Contract To Marry
Taking charge of her new boss!Fleur has been hired by self-made businessman Darcy Howard to motivate his staff…and her first task is to insist that the workaholic Darcy starts having more fun. Only things aren't going to plan. It's Darcy who's showing Fleur the best time of her life!Now Fleur's wishing her temporary contract with Darcy could become a permanent one–and she's not thinking about business.
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From city girl—to corporate wife!
Working side by side, nine to five and beyond…. No matter how hard these couples try to keep their relationships strictly professional, romance is definitely on the agenda!
But will a date in the office diary lead to an appointment at the altar?
Find out in this exciting miniseries from Harlequin Romance>®.
“I wondered if you did this all the time—for fun,” Darcy said.
Fleur smiled. “I’ve been here a few times.”
“So what do you do, apart from that?” he asked, pointing toward the dance floor packed with writhing bodies, and grimacing.
“Have you ever tried that?” she asked provocatively.
He took the bait. “No, but how hard can it be? Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the dance floor.
“Now, this is fun,” he said as he gyrated in time with the music, his body pressed against hers, making her wish the barrier of their clothing would suddenly disappear, leaving them in an intimate embrace of skin on skin.
She pulled away. “End of lesson number one,” she yelled above the music.
“What does lesson two entail?” he asked.
“Maybe it’s best if we save the next lesson till tomorrow?”
“Don’t be boring,” he whispered wickedly, a split second before he slanted his lips across hers.
Nicola Marsh says, “As a girl, I dreamed of being a journalist and traveling the world in search of the next big story. Luckily, I have had the opportunity to travel the world, but my dream to write has never been far from my mind. When I met my own tall, dark and handsome hero, and learned that romance is everything it’s cracked up to be, I finally took the plunge and put pen to paper. I live in the southeastern suburbs of Melbourne with my husband and baby son. When I’m not writing I work as a physiotherapist for a vocational rehabilitation company, helping people with disabilities return to the workforce. I also love sharing fine food and wine with friends and family, going to the movies and—my favorite—curling up in front of the fire with a good book.”
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
FLEUR ADAMS rushed into the café, trying to juggle a portfolio, laptop, umbrella and handbag while shaking raindrops from her curly hair and cursing the fickle Melbourne weather, a lousy public-transport system and men, in that order.
‘Hey, pretty lady. The usual?’ Billy winked at her from behind the counter and gave her an appreciative once-over, typical of his meet-and-greet routine with the female customers.
She smiled in gratitude as the aroma of steaming coffee and freshly baked muffins infused her senses. ‘You’re a lifesaver. Oh, and make mine a double today. I need it.’
‘Too much caffeine will get you all hyped up. So if you need to burn off any extra energy…’
‘I’ll join a gym!’
Billy’s innuendoes had initially rankled when she’d first found the coffee shop though she’d soon realised he was harmless. Besides, he made the best lattes and choc-chip muffins in Melbourne, two major reasons to tolerate his light-hearted flirtation.
‘Oh, well, can’t blame a guy for trying.’ He shrugged and turned to the espresso machine. ‘By the way, Liv’s arrived.’
‘Thanks.’ She scanned the growing lunch crowd and spotted her friend at a corner table, nose buried in the latest romance novel as usual.
Taking care not to decapitate anyone on the way to their table, Fleur slid into a vacant seat and stacked her load against a nearby wall. ‘Let me guess. The tall, dark and handsome hero is about to rip off the heroine’s bodice and thrust his—’
‘No! Romance novels aren’t bodice-rippers. They’re contemporary fiction. How many times have I told you that?’ Liv stared at Fleur over her rimless spectacles, a faint blush staining her cheeks.
Fleur grinned. ‘All those books seem the same to me. Lots of hot action, with the main protagonist being men with broad, naked chests and big—’
‘OK, you’ve made your point.’ Liv snapped the book shut and held up her hand to silence her. ‘Enough of your literary critiquing. How did the presentation go?’
Fleur’s grin faded as the memory of yet another failure flooded back. ‘Don’t ask,’ she muttered, as a waitress placed a giant glass and a muffin in front of her.
‘That good, huh?’
‘Worse.’ Fleur sipped at the latte and savoured the caffeine rush, wishing she’d never quit her reliable, reasonably paid job to chase a dream. A dream that would shortly turn into a nightmare if she didn’t acquire some new business—and soon.
‘No takers for an accountant-cum-life coach destined to revamp businesses and take them into the twenty-first century, huh?’
Fleur shook her head. ‘Not one. Seems like the terms “emotional intelligence” and “compliant oriented teaming” are just too modern for the average CEO. Though one of the senior execs I met this morning did give me a card and encouraged me to call, though I doubt he was interested in anything to do with emotions or intelligence, the way he kept looking at my legs.’
