Wedding day. The very thought made his head itch. Marrying had been the last thing on his mind when he’d ridden into town today. In fact, marrying had been the last thing on his mind since the day his ma had married Rusty. Their neighbor had always been mean and hardfisted, but Wyatt had been barkin’ at a knot trying to convince his ma of that. After she’d married the lowlife, Wyatt hadn’t been surprised when the marriage had gone sour.

That didn’t mean he’d never planned on getting married. A part of him wanted a family and a place to belong. But he’d moved around too much to make any real connections with the women who’d paid him attention. The handful who lived in the high country were already married and worked alongside their husbands. The rest lived in the dance halls and taverns catering to the lusts of the miners. They were the kind of women Wyatt had decided long ago to steer away from, no matter how tempting they might be.

Instead, he’d stayed busy and focused.

Until today . . . Until he’d met Miss Nilsson.

How in the name of all that was holy had he gotten roped into marrying a woman he hardly knew?

He glanced through the parlor door into the hallway. Did he have time to make an escape?

At just that moment, Miss Nilsson stepped into the entrance, and he froze at her image of perfection. Somehow over the past hour, she’d transformed herself from pretty to stunningly beautiful, and he could only stare stupidly at her like the other men were doing.

She’d changed out of her wet blue gown into a dark green one that contrasted with her light skin and made her eyes more blue than gray. The bell-shaped skirt hugged her hips and emphasized her tiny waist, and a matching bodice was formfitting over her curves. A simple but elegant pendant on a chain graced her neck. And she’d transformed her rain-soaked tangles of hair into a stylish knot.

She searched the room until she found him. As her gaze connected with his, he couldn’t look away. She was so wide eyed and innocent. And yet her gaze was also intense, fanning a strange new heat to life low in his gut.

Something in her expression asked him whether he really wanted to go through with this wedding. A moment ago, he’d been about to bolt from the house. But now he wasn’t sure he could move his feet even if the place began to burn down around him.

Wyatt sucked in a lungful of air, and his breathing felt shallow and quick, like it had when he’d first moved to the area and had to get used to the high altitude.