It's been quite a few years since I read a Texas Cattleman's Club romance, a long running series, and since I've always enjoyed Maureen Child's novels and this was the first novel in a spin-off series, I simply couldn't resist it, and I'm very glad that I didn't, as it had all the charm, wit, and sexiness I always expect from Maureen Child. All the novels in the Desire imprint are short, quick reads, with some spice and often some humor, and this one was true to form. It gets 4 stars from this reader.

We first meet the heroine, Shelby, as she's waiting in a back room of the church for the Wedding March to begin. She hates the miles and miles of tulle in the hideous wedding gown her disapproving mother-in-law-to-be insisted upon, hates that the woman also planned her honeymoon, and is having a panic attack. The man she met in Chicago, Jared, who swept her off her feet with tales of his being a Texas cowboy with a big ranch were all a lie. His family is wealthy and influential, but they live in a mansion in town, and Jared doesn't even come close to being the big, strong cowboy of Shelby's dreams. Instead, he lets his mother run the show, and run roughshod over Shelby and her dreams. Shelby knows now that she doesn't love Jared because he's not who he pretended to be when they met in Chicago, and when her MIL-to-be makes one last cutting remark before leaving the room, no sooner is she gone when Shelby makes a break for it, and runs headlong into Caleb, who's standing outside the church, and she begs him to get her as far away from the church as possible, but her MIL is hot on her heels and outraged.

Caleb is at the wedding representing his family, because the groom is the son of the attorney who has been representing his family for what seems like forever. When the MIL from hell catches up to Shelby, with even more nasty things to say about her, Caleb does indeed get Shelby out of there and takes her to his big, sprawling ranch, after shoving her and her voluminous wedding gown into his truck and getting as far away from there as quickly as possible.

He soon learns that Shelby is a chatterbox (I loved that about her), and that all her clothes, money, cell phone and wallet are still at the home of the man she left standing at the altar. She has only the hideous wedding dress and shoes she's wearing, and after running out on her groom she doubts she'll be getting her things back any time soon. Shelby was a professional organizer in Chicago before selling her home and moving to Texas, and when she walks into Caleb's ranch and can barely get through the door because of the overabundance of "things" accumulated by Caleb's late mother, she offers to pay him back for giving her shelter by dealing with all the stuff cluttering up his house.

Caleb can't help but be attracted to the beautiful chatterbox, and Caleb is the Texas cowboy of Shelby's dreams, tall, handsome and stoic, but all is not cozy between Caleb and his brother, Mitch, with whom he shares the ranch. Four years earlier, Caleb was planning to marry Meg, whom he'd grown up with and had always expected would be his wife and the mother of his children. The night before his wedding to Meg, she and Mitch unexpectedly eloped, and Caleb has been holding a grudge ever since. Although the two brothers live and work on the ranch, they barely speak, and Caleb refuses to even look at or speak to Meg, although he's crazy about her young twins.

Four years is a long time to hold onto a grudge, and with the realization that Shelby just did to Jared what Mitch and Meg did to Caleb, all the feelings of hurt, mistrust, and betrayal that Caleb has been nursing ever since his brother eloped with Meg, are a stumbling block Caleb can't seem to get past. Yet the physical attraction between Caleb and Shelby is something neither of them can ignore for long.

In the few weeks Shelby has been in town, she's made a few friends, and found some new clients, including Meg, who wants her to reorganize the bedroom her twins share, and design a nursery room for the baby Meg is currently carrying. She's also discovered that she likes the town and people of Royal, Texas (excluding her ex and his family who are busy spreading nasty rumors about her), and when asked to help organize the upcoming charity bachelor auction, she's thrilled to help out, but doubts she'll be there when it takes place, especially because while Caleb can't keep his hands off her, he doesn't trust her, and he lets his anger toward his brother and Meg's betrayal color Shelby with the same brush.

This is a romance novel after all, and a good set up for the bachelor auction that this series will center around, and you already know that there will be an HEA ending, but getting there was certainly entertaining and it made this book hard to put down. While I'm not a fan of insta-love, there's no way to avoid it in a Desire novel--there simply isn't time for a long, draw-out courtship in a novel with a short page limit and word count, and though this novel is a short read, it was certainly a fun, sexy, and entertaining one, and it reminded me again of how much I've always enjoyed Maureen Child's novels. I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of this 6-book series and the promised bachelor auction.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

A nice, quick story. Good setup for the Bachelor Auction. I was more intrigued by the grandparents and grandkids storylines and the secondary characters. I loved Shelby and her rants. I'm glad she saw the light before the wedding. I wanted Caleb to see the light sooner! He was so stuck in the past, I'm surprised he was able to unstick enough to see Shelby for how awesome she was.

Caleb didn’t really suits even if he had an assortment of them for meetings and business deals. He was more he was more comfortable with jeans, a work shirt, and his favorite boots running his ranch- Double M. Four years ago Caleb was suppose to have married instead he got a botched wedding and was still single. The night before his fiance Meg had ran off with his brother Mitch. Now Meg and Mitch and their three year old twins live on the family ranch with Caleb. Caleb’s not completely comfortable with Mitch and definitely not with Meg but he did love his niece and nephew. Shelby was running out on her wedding and they were all waiting for her but she just couldn’t do it. Jarad had changed so much when he came back home to his family and brought her home with him. He cowered and didn’t stand up for himself or definitely about her. She ran into Caleb - right into his body as she was escaping five minutes before the wedding was to start. Jared’s father Simon was the ranch’s lawyer as he had been for Caleb’s dad and he just never bothered to change lawyers as he was just too busy on the ranch. Then Shelby asked him to help her. Jared’s mother Margaret came out and ordered Caleb to get her future daughter in law inside. Caleb told Margaret he didn’t take orders from her. Again Shelby asked for help and the next thing he knew they were both in his truck and pulling away.Maybe her crazy had been given to Caleb. Caleb took Shelby to the ranch when she realized everything was still at the Goodmans- her clothes, her purse, and ID- everything. Caleb said she could borrow a pair of Megs clothes so she could get out of that horrible wedding gown. Then he took her into the house and there were things everywhere in the front room. Shelby was a professional organizer and offered to get everything listed and possibly sold and she would do it for room and board while she tried to get her things from the Goodmans. Caleb said she could try. Shelby couldn’t believe she had almost married Jared and realized she didn’t love Jared she loved the idea of roots , a family, and having children of her own. After Shelby’s dad had died, her mom with her had never stayed anywhere longer than three years,. Now her mom was gone. But Shelby found herself crazy attracted to Caleb. She didn’t know that Caleb was really attracted to her yet he didn’t want to be. Caleb may not think a lot of Jared but Shelby had done the same thing to Jared- a little worse really as everyone was at the wedding and Jarad had v=been left waiting for a Shelby that had ran off. Like Meg had done with his own brother Mitch but the night before his wedding.
I loved this book but it was a little hard to read as it needed to be edited. That was all I found wrong with this book. Otherwise it was a five s that it the rating I am giving as I figure this will be edited before sold. I loved Caleb and Shelby together and how they interacted. And I did understand why Caleb was aloof at times. I loved the pace and plot. I read this on one setting. It was a fun, easy read. I was glad when Mitch and Caleb talked things out and with Meg to. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I highly recommend.

Cute romance. Shelby runs out on her wedding at the last minute and runs into Caleb and begs him to help her escape. He does even though he struggles because his fiancée ran out on their wedding four years earlier to marry his brother. He struggles with his attraction to her because of what she did and what had happened to him.

Shelby is a funny character and I love her constant conversations with herself. Caleb is a quiet cowboy and they complement each other perfectly.

Secondary in the book is the set up for the Bachelor’s auction at the TCC which is the theme for this TCC series. It was intriguing as well.

Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley.

When I read a romance, I want to BELIEVE that the Hero & heroine were meant to be. I want to be carried away to a place where there are stars & unicorns and HEA. What I DON'T want to read is about a Hero who was "hurt" by an ex and have him obsess about it for nearly the entire book. It always end up feeling as heroine is second best and the ex was his one true love.

While I loved some parts to this story (especially the heroine), the Hero's issues with the ex and how after 4 years he still had not gotten over it, destroyed it for me.