Rave reviews for New York Times
bestselling author
SUSAN MALLERY
Praise for Sweet Spot
“Mallery is in top-notch form as she takes troubled and stubborn individuals and portrays their emotional growth. Drama and trauma abound in this winner!”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
“I strongly recommend Sweet Spot, especially to readers who like their family melodramas spiked with lots of laughter and hot romance.”
—The Romance Reader
Praise for Sweet Talk
“Sweet Talk is one sweet read! Susan Mallery delivers a deliciously satisfying first book in her new wonderfully written Bakery Sisters trilogy.”
—The Romance Readers Connection (4 ½ stars)
“Amusing, heartfelt and wildly romantic, Sweet Talk is the perfect romance.”
—Joyfully Reviewed
“Susan Mallery provides a powerful passionate backdrop to a fine contemporary romance.”
—Harriet Klausner
Praise for Accidentally Yours
“Mallery has once again proven to be a superb writer; romance novels just don’t get much better than this.”
—Booklist
“If you’re looking for heart-tugging emotions elaborately laced with humor, then Mallery is the author for you.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
Praise for Tempting
“At turns witty and poignant, this hard-to-put-down book will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers.”
—Booklist, starred review
Praise for Sizzling
“[A] tasty dish…Mallery’s prose is luscious and provocative, and her characters worth following from book to book.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Sizzling is simply dazzling! You’ll laugh, you’ll hoot, you’ll raise your eyebrows, and yes, you’ll cry buckets, so have those tissues handy…. Highly Recommended!”
—The Romance Readers Connection
Under Her Skin
Susan Mallery
To those who serve…
with grateful thanks.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER ONE
“IT’S ONLY TWO million. Is that going to be a problem?”
Lexi Titan forced herself to smile. “Not at all,” she lied, wondering if John, her banker, had lost his mind. Two million dollars? She had to come up with two million dollars in twenty-one days? Oh, sure. She would just go home and dig around for loose change in her sofa. There had to be a million-dollar bill or two stashed under the cushions.
“You could always ask your father,” John said, studying the papers on his desk as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.
Lexi smiled. “Thanks so much for the information,” she said as she rose. Ask her father? Not likely. Even if Jed Titan was willing to bail her out, having to go to him would cause her carefully executed three-year plan to crumble and die. “I’ll get back to you.”
“Soon, Lexi,” John told her, standing and shaking her hand. “You only have three weeks to come up with the money or you lose everything.”
Having the ability to sum up the disaster of her life in a single sentence was quite the gift. She hoped John appreciated it.
“I’ll figure it out,” she told her banker. “Talk to you in a few days.”
John looked uncomfortable. “Actually I’ll see you tonight, at your sister’s benefit.”
Where he would spread the news of her failure far and wide? “Are bankers like lawyers? Do you have to keep this sort of thing to yourself?”
“Yes,” he assured her. “There’s a code of ethics. I won’t say anything.”
She hoped he was telling the truth. “Then I’ll see you tonight,” she said, pretending an enthusiasm she didn’t feel. She picked up her purse and walked out of the elegant office.
Frustration and annoyance hurried her along the carpeted hallway. She ducked out the nearest exit and found her car in the parking lot. Once inside, it was all she could do not to bang her head against the steering wheel. She could accept that bad things happened. What she hated was when they were her fault.
“You gotta be tough if you’re gonna be stupid.”
The familiar phrase, spoken in her head by a voice from the past, made her groan. She was in really big trouble and she had no one to blame but herself.
Thirty minutes later she’d left Dallas behind and entered the city limits of Titanville. She ignored the sign that told her to go thirty-five and sped down the divided road. The crap pile that was her life got a little deeper when she heard a siren behind her.
Lexi pulled over and lowered her window. She waited until the deputy approached her car, then pulled off her sunglasses and sighed.
“If you’re going to arrest me, could you rough me up a little first? Then I could sue the department.”
“Because it’s a slow week?” the deputy asked.
“I’m running a little short of cash.”
“How much are we talking about?”
“Two million dollars.”
Deputy Dana Birch whistled. “I have a new twenty-percent-off coupon from Linens ’N Things in the car, but I don’t think that’s going to cover it.” She glanced at her watch. “Want to talk about it? My lunch break starts in fifteen minutes. I can meet you at Bronco Billy’s.”
Lexi nodded. “That would be great. I’m going to whine, though.”
“I’m used to it.” Dana sounded cheerful. “Now stop speeding. You know that really pisses me off.”
“Okay. Sorry.”
Fifteen minutes later Dana slid into the booth across from Lexi. It was early, only eleven-thirty, so the place was still quiet. Lexi had spent the time waiting for her friend studying the various Clint Eastwood movie posters on the wall. Bronco Billy’s celebrated