“I’m sorry we won’t be working together any longer, Jaya.”
“Thank you.” She swallowed and wondered if she would turn into a complete fool and start to cry. Standing, she put her hand in his and tried for one firm shake.
Theo kept her hand. His thumb grazed over the backs of her knuckles.
Her skin tingled and her stomach took a rollercoaster dip and swoop.
She looked at his eyes, but he was looking at their hands. Her fingers quivered in his grip as he turned her palm up. She almost thought he was going to raise it to his lips.
It was Theo’s eyes, Theo’s expression that was always so aloof, but now it glowed with something that was aggressive and hungry.
He was going to kiss her!
She stiffened with apprehension and he straightened. Her hand wound up hanging in the air ungrasped as he pulled in a strained breath.
“This is not appropriate. I apologize.”
“No, I—” Please let her dark skin disguise some of these fervent blushes. “You surprised me. I came in here reminding myself not to call you Theo. I didn’t think you thought about me like that. I would—”
Was she really going to risk this? She had to. She’d never get another chance.
“I’d like it if you kissed me.”
DANI COLLINS discovered romance novels in high school and immediately wondered how a person trained and qualified for that amazing job. She married her high school sweetheart, which was a start, then spent two decades trying to find her fit in the wide world of romance writing—always coming back to Harlequin Mills & Boon® Modern™ Romance.
Two children later, and with the first entering high school, she placed in Harlequin’s Instant Seduction contest. It was the beginning of a fabulous journey towards finally getting that dream job.
When she’s not in her Fortress of Literature, as her family calls her writing office, she works, chauffeurs children to extra-curricular activities, and gardens with more optimism than skill.
Dani can be reached through her website at www.danicollins.com
Recent titles by the same author:
A DEBT PAID IN PASSION
MORE THAN A CONVENIENT MARRIAGE PROOF OF THEIR SIN NO LONGER FORBIDDEN?
Did you know these are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk
An Heir
to Bind Them
Dani Collins
This one’s for my kids, who managed to turn out amazing despite having a writer for a mom. Or should I say not having a mom?
I often joke that our daughter has done a marvelous job raising our son. For that, and all the times Delainey made lunch for Sam (and me) so I could write, I am deeply grateful.
I also owe a very special thanks to Sam for his suggestion when I had ten thousand words to go on this manuscript and I was stuck. He said, “Dude …” (Yes, he calls me Dude, but this dude looks like a lady.) “Dude, have the brother tell her something she doesn’t know about the hero.” Post-secondary tuition saved!
Contents
PROLOGUE
THEO MAKRICOSTA BLINKED sweat out of his eyes as he glanced between his helicopter’s fuel gauge and the approaching shoreline. He was a numbers man so he didn’t worry at times like this; he calculated. His habit was to carry twice the fuel needed for any flight. He’d barely touched down on the yacht before he’d been airborne for his return trip. A to B equaled B to A, so he should have enough.
Except in this case B stood for boat, which was a moving point.
And he’d made a split-second decision as he lifted off the Makricosta Enchantment to go to Marseille rather than back to Barcelona. It had been an instinct, the type of impulse that wasn’t like him at all, but uncharacteristic panic had snared him in those first few seconds as he took flight. He had wheeled the bird toward what felt like salvation.
It had been a ludicrous urge, but he was committed now.
And soaked in perspiration.
Not that he was worried for his own life. He wouldn’t be missed if he dropped out of the sky. But his cargo would. The pressure to safeguard his passengers had him so tense he was liable to snap his stick.
It didn’t help that despite the thump of the rotors and his earmuffs plugged into the radio, he could hear both babies screaming their lungs out. He already sucked at being a brother. Now he might literally go down in flames as an uncle. Good thing he’d never tried fatherhood.
Swiping his wet palm on his thigh, he pulled his phone from his pocket. Texting and flying was about as smart as texting while driving, but if he managed to land safely, he would have a fresh host of problems to contend with. His instincts in heading north instead of west weren’t that far off. The perfect person to help him was in Marseille.
If she’d help him.
He called up the message he should have deleted a long time ago.
This is my new number, in case that’s the reason you never called me back. Jaya.
Ignoring the twist of shame the words still wrung out of his conscience, he silently hoped her heart was as soft as he remembered it.
CHAPTER ONE
Eighteen