Her Millionaire, His Miracle

“Today must have been hard. Having me lean and rely on you to cover for any mistakes I made.”

Eden pulled back. “No! Don’t think that. It wasn’t at all like that. I—you’re so obviously a master at what you do. I was just there today as a helper.”

He cupped his hands around her face. “I don’t want to ask more of you than you feel comfortable giving, so…tell me if I ever cross the line.”

His lips were a mere breath from hers, and he knew he was very much in danger of crossing the line right now. Her mouth was pure temptation, the scent of her drew him, enticed him. Her body felt so right this close. He wanted her.

“Tell me,” he said again.

“I will,” she said, the words coming out on a soft breath. “I promise I will.”

Myrna Mackenzie is a self-proclaimed ‘student of all things that concern women and their relationships’. An award-winning author of over thirty novels, Myrna was born in a small town in Dunklin County, Missouri, grew up just outside Chicago, and now divides her time between two lake areas, both very different and both very beautiful. She loves coffee, hiking, cruising the internet for interesting websites and ‘attempting’ gardening, cooking and knitting. Readers (and other potential gardeners, cooks, knitters, writers, etc…) can visit Myrna online at www.myrnamackenzie.com, or write to her at PO Box 225, La Grange, IL 60525, USA.

Dear Reader

Mills & Boon is celebrating its 100th anniversary! That’s a truly special milestone. For many of us, these were our first romances. They hold a momentous place in our hearts, and I’m honoured to be a part of this celebration of 100 years of joyous love stories and wonderful characters.

So…what makes a character in a story special? What is it that makes us admire certain people more than others? I’m sure we could all come up with a list. Mine keeps growing all the time. Here’s a little piece of it.

An admirable person:

Well…number nine. That’s a difficult one. How a person deals with the tough moments is important, because those tough moments are when each of us has to face our weaknesses and when we’re most likely to feel alone and to fail.

Jeremy Fulton, the hero of HER MILLIONAIRE, HIS MIRACLE, faces a future that would destroy a lesser man. Eden Byars has faced adversity many times. The road ahead holds no certainty or hope of happiness. Yet the minute Jeremy and Eden walked into my imagination I knew they were the type of people who might manage to make something wonderful out of potential tragedy. I couldn’t help wanting to tell their story…because the world can never have enough admirable people—even fictional ones.

Wishing you much hope and joy in this special year

Myrna Mackenzie

BY

MYRNA MACKENZIE

CHAPTER ONE

TURN around. Go back home. This could all go so wrong. What was I thinking when I decided to go through with this? Eden Byars tried to appear calm as the housekeeper at Oak Shores showed her into Jeremy Fulton’s north suburban Chicago mansion, but her thoughts didn’t seem to be willing to play the game.

Just keep moving forward, she ordered herself. This was too great an opportunity. She couldn’t let old, uncomfortable memories mess things up.

“Excuse me?” the housekeeper asked.

Eden blinked. Had she spoken her thoughts out loud? Maybe. “The house is beautiful,” she said, trying to regain her poise. “I’d forgotten.” And she had never actually been inside. Not even inside the gates or down the long, winding drive shaded by oaks. In fact, she’d only ever seen glimpses of the imposing mansion in the winter when the leaves had fallen.

The woman tilted her head. “Yes, there’s no other like it. Mr. Fulton is in the library, right through there. He’s expecting you.” She indicated a massive set of mahogany doors and left to return to her duties.

Eden stood before the doors, smoothing her hands over her old navy-blue skirt. Silly to be nervous. She’d barely known Jeremy ten years ago. They’d hardly exchanged a dozen words beyond hello and goodbye. Different social classes, different everything. It had been a nonexistent relationship.

Except for the fact that she’d had an overwhelming secret and painful crush on him until…

Eden’s face grew warm with embarrassment. She took a deep breath.

Dusty history, Byars. He won’t remember. Please. And even if he did, it couldn’t matter. She had to have the job she’d heard Jeremy was trying to fill. Fate had thrown her a curve last month just when she thought she was back on her feet. Suddenly she was down on her luck again. Creditors were calling and all of her plans were on the brink of evaporating if she didn’t do something quickly.