Interim Spouse

er knight. If she hadn't already believed in love at first s

everything about him suggesting Prefect Match, fairy

as she could te

e approached the "palace,"

flagstone walkway, taking in the whimsical, wedding cake design of the house with an

ed it a drea

man she married needed to be in touch with the real world, to h

As though accommodating her, he turned slightly so t

ery austere plane and angle.

g boldly blocking the path

hem. Hair as black as coal swept back from a broad furrowed brow and framed high, arching cheekbones and a firm, square

She caught her breath, captured within the austere glare of his bright golden eyes. "Getting

head to one sid

g for a husban

es

de, elf. I'm no one

nt obedience, she realized

st flash of lightning or crack

he threat of a fastapproachin

rong," she

bed. And then, after a brie

his arms across his chest an

ou wan

win," she said, evading t

igh

wagin

guess you could call it war

e fair and reasonable and pa

ent lightening his eyes, b

"You have the wrong man,"

n his easy, long-legged gait

om for him, giving way to t

, she didn't doubt for a min

patient, she suspected he l

st didn't see his own

d with a wide grin. "In f

h the crowd streaming towa

n hour. That gave him three and a half minutes per candidate. He shook his head in exasperation. This was crazy. Three and a half minutes to choose a w

eps leading toward the ent

ale splash of green in the gathering dusk. Too bad she

xpected a Perfect Match and fairy castles and happily-ever-afters. And for another, he found her too damned attractive. One look at all

ng her over his shoulder and

would n

the memory of her wide, pixielike smile. She had too

nd soul and poison him with impossible fantasies. Fantasies he

n he couldn't afford-not if he

bella to her surroundings an

lkway lost in thought. She'd

real house and children. It was a fantasy that could be he

dge grew stronger with each passing moment. She'd senseda gaping emptiness in him and knew that she could fill it, a raw hurt that she had the power to heal. He needed someone who could see the i

eede

't want to get too far behind her future husband. Heaven only knew what trouble he

Or sheer bu

topped dead, staring around in amazement. The marble en

iving with pine garland, fair

isms, caught the setting-sun and scattering a dancing circ

to the upstairs ballroom, joining