Susan Mallery - Only Yours

Praise for New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author
SUSAN MALLERY

Mallerys prose is luscious and provocative.

Publishers Weekly

Susan Mallerys gift for writing humor and tenderness makes all her books true gems.

RT Book Reviews

Romance novels dont get much better than Mallerys expert blend of emotional nuance, humor and superb storytelling.

Booklist

Mallery sets up some very tough choices for her heroine, making this book compelling and intense.

RT Book Reviews on Finding Perfect

[A]n emotional story with a beautiful happy ending! Another must read by Susan Mallery.

Good Choice Reading on Almost Perfect

Warm, funny, and sexy, this lighthearted yet touching page-turner is a satisfying, rewarding read and the perfect beginning for Mallerys Fools Gold series.

Library Journal on Chasing Perfect

As demonstrated in this compelling story, family doesnt have to share blood, just emotions. Filled with emotional drama, devastating treachery and the power of love, this finale will delight fans.

RT Book Reviews on Hot on Her Heels

One of the Top 10 Romance Novels of 2009!

Booklist on Straight from the Hip

Also Available from Susan Mallery and HQN Books

Only Mine

Finding Perfect

Almost Perfect

Chasing Perfect

Hot on Her Heels

Straight from the Hip

Lip Service

Sweet Trouble

Sweet Spot

Sweet Talk

Accidentally Yours

Tempting

Sizzling

Irresistible

Delicious

Falling for Gracie

Someone Like You

And coming soon

Only His

SUSAN MALLERY

ONLY YOURS

To Kristy Lorimer. A dark, mysterious stranger,
an adorable if slightly off-center heroine and
a goofy dog named Fluffy. All for you.

ONLY YOURS

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

M ONTANA H ENDRIXS PERFECTLY good morning was thwarted by a hot dog, a four-year-old boy and a Lab and golden retriever mix named Fluffy.

Things had started out well enough. Montana had been determined to get the nearly a year old dog into a therapy-dog training program. Sure, Fluffy was exuberant and clumsy, with a habit of eating anything and simply being too happy, but she had a huge heart. If she was, in simple terms, a screwup, Montana refused to hold that against her. Montana knew what it was like to fail to meet her potential, to always feel she wasnt good enough. Shed made a career out of it. Fluffy was not going to suffer the way she had. And even if she was projecting a little too much on to an innocent dog, well, sometimes that happened.

So there she was, on a beautiful Fools Gold summer morning, walking Fluffyor, rather, being walked by Fluffy.

Think calm, Montana, holding firmly on to the leash, told the dog. Therapy dogs are calm. Therapy dogs understand restraint.

Fluffy gave her a doggie grin, then nearly knocked over a trash can with a sweep of her ever-moving tail. Restraint wasnt in Fluffys vocabulary. She was barely calm in her sleep.

Later Montana would tell herself she should have seen it coming. This particular morning was the first weekend after school had let out and there was a festival to celebrate. Street vendors had been setting up for days. Although it was early, the smell of hot dogs and barbecue filled the air. The sidewalks were crowded and Fluffy kept pulling toward the children playing in the park. Her expression was clearshe wanted to be playing, too.

Up ahead, a mother paid for a hot dog. Her young son took it eagerly, but before he took a bite, he spotted Fluffy. The boy grinned at Fluffy and held out the food. At that exact moment, Montana was distracted by the latest display in Morgans Bookstore and accidentally loosened her grip. Fluffy lunged, the leash slipped and that was when the trouble started.

Offering a hot dog from a distance might have seemed like a good ideauntil a ninety-pound dog came barreling toward the little boy. He shrieked, dropped the hot dog and ran behind his mother. The poor woman had missed the beginning of the encounter. All she saw was a crazy-looking dog headed right for her and her son. She screamed.

Montana started after Fluffy, yelling for her to stop. But it was as effective as telling the earth to slow down its rotation.

The mother scooped up her little boy and ducked behind a lemonade stand. Fluffy picked up the hot dog without breaking stride and swallowed it in one gulp, then kept on going. Apparently freedom called.

Montana hurried after her, the new summer sandals shed bought the week before cutting into her feet. She knew she had to get Fluffy. The dog was sweet, but not very well trained. Montanas boss, Max Thurman, had made it clear that Fluffy was not therapy-dog material. If word of todays disaster reached him, he would insist the dog leave the program. Montana couldnt stand for that to happen.

Fluffy was a lot faster than she was and quickly ran out of sight. Montana followed the sound of shrieks and screams, making her way through the streets of the town, dodging a peanut cart and narrowly missing a close encounter with two guys on bikes. She turned a corner just in time to see a tail disappearing through the automatic doors of a tall building.

No, Montana breathed, staring up at the hospital. Not there. Anywhere but there.

She raced forward, inwardly cringing at the thought of what Fluffy could do in a place like that. Big puppy feet on slippery floors were not a happy combination. She ran up the six steps leading to the entrance and dashed inside only to find a trail of havoc marking the way.

A supply cart was pushed against the wall. Linens spilled onto the floor. A little girl in a wheelchair grinned and pointed down the hall.

Montana got to the bank of elevators only to find several people willing to tell her that yes, a dog had gotten on. She watched the light panel to see an elevator had stopped on the fourth floor, then jumped in the next one and rode up.

The doors opened to the sound of screams. A chair lay on its side. More linens were scattered on the floor, along with a couple of charts. Up ahead double doors marked the entrance to the burn unit. Various signs explained what could and couldnt enter that part of the hospital. A joyous bark told her Fluffy had violated every single posted rule.

Not knowing what else to do, Montana followed the sound and pushed through the doors. Up ahead several nurses were trying to corral the happy dog while Fluffy did her best to lick all of them at the same time. When Montana called her, the dog turned and raced toward her. Just as a doctor walked out of a nearby room.

Fluffy did her best to stop. Montana saw her puppy paws scramble as the dog tried to slow. But she couldnt get traction on the floor. She started to slide, her butt went down, her front paws braced and then she was zipping along in a sitting position. She plowed directly into the doctor, sending him tumbling into Montana.

The doctor was about six inches taller and a whole lot heavier than Montana. His shoulder hit her chest, knocking the air out of her. They sailed across the floor, flying a few feet before stopping against the very hard floor, his body slamming into hers.

Montana lay there, dazed. She couldnt breathe. All she felt was dead weight on top of her and a warm tongue licking her bare ankle.

The man got off her and knelt beside her.

Are you hurt? he demanded.

She shook her head, then managed to gasp in air. Fluffy moved closer and sat down, looking calm and well behaved. A trick Montana wasnt going to fall for.

The man reached for her. He ran his large, long-fingered hands up and down her legs and arms, then felt the back of her head. His touch was impersonal, but it was the most action shed had in months. Before she could figure out if she liked it, she looked at his face.