Fiancee for Hire by Tawna Fenske

first ring.
    “Is she okay?” he barked.
    No point bothering with hello. He’d asked Hank to keep an eye on Kelli, to make sure she stayed safe from gunrunners and thieves and fast-moving cars and large insects. If anything had happened to her—
    The silence on the other end of the line made Mac’s gut clench.
    “She’s fine but there’s been a change in her plans for the morning.”
    “What kind of change?”
    “There’s been an emergency,” Hank said, and Mac’s gut clenched harder. “She had to race to the clinic and—”
    “I’m on my way,” Mac said, disconnecting the call as he slammed on his brakes. Tires squealed, and a car behind him honked as Mac hauled ass for the volunteer veterinary clinic, Hank’s voice echoing in his ears.
    There’s been an emergency .
    Dammit, he should have asked more questions. He’d have answers soon enough. He pushed the pedal to the floor, handling the curves in the road like a NASCAR driver.
    You swore you’d never let it happen again. If something happens to her because of you—
    He screeched into a parking spot and jumped out of the car, slamming the door behind him. He marched into the clinic like a man possessed, hoping she was okay, hoping she hadn’t been in a car accident or gotten food poisoning or a hangnail. Jesus, what if she—
    “Retraction,” commanded a familiar voice.
    Mac rounded the corner into the newly built surgery suite and froze.
    “Let’s get some lavage going here.”
    His brain took a ridiculous amount of time processing the image of Kelli at the head of the operating table. She wore a blue surgical mask over her mouth and nose, latex gloves on her hands, and a full surgical gown tied in back over what appeared to be a—
    “Is that a wedding dress?” Mac blurted.
    Kelli looked up, her turquoise eyes meeting his over the top of her protective eyewear. “Hi, honey,” she called cheerfully, despite the grim set of her face. “Can’t talk right now, gotta focus on this bowel obstruction.”
    She dropped her eyes back to the table, where a large mutt was sprawled unconscious, tongue lolling to one side.
    “We got the call at the bridal salon.” He turned to see Anna sidling up beside him, nodding toward the table where Kelli worked. “The dog belongs to one of the vet techs. I guess their normal veterinarian is out of town ‘til afternoon.”
    “What happened?” he asked, moving around the table so he could see her from the front. He was disappointed to discover the surgical gown covered the front of the dress completely.
    Is it low cut? Is it silky?
    Is it hot in here?
    “Bowel obstruction,” Anna said. “Pretty common, but dangerous. Apparently the dog has a fondness for panties.”
    “Don’t we all,” he muttered, his eyes still fixed on Kelli as he moved to the side for a better view.
    “I hope you’re not in the habit of eating them like Diablo here,” Kelli called, her brow creased as she focused on her work.
    God, she was beautiful. Especially in that dress, never mind the unflattering medical garb. The view from behind was spectacular, the satin hugging her curves and showcasing that spectacular ass beneath the tie on the surgical gown.
    “Is the dog going to be okay?” Mac asked.
    “Too soon to tell,” said a man in blue scrubs. He was clutching the hand of a worried-looking brunette, and Mac deduced they must be the dog’s owners.
    “Diablo always chews on my underthings,” she sniffed. “I’ve been so good about keeping the lid down on the hamper, but I guess he must have gotten in somehow.”
    “Let’s bump up the anesthesia,” Kelli said, setting aside a pair of oddly angled scissors that looked like a medieval torture device. “Feels like it’s running a little too light. I’m going to try to squeeze the foreign body through the intestine now. If we’re lucky, we can avoid having to resect the GI tract.”
    “Dr. Landers has a lot of experience with this sort of surgery,” the dog’s