Seducing His Opposition
Katherine Garbera
Secret Nights At Nine Oaks
Amy J Fetzer
Dear Reader,
Family is essential to me, and I love writing books that involve a large family. My very first book for Desire™, The Bachelor Next Door, was the first time I used alienation from a family as a conflict. In that book my hero’s family was all dead and he was the last of his clan. In this book, Selena Gonzalez removed herself from her family because she felt guilty for falling in love with a con man and costing her family everything they owned.
Justin Stern and his brothers are close and have spent most of their lives together, but Justin is a bit of a loner. My sister Donna would say that’s because he’s the middle child. But I think it’s also because of his personality. Justin likes to do things his own way. So falling in lust with his rival doesn’t look like anything more than a minor setback to him.
Happy reading!
Katherine
Seducing His Opposition
Katherine Garbera
“I want a chance to talk to you alone. No business. Just personal stuff.”
“No business? Justin, all we have between us is business.” She didn’t want to admit to herself or Justin that there was a spark of anything other than business fire between them.
“But we could have so much more. What harm could one drink do?”
“One drink,” she repeated. Hell, who was she kidding, she was going to meet him. She wanted to get the measure of the man he was.
“Just one,” he said. “I’ll do my best to be charming and try to convince you to stay for more.”
“I’m a tough cookie,” she said.
“I think that’s what you want the world to believe, but I bet there’s a softer woman underneath all that.”
But would she give him a chance to find out?
About the Author
KATHERINE GARBERA is the USA TODAY bestselling author of more than forty books. She’s always believed in happy endings and lives in Southern California with her husband, children and their pampered pet, Godiva. Visit Katherine on the web at www.katherinegarbera. com, or catch up with her on Facebook and Twitter.
One
Justin Stern pulled his Porsche 911 to a stop in the parking lot of the Miami-Dade County Zoning Offices. As the corporate attorney and co-owner of Luna Azul he was always busy and he liked that. Unlike his younger brother Nate, who was out partying every night and keeping the nightclub in the public eye, Justin preferred the quiet comfort of his office. He had worked hard to make sure that Luna Azul was where it was today from a financial perspective and he was determined to see it continue to grow.
That’s what he was doing here today—ensuring that the future of the club didn’t just rely on the nightclub crowd. He had negotiated the purchase of a strip mall that was run-down and in desperate need of repair. He’d researched the deed and found that it had changed hands about ten years ago and that had been the start of the disrepair of the buildings.
He envisioned an outdoor plaza with restaurants and shops that would help revitalize the area and bring a new revenue stream into the Luna Azul Company.
All he needed to do was file the final paperwork here today, and they could proceed with the expansion plans.
It was a beautiful spring morning, but he took no notice of it as he walked to the building. He took the stairs to the eleventh floor instead of the elevator because elevators really weren’t an efficient use of time. He was happy to see there were only two other people in the waiting room. He took a number from the reception desk and then took a seat next to a very pretty Latina woman.
She had thick hair that curled around her face and shoulders in soft waves. Her skin was flawless, her olive complexion making her brown eyes seem even bigger. Her lips were full and pouty; he found he couldn’t tear his eyes from her face until she raised one eyebrow at him.
“I’m not a creep,” he said with a self-effacing grin. “You’re just breathtaking.”
She flushed and rolled her eyes. “As if I’d believe that line.”
“Why wouldn’t you?” he asked, turning to face her.
“I’m used to smooth-talking men,” she said. “I can spot one a mile away.”
“Just because I’m complimenting you doesn’t mean that I’m BSing you,” he said. She was really lovely and he liked the soft sound of her voice. She was well put together. He had no idea of designers or fashion but her clothes looked nice—feminine. For the first time in a very long time he didn’t mind having to wait.
“I suspect you can be very charming when you put your mind to it,” she said.
“Perhaps,” he said. “Not really. I’m usually straight to the point.”
“You don’t strike me as blunt,” she said.
“I am,” he said. He wasn’t giving her a line—she really was gorgeous. She had caught his eye and distracted him. And he didn’t mind at all. That was the surprising part for him. “Your eyes … are so big, I could get lost in them.”
“Your eyes are so blue that they look like the waters in Fiji.”
He laughed out loud. “Is that what I sound like to you?”
“Yes,” she said with a smile. “Honestly, I’m not all that.”
She was all that and a lot more, but he wasn’t the best when it came to talking to women. In a corporate boardroom or at a negotiating table he was the best but one-on-one when he was interested in a girl … well that was when he got caught up.
“What brings you here?” he asked, then shook his head. “Zoning.”
“Zoning,” she said at the same time. “I’m here to file an injunction.
“Is it for your own company or a client?” he asked, wanting to know more.
“My grandparents think that an outside company is trying to buy their property and turn it into some big commercial club. So I’m checking it out for them.”
“Do you live here in Miami then? Or just your grandparents? “
“My entire family lives here,” she said. “But I live in New York.”
“Oh. So ours will have to be a long-distance relationship,” he said.
She raised her eyebrow at him. “This relationship might not make it out of the waiting room.”
“I’m not giving up on us so easily,” he said.
“Good. One of us should fight for this,” she said, deadpan.
“I guess it will be me,” he said with a grin. He couldn’t help it. Something about this woman just made him smile.
A nattily dressed man came to the counter. “Number fifteen.”
She glanced at the paper in her hand. “That’s me.” “Just my luck. Any chance you’ll give me your number?”
She