of romance; sexy men; hot, steamy loving; and humor.”
—Smexy Books
“An extraordinary novel—a definite home run!”
—Joyfully Reviewed
“Lively and funny . . . intense and loving.”
—The Road to Romance
“An invitation to every woman’s wildest fantasies.”
—Romance Junkies
“Burton is a master at sexual tension!”
—RT Book Reviews
TITLES BY JACI BURTON
• • • • •
BOOTS AND BOUQUETS SERIES
The Matchmaker’s Mistletoe Mission
(an eNovella)
The Best Man Plan
BROTHERHOOD BY FIRE SERIES
Hot to the Touch
Ignite on Contact
HOPE SERIES
Hope Smolders
(an eNovella)
Hope Flames
Hope Ignites
Hope Burns
Love After All
Make Me Stay
Don’t Let Go
Love Me Again
One Perfect Kiss
PLAY-BY-PLAY SERIES
The Perfect Play
Changing the Game
Taking a Shot
Playing to Win
Thrown by a Curve
One Sweet Ride
Holiday Games
(an eNovella)
Melting the Ice
Straddling the Line
Holiday on Ice
(an eNovella)
Quarterback Draw
All Wound Up
Hot Holiday Nights
(an eNovella)
Unexpected Rush
Rules of Contact
The Final Score
Shot on Gold
WILD RIDERS SERIES
Riding Wild
Riding Temptation
Riding on Instinct
Riding the Night
Riding to Sunset
(an eNovella)
Riding the Edge
(an eNovella)
STAND-ALONE NOVELS
Wild, Wicked, & Wanton
Bound, Branded, & Brazen
ANTHOLOGIES
Unlaced
(with Jasmine Haynes, Joey W. Hill, and Denise Rossetti)
Exclusive
(with Eden Bradley and Lisa Renee Jones)
Laced with Desire
(with Jasmine Haynes, Joey W. Hill, and Denise Rossetti)
Nauti and Wild
(with Lora Leigh)
Nautier and Wilder
(with Lora Leigh)
Hot Summer Nights
(with Carly Phillips, Erin McCarthy, and Jessica Clare)
Mistletoe Games
(Holiday Games, Holiday on Ice, and Hot Holiday Nights in one volume)
ENOVELLAS
The Ties That Bind
No Strings Attached
Wild Nights
A JOVE BOOK
Published by Berkley
An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
penguinrandomhouse.com
Copyright © 2020 by Jaci Burton, Inc.
Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.
A JOVE BOOK, BERKLEY, and the BERKLEY & B colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
Ebook ISBN: 9780451491299
First Edition: July 2020
Cover photo by Claudio Marinesco
Cover design by Rita Frangie
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
• • • • • •
Cover
Praise for Jaci Burton
Titles by Jaci Burton
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Acknowledgments
Look for THE ENGAGEMENT ARRANGEMENT
About the Author
This one’s for my sister. Because sisters are
secret-keepers, shoulders to cry on and sometimes pains
in your butt, but they always have your back.
They are your forever lifeline in a crisis.
Thanks, Sissy, for everything.
CHAPTER
• • • • • •
one
ERIN BELLINI SHOUTED out from her office at Red Moss Vineyards.
“Mom. Have you talked to the caterers?”
Her mother didn’t respond right away. It was her most annoying quality. While she waited, Erin jotted down several things she needed to remind her bridesmaids about. Her two sisters were onsite so she had them covered, but she made a note in her planner for the rest of the bridesmaids.
Erin’s mother, Maureen, made an appearance in Erin’s office. “You don’t need to yell at me, Erin. You could have just sent me a text. And yes, caterers are confirmed. Which I already told you this morning.”
“Right. You did. For some reason I hadn’t checked it off the list. Sorry.” She typed an X in the spreadsheet on her laptop as well as marking it off on the page in her planner. She looked up at her mother. “And my dress is back from alterations, right?”
“It’s in your closet.” Her mom made that face, the one where her lips went straight and her eyes narrowed and you knew you were being scrutinized. “You’re not getting nervous, are you?”
Erin smiled and took in a deep breath to center herself. “I never get nervous. Because I have everything organized. In my planner. In my spreadsheet. In the notes on my phone.”
Her mother smiled. “Right. Yes, well, that’s you, honey. I’m going out to the vineyards to check on your dad. Call if you need me.”
“Okay.”
She should call Owen, her fiancé, to make sure he remembered he had to pick up the tuxes. Or maybe she should call Jason, Owen’s best friend and the best man. Owen was always scattered and busy and he’d likely forget. Thankfully he had her to organize everything for him.
She picked up her phone and found Jason, then pressed the call button.
“Busy here, Erin.”
She shook her head at Jason’s gruff brush-off. They’d grown up together, had known each other forever. “I need you to pick up the tuxes.”
“What?”
“The tuxes, Jason.”
“I’m knee-deep in cow shit right now, Erin. You don’t mean now, do you?”
“No. I mean tomorrow.” She heard mooing. “You delivering babies?”
“Pregnancy checks.”
“Oh. Cool.” Jason was a large animal vet, so he was always on the run. He was part of a practice in town, but he also worked the local ranches.
She was scrolling through her e-mails when she saw