Taming a Texas Tease — Katie Lane

An ongoing feud. A high stakes wager of winner takes all. When these two lovers-to-enemies clash, the Lone Star State will never be the same.  Growing up, Boone Murphy and his best buddy, Emma Johansen, were as thick as thieves. As toddlers, they ran naked through the sprinklers. In grade school, they shared bike rides, ice cream, and secrets. In high school, they easily transitioned into sweethearts who planned a perfect future together right down to the smallest detail: marriage, four kids, and running their families' hardware store. But a few days before prom night, Boone witnesses something that will cause his future dreams to come tumbling down like a house of cards, and he'll question the forever kind of love he thought he had with Emma. Unable to deal with his disillusions, he leaves his sweet country girl in the red Texas dust. By the time he grows up and realizes the mistake he's made, it's too late. When he returns to Simple, Texas, that sweet country girl has grown into an independent, feisty woman who wants only one thing: to make the lowdown sidewinder who left her high and dry pay. And pay big time! After having her heart stomped into smithereens, Emma Johansen is not about to forgive and forget. If Boone thinks he can strut back into town and pick up right where they left off, he's got another think coming. Emma's no longer a naïve lamb to lead astray. And it will take more than a teasing smile from Boone to knock down the stone fortress she's built around her heart. The only problem is that Boone's parents own half the hardware store so he has just as much right to work there as she does. Working daily with her worst enemy will have sparks flying and townsfolk gossiping about whether or not Boone and Emma will mend their fences or kill each other. The only way to settle their ongoing battle is with a wager: first person who gets engaged wins the store. The loser has to leave town forever. Game on! But Emma will soon learn that there's a fine line between hate and love. One misstep . . . or mis-kiss and not only is sole ownership of the store on the line, but also Emma's heart. Yet, how can she trust Boone after he rode off into the sunset without her?  Is it too late for a second chance romance for these feuding ex-sweethearts? Or can they put past betrayal behind them and place another wager . . . this time, on love?