What happen in Vegas, was supposed to stay in Vegas.
Without saying a word to friends and family, Ace and Jasmine goes to Las Vegas to get married. Are they in love ? No, they're just friend, but when Jasmine learn that her pal have one week left to find a wife or he lose his ranch to a cousin (thanks to his grandpa's will), she propose to him. They only have to stay married one year and the plan is to divorce after that. But you can bet your ass that fate have a say in it. They're supposed to return to Texas right after the ceremonial and never tell a soul about their fake union, but they win a local contest which include honeymoon suit and limousine. So when their win/wedding makes the news, their phones can't stop ringing as family and friends can't believe what they heard.
A kiss seal the deal and make them discover an attraction for their friend they never felt before. Ace is known in town as a player. Not as in a guy who lie and breaks heart, but as the kind of guy who have a little black book to record all the names of the women he dates. Jasmine was the girl he talk to about his women's trouble, going daily to the café she own. Jazzy have already been burned by love and a ladie's man is certainly the last man she would choose otherwise for a husband. But she's a fixer and always help people. Back in Ringgold, living together was not part of the plan for Ace and Jasmine, but once again destiny interfere and being in close quarter with their new spouse will not be the smooth ride they thought it would be.
There's something so sweet, so soothing in Carolyn Brown's stories, but it never lack sparks and excitement. I always wondered if Texan really talk like that (I guess some do and some don't) but no matter the answer, I like reading her turns of phrases and the playful banter between the protagonists. The fun in reading romance with a womanizer is to see how hard the man fall in love and become perfect boyfriend who only see the heroine from now on. Ace may be a Casanova, but that doesn't mean he's not romantic or don't believe in love.
I liked that Ace encouraged the heroine to be herself and speak her mind. It's sweet that when they talked about the other people living with them they called them the kids. I thought there was more sex scenes in this one than her other books, but like she usually do, they never last long anyway. It's just enough to tease us with it :p I was happy to see Wil and Pearl again. Them especially because their romance was the first Carolyn Brown's book I read and it was love at first read for me.
My father's girlfriend kind of judge me because I only read stories with a happy ending and implied that I should broaden my horizon (don't waste your breath, you'll never make me change my mind about this). She doesn't understand that for my mental peace I need to read about good people and read about things we don't hear about anymore in real life. Yes, it's not always realistic and that's exactly why I read it and love it so much. And that's exactly why Carolyn Brown is one of my favorite author. She write about people who won't never lie or betray you, who doesn't know bad intention in the first place. She write about happily ever after, not the fairy tales kind, but the kind where you confront the trials together and it only makes your couple stronger and you laugh and have fun with your sweetheart in between those moments. It's about helping your neighbors when bad luck and hard knocks happen and give someone the shirt off your back. It's about loving your family (family is not just sibling but friends too), even when they get on your nerves and try to make decision for you. Sorry about the personal venting, I guess her comments pissed me off more than I thought.
To finish things off on a high note, here's some quotes I especially liked.
"Most of the time he came into the café in his scuffed work boots, faded jeans, and shirts with the sleeves cut out; the barbed wire tat around his arm was a constant reminder that he never intended to let a woman anywhere near his heart. A motel bed or her bed,yes, but never his heart or his bedroom.
-Those are two places I'm saving for the love of my life if I ever meet her."
"-That can be remedied anytime you want a taste of the real thing, so you don't have to pretend. That sounds like the beginnings of a good country song. Think I should call Josh Turner and see if he wants to write the rest of it?"
"-Darling, I'm not just a romantic at heart. I'm a romantic all over my body, he said with a wicked gleam in his eyes."