Sexy, Single And Searching: Sexy, Single And Searching / Eager, Eligible And Alaskan

Mack almost said he wasn’t marrying that kind of woman but quickly shut his mouth because that’s exactly the kind of woman Kay was. And the last thing he wanted was to hurt her feelings.

But Mack’s dream wedding would consist of something adventuresome. Like getting hitched in hiking gear atop a glacier. That’s the kind of woman he wanted for a wife. Gutsy, courageous, up for anything. The exact opposite of what his weak-willed mother had been like.

His mind was wandering down this familiar but unpleasant train of thought when from his peripheral vision he caught a glimpse of a woman strutting down the sidewalk.

She moved like a regal queen. Confident, self-assured, poised. Her hair, a tantalizing caramel color, floated down her back in a spiral of curls that made Mack think of pecan taffy, and his imagination triggered his mouth to fill with the sweet, buttery taste of nutty candy.

An incredible black dress made of some soft clingy material hugged her curves snugger than a label on a wine bottle. The skirt had this amazing little tattered hem that fluttered like a handkerchief around the most sensational calves he’d ever seen.

She was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

His mouth went dry. His eyes bugged. His palms grew sweaty on the steering wheel.

Who in the thunder was she? He hadn’t flown in any woman who looked like that over the last couple of days. He would have remembered. It must have been one of the other bush pilots. The lucky devil.

Her shoulders were thrown back, her head held high, her eyes fixed straight ahead. She stalked forward on four-inch heels like she owned the world. Instant admiration sprung in his chest. His kind of gal.

Wait a minute, what was that she was wearing around her neck?

Stunned, he stared at the lewd totem bouncing off her perky breasts and he was completely mesmerized.

So mesmerized, in fact, that when she stepped off the curb in front of him, Mack’s foot accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake.

Good Lord, he was about to kill a dream walking!

He slammed on the brakes while simultaneously jamming on the horn. His tires squealed in protest at the sudden pressure and his stomach vaulted into his throat.

The woman turned to look at him, an expression of shocked surprise in her wide green eyes. Mack sprang from the front seat, rounded the hood and was devastated to see that he had stopped mere inches from her gorgeous body. His heart pounded so hard he feared it would jackhammer a hole through the bottom of his foot.

At first, she leveled him an insouciant stare, as if it were all his fault. Then she blinked and said in a voice that sounded vaguely familiar. “Goodness, did I step right out in front of you?”

“Yes,” he said, feeling bashful as a boy for absolutely no good reason at all. “You did.”

“Aren’t I lucky that you have lightning-fast reflexes.”

He couldn’t stop staring at her. Couldn’t reconcile her calmness with his own flustered state of agitation. Didn’t she recognize that he had almost killed her? Or at the least given her a whoop knot bad enough to land her in the emergency ward.

“I’m sorry. I was so busy looking for the community center, I simply didn’t see you.”

His mouth hung open. He had a sudden desperate desire to touch her and it was all he could do to keep his hands to himself. “You’re going to the Metropolitan party?”

She nodded.

“Me too. Come on.” He reached out and took her by the hand. A shudder of yearning passed through him. How could one woman knock his world so completely out-of-kilter? He inhaled deeply. He couldn’t let her see how much she affected him. Not now. Not yet. “Let’s get you out of the road.”

“What?” She blinked her big green eyes at him, and he was a goner.

“Let’s get out of the road.”

“Oh. Okay.”

All right, so she wasn’t a brainiac. Big deal. She possessed a figure to make angels cry hallelujah.

Um, McCaulley, what’s number seven on your list? His conscience nudged.

Mentally Mack rolled his eyes at that nagging voice. Intelligence was number seven on his “wife” list.

He’d written down that trait for a reason. He had a tendency to get involved with beautiful but flighty airheads who thought putting down roots meant bleaching your hair.

Give this one a chance, he argued with himself. Just because she stepped out in front of his truck didn’t mean she was dumb. Everyone made mistakes. Hadn’t he hit the accelerator instead of the brake?

He settled her in the passenger seat beside him, then drove the short distance to the community center parking lot. Heads turned to stare at them when they walked up the pathway.

Where on earth had she come from? This exotic fantasy dropped into his tiny corner of Alaska.

You’re not looking for a fantasy, pal. You’re looking for a wife.

Shut up, already. I’m just walking her into the party, not getting down on one knee.

That was good because he didn’t even know if this woman was interested in getting married. Or if she was even interested in him.

And then there was that…thing she had on around her neck. What in the hell was that all about?

“Name’s Mack, by the way, Mack McCaulley.” He stuck out his hand.

She studied him a moment. “Haven’t we already met?” she asked finally in a breathy whisper.

“Oh no, ma’am. I would never forget a lady like you.”

For some reason his statement caused her to frown in displeasure when he figured she should have been flattered. What had he done wrong? Could they have met before? He paused a moment to think. Nah. He would have remembered her.

“I’m Camryn,” she said after a moment. “Camryn Josephine.”

He grinned. “Like Cameron Diaz?”

“Pronounced the same but spelled differently.”

“Still.” He wriggled his eyebrows and hoped he was forgiven for whatever he had done to make her frown. “It’s a very sexy name.”

“Thank you.”

He pushed open the door and escorted her into the community center. Kay and Quinn came over to greet them. Camryn leaned over and said something to Kay.

“You’re kidding.” Kay laughed at whatever it was Camryn had told her, then Kay looked at Mack with a disapproving gleam in her eyes.

What? Now it was Mack’s turn to frown. What on earth had he done, dammit? He hated being talked about behind his back. It brought back bad childhood memories from the time his mother had run off with another man. And from the time his first serious girlfriend had dumped him for a software program designer who pulled down a high six-figure salary.

“Am I missing out on a joke?” he asked Kay.