âMr. Kazarov,â she said, her voice a little too shrill, a little too brittle.
Roman tsked. âAfter all we were to each other, Caroline? Is this how you greet an old friend?â
âI wasnât aware we were friends,â she said, remembering with a pang the way heâd looked at her that night when sheâd informed him they couldnât see each other anymore. Heâd just told her he loved her.
Roman shrugged. âThen we are certainly old acquaintances.â
One eyebrow arched as his gaze slid down to where she clutched the wrap over her breasts. Sheâd worn a strapless black dress tonight, but she felt as if she were naked under the silk from the way his eyes took their time perusing her. Heat flared in her core. Unwelcome heat.
âOld lovers,â Roman said as his eyes met hers again.
SCANDAL IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The truth is more shocking than the headlines!
Named and most definitely shamed, these media darlings have learnt the hard way that the press always loves a scandal!
Having a devastatingly gorgeous man on their arm only adds fuel to the media frenzy. Especially when the attraction between them burns hotter and brighter than a paparazzoâs flashbulb â¦
More books in the Scandal in the Spotlight miniseries available in eBook:
GIRL BEHIND THE SCANDALOUS REPUTATION
by Michelle Conder
BACK IN THE HEADLINES
by Sharon Kendrick
NO MORE SWEET SURRENDER
by Caitlin Crews
Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk
LYNN RAYE HARRIS read her first Mills & Boon>® romance when her grandmother carted home a box from a yard sale. She didnât know she wanted to be a writer then, but she definitely knew she wanted to marry a sheikh or a prince and live the glamorous life she read about in the pages. Instead, she married a military man and moved around the world. These days she makes her home in North Alabama, with her handsome husband and two crazy cats. Writing for Harlequin Mills & Boon>® is a dream come true. You can visit her at www.lynnrayeharris.com
Recent titles by this same author:
REVELATIONS OF THE NIGHT BEFORE
UNNOTICED AND UNTOUCHED
MARRIAGE BEHIND THE FAÃADE
Did you know these are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk
Russian Billionaire Rumored to Be Acquiring Troubled Department Store Chain
SHE WAS HERE. Roman Kazarov knew it as surely as he knew his own name, though he had not yet seen her. The woman at his side made a noise of frustration, a tiny little sound meant to draw his attention back to her. He flicked his gaze over her, and then away again.
Bored. The woman was beautiful, but he was bored. One night in her bed, and he was ready to move on.
Her fingers curled possessively around his arm. He resisted the urge to shake them off. Heâd brought her here tonight on impulse. Because Caroline Sullivan-Wells would be here. Not that Caroline would care if he had a woman on his arm. No, sheâd made it very clear five years ago that she didnât care about him in the least.
Had never cared.
Once, her rejection had cut him to the bone. Now, he felt nothing. Nothing but cold determination. Heâd returned to New York a far different man than heâd left it five years ago.
A rich man. A ruthless man.
A man with a single goal.
Before the month was out, he would own Sullivanâs, the luxury chain of department stores founded by her family. It was the culmination of everything heâd worked so hard for, the symbolic cherry on top of the ice-cream sundae. He did not need Sullivanâs, but he wanted it. Once, heâd been an acolyte at the feet of Frank Sullivan. And then heâd been unceremoniously tossed out, his work visa terminated, his dreams of providing a better life for his family back home in Russia shattered.
All heâd dared to do was fall in love with Caroline, but that one act had been the same as strapping on wings made of wax and flying too close to the sun. Heâd fallen far and fast.
But now he was back. And there was nothing Caroline or her father could do about what heâd set in motion.
As if in answer to some hidden command, the crowd parted to reveal a woman standing on the other side of the room. She was deep in conversation. The glow from the Waterford chandelier overhead shone down in just such a way that it appeared to single her out, wreathing her golden-blond head and milky skin in a nimbus of pale light.
Romanâs gut clenched. She was still beautiful, still ethereal. And she still affected him, which only served to anger him further. He had not expected it, this jolt of remembered lust and bittersweet joy. He stood there and willed the feeling away until he could look at her coldly, critically.
Yes, much better. That was what he wanted to feelâdisgust. Hatred.
His jaw tightened. She chose that moment to look up, almost as if sheâd sensed something was wrong, as if there was a disturbance in her well-ordered circle of friends. There was a crease in the smooth skin over her hazel eyes, as if she was annoyed at being interrupted.