Praise for Heather MacAllister
“Heather MacAllister does a masterful job in
this perfectly crafted, compact romance that gets better with every page.” —Affaire de Coeur on Kept in the Dark
“This is a fun, fast-paced read that I was sad
to see come to an end.” —Goodreads on A Man for All Seasons
“Lovely, witty dialogue and believable characters.”
—The Good, The Bad, and The Unread on His Little Black Book
“Pure fantasy in the finest sense, Heather MacAllister’s
Never Say Never crackles with sexy banter.” —RT Book Reviews
“Smart and sassy, Heather MacAllister’s
Tempted in Texas is highlighted by strong characterizations and witty dialogue.” —RT Book Reviews
“A one-sitting read for me. I got so caught up in this
story that I really didn’t want it to end.” —The Best Reviews on Male Call
Dear Reader,
I got the idea for Tall, Dark and Reckless after following an endless path of suggested internet links while researching a different book. There’s so much advice on how to attract/keep/entertain/feed/train/meet men—and it was all different. Then I landed on one site that promised to cut through all the babble and simply list the traits and qualities of the perfect man. As a bonus, it listed the instant deal breakers.
Now, you know where I’m going with this. Their deal breakers weren’t my deal breakers. And to be honest, when I found my perfect man, even my original deal breakers turned out not to be deal breakers. Perfect doesn’t mean flawless, it means perfect for me. This is exactly what Piper Scott learns when she discovers that tall, dark and reckless Mark Banning is her perfect man. I hope you enjoy watching her figure it out.
Best wishes,
Heather MacAllister
www.HeatherMacAllister.com
http://www.facebook.com/HeatherMacAllisterBooks https://twitter.com/#!/Heather_Mac
About the Author
HEATHER MACALLISTER lives near the Texas gulf coast where, in spite of the ten-month growing season and plenty of humidity, she can’t grow plants. Heather has written more than forty-five romance novels, which have been translated into twenty-six languages and published in dozens of countries. She’s won a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award, RT Book Reviews awards for best Harlequin Romance and best Harlequin Temptation, and is a three-time Romance Writers of America RITA® Award finalist. When she’s not writing stories about where life has its quirks, Heather collects vintage costume jewelry, loves fireworks displays, computers that behave, and sons who answer their mother’s texts. You can read her posts at www.BlazeAuthors.com/blog or visit her at www.HeatherMacAllister.com, like her on www.facebook.com/HeatherMacAllisterBooks, or follow her at https://twitter.com/#!/Heather_Mac.
Tall, Dark
& Reckless
Heather MacAllister
To the Fishinglights gang:
Mike and Rae, John and Linda, and Stuart.
And in memory of Kathy.
Prologue
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1
Step one: Find a perfect man.
ORDINARILY, PIPER SCOTT wouldn’t be distracted by a pair of blue eyes, no matter how attractively they crinkled, or a strong, manly jaw, no matter how chiseled—except these eyes were squinting and the jaw was definitely gritting. In pain.
Moments earlier, Piper had arrived at the entrance to the offices of OMG, the Online Media Group, at the same time as the owner of the crinkly blue eyes and the chiseled jaw.
“I’ll get it,” he’d said, and leaned around her to open the front door.
“Thanks,” she’d replied, because her cell had just buzzed and at that moment she was grabbing at her purse to check the caller ID. Only then her purse had slipped down her arm and tangled with the strap of the tote bag she carried on the same arm. When she’d heaved them back in place, a jacket in the dry cleaner’s bag slung over her other shoulder had slithered off its hanger and fallen to the leaf-strewn concrete in front of the door. As she bent to retrieve the jacket, the tote bag fell forward and made contact with the leg of the owner of the blue eyes and chiseled jaw.
Slight contact. A little bump. And now he was acting as though she’d bashed him with a load of books or something.
The big baby.
She’d automatically apologized, one of those quick, social “I’m sorrys” that didn’t seem adequate in the face of that grimace.
“I’m really sorry,” she added now.
“It’s okay.” He gave her a game smile.
Piper eyed him, trying to read his expression. Was she missing something? She glanced down and discovered his hand clenched around his thigh.
White knuckles, expensive jeans. The jeans had the careful whiskering that always reminded Piper of those lines in the comic books meant to emphasize something. “Look! Wow!” In this case, it was the crotch area, which, she noted, did not need emphasizing.
When Piper became aware that she was standing on a public street in downtown Austin eyeing a stranger’s crotch—truly not like her—she jerked her eyes upward. “I didn’t realize I hit you that hard. There’s not that much in my bag.”
“You didn’t.” He straightened. Somewhat. “Something hard got me in the right—or wrong—place.”
“I don’t have—Oh. It must have been the flatiron.”
He looked questioningly.
“A hair styling thingie.”
“Ah.” He raised his hand and went for the door again.
Piper heard the tiny, hard breath he sucked between his teeth.
Oh, please. He was being so transparent. She knew what was coming next. He’d hit on her.