Friday, December 6, 2019


CHAPTER ONE
Leni Long stared out the big front window of the Family Diner in Mannington, Kansas, watching snow cover the sparkly gold Christmas bells hanging from the town’s eight streetlights. With the breakfast rush over and the red-and-white-themed diner empty, a hush had fallen over the tiny town.
A black SUV pulled into a parking space a few feet down from the diner. A tall man in a charcoal-gray overcoat exited. His broad shoulders hunched against the snow-laced wind, but there was a strength, a power to the movement. Maybe because of his size. He had to be over six feet and was built like someone who’d spent time in the military. Snow dotted dark hair that had been cut in a sleek, sexy way that sharpened the angles of his handsome face.
A thrill ran through her. Mannington didn’t have any men that gorgeous, that male, and he was heading toward the diner.
She raced behind the counter as his long strides ate up the sidewalk between his SUV and the door. It opened. He stepped inside, turning to close it behind him before he faced her.
His gaze cruised from her candy-cane-print blouse, red apron, short green skirt and red tights to her black patent leather buckle shoes.
Damn it! The first fabulous-looking man to come to Mannington in decades and she was wearing an elf suit.
Oh, well. That was life in a small town. Waitresses dressed like elves. The cook sat outside on the back steps smoking. And her mom, the second waitress for the breakfast shift that morning, hadn’t thought twice about calling to say she wouldn’t be in until after ten. This was one of those mornings she needed to stay with Leni’s dad, making sure he was okay because his head injury from a work accident was now causing small seizures.
Gorgeous Guy peered at the name tag on her blouse. “Leni?”
It wasn’t unusual for an out-of-town customer to read her name tag and call her Leni to be friendly, but something about the way he’d said it hit her funny. As if he were disappointed.
“Yes.” She smiled. “That’s my name.”
He ambled over to the counter. “You’re the only waitress here?”
She grabbed a nearby cloth and ran it along the worn white countertop. “Yes. The other waitress is coming in later.”
“How much later?”
That was a stupid question. Why would he care what time her mom came in? “She’ll be here any minute now.” She laughed. “But really, it’s fine. I can take your order.”
“Okay.” He sat on one of the round red stools at the counter. “I’ll have a cup of coffee.”
“Sure.” She turned to the pot sitting on a two-burner warmer behind her. “And you should know that it might be after ten, but the cook makes breakfast all day.”
“Sorry. I had breakfast.”
Drat. That was her only angle to keep him here. Now he’d drink his cup of coffee and race off—
She frowned. Unless he planned to wait for her mom?
Fears about insurance adjusters and private investigators sent by At Home Construction to spy on her dad raced through her. After two years, the company was arguing his workers’ comp and questioning medical bills because they believed he could perform light-duty tasks and come back on the job.
But if this guy wanted to catch her dad working around the house to prove he was no longer disabled, he wouldn’t come looking for her mother.
Would he?
No. He’d spy on her dad.
Feeling guilty for thinking the handsome stranger was a private detective, she swiped the cloth down the counter again. “Maybe you’d like a cinnamon roll?”
He laughed. “No. Thank you.”
His words were kind, but precise. Leni smiled. He didn’t need food and sometimes customers didn’t want to talk. She would leave to him to his coffee.
She turned to walk away, but he said, “Nice town you have here.”
She faced him again. “Mannington’s okay.”
His dark brows rose. “Only okay?”
Maybe he did want to talk? And maybe a few minutes of personal time with him would stop her from being suspicious? His brown eyes lit with a hint of amusement and this close he was so gorgeous it was fun just looking at him.
No harm in enjoying that.
“No. Mannington’s a great place, but I’ll be moving soon. I just finished my degree and I’m probably going to have to relocate to Topeka to get a job.” She shrugged. “That’s the way it is sometimes. If you want to work, you go to the big city.”
“I’m from New York. My family owns a money management firm. I always knew where I’d be employed. Went through a bit of a rebellious phase, but I think everybody does, and here I am.”
In Mannington, Kansas?
A guy who owned a New York City money management firm was in Mannington, Kansas, where no one had any money?
Her suspicions rose again. But at least they were talking. Maybe with a little good old-fashioned waitress chitchat she could get him to tell her why he was here?
Especially if he was looking for her mom.
*
Nick Kourakis couldn’t stop staring at the woman behind the counter. He’d been sent by the estate of Mark Hinton to find Elenore Long, probably the waitress who hadn’t yet arrived, and instead he’d run into the most naturally beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
She had an exquisite face, a perfect figure that her goofy elf suit couldn’t hide and big green eyes that shone with humor—
Until he’d asked when the other waitress would be coming in. Then she’d gotten quiet. But now that they were talking about her getting a job, things had perked up again. It didn’t matter what he told her or what she told him. They’d never see each other again. That was the beauty of a conversation with a stranger. It was pointless. Exactly the diversion he needed while he waited for Elenore Long.
“So, you think you’ll be moving to Topeka?”
She shrugged. “Probably.”
He gestured at the candy-cane blouse. “Gonna take the elf suit?”
She laughed. “I doubt they let social workers wear them.”
He loved her laugh. He loved her flowing hair. He loved that a little small talk had brought back her smile. “That’s a tough job.”
“I know.”
“But it should be fairly easy to find work.”
Her smile grew into a grin. “I know that, too.”
“Well, there’s just no fooling you, is there, Leni?”
She smiled again. Her full lips lifting and her green eyes sparkling.
He swore to God his heart turned over in his chest. He’d been single for so long that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this kind of reaction to a woman. Not just an instant connection, but a welcome connection, as if the small talk he thought so pointless was a door to something—
Looking at her beautiful face, big eyes, high cheekbones, perfect nose, and lips just made for kissing, he almost suggested she search for work in New York, but that would be as pointless as a conversation about the weather. Why would he ask a beautiful woman to make such a drastic move for him, when he knew nothing would come of it?
The diner door opened and he turned. A woman in an elf suit just like Leni’s walked in.
The other waitress. Most likely Elenore Long.
His eyes narrowed as he studied her. She was fifty, at least. Her chestnut hair curled around a square face and her eyes were blue. His heiress was the first of three children fathered by Mark Hinton, who’d died two weeks ago at the age of sixty. This woman was too old to be his child, even his firstborn.
He rose from his stool. “You’re the other waitress?”
The woman began unbuttoning her coat. “Yeah.”
“I think he’s been waiting for you, Mom.”
Nick swung to face Leni again. “Mom?”
“That’s my mom. Denise Long, Mr. Owner-of-a-Money-Management-Firm. If you think we got a settlement to invest after my dad’s injury, you’re wrong. We can barely get the insurance company to pay his medical bills.”
He fell to the round red stool again. “I’m not after your dad’s money.” He took a quick breath and caught Leni’s gaze. “Your last name is Long?”
“Yeah.”
Not taking any chances, he said, “And Leni is a nickname for something?”
He waited for confirmation but deep down he already knew the answer.
“Elenore.”
He ran his fingers along his brow. “Elenore Long.” He shook his head. If he hadn’t been so blinded by her bedroom eyes, glorious mane of hair and sexy little body, he probably would have figured that out. “You’re Elenore Long?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Is there someplace private you and I can talk?”
She pressed her hand to her chest. “I’m the person you’re here to see?”
“Yes.”
“Why? I could barely get student loans. I don’t have anything to hand over to a money management firm.”
“Seriously. We have to talk someplace private.” He caught her gaze. “Now.”
*
Leni had never seen anybody’s mood shift so quickly. He went from cute and flirty to serious in under a second. But that was fine since she was totally confused by him. First, he wanted to talk to her mom. Now he wanted to talk to her?
“The only people in the diner are you, me and my mom. George, the cook, is outside smoking.” She glanced around. “We can just go to one of the booths in the back.”
“Okay.” He pointed to the last booth in the farthest corner. “We’ll sit there.”
He walked behind her until they reached the table. Then he slid onto the bench across from her.
“My name is Nick Kourakis. I work for a money management firm in New York City.”
“So, you said. And I told you my family doesn’t have any money to invest.”
“I know.”
His eyes darkened as he studied her. With all his attention centered on her face, she had to hold back a shudder. She had never seen a man this good-looking. But as she thought that, she noticed that his gray overcoat was stunningly made, and his white shirt and tie looked expensive. As big as he was, he wore both effortlessly, as if he was accustomed to luxury. Maybe even made for it.
She suddenly realized he wasn’t gorgeous so much as he was a combination of the whole package. Expensive clothes. Sparkling clean. Handsome.
And wealthy.
Probably so rich, she couldn’t even fathom the amount of money he had.
“I’m not selling anything. I’m not even here on behalf of the money management firm. I was sent here to retrieve you.”
“Retrieve me?” His sultry brown eyes held her captive, sending warmth swimming through her blood, confusing her, almost hypnotizing her.
“Because I have some exciting news for you.”
“Oh, yeah?” She fought the strange sensations assaulting her with sarcasm. “And what would that be?”
“First, what I have to tell you has to remain confidential.”
Some of her equilibrium returned. “Okay.”
He leaned back on the bench. “Have you ever heard of Mark Hinton?”
More of her confidence came back. Enough to put starch in her spine. “No.”
“He’s a billionaire…or was. We have reason to believe you are one of the people mentioned in his will.”
“Oh…” Her composure took a tumble. Imagining herself getting as much as ten thousand dollars and paying off some of the bills that had accumulated since her dad’s injury, she told her wishful-thinking brain to stop before she got her hopes up. “That’s good. Right?”
“It could potentially be wonderful.”
“Dude, wonderful to me is enough money to pay my dad’s medical bills.”
“It’s more than that.”
New thoughts scrambled around in her brain. Like buying her dad the service dog he needed because of his seizures, and not worrying about the company forcing him back to work.
But as quickly as her good thoughts set up shop, some bad thoughts came tumbling in. Adopted at eight, after a year in foster care when her biological mom gave her up, she’d always believed she was not a lucky person. The way she’d struggled for eight years just to afford her basic bachelor’s degree backed that up. “What’s the catch?”
“Before I say another word, I need your promise that you won’t talk about this with anyone until I tell you that you can.”
A laugh bubbled out. “You want me to take a vow of silence?”
“You are the first of three potential heirs to Mark Hinton’s estate. A huge estate. You can tell your parents, but that’s it. And they have to promise to keep this news to themselves. Frankly, it’s a matter of your personal safety.”
It all seemed to so preposterous that it couldn’t sink in. As good as it would be to be rich, she was much too practical to believe in magic or miracles. It had to be a joke or a mistake.
When she said nothing, he sighed. “Do you have your phone?”
She pulled it out of her apron pocket.
“Search Mark Hinton.”
She did as he said, though she mumbled, “Anybody can put up a fake website.”
But her phone produced eight thousand results for Mark Hinton. Her gaze leaped to Nick’s. “What is this?”
“Information on his life.” He paused for a second before he added, “I was sent here by the law firm handling your dad’s estate. The attorney in charge is stuck in court today. He’s a friend of mine, and my family’s firm manages your father’s fortune, so I was picked to come in his place.”
She barely heard anything after he said, “your dad’s estate.” Her breath stumbled. “My dad’s?”
She struggled to take it all in. Her biological mom hadn’t told her anything about her father. She would always say he wasn’t important, and they didn’t need him. At seven, she’d known that wasn’t true when her mom couldn’t afford to keep her anymore.
“According to the estate lawyer, the paper trail says Mark Hinton is your father,” Nick said. “But they’ll be getting DNA.”
She leaned back in disappointment and disbelief, her voice dull when she said, “My biological father was rich.”
“One of the first multibillionaires.” Nick shifted. “If you let this get out before the estate has a chance to protect you, you will be mobbed by people who want money. You’ll be a target for scam artists and kidnappers. I came here not merely to tell you, but to take you to New York so the lawyer can make the process of vetting you easier for you.”
Something Leni couldn’t define or describe fluttered through her, tightening her chest, making her head spin. She looked at the eight thousand results to her search and saw the words billionaire, reclusive, oil and gas prodigy and missing heirs.
Her heart stopped then burst to life again with such a frantic beat she thought she’d faint. This would be more than enough money to care for her dad.
“You think this guy is my father and I’m one of these heirs?”
“The estate lawyer is fairly certain you’re one of the heirs. He says the paper trail is solid. But they’ll do a DNA test to confirm it.”
Her voice came out as a squeak as she said, “Okay.”
“For confidentiality purposes and for your safety, you have to go to New York now.” He paused long enough to catch her gaze. “Will you come with me?”
Ten minutes ago, that offer probably would have scrambled her pulse. Now? The happy, flirty guy was gone. A businessman had replaced him.
She almost missed the flirty guy. But her brain had been captured by the idea that she might be wealthy enough that her parents would no longer have to worry about money.
Still, she wasn’t going to New York with a man she didn’t know, based solely on his word. “Give me a day?”
“The plan was to leave as soon as we told you.”
She shook her head. “I want a day. Twenty-four hours to explain all this to my parents and to check you out.”
“I can provide you with references—”
“No thanks. I’ll find what I need on my own.” She’d check every dark and moldy corner of the internet if she had to, to make sure he was for real.
There was no way she’d leave for New York with a stranger. And no way she’d get her parents’ hopes up for nothing.

Posted by at No comments:

Excerpt CINDERELLA'S BILLION-DOLLAR CHRISTMAS


CHAPTER ONE
Leni Long stared out the big front window of the Family Diner in Mannington, Kansas, watching snow cover the sparkly gold Christmas bells hanging from the town’s eight streetlights. With the breakfast rush over and the red-and-white-themed diner empty, a hush had fallen over the tiny town.
A black SUV pulled into a parking space a few feet down from the diner. A tall man in a charcoal-gray overcoat exited. His broad shoulders hunched against the snow-laced wind, but there was a strength, a power to the movement. Maybe because of his size. He had to be over six feet and was built like someone who’d spent time in the military. Snow dotted dark hair that had been cut in a sleek, sexy way that sharpened the angles of his handsome face.
A thrill ran through her. Mannington didn’t have any men that gorgeous, that male, and he was heading toward the diner.
She raced behind the counter as his long strides ate up the sidewalk between his SUV and the door. It opened. He stepped inside, turning to close it behind him before he faced her.
His gaze cruised from her candy-cane-print blouse, red apron, short green skirt and red tights to her black patent leather buckle shoes.
Damn it! The first fabulous-looking man to come to Mannington in decades and she was wearing an elf suit.
Oh, well. That was life in a small town. Waitresses dressed like elves. The cook sat outside on the back steps smoking. And her mom, the second waitress for the breakfast shift that morning, hadn’t thought twice about calling to say she wouldn’t be in until after ten. This was one of those mornings she needed to stay with Leni’s dad, making sure he was okay because his head injury from a work accident was now causing small seizures.
Gorgeous Guy peered at the name tag on her blouse. “Leni?”
It wasn’t unusual for an out-of-town customer to read her name tag and call her Leni to be friendly, but something about the way he’d said it hit her funny. As if he were disappointed.
“Yes.” She smiled. “That’s my name.”
He ambled over to the counter. “You’re the only waitress here?”
She grabbed a nearby cloth and ran it along the worn white countertop. “Yes. The other waitress is coming in later.”
“How much later?”
That was a stupid question. Why would he care what time her mom came in? “She’ll be here any minute now.” She laughed. “But really, it’s fine. I can take your order.”
“Okay.” He sat on one of the round red stools at the counter. “I’ll have a cup of coffee.”
“Sure.” She turned to the pot sitting on a two-burner warmer behind her. “And you should know that it might be after ten, but the cook makes breakfast all day.”
“Sorry. I had breakfast.”
Drat. That was her only angle to keep him here. Now he’d drink his cup of coffee and race off—
She frowned. Unless he planned to wait for her mom?
Fears about insurance adjusters and private investigators sent by At Home Construction to spy on her dad raced through her. After two years, the company was arguing his workers’ comp and questioning medical bills because they believed he could perform light-duty tasks and come back on the job.
But if this guy wanted to catch her dad working around the house to prove he was no longer disabled, he wouldn’t come looking for her mother.
Would he?
No. He’d spy on her dad.
Feeling guilty for thinking the handsome stranger was a private detective, she swiped the cloth down the counter again. “Maybe you’d like a cinnamon roll?”
He laughed. “No. Thank you.”
His words were kind, but precise. Leni smiled. He didn’t need food and sometimes customers didn’t want to talk. She would leave to him to his coffee.
She turned to walk away, but he said, “Nice town you have here.”
She faced him again. “Mannington’s okay.”
His dark brows rose. “Only okay?”
Maybe he did want to talk? And maybe a few minutes of personal time with him would stop her from being suspicious? His brown eyes lit with a hint of amusement and this close he was so gorgeous it was fun just looking at him.
No harm in enjoying that.
“No. Mannington’s a great place, but I’ll be moving soon. I just finished my degree and I’m probably going to have to relocate to Topeka to get a job.” She shrugged. “That’s the way it is sometimes. If you want to work, you go to the big city.”
“I’m from New York. My family owns a money management firm. I always knew where I’d be employed. Went through a bit of a rebellious phase, but I think everybody does, and here I am.”
In Mannington, Kansas?
A guy who owned a New York City money management firm was in Mannington, Kansas, where no one had any money?
Her suspicions rose again. But at least they were talking. Maybe with a little good old-fashioned waitress chitchat she could get him to tell her why he was here?
Especially if he was looking for her mom.
*
Nick Kourakis couldn’t stop staring at the woman behind the counter. He’d been sent by the estate of Mark Hinton to find Elenore Long, probably the waitress who hadn’t yet arrived, and instead he’d run into the most naturally beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
She had an exquisite face, a perfect figure that her goofy elf suit couldn’t hide and big green eyes that shone with humor—
Until he’d asked when the other waitress would be coming in. Then she’d gotten quiet. But now that they were talking about her getting a job, things had perked up again. It didn’t matter what he told her or what she told him. They’d never see each other again. That was the beauty of a conversation with a stranger. It was pointless. Exactly the diversion he needed while he waited for Elenore Long.
“So, you think you’ll be moving to Topeka?”
She shrugged. “Probably.”
He gestured at the candy-cane blouse. “Gonna take the elf suit?”
She laughed. “I doubt they let social workers wear them.”
He loved her laugh. He loved her flowing hair. He loved that a little small talk had brought back her smile. “That’s a tough job.”
“I know.”
“But it should be fairly easy to find work.”
Her smile grew into a grin. “I know that, too.”
“Well, there’s just no fooling you, is there, Leni?”
She smiled again. Her full lips lifting and her green eyes sparkling.
He swore to God his heart turned over in his chest. He’d been single for so long that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this kind of reaction to a woman. Not just an instant connection, but a welcome connection, as if the small talk he thought so pointless was a door to something—
Looking at her beautiful face, big eyes, high cheekbones, perfect nose, and lips just made for kissing, he almost suggested she search for work in New York, but that would be as pointless as a conversation about the weather. Why would he ask a beautiful woman to make such a drastic move for him, when he knew nothing would come of it?
The diner door opened and he turned. A woman in an elf suit just like Leni’s walked in.
The other waitress. Most likely Elenore Long.
His eyes narrowed as he studied her. She was fifty, at least. Her chestnut hair curled around a square face and her eyes were blue. His heiress was the first of three children fathered by Mark Hinton, who’d died two weeks ago at the age of sixty. This woman was too old to be his child, even his firstborn.
He rose from his stool. “You’re the other waitress?”
The woman began unbuttoning her coat. “Yeah.”
“I think he’s been waiting for you, Mom.”
Nick swung to face Leni again. “Mom?”
“That’s my mom. Denise Long, Mr. Owner-of-a-Money-Management-Firm. If you think we got a settlement to invest after my dad’s injury, you’re wrong. We can barely get the insurance company to pay his medical bills.”
He fell to the round red stool again. “I’m not after your dad’s money.” He took a quick breath and caught Leni’s gaze. “Your last name is Long?”
“Yeah.”
Not taking any chances, he said, “And Leni is a nickname for something?”
He waited for confirmation but deep down he already knew the answer.
“Elenore.”
He ran his fingers along his brow. “Elenore Long.” He shook his head. If he hadn’t been so blinded by her bedroom eyes, glorious mane of hair and sexy little body, he probably would have figured that out. “You’re Elenore Long?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Is there someplace private you and I can talk?”
She pressed her hand to her chest. “I’m the person you’re here to see?”
“Yes.”
“Why? I could barely get student loans. I don’t have anything to hand over to a money management firm.”
“Seriously. We have to talk someplace private.” He caught her gaze. “Now.”
*
Leni had never seen anybody’s mood shift so quickly. He went from cute and flirty to serious in under a second. But that was fine since she was totally confused by him. First, he wanted to talk to her mom. Now he wanted to talk to her?
“The only people in the diner are you, me and my mom. George, the cook, is outside smoking.” She glanced around. “We can just go to one of the booths in the back.”
“Okay.” He pointed to the last booth in the farthest corner. “We’ll sit there.”
He walked behind her until they reached the table. Then he slid onto the bench across from her.
“My name is Nick Kourakis. I work for a money management firm in New York City.”
“So, you said. And I told you my family doesn’t have any money to invest.”
“I know.”
His eyes darkened as he studied her. With all his attention centered on her face, she had to hold back a shudder. She had never seen a man this good-looking. But as she thought that, she noticed that his gray overcoat was stunningly made, and his white shirt and tie looked expensive. As big as he was, he wore both effortlessly, as if he was accustomed to luxury. Maybe even made for it.
She suddenly realized he wasn’t gorgeous so much as he was a combination of the whole package. Expensive clothes. Sparkling clean. Handsome.
And wealthy.
Probably so rich, she couldn’t even fathom the amount of money he had.
“I’m not selling anything. I’m not even here on behalf of the money management firm. I was sent here to retrieve you.”
“Retrieve me?” His sultry brown eyes held her captive, sending warmth swimming through her blood, confusing her, almost hypnotizing her.
“Because I have some exciting news for you.”
“Oh, yeah?” She fought the strange sensations assaulting her with sarcasm. “And what would that be?”
“First, what I have to tell you has to remain confidential.”
Some of her equilibrium returned. “Okay.”
He leaned back on the bench. “Have you ever heard of Mark Hinton?”
More of her confidence came back. Enough to put starch in her spine. “No.”
“He’s a billionaire…or was. We have reason to believe you are one of the people mentioned in his will.”
“Oh…” Her composure took a tumble. Imagining herself getting as much as ten thousand dollars and paying off some of the bills that had accumulated since her dad’s injury, she told her wishful-thinking brain to stop before she got her hopes up. “That’s good. Right?”
“It could potentially be wonderful.”
“Dude, wonderful to me is enough money to pay my dad’s medical bills.”
“It’s more than that.”
New thoughts scrambled around in her brain. Like buying her dad the service dog he needed because of his seizures, and not worrying about the company forcing him back to work.
But as quickly as her good thoughts set up shop, some bad thoughts came tumbling in. Adopted at eight, after a year in foster care when her biological mom gave her up, she’d always believed she was not a lucky person. The way she’d struggled for eight years just to afford her basic bachelor’s degree backed that up. “What’s the catch?”
“Before I say another word, I need your promise that you won’t talk about this with anyone until I tell you that you can.”
A laugh bubbled out. “You want me to take a vow of silence?”
“You are the first of three potential heirs to Mark Hinton’s estate. A huge estate. You can tell your parents, but that’s it. And they have to promise to keep this news to themselves. Frankly, it’s a matter of your personal safety.”
It all seemed to so preposterous that it couldn’t sink in. As good as it would be to be rich, she was much too practical to believe in magic or miracles. It had to be a joke or a mistake.
When she said nothing, he sighed. “Do you have your phone?”
She pulled it out of her apron pocket.
“Search Mark Hinton.”
She did as he said, though she mumbled, “Anybody can put up a fake website.”
But her phone produced eight thousand results for Mark Hinton. Her gaze leaped to Nick’s. “What is this?”
“Information on his life.” He paused for a second before he added, “I was sent here by the law firm handling your dad’s estate. The attorney in charge is stuck in court today. He’s a friend of mine, and my family’s firm manages your father’s fortune, so I was picked to come in his place.”
She barely heard anything after he said, “your dad’s estate.” Her breath stumbled. “My dad’s?”
She struggled to take it all in. Her biological mom hadn’t told her anything about her father. She would always say he wasn’t important, and they didn’t need him. At seven, she’d known that wasn’t true when her mom couldn’t afford to keep her anymore.
“According to the estate lawyer, the paper trail says Mark Hinton is your father,” Nick said. “But they’ll be getting DNA.”
She leaned back in disappointment and disbelief, her voice dull when she said, “My biological father was rich.”
“One of the first multibillionaires.” Nick shifted. “If you let this get out before the estate has a chance to protect you, you will be mobbed by people who want money. You’ll be a target for scam artists and kidnappers. I came here not merely to tell you, but to take you to New York so the lawyer can make the process of vetting you easier for you.”
Something Leni couldn’t define or describe fluttered through her, tightening her chest, making her head spin. She looked at the eight thousand results to her search and saw the words billionaire, reclusive, oil and gas prodigy and missing heirs.
Her heart stopped then burst to life again with such a frantic beat she thought she’d faint. This would be more than enough money to care for her dad.
“You think this guy is my father and I’m one of these heirs?”
“The estate lawyer is fairly certain you’re one of the heirs. He says the paper trail is solid. But they’ll do a DNA test to confirm it.”
Her voice came out as a squeak as she said, “Okay.”
“For confidentiality purposes and for your safety, you have to go to New York now.” He paused long enough to catch her gaze. “Will you come with me?”
Ten minutes ago, that offer probably would have scrambled her pulse. Now? The happy, flirty guy was gone. A businessman had replaced him.
She almost missed the flirty guy. But her brain had been captured by the idea that she might be wealthy enough that her parents would no longer have to worry about money.
Still, she wasn’t going to New York with a man she didn’t know, based solely on his word. “Give me a day?”
“The plan was to leave as soon as we told you.”
She shook her head. “I want a day. Twenty-four hours to explain all this to my parents and to check you out.”
“I can provide you with references—”
“No thanks. I’ll find what I need on my own.” She’d check every dark and moldy corner of the internet if she had to, to make sure he was for real.
There was no way she’d leave for New York with a stranger. And no way she’d get her parents’ hopes up for nothing.

Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

A Diamond for the Single Mom


CHAPTER FIVE
Harper and Clark had gone to fund-raisers at various art galleries, and she knew most women wore cocktail dresses.
Shopping with Seth, she hadn’t bought a cocktail dress, but she had bought a simple black sheath that she could dress up with pearls. The outfit was simple and elegant. She looked like the lady her mom wanted her to be.
Little black dress.
Dating Manhattan’s most eligible bachelor.
Forgetting Clark.
Except she wasn’t forgetting Clark. She and Seth weren’t really dating. After her mom’s promise to stay out of things, this ruse was supposed to be simple, easy, because they weren’t really going out in public. Then his mom had showed up and now they were hip-deep in a lie.
She stepped out of her bedroom and Mrs. P. gasped. “Oh, you look so lovely. Old-style classy.”
Harper laughed. “Did you just call me old?”
Wearing a tux, Seth came from behind Mrs. P.
He looked amazing. His long, limber body wore a tux with the elegant grace of a man accustomed to the fine things in life. But his face bore the oddest expression. His eyes had widened. His eyebrows had raised.
“She said you looked good. And you do.”
“You don’t need to be so surprised.”
“I’m not. I’m just accustomed to seeing you in jeans.”
Ragged jeans and worn T-shirts. Her chin lifted. She might not be allowed to be attracted to him, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have any pride. “You saw me in cocktail dresses plenty of times when Clark and I went to these functions.”
“Yeah, but you were married then—and to my best friend. I never really looked at you.”
Mrs. P. chortled. “You’re digging yourself farther down, Seth. Quit while you’re ahead.”
“Baby’s already in bed for the night,” Harper told Mrs. P., handing her a short list of instructions.
Mrs. P. glanced at the paper. “If she’ll probably sleep the whole time you’re gone, why do I need these?”
“In case she wakes up.”
“Ah.”
Seth walked to the island and grabbed his keys. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
When his condo door closed behind them, she caught his arm to stop him. “I’m sorry.”
“For?”
“This whole charade is turning into a big mess.” She felt like a burden. A chore. A weird something attached to his life that he would soon grow to hate. And the thought that he’d end up hating her tightened her chest and made her wish she’d never asked him for help.
“It’s not a big mess. It’s a gallery opening. We’ll show up, have a few drinks and be back in time for Mrs. P. to catch her eleven-thirty movie.”
He said it so easily that Harper’s chest loosened. “You’re okay with this?”
“I started it, remember? It’s a couple of weeks out of my life. We’re fine.”
They rode the elevator to the basement garage in silence, then stepped out into rows of luxury cars. She spotted her Explorer quickly, if only because it was the one car valued at less than a hundred thousand dollars.
Which meant the Ferrari beside it was Seth’s. “Wow.”
He opened the door for her. “You like?”
“I love it.” When Seth walked around to the driver’s side and slid in beside her, she said, “Clark wanted one of these but thought the SUV was more practical.”
“It probably was.”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t a convertible.”
He laughed and started the car. “I’m guessing that means you want the top down.”
“Oh, yeah.” She couldn’t deny it. She’d had a convertible when she was sixteen and had loved it. When she’d left home, left her parents’ wealth and hypocrisy behind, it was the only thing she’d missed.
He pushed a button and the roof lowered, then he shifted gears and sent them roaring out of the parking garage.
The feeling of the wind in her hair made her laugh out loud. She’d been so concerned about involving Seth, getting a job and finding a condo that she hadn’t had a second of peace. And this—the wind, the night air, forgetting her responsibilities for a few hours—was just what she needed.
“I forgot how this messes up hair,” he said, shouting over the noise of the air circulating around them.
“I don’t care,” she said, and meant it. “Mine’s so short, I can pull my fingers through it and get it in shape again.”
“Good!” He hit the gas and sent the car speeding up the street.
The air felt fantastic. Freeing. Thanks to Mrs. P. and the need to shop for groceries, she’d had a few times away from the baby, but they hadn’t felt like this. Like she was allowed to be herself. Not just a mom, not a cook, not someone scrambling for a job and maybe a place to live, but herself. Her old self.
She turned and yelled, “This is fabulous.”
“I know. I sometimes drive to Jersey just for the hell of it.”
She sucked in more air, let it wash over her like a spring rain renewing the world. But in the blink of an eye, they pulled up to the valet in front of the gallery. He opened Harper’s door and helped her out of the low sports car as Seth got out on his side. Seth tossed him the keys, then took Harper’s arm.
“Ready?”
She turned and smiled at him. “Yes.”
*
Everything male in Seth awoke. She made the simple black dress and pearls stunning with her pale skin and big blue eyes. But her pleasure during their ride over with the top down had filled him with joy. He hated that this charade seemed to trouble her, and for one darn night he wished she could forget it all and have a good time. In fact, maybe that should be his mission. Not to romance her or steer clear of her for fear of feelings, but to show her a good time. Just because she was a friend.
The doorman didn’t check the list for Seth’s name. Everyone knew Seth was a McCallan. He opened the door, and Seth ushered Harper inside. As the door closed, the sounds of the city were immediately replaced by the noise of conversations rising to the high ceiling of the gallery and echoing back.
Harper said, “Wow. They’ve remodeled this place since the last time I was here. It’s gorgeous.”
She was gorgeous with her windblown spiky hair and her sheath outlining her trim figure. And for the first time in what felt like forever, he wanted to show off his date.
Who wasn’t really a date.
But why not?
Most of the world thought they were dating anyway.
And he’d already decided he wanted her to have a good time. Maybe they could both enjoy this.
His brother, Jake, and wife, Avery, approached them. Avery’s red hair and big green eyes paired with Jake’s dark hair and blue eyes made them the perfect all-American couple.
Jake said, “Harper! It is nice to see you out and about again.”
Harper sucked in a breath. “Thank you.”
She was obviously nervous, and Seth prayed Jake wouldn’t say something about Clark. The guy had been gone a year. Harper was showing signs of really getting beyond his death. If Jake said something now—
“This is my wife, Avery.” Jake faced her. “Avery, this is Harper Hargraves. She’s an old friend of Seth’s.”
Avery smiled and shook Harper’s hand. She exchanged a quick look with Jake before she answered, “I remember.”
But that was all she said. She didn’t mention that she was with Jake when he got word Clark had been killed in an accident. She didn’t say she’d been part of the search for Seth when he’d gone missing that night, or that they’d found him drunk and had to drive him home.
Seth hid a sigh of relief. Avery could have said any one of a million things. But his well-bred brother and his beautiful wife left out the sad details and welcomed Harper.
Jake said, “What do you think of the renovations?”
Harper glanced around. “The place is lovely.”
“We wanted more space for displays, especially bigger pieces of art,” Avery explained. “So, when the gallery came to us for help, we had it designed to fit almost anything.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Avery is the benevolent one,” Jake said with a laugh. “I’d have given them the money and said have at it. She actually worked with the designers and architects.”
Seth laughed at that. His brother was right about Avery being benevolent, but Avery also had changed Jake, made him kinder and gentler. Though it would be a cold frosty day in hell before Seth told his older brother that.
“Hey, everybody.” Seth and Jake’s sister joined the group.
“Sabrina,” Seth said. “You’re probably too young to remember Harper, Clark Hargrave’s wife.”
Sabrina extended her hand to shake Harper’s. “Of course, I remember. I’m only three years younger than you are, Seth.”
Harper said, “How are you, Sabrina?”
She looked expensively elegant in her sparkly blue dress, which matched her blue eyes and brought out the best in her blond hair. “Overworked. Underappreciated.”
Harper laughed, and Seth swallowed another sigh of relief. He shouldn’t care if his brother and sister liked Harper, but he did. He blamed that on his fear that one of them would say something about Clark’s death and ruin Harper’s evening, but so far no one had. Which was odd. He’d have at least expected his brother to razz him about bringing a date.
He turned to his sister. “That’s what you get for working for a charity.”
Sabrina’s chin lifted. “We’re not a charity. Clients pay what they can for our services.”
Seth addressed Harper. “Sabrina runs an organization that helps startup companies.”
“That’s interesting!”
“It’s fabulous,” Sabrina said. “People come to me with their ideas and I help them bring them to life.”
Harper sighed with envy. “You wouldn’t happen to need an assistant, would you?”
Seth quickly intervened. “Even if she does, she can’t afford you. You need a job that pays you a fairly substantial amount of money.”
Sabrina looked crushed. “Too bad.”
Avery said, “I can keep my ear to the ground.”
“I’d appreciate that.” Harper shifted her purse from one hand to the other and Seth realized that her nails were painted. The little detail, another confirmation that she’d looked forward to this event, reinforced his vow that he would help her have a good time.
Which probably meant he should get her away from his family.
“Why don’t we get a drink?” Seth said.
“Better yet,” Jake said, “why don’t you and I go and get drinks for the ladies?”
There was no way out of that without explaining he wanted to get Harper away from his family. He headed toward the bar.
Jake followed him. “I thought you were just helping her find a job? Now you and Harper are dating?”
He shrugged. “So?”
“So? Seth? She isn’t just Clark’s wife. You brought her somewhere she’d have to meet family. Are you serious about her?”
“It’s not like that. We’re together a lot because of updating her résumé, that kind of thing. Dating just evolved from that.”
“Oh…that explains why you look so chummy.”
He walked up to the bar, absently ordered a Scotch. “Chummy?” He laughed, suddenly seeing the humor in stringing this out and teasing his brother. “What the hell does chummy look like?”
Jake shrugged. “You know. Exchanging glances because you share information. That kind of thing.”
“You sound like an old woman.”
“No. I sound like a confused brother. During everything we went through with Dad, we’ve told each other everything. Now you show up with Clark Hargraves’s widow and you don’t think I’ll be curious?”
For a split second, the ruse didn’t seem so funny. He and Jake had been bound by a mutual need to get out of a bad situation. He could understand his brother would be curious as to why he’d kept something so big from him.
“Jake, I like Harper.” He did. No lie there. “But she’s Clark’s widow. She needs help. I’m helping her.”
“And dating.”
“And dating. But neither one of us expects anything to come of it.”
Jake laughed. “You are such a babe in the woods. That’s exactly how love hits. When you least expect it.”
“I’m fine.”
“You think so but what seems like an innocent connection combines with sexual attraction, before you know it you’re hooked.”
The truth of that sank into his bones like a warning that had been right in front of him, but he’d kept missing. He’d always been attracted to Harper, and now they were sharing a condo. He was helping her. She was even cooking for him.
And tonight, he’d wanted to show her a good time…
“I think I’m smart enough to keep my wits about me.”
“Too bad.”
Just when he thought he had a handle on the conversation, his brother threw him another curveball. “Too bad?”
“Yes. She’s nice.” Jake’s gaze drifted to Harper and Avery and Sabrina. “And Avery likes her. No better litmus test than that.” Jake suddenly grinned. “Except Mom.” Jake laughed. “Oh, it’s going to be fun watching you explain this to Mom.”
“She’s already been to the house. She heard the rumor that we were dating, and she came by.”
“Well, damn. I was kind of looking forward to the show.”
“There is no show.”
Or at least he hoped there wouldn’t be. They hadn’t yet run into his mom. But now that Jake had mentioned it, he could be prepared for that, too.
Seth took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter then retrieved the Scotch he’d ordered at the bar. Jake did the same. When they returned to Avery, Harper and Sabrina, the three women were laughing.
Seth’s breath stalled in his chest. He hadn’t seen her laugh so deeply, so happily, since before Clark’s death. But more than that, there was no one as beautiful as Harper when she laughed.
And suddenly he saw what Jake had seen. All those old feelings he had about Harper kept bubbling up when he least expected. And when they did, he froze or gazed at her, probably with adoring eyes.
Rather than panic, he decided that might be good. They were supposed to be dating. He could use these feelings, these instincts and impulses, while they were here, among the people they were trying to fool, and be warned of them when he and Harper were alone.
He rejoined the group as they subtly moved a little farther into the cluster of potential donors to the charity hosting the event. Before he took his final step in the move, Harper laid her hand on his upper arm and held him back.
“Your family put millions of dollars into the renovations for this gallery?”
“My mother enjoys being a patron of the arts.” He grimaced. “We’re actually silent partners.”
The way her eyes brightened told him that pleased her. “Oh.”
“We don’t let a lot of the work we do, the things we own, get out to the general public.” He paused, then caught her gaze. She trusted him with all her secrets. He could certainly trust her with one of his. “Sabrina paints. You’ll find a lot of her work here under the name Sally McMillen.”
“You guys didn’t open this gallery for her, did you?”
He laughed. “No. The gallery discovered her but her first showing was a disaster. People bought her art seeking favors from my father or just wanting to have something done by a McCallan. She was embarrassed and upset. Wondered if people liked her work at all.”
“I can understand that.”
“Now her work is shown as Sally McMillen. She knows that the people who buy it like it for what it is. And she has a good job that acts as a cover for people.”
Harper’s gaze strayed to Sabrina. “She’s so lucky to be talented.”
“You’re talented.”
She turned back to him. “Not hardly.”
“You cook. You care for a baby. Plus, I remember you having a booming business when we were at university. You made enough money for rent and tuition. While Clark, Ziggy and I had to live together, you could afford your own place.”
She smiled sheepishly. “I was pretty good.”
“You were amazing.”
Their gazes caught and held. Everything Jake had said about Harper came tumbling back. He suddenly wondered what it would be like if they could have something. If he could do this. Fall in love. Create a life—
That was a lot to wish for from a guy who’d spent his thirty-one years knowing he’d never get married, never even get serious about a woman.
He directed Harper to catch up to Jake, Avery and Sabrina by putting his hand on her waist. One of Jake’s eyebrows rose and Seth shook his head. Some days he swore his brother liked acting like a kid. Teasing him about a girl.
But not just any girl—the girl he would have let himself love if he hadn’t been so scarred from his parents’ marriage.
The conversation with his siblings and sister-in-law continued with everyone giving Harper tips on what skills she would need to be a good assistant. Harper matched them to things she had done as a dog-walker, gift-buyer and party-planner when she owned her own company.
Sabrina grew thoughtful. “You know, if you had a few months to get this business up and running, I might suggest that rather than find a job, you just pick up where you left off with your own business.”
“I have a three-month-old. I can’t leave at odd hours of the day or night to walk dogs.”
“No,” Sabrina said, still thoughtful. “But you could hire college kids to do that work.”
“Oh! That sounds interesting.”
Seth quickly intervened. “But you can’t be newly self-employed and get a loan for a house or condo or even get yourself approved to rent something. You have to have a job.”
All eyes turned to Seth. Everybody frowned.
“We’re not just dating.” He started seeing what Jake had been warning him about. He was dating a woman. Living with her. Being seen in public with her. Fooling his family for her. Because he liked her. He’d always liked her. “She came to me for help and advice and if that means I have to be the voice of reason, then so be it.”
“Hello, darling.”
Everyone turned at the sound of Amelia Sloan’s voice. As Harper faced her mom, Amelia took her by the shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. “I told you we’d be running into each other.”
She motioned to her right. “Seth, this is my husband, Harper’s dad, Peter.”
Peter shook Seth’s hand. A tall brute of a man, he wore his tux with as much grace and elegance as Amelia wore her slim pink dress.
Seth said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
Pete’s eyes glowed. “It’s great to meet you, too.” He didn’t say anything about Seth and Harper being an item. Amelia must have threatened him with death if he ruined this for Harper. But he didn’t have to. His happiness over their dating was there in his eyes.
Everything sunk in a little more for Seth. This might be a charade to fool Harper’s mom, but by the next morning most of the city of New York would believe he and Harper were an item. His family, his friends and the people he did business with would know he was dating his best friend’s widow.
Because he was. That was the bottom line. What started out as fake was feeling very real. And maybe that wasn’t bad. He’d always liked her. He’d always wanted to woo her. Tonight, he’d wanted to show her a good time, not for the charade but because he liked her.
He liked her.
Maybe this was his chance
Older, wiser, maybe he could have something with her?
“Peter, Amelia, this is Jake and Avery, my brother and sister-in-law,” he said, and Pete shook their hands. “And my sister, Sabrina.”
“Nice to meet you,” Pete said politely as he shook Sabrina’s hand.
“Aren’t the renovations divine?” Amelia said, taking in the tall windows that reached almost to the ceiling, which was two stories high.
“We’re pleased with them,” Avery said, her eyes brimming with happiness as she, too, admired the handiwork.
Amelia faced Avery. “You played a part in this?”
“I did a bit of work with the architects and designers who did the renovations.”
Amelia inclined her head. “How generous of you.”
“Not really,” Sabrina said. “We enjoy the arts. We have several galleries in our neighborhood but this one holds a special place in our hearts. So, we’re fairly healthy contributors.”
“It does host some of the best events,” Amelia agreed. But her eyes drifted to Harper and then Seth. They narrowed a fraction of an inch, then they lowered to gaze at their hands.
Even as Seth noticed that, he also saw that Jake had his free hand on the small of Avery’s back. Possessive. But also, affectionate.
Seth smoothly raised his hand to the bottom of Harper’s back. Harper shifted closer to him, as if she too had seen her mother’s curious gaze.
“Who has the baby?”
“Seth’s neighbor, Mrs. Petrillo.”
Amelia’s eyebrows rose. “Seth’s neighbor?”
He let Amelia figure that one out for herself. If he and Harper really were dating, they’d be spending the night together. And if they were spending the night together, who better to keep Crystal than the woman next door?
Seth knew the minute Amelia pieced it all together. Her slim lips tipped up into a pleased smile.
Harper’s mother liked him. If he and Harper were dating for real, Harper wouldn’t ever again have to worry about her mom’s feelings for Clark.
The man behind Jake tapped him on the shoulder and when Jake turned he said, “Jimmy! My gosh! How long has it been?”
Avery turned, too.
Sabrina mumbled something about needing to find her boyfriend, one of the artists whose work was being exhibited.
As Harper and Seth spoke with her parents, Jake and Avery drifted into the crowd. Then Amelia and Pete excused themselves to mingle. Seth followed Harper as she walked among the exhibits, thoroughly engrossed in the art and thoroughly enjoying herself.
The way she should. The way he wanted her to.
At eleven, Harper reminded Seth that they’d promised Mrs. P. they’d be back by eleven-thirty, so she could get into her pajamas to watch a movie that was playing that night.
They walked toward the door, Harper’s mom’s eyes following them, and nearly plowed into his mother.
“Seth, Harper.” She smiled warmly as she took in their clasped hands. “I hope you enjoyed the evening.”
“Most fun I’ve had in a long time, Mrs. McCallan.”
“There’s another event coming up in a few weeks, a ball. I think you’ll enjoy that, too.”
Harper reluctantly said, “We’ll see,” but Seth thought that was a fine idea. The more they got out, into dating situations, the more they’d be able to decide if they shouldn’t make this real.
“We’ll definitely be at the ball.”
His mom smiled. “Good!”
They stepped out into the night air and Seth motioned to the valet.
“Are you sure going to a ball is a good idea?”
“We’re dating. There’s a ball.” He almost laughed at his own cleverness. “You do the math. If we don’t go, people will wonder.”
The valet roared up in his Ferrari. The top was down but he didn’t make a move to put it up.
When they were settled, he pressed the gas pedal to send the powerful car careening down the street. The moon was full, the air still warm as summer held on. Her laughter wove through him, pleasing him, relaxing him.
And he couldn’t remember why he’d been fighting this.
*
Harper couldn’t contain the joy that bubbled up and spilled out, as the glorious car roared up the nearly empty streets. She loved the Ferrari, the smooth speed that took them effortlessly from stoplight to stoplight. But most of all she marveled at the ease of luxury. How simple life was when one had a good family and friends.
She wished the drive could go on forever, but she had a baby to care for, so when Seth pulled his beautiful car into the basement parking garage, she didn’t sigh with disappointment.
She also didn’t correct Seth when he put his hand on the small of her back, guiding her into the elevator. It wasn’t easy to pretend they were together one minute and jump apart the next. She could understand his slipup. But she also had to admit it had felt pretty good to have his undivided attention that night. True, most of his actions were directed toward making sure her mother believed they were dating. But sometimes it felt as if they really were dating.
After a glass of champagne, she had to keep reminding herself they weren’t.
He hit the button for the elevator to take them to his condo. She combed her fingers through her windblown hair.
He caught her hand. “Don’t.”
“Don’t?”
“I like it sort of crazy like that.”
She did, too.
Their gazes met.
He smiled.
Her insides trembled.
He stood near enough that she could touch him, and her fingers itched to. All she’d have to do is raise her hand to his face and run her fingers along the rough shadow of dark hair that had begun on his cheeks. She knew he was off limits, Clark’s friend whose money allowed him to date any woman he wanted. But she hadn’t had this intense longing to touch someone in over a year. Fresh and surprising, it rippled along her nerve endings and tumbled to her fingertips.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?”
She shook her head at the silliness of her thoughts. “Nothing.”
“Didn’t look like nothing.”
That’s when she realized he still held her hand. They weren’t even two feet apart. And she wanted to touch him.
The elevator seemed to slow to a crawl.
He inched closer. “It looked a lot like something. And it made you smile.” His lips curved upward. “Really smile. I know you enjoyed the ride in the Ferrari. I think you enjoyed the night. You wouldn’t by any chance be considering giving me a good-night kiss to thank me?”
Her heart stumbled as her gaze fell to his full mouth. Funny how she’d never noticed how sensuous his mouth was. She should have. The memory of those lips on hers the day they’d run into her mom should have told her his mouth wasn’t just plentiful; it was clever.
But so was she. Even if he was attracted to her, she’d already worked all this out in her head. Starting something with him wasn’t right. No matter how lonely she’d been. She still missed Clark. That wasn’t any way to start a relationship. Plus, he wasn’t the kind of guy she’d date. Even as she told herself she needed to get them out of this, her heart pinched. Something about walking away from him just didn’t seem right.
Still, when the elevator reached their floor, she slid her hand from his and stepped out into the hall, striding toward his condo door.
“You know as soon as Mrs. P. leaves you and I will be alone.”
Oh, she knew that. And her pattering heart almost exploded with the possibilities. None of which she was ready for. None of which seemed any more right than walking away had seemed.
He walked up behind her and slid his arm across her body to put his key into the lock. His scent drifted to her and she could almost feel the heat of his body on her back.
Hard as it was, she wouldn’t let herself shudder. Refused to let her mind go blank and her senses kick in. This man would kiss her tonight and call a girlfriend in the morning—
All the same…she couldn’t remember ever feeling like this with a man. Part of her really wanted to see it through. Tease him. Kiss him again…
Mrs. P. opened the door. “Get in here, you goofs. My next movie is about to start.” She edged past them into the hall as they walked inside the condo. “Baby was good. An angel. But she hasn’t even stirred so my guess it you’ll be getting a two- or three-a.m. wake-up call.”
And that was reality. Harper wasn’t the woman who dated playboys, indulged in their games, amused herself.
She was a mom.
A widow and a mom.
She also wasn’t a coward.
Fortifying herself with a deep breath, she faced Seth. “I did have a good time.” When she heard Mrs. Petrillo’s condo door close, she added, “I did want a good-night kiss.” And everything it might have led to. “Not because I’m crazy for you or even to thank you, but because I’m curious. I don’t think you’d take advantage of that because I’d be a willing participant. But that doesn’t make it right. You were Clark’s best friend.”

Posted by at No comments:

Monday, April 30, 2018

Carrying the Billionaire's Baby


Carrying the Billionaire's Baby is the first in my new Manhattan Babies Series.



Jake and Avery are as different as night and day. The only place they're compatible is in bed. What started out as a one-night stand became a fling...and a baby. Avery's happy, as long as Jake stays and arm-length away. Jake is shocked, and the last thing he wants is to stay away. He wants Avery and the Baby on his terms. But Avery's not like any other woman he's met.

Here's a sample...


Chapter 1
Jacob McCallan strode down the quiet hall of Waters, Waters and Montgomery – the law firm employed by his family – with tall, lanky Pete Waters, senior partner.
“So, how’s your mother holding up?”
Jake glanced at Pete, not surprised he’d asked. His father had died five months before and everyone was worried about his mom. “She’s working to pull herself together. Some days are better than others.”
“Rumor has it she headed the last board of directors meeting.”
Jake grimaced. Nobody was supposed to know about that, but Pete had sources everywhere. Jake chose his words carefully. “She tried.”
“Tried?”
“It was no big deal. She walked into the meeting saying she wasn’t ready to be put out to pasture and would assume Dad’s role as Chairman of the Board. I took her out of the conference room and privately told her that the corporate bylaws name the CEO as acting chairman.”
“You.”
He nodded. “Me. I told her that if we went against the bylaws, we risked being sued by shareholders.”
“How’d she take it?”
“She was a bit confused. A bit hurt. I think she believed taking over as chairman would give her something to do now that Dad’s gone.”
Pete took a long, slow breath and blew it out in a gust. “That’s rough.”
Painter’s scaffolding crowded the end of the private corridor to Pete’s office. He pointed to the right. “We’ll go the long way.”
The “long way” took them past cubicles filled with workers on the phone or frantically typing on computer keyboards, then a file room. A wall of windows exposed rows of files – thinner than they had been before most things were stored on computers – and five copy machines.
Jake frowned and slowed his steps. Was that Avery Novak standing in front of one of those copy machines?
He couldn’t really tell because the tall redhead’s back was to him. But a man didn’t forget silky hair long enough to tickle his chest when she straddled him.
He told himself to keep walking. He and Avery had had a short fling, which she’d mercifully broken off after three weeks. They’d been dynamite in bed. But out of bed? They would have done nothing but argue about politics and principles if Jake had ever risen to any of her bait. The woman was ridiculously headstrong, and she didn’t like rich people.
No matter how hot they were together, he had looked down the board and seen a future filled with her being critical of his privileged lifestyle, and in general acting as if he were Marie Antoinette and she was a beleaguered peasant. His only regret was that he hadn’t been the one to break it off.
Jake and Pete were just about at the end of the long wall of windows, when she turned. Her huge green eyes widened. Her mouth fell open and she quickly lowered the file she held to her stomach. But it was too late. He’d seen the baby bump.
Baby bump!
She had to be at least five months pregnant. Maybe six.
Oh, God…Six?
That took them back to February – when they were dating.
That could be his baby. His child.
He glanced at Avery again. Her figure hadn’t changed much except for the baby bump, yet she’d looked more womanly, more attractive. He remembered her soapy and sexy in the shower, added the baby bump to the naked body he knew so well, and something raw and emotional ripped through him. Stronger than lust, more profound than awe that they’d created a child, the feeling rendered him speechless. The reality that that “bump” could be his child slammed into him like an eighteen-wheeler, mostly because his father had been a terrible parent. He had no idea how a good dad behaved. What a good dad did—
But no. It couldn’t be his child. Avery would have told him. Wouldn’t she?
He and Pete finally walked past the file room. Pete still chatted on about Jake’s mother. “I understand that she’s on shaky emotional ground. But you really have to hold the line with her coming into the business and trying to do things.”
“Actually, I’m thinking of giving her a job.”
“What?” Pete stopped walking.
Jake stopped too. “She lost her husband.” A movement from the file room caught his eye and he glanced up in time to see Avery racing away. His throat constricted. His gut clenched. Why run away from him if that wasn’t his child?
Embarrassment?
Maybe.
Had to be.
She was probably embarrassed she’d found another man and gotten pregnant so soon after him. Because it couldn’t be his baby…
Otherwise she would have told him.
He faced Pete. “Mom’s grieving. She’s searching for meaning in her life. Trying to be chairman of the board proves she wants something to do. Why not give her something?”
“Because she’s been a socialite for forty years and doesn’t have any skills?” Pete sighed. “Jake, giving her a job is only going to make your life difficult. There are better ways to handle her grief than having her underfoot.”
“I’m not sure I agree. Maybe she has skills we don’t know about? Or maybe she won’t even want a job? At least if I ask, she’ll feel wanted.”
“I think you’ll be sorry.”
“Perhaps. But I think I should ask. She’s leaving today for a week in Paris. I thought if I offered her something, it would perk her up enough that her friends could snap her out of her depression.”
“You’re sure she’s going?”
“She and her girlfriends have been spending the first week of September in Paris for decades.” He took a brief glance up the hall, but Avery was gone. “She’ll recognize she needs to be with her friends and go. Besides, there’s a charity ball over the weekend that I’m attending this year. She won’t miss my first time there and a chance to introduce me to her friends.”
“What if she jumps on your job offer and doesn’t care about going to the event?”
“A condition of her coming to work for us will be that she takes the week in Paris first.”
Pete shrugged as if grudgingly agreeing with Jake’s decision.
They reached Pete’s office and Jake took one final glance up the hall. He didn’t see Avery, but his chest tightened anyway.
As Pete droned on about fulfilling the bequests in his dad’s will, Jake realized three things. First, Avery was independent enough that she could consider it her right not to tell him about his own child. Second, if that baby really was his, he was in trouble. He had no idea how to be a parent and he would need all the time he could get to figure it out before the baby was born. Which meant, number three, he was going to have to confront her.
Today.

Avery didn’t get home until after nine that night. Law firm associates did all the paperwork and the bulk of the legwork on most cases. Before she’d gotten pregnant, she’d fought for the extra work. She sat in on every meeting they’d permit her to attend, and campaigned to be a part of every important case. She had a plan, big goals, and had only allowed herself five years to get the experience she would need to start her own law firm back home in Pennsylvania. She’d had to cram in everything she could.
Then she’d started hooking up with Jake. It was wrong. From day one, she’d known it was wrong. Her dad had gone to jail for something he hadn’t done because a rich employer had used his money and power to ride roughshod over the system, and her dad couldn’t afford high-priced counsel to fight him. That was why she’d become a lawyer – to be a voice for people who couldn’t pay five hundred dollars an hour to defend themselves from something they hadn’t done. She couldn’t date someone just like the guy who’d sent her dad to prison.
No matter how sexy Jake was, an undercurrent of privilege ran through his life. Riding in his limos, taking his helicopter to Maine for lobster, sleeping in a penthouse monitored by security guards only reminded her that people like Jake didn’t know a damned thing about real life, about suffering and struggle…about being normal.
She didn’t want her baby getting lost in the shuffle of drivers, maids and nannies, any more than she wanted her little girl or boy growing up thinking money somehow made her better, even as he or she stayed behind a wall of bodyguards, rode in bulletproof limos and lived with the threat of being kidnapped.
She also didn’t want to risk the consequences if Jake found out her dad was an ex-con. He could demand that she stay in New York – away from her dad – or even try to take the baby. Then she’d have no way of shielding her child from the craziness of the McCallan life.
So, she’d made the decision not to tell Jake she was pregnant to protect her child. Immediately, relief had coursed through her. Joy at becoming a mom had blossomed. With Jake out of the picture, she was ready to become a parent. Sure, it changed her plans a bit. She’d be returning to Pennsylvania two years sooner than she’d thought, and without sufficient experience, but she’d adapt. She wanted this baby enough that she’d change her life any way necessary.
She kicked off her subway shoes, tossed her briefcase on a chair and headed to her bedroom, but her doorbell rang.
Closing her eyes in misery, she muttered, “Damn it.”
She could ignore the bell, but she had a sneaking suspicion Jake McCallan had been sitting in a limo somewhere down the street from her building, waiting for her to come home. He’d seen her that morning. Seen the baby bump. Stickler for detail that he was, he’d undoubtedly done the math.
The bell rang again.
She headed for the door, shaking off her fears. Lawyers planned for all contingencies. Her first choice might have been not to tell him, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have a backup plan, a Plan B. He was a super-stuffy aristocrat, who wouldn’t want a crying child in his world. All she had to do was remind him that a baby didn’t fit into his well-ordered life and he’d back off.
Wondering how such a serious, stuffy guy could be so good in bed, she walked to the door and opened it.
“Jake. How nice to see you.”
It was nice to see him. He had black hair cut short to be neat, but strands poked out, making him look sexy and interesting. His solemn blue eyes always made her want to tell him a joke. But his body was a work of art. He could be an ad for the gym. Three days a week had virtually turned him into a god. And the sex? Amazing. Just thinking about it made her weak-kneed and breathless.
He pointed at her stomach. “That’s my baby, isn’t it?”
She opened the door a little wider, urging him inside. “Nothing like a little small talk to warm up a room.”
He stayed right where he stood. “There’s no point to small talk. We have nothing to say to each other, except to discuss whether you’re keeping my child from me.”
“I’m not. Technically, I’m keeping a pregnancy from you.”
He cursed.
“See? This is exactly why I didn’t tell you!” She caught his arm and dragged him inside, leading him to one of the two teal-and-white trellis-print club chairs in front of her marble tile fireplace. Though the legs that carried her across the dark hardwood floors were extremely tired, she walked into the kitchen and took a glass from the first white cabinet then filled it at the sink in the center island. Bringing it into her living room, she said, “I knew you’d freak.”
He took the water. “I’m not freaking. I’m in shock. You’ve known about this for months. I just found out today – and only because I ran into you. Not because you told me.”
“Okay,” she soothed, sitting on the white sofa across from him, keeping control of the conversation. She had to be calm, rational and appeal to his love of order in his life.
“What do you want to know?”
He looked up at her, his gorgeous blue eyes serious, direct. “How?”
She laughed. “I think you pretty much know the basics of how babies are made.”
“No. How did you get pregnant? You told me you were on the pill.”
The insinuation that the pregnancy was her fault rattled through her like an angry wind, but she gave him a little leeway because he was still processing all this.
“My doctor is blaming the antibiotic she gave me for bronchitis. You and I met –” At a coffee shop on Valentine’s Day, both dateless and treating themselves to a latte. They recognized each other from the law firm and had an impromptu dinner where he was just so charming and sexy they’d ended up in bed. “—when the bronchitis was all but gone from my lungs.” She shrugged. “But while I was celebrating feeling better, I was also finishing up the meds and forgot the antibiotic’s effect on birth control.”
He set his untouched water on one of the coasters she had on the glass coffee table by the club chair. “I never thought to ask about antibiotics.”
Her heart did a crazy little flip. Every time she was ready to write him off as sanctimonious, he’d do something like that. Something that would make her wonder if deep down he was fair. But she knew better. A man with enough money to buy his way into or out of anything had no reason to look at the other side of a situation.
Still, he hadn’t blamed her for the pregnancy, so she could go back to Plan B, remind him of how much trouble a baby could be and let him bow out gracefully.
“My goal had always been to get a job at a big law firm and buy a nice condo that would go up in value as I paid down the mortgage.”
His earnest blue eyes stayed on her face, as he waited for her to explain why she was rehashing things he already knew.
She cleared her throat. “What I didn’t tell you was, I’d made that plan so that I could get tons of experience and learn from some of the best lawyers in the world before I sold the condo for a profit and returned to Pennsylvania to start my own law firm.”
“Oh.”
She wasn’t surprised that she’d stunned him. Every damned time they’d gone out she’d said or done something that raised his eyebrows or caused him to frown. Their problem wasn’t merely a case of a middle-class woman with an upper-class man. They were opposites in just about every way.
“I didn’t really keep that from you.”
“Like you didn’t really keep the pregnancy from me?”
She sighed. “We dated three weeks. There’s no law that says I had to tell you my plans for the future.”
“So, you weren’t seriously dating me. What was I? Beefcake?”
The way he said it, with his calm, poised tone, as if he didn’t realize how funny he sounded, made her laugh.
He glared at her. “No. Come on. I’m curious. Did you just go out with me because we were good in bed?”
“You were pretty good.”
He cursed and rose from the teal chair to pace. “Seriously!”
“You do realize another man would be so damned complimented by that he’d probably glow in the dark.”
“I’m not like most men.”
No kidding. “Okay. Why did you continue to ask me out when we both realized on our third date that we weren’t compatible?”
He took a patient breath, but ran the fingers of both hands through his hair. A gesture she’d never seen. She pulled back a bit. The last thing she wanted to do was anger one of the richest men in New York City when she didn’t have a leg to stand on to keep their baby from him. Her moving to Pennsylvania without telling him would have been the easy thing for both of them. But now that he knew, convincing him he didn’t want to be part of this baby’s life was her best option. She’d never do that if they continued to argue over pointless things.
“Anyway,” Avery said, bringing them back to the real discussion. “My life plan has been altered a bit. With my down payment on this place and the extra I’ve put on the mortgage every month, not to mention the increase in real estate values, I can sell the condo early and still make a profit. Then once I pass the Pennsylvania bar, I can start my own firm there.”
“If you wanted your own law firm or even to jump the ranks of Waters, Waters and Montgomery, all you had to do was say the word.”
She gaped at him. “Really? You think it would be okay for me to jump over the heads of lawyers who know ten times what I know? To be made partner before them because my ex is their biggest client?”
He drew a breath and expelled it quickly. “So, you’re really leaving?”
Another thing he had a habit of doing was not answering her questions, but changing the subject so they wouldn’t argue. This time she appreciated his stopping them from going down another useless road, so she let that slide too.
“Well, I’m not packing up and heading out tomorrow. My doctor is here in New York. I plan to have the baby here. Plus, I have to sell the condo. And I do need the experience I’m getting at Waters, Waters and Montgomery. But eventually I have to go.”
“And you expect me to be okay with that?” When he faced her, his sapphire eyes had gone from serious to furious. “You think I don’t have rights, options?”
Fear raced through her, but she calmed it. This was the most rational man on the planet. If she stayed neutral, he’d stay neutral. If she set out her plan logically, especially highlighting how he benefited from it, he would follow it.
“Okay, let’s start this over again. I am pregnant. The baby is yours. I’ve had the goal since high school to earn a law degree, get some experience in New York City and then return to Pennsylvania to start my own law firm. The baby doesn’t stop that plan. Yes, I have to take the Pennsylvania bar exam and, yes, I will have to get a job at another law firm in Pennsylvania while I study for it. But the goal hasn’t changed. Isn’t going to change. That’s non-negotiable.”
He paced in front of the fireplace. “And, realistically, Pennsylvania isn’t that far away. I can drive there to visit or send a limo to bring the baby to me.”
She winced. There were a billion things wrong with his idea. Especially considering she didn’t want her child sucked into “McCallanville,” a world of pampered rich people who didn’t understand reality.
She argued the easiest point. “I’m not putting my baby into a limo alone.”
“There will be times he should be with me.”
“With you? Don’t you mean with a nanny? Even when you’re home you’re on the phone or computer.” Just thinking about it filled her with anger. “Why should my baby spend his time with a with a driver and a nanny when he or she could be with me? I won’t let my child be raised by a nanny, Jake. Not ever.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head, obviously controlling his temper. Finally, he said, “How much?”
“How much what?”
“How much do you want to make you more agreeable?”
She gaped at him. “Are you trying to bribe me?”
“I’m trying to make you more agreeable.”
“And you think if you give me a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars, I’ll give you what you want in a visitation agreement?”
“I was thinking more like a few million.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re insane! I have a plan. I don’t need your money! I don’t want your money. I want to do what’s best for the baby. So should you.”
He studied her. She could all but see the wheels turning in his head as he came to terms with the fact that this situation wasn’t about money. In his world, everything came down to money. She couldn’t even fault him for trying to find her price – though she did want to deck him. The truth was, she didn’t even want child support. But she figured it was a little too early in the game to tell him that. His brain would have to work so hard to process it that he’d probably have a stroke.
“We’re going to need a written agreement.”
For ten seconds, she wished he hadn’t seen her that morning at the law office. But while her dad had been in prison for something he hadn’t done, she learned wishing for things to be different didn’t change them. Plus, she hadn’t given up on Plan B, convincing him he didn’t want a crying, pooping, spitting up baby destroying the peace of his life. And that would take more tact and diplomacy than she could muster tonight.
“Okay. But we should have a few more conversations to see what we both want before we even try to get anything on paper.”
He considered that. “Agreed.”
He headed for the door. Though Avery gave him a pleasant smile as she saw him out and said goodbye, another alternative jumped into her brain.
If she couldn’t make him see a baby didn’t fit into his life, there was a risky Plan C. She could tell him that her dad had been in prison and remind him of the can of worms that would be opened once the press started digging into the life of the woman pregnant with his child. They both knew he wouldn’t want that kind of media attention any more than she did. If anything would send him scurrying away from her, it would be the horror of that much negative attention from the press.
There was just one little problem with Plan C --
When she told him about her dad, she’d also be handing him the ammo to take her child, or to at least keep her and her little one in New York City. All he would have to do would be tell the court he wanted to keep his child away from Avery’s ex-con dad.
Then even if she kept custody, she’d be stuck in New York, away from the people she wanted to help.
Away from the dream she had nurtured and worked for since she was fifteen.
If Plan C went south, it could ruin her life.


Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)