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  Emma leaned against Trent, her head on his shoulder. He calmed her in the midst of the crowd and noise. She couldn’t believe how quickly she’d grown accustomed to the quiet wilderness of Colorado nor how deeply she’d fallen in love with the serenity of the mountains. Trent leaned over to kiss her forehead. “Do you miss New York?’

  “No,” she murmured, “not at all.”

  “Let’s have a toast.” Madison raised her glass. “To Thomaz—for designing the ultimate lingerie.”

  “I second that,” Jake added.

  “To Thomaz,” Emma echoed, her hand on Trent’s knee.

  “We owe you big time.” Trent nodded and raised his glass.

  They toasted Thomaz and then everyone cast a glance at Izzy.

  “Hey, don’t give me pitying looks, people. Your little chastity belt helped me most of all.” Izzy grinned.

  “How’s that?” Emma asked.

  “It’s taught me self-control, and with the money I made off you guys, I paid off my credit-card debt.”

  “But you didn’t find anyone to love out of the deal.” Bianca made a sad face.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”

  “What do you mean?” Madison asked.

  A sly expression crossed Izzy’s face. “Hunter and I have been dating.”

  “Oh, Izzy,” they all exclaimed in unison.

  “So how’s the sex?” Emma asked and giggled when Trent tickled her in the ribs.

  “I don’t know,” Izzy admitted.

  “What do you mean you don’t know?” Bianca blinked.

  “We’ve been seeing each other for three months and tonight’s the night.” Izzy crossed her fingers. “Right now, as we speak, we’re playing Catch Me if You Can.”

  “And I caught you,” said a deep masculine voice.

  They all turned to see a handsome blond man stride over. He slid his arms around Izzy. “Honey, I’ve gotta tell you, that chastity belt is killing me.”

  “Amen!” Everybody at the table laughed.

  “I don’t suppose I can be Cherry Forever,” Izzy said, referring to her cartoon alter ego.

  “Izzy!” came the unanimous cry.

  With that, more toasts were made, more food was eaten, more hugs and kisses shared. Then one by one the couples said good night and went home, each believing that they had, in their own way, won the bet and received the sweetest reward.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-6568-8

  SWEET SURRENDER

  Copyright © 2010 by Laurie Vanzura.

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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