The Last Man She'd Marry

Helen R. Myers

Jonas Hunter. Pursuer of criminals, far and wide. And pursuer of her… So okay, it wasn't so much that Jonas was the last man she'd marry. It was that divorce attorney Alyx Carmel wasn't likley ro marry anyone. Because after all, relationships didn't exactly end well in her line of work. Case in point: the traumatic attack that sent Alyx fleeing her old life–and, quite by accident, into the arms of said Jonas Hunter.But FBI Special Agent Jonas Hunter wasn't willing to give up on Alyx. Because while life might have thrown him a few curves, there was one thing he knew for sure: Alyx was the only woman he would marry…

“Maybe you need to let your guard down a little more,” Jonas said.

“G-Man, that’s what got me in this condition.” Lifting her gaze to meet his, Alyx added, “And look who’s talking—Mr. Ask Me No Questions So I Don’t Have To Spin Tall Tales.”

“I don’t recall you asking me anything that I couldn’t answer,” Jonas said.

“That’s because I wasn’t interested in classified information,” she countered.

“Why do you think I made all those trips down to Austin?” he asked.

“You said you were working on cases.”

“Over holidays? C’mon, Alyx. We spent every spare minute you had together. Didn’t that give you a clue to how I felt?”

In the reverberating silence Jonas suspected he’d gone too far. Sometimes there was nothing left to do but cut to the important thing. Clasping his hand to the back of her head, he claimed her mouth with his.

Dear Reader,

Two characters that lingered in my mind from my last Special Edition novel, A Man to Count On, were Alyx Carmel, the divorce attorney and friend of heroine E. D. Martel, and FBI Special Agent Jonas Hunter, an old school friend of the hero, Judge Dylan Justiss. It was clear from the start that there was chemistry between Alyx and Jonas, but aside from their irresistible physical attraction, it seemed we were dealing with an oil-and-vinegar couple.

The more I thought about this couple the more I saw parallels to Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Both Alyx and Jonas have great professional pride and their perceptions of each other are weakly based on minimal information and experience. As fate would have it, the more they’re resolved not to reexamine those faulty perceptions, the more their paths cross, until they can’t help but be forced into seeing that while they differ on surface issues, they share important qualities and values that, given the chance, could enhance the passion they otherwise bring out in each other.

I hope you enjoy their journey of discovery and love, and as always, thank you for reading.

Warm regards,

Helen

The Last Man She’d Marry

Helen R. Myers

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

HELEN R. MYERS,

is a collector of two-and four-legged strays, and lives deep in the Piney Woods of East Texas. She cites cello music and bonsai gardening as favorite relaxation pastimes, and still edits in her sleep—an accident, learned while writing her first book. A bestselling author of diverse themes and focus, she is a three-time RITA® Award nominee, winning for Navarrone in 1993.

Contents

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

Epilogue

Chapter One

A bad day wasn’t the half of it.

Alyx Carmel didn’t speak the words out loud, but the first strains of a current pop tune all but mimicked her as it blared through the audio system of Mesa Rehab-Fitness Center. She clenched her teeth and released the handles of the resistance machine she’d been working on. While the machine swooshed, then thudded to a rest position, she considered hunting down the stereo system, wondering how much it would cost to replace the annoying thing, since she was of a good mind to toss it through the nearest window.

Yes, she was having a bad day, year, life. All that was needed to propel her over the edge was another glass-half