A Lover's Vow by Brenda Jackson
To the man who will always and forever be the love of my life, Gerald Jackson, Sr.
To everyone joining me on the 2015 Brenda Jackson Cruise to Bermuda to celebrate my 20th anniversary as an author, this one is for you!
To all my readers who enjoyed reading Books 1 and 2 of the Granger Series and waited patiently for Dalton’s story, I appreciate you!
To my Heavenly Father, who gave me the gift to write.
A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate.
—Proverbs 15:17
One
Dalton Granger glanced around, noting the hundreds of people assembled in the rose garden of the Granger estate. What had happened to the small wedding Shana Bradford had originally planned? Granted, the pregnancy wasn’t obvious, but he thought the huge wedding along with the white gown was a bit much. But then, even he would be the first to admit that Wonder Woman looked jaw-droppingly stunning.
Wonder Woman was the nickname he had given Shana, and she’d proven more than worthy of the name after performing more than one impossible feat. The main one of which was capturing his oldest brother Jace’s heart. Dalton had honestly thought Jace would avoid marriage like the plague, especially after his first failed marriage to the woman Dalton still thought of as Evil Eve.
Stay focused.
Easier said than done, Dalton thought, shifting his gaze from the bride to her maid of honor, her sister, Jules Bradford. She was the one woman on this Earth he despised with a passion. Unfortunately, his major problem was that he desired her with that same degree of passion. Yes, he would own up to it, although he wished things were otherwise. There were times when he’d even concluded that his attraction to Jules was too obsessive to be considered normal. However, he could deal with it as long as she stayed in her space, because he certainly intended to stay in his. Today would be an exception, since her sister was marrying his brother. He’d been warned by Jace to be on his best behavior, which was an effing challenge. And nothing could have prepared him for last night’s rehearsal dinner. It wasn’t his behavior but his attraction to Jules that had tested his level of control.
She’d shown up wearing a pair of skin-tight black leggings and a long-sleeved white dress shirt with tails fanning across her shapely hips, thighs and curvaceous backside. And she’d worn a tie of all things. Was that a new trend or something? Mixing masculine with feminine? Business with casual? You had to have balls to make such a bold fashion statement. But the one thing he’d discovered about Jules was that she thought nothing of pushing the damned envelope to do whatever she pleased. However, he would admit, even grudgingly, that when she’d worn what he considered outlandish attire, she’d managed to look totally feminine and sexy as hell.
A frown curved Dalton’s lips. He needed to get a grip. The last thing he wanted was to think about how Jules looked last night. But then, today wasn’t much better with her hair pulled up tight in a bun with a few curls left to frame her face. She had skin that looked soft and flawless, and her eyes were a dark chocolate. Then there were those beautiful, high cheekbones and lips that looked enticingly kissable and were painted a beautiful shade of red.