Book excerpt: Lord, help the mister who comes between Texas sisters . . . The Holiday Secret Sisterhood has a strict rule: never poach on another sister’s boyfriend, past or present. Hallie Holiday has no intentions of ever breaking that rule. After watching her big sisters become love-struck fools, men don’t even make the top five of Hallie’s wish list . . . until one night when Jace Carson slips onto the barstool next to her with his sexy lopsided smile and devilish smoky-gray eyes. Suddenly, spending the night in the muscled arms of a hot hometown hero becomes more than a wish. It becomes a steamy reality. Before Hallie can finish shoving that night into her bad-bad-sister vault and throwing away the key, Jace waltzes back into town. Soon Hallie will realize there’s no way to keep a secret from a sister . . . or from your own heart. Jace Carson plans to never step foot in Wilder, Texas, again. After an injury ends his professional football career, he has no desire to witness the townsfolk’s disappointment. Or watch his cousin live happily ever after with the woman Jace had planned to marry. But desire is a funny thing. It can change at the drop of a hat. Or the drop of a pair of lace panties. Getting involved with his ex-girlfriend’s little sister is just plain stupid, especially when Hallie is a tough cowgirl who pulls no punches—literally or figuratively. But there’s something about the way she looks at him that makes him feel like less of a failure. Like he could lasso the big ol’ harvest moon . . . and make a feisty Texas girl’s dreams come true.