Mallika gave him what she hoped was a sufficiently cool and professional smile.
âIâll tell you if I change my mind,â she managed, as she pulled together her scattered thoughts.
âThe salary is negotiable,â Darius added, but she shook her head.
âItâs not about the money,â she assured him.
Darius knew when not to pushâhe also knew he wasnât going to give up so easily.
âI need to go,â she said. âThanks for being so nice about everything.â
She put her hand out, and Darius got to his feet as he took it.
âNiceâ wasnât the impression he wanted to leave her with. âNiceâ suggested sheâd forget him the minute she stepped out of the hotel. And he wasnât going to let that happen.
This is my sixth book for Harlequin Mills & Boon>®, and it was perhaps the most fun to write. The idea popped into my head when I was talking to a colleague whoâd taken a few months off to travel around Europe. What if I had a hero who was wildly successful at what he did and had made more than enough money to fulfil his boyhood dream of spending some years just travelling around and discovering more about the world? And what if, just before he left, he met a woman who made him think that perhaps there was more to life than just living out his dream?
It took a while to get my characters just right, but Darius in the book is now exactly as I imagined himâsuccessful, strong-willed and very, very attractive. Mallika is differentâsheâs been through a lot and sheâs always put family ahead of anything else. As a result, while sheâs resilient sheâs also very risk-averse. Sheâs instantly attracted to Darius but she fights the attraction, thinking that it can never work between them. Darius, however, has completely different views on the matter!
Happy reading!
Shoma
SHOMA NARAYANAN started reading Mills and Boon>® romances at the age of eleven, borrowing them from neighbours and hiding them inside textbooks so that her parents didnât find out. At that time the thought of writing one herself never entered her headâshe was convinced she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up. When she was a little older she decided to become an engineer instead, and took a degree in electronics and telecommunications. Then she thought a career in management was probably a better bet, and went off to do an MBA. That was a decision she never regretted, because she met the man of her dreams in the first year of business schoolâfifteen years later theyâre married with two adorable kids, whom theyâre raising with the same careful attention to detail that they gave their second-year project on organisational behaviour.
A couple of years ago Shoma took up writing as a hobbyâafter successively trying her hand at baking, sewing, knitting, crochet and patchworkâand was amazed at how much she enjoyed it. Now she works grimly at her banking job through the week, and tries to balance writing with household chores during weekends. Her family has been unfailingly supportive of her latest hobby, and are also secretly very, very relieved that they donât have to eat, wear or display the results!
DARIUS MISTRY WAS NOT used to taking orders from anyone. And especially not orders that came from a woman he was supposed to be interviewing. The fact that the woman had turned out to be surprisingly attractive was neither here nor thereâthis was strictly work, and her behaviour right now seemed more than a little strange.
âHold my hand,â she was saying. âCome on, sheâs almost here.â
Her current boss had just walked into the coffee shop, and Mallika was reacting as if it was a massive disaster. Granted, being caught by your boss while you were being interviewed for another job wasnât the best start to an interview, but it wasnât the end of the world. Mallikaâs expression suggested a catastrophe on a life-threatening scaleâlike the Titanic hitting the iceberg or Godzilla stomping into town.
âPlease, Darius?â she said, and when he didnât react immediately she reached across the table and took his hand. âLook into my eyes,â she pleaded.
He complied, trying not to notice how soft her skin was, and how her slim and capable-looking hand fitted perfectly into his.
âAt least try to pretend youâre my date,â she begged despairingly.
He laughed. âYouâre not doing a great job either,â he pointed out. âThe whole âdeer caught in headlightsâ look doesnât suggest youâre crazy about me.â
She managed to chuckle at that, and her expression was so appealing that he sighed and put on what he hoped was a suitably infatuated look. Actually, after a second he found he was quite enjoying himself. He had a keen sense of humour, and despite his attempts to remain professional when faced with such an attractive interviewee, the situation was so completely ridiculous it was funny.