âWhatâs insane about wanting a child?â Marsh stood, and came to lean against her side of the table. He was closeâtoo close.
Jen had to raise her head to look at him. âNothing,â she said. âItâs your way of going about it thatâs strange.â Jen stared at him a moment, torn between wanting to shut him downâand wanting to go upstairs with him so she could have his mouth on hers again. Finally she asked, âAre you nuts?â
Rather than the anger she expected, Marsh treated her to his insides-melting laugh.
âI like you,â he said. âYouâre as prickly as I am. I believe we could make a go of it.â
âOf what? A marriage of convenience?â Jen somehow managed to keep her voice calm.
âYes.â He nodded.
âWhose?â
âWhat do you mean, whose?â He appeared perplexed.
âMy convenience ⦠or yours?â
Dear Reader,
Hi friends. It seems like forever since last I wrote to you. Iâve been on a sabbatical for some time (actually, I tell myself and everyone else who might ask, that Iâm semi-retired). But it only works for a period of time before ideas for another storyâor storiesâbegin knocking on my mind, demanding my attention.
The book you are holding in your hand is the first to tickle my interest. It began innocently enough with a title ⦠Beguiling the Boss. Big deal, I mocked. I should have known better. Before too long I had characters vying for attention. Hmm, I mused ⦠maybe. I started writing and, as always, ever since the first book I wrote, the characters led the way, telling me their story as I soon, and again as always, followed along. As Iâm a hunt-and-pick typist, many times I simply could not keep up. Then, piqued, I would walk away until theyâthe hero or heroineâallowed me breathing room by slowing up a bit.
But all things considered, I supposed the characters must be right, because you, dear readers, appear to like the tales they tell me. I hope you will enjoy this particular story, as these two characters are both strong-willed and independent. Matter of fact, I found them to be rather beguiling.
Yeah, I know, Iâm shameless, but the idea here is to catch your attention so youâll buy the book!
Thank you for all the years weâve spent together through the pages of my books.
Yours always,
Joan Hohl
JOAN HOHL is a bestselling author of more than sixty books. She has received numerous awards for her work, including a Romance Writers of America Golden Medallion award. In addition to contemporary romance, this prolific author also writes historical and time-travel romances. Joan lives in eastern Pennsylvania with her husband, Marv, and their family consisting of: two daughters, Lori and Amy, two grandchildren, Erica and Cammeron, and three great-grandsons, Jaden, Kieran and Sorin.
To my own âGangâ ⦠six writers from various parts of the country, all of us different in interests and politics, yet close no matter the distance in miles ⦠because we love one another and we are all a little wacky! We stay connected by email and refer to each other as the gang.
They are as follows:
Kasey Michaels. Leslie Lafoy. Mary McBride.
Karen Katz and myself.
Yes, I know, that is only five.
Marcia Evanick was number six.
Marcie, as we called her, was warm and kind and compassionate. At our occasional meetings, when she smiled or laughed, we had to smile and laugh with her.
Last July, after a valiant, courageous fight, our beloved Marcie lost the battle of her life to ALS.
May she rest in peace.
I will miss you forever, Marce.
Joan
Jennifer Dunning had always been indulged and she knew it. How could she not? From the day of her birth she had been pampered and cooed over, not only by her parents but by anyone and everyone who saw her. And yet, as far as she could recall, she had never acted out or thrown temper tantrums when she didnât get her way. She accepted a ânoâ as final and quietly moved on.
But now she sat on her bed in her room, where she had been hiding for the better part of the past two weeks, searching desperately on her electric-blue laptop for her new life. It was time to leave her parentsâ home in the exclusive gated community on the outskirts of Dallas. It was time to leave her parents, period.
Jennifer was stunningly beautifulâshe had been as a baby, and was even more so at the age of twenty-eight. Tall and willowy with curves in all the right places, she was blessed with long honey-blond hair, dark brown eyes and classic features.
Jennifer was also restless, frustrated and edgy. She had quit her high-paying job as a personal assistant to the CEO of a large company two weeks ago. She was simply sick and tired of listening to the endless daily pep rallies given by her bossâthe son of the company ownerâwho Jennifer considered unfit for the position he held. She was also tired of him eyeing her up and down every time they happened to be in the same room. He was a creep. So, deciding she had had enough, she had resigned.