For Lust or Money

Six winners. Six fantasies.

SIX MILLION DOLLAR SECRETS…

Plain Jane Kurtz is going to use her winnings to discover

her inner vixen. But what’s it really going to cost her?

She Did a Bad, Bad Thing by Stephanie Bond Available from Mills & Boon^>® Blaze^>® in July 2008

* * *

New girl in town Nicole Reavis is on a journey to find

herself. But what else will she discover along the way?

Underneath It All by Lori Borrill Available from Mills & Boon^>® Blaze^>® in August 2008

* * *

Risk taker Eve Best is on the verge of having everything

she’s ever wanted. But can she take it?

The Naked Truth by Shannon Hollis Available from Mills & Boon^>® Blaze^>® in September 2008

* * *

Young, cocky Zach Haas loves his instant popularity,

especially with the women. But can he trust it?

For Lust or Money by Kate Hoffmann Available from Mills & Boon^>® Blaze^>® in October 2008

* * *

Solid, dependable Cole Crawford is ready to shake

things up. But how “shook up” is he prepared to handle?

Tall, Dark and Filthy Rich by Jill Monroe Available from Mills & Boon^>® Blaze^>® in November 2008

* * *

Wild child Liza has always just wanted to belong.

But how far will she go to get it?

What She Really Wants for Christmas by Debbi Rawlins Available in the M&B™ collection Her Christmas Temptation in December 2008

KATE HOFFMANN

lives in a small town in Wisconsin, where she spends her days spinning stories for books. Before penning her first romance novel, published in 1993, Kate was a teacher, an assistant buyer for a department store chain, the head of alumni relations at a university, and an advertising executive. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys gardening, golf and genealogy.

Dear Reader,

When the concept for this book, For Lust or Money, was presented to me, I had some reservations. I’d never attempted an older woman/younger man story. But as I thought about the possibilities, I decided that it might be fun. After all, as a single woman over thirty (and forty, too!), I could relate to the fantasy of falling for a younger man.

Zach Haas isn’t just any younger man. He’s smart and funny and handsome – oh, and he has millions. How could Kelly Castelle keep from falling in love? Well, it wasn’t hard to find reasons… I simply asked myself what would keep me from falling for a guy eleven years younger than me.

Still, by the end of the book I’d managed to convince myself that it would be possible. Now I just have to find the guy! I hope you enjoy For Lust or Money. I certainly enjoyed the challenge of getting these two together for you.

Happy reading,

Kate Hoffmann

BY

KATE HOFFMANN

1

KELLY CASTELLE was in hell. At least, this was exactly what she imagined hell to be, minus all the traffic and the sidewalks and the buildings. She brushed a wayward strand of hair out of her eyes and dabbed at her damp forehead with her wrist. She’d had her share of awful jobs in the past, but this time, she truly believed she’d find Beelzebub behind the camera.

“Is it always so hot here?”

The driver glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “It’s the middle of August, miss,” he said. “And it’s Atlanta. What did you expect?”

“Something a bit more like L.A.,” she muttered. Back home it was warm, but she’d never experienced humidity like this. Her clothes clung to her skin and her hair had gone limp the moment she’d stepped off the plane. Wilted would barely do justice to the way she felt. And if she looked even half as bad as she felt, they’d fire her on the spot and hire another actress—one who knew how to look crisp and composed in ninety-five-degree heat.

Maybe this was all just a sign, Kelly mused. Just a week ago, she’d decided that it might be time to get out of Hollywood and show business and find a new life for herself. She’d worked on her acting career, first in New York and then in L.A., for nearly fifteen years and had nothing to show for it. Sure, she’d made a few guest appearances on TV series that had long been cancelled. She’d done some commercials and had a bit part in a cheesy horror movie. She’d even worked on a soap opera for two years before her character got killed off when a meteor fell on her trailer home. But she’d never been able to land a decent agent and she was fast approaching the age when no one would even bother calling her to read.

Thirty-five. There were plenty of actresses who would kill to be her age again. But over the past couple of years, Kelly had heard her career clock ticking down. Women in Hollywood had a short shelf life and she was beginning to mold around the edges.

Just last month, her agent had called to ask if she’d ever considered doing soft-core porn. Kelly would have fired Louise DiMarco on the spot had she not offered a national hemorrhoid commercial in the same breath. She’d turned them both down before Louise made casual mention of a small job in Atlanta, performing in a skit for the talk show Just Between Us.

Though it didn’t pay much, Kelly didn’t care. It was a free trip to Atlanta and a night in a nice hotel and enough money to pay the grocery bill for a few more months. Desperate to get out of L.A., if only for a day or two, she’d jumped at the chance. Though this could hardly be called her big break, at least it wasn’t soft-core porn.