âAn easy playboy lifestyleâsure, occasionally. But for the most part I work very long, very hard,â Owen stated.
âWhy? When youâre wealthy enough to retire tomorrow?â Bella asked.
âBecause I like it.â Because he couldnât not. Because he was driven. Because he was missing something that everyone else hadâthe compassion, the consideration, the plain awareness and empathy towards others. His relationship with Liz had made him feel claustrophobic. He wouldnât allow that pressure to be put on him again. But heâd have Bella the way he wanted.
âFor all that successââ Owen underlined the word, knowing the concept annoyed her ââIâm still the guy who made your legs so weak you couldnât stand.â He took a step back, determined to walk away now. He spoke softer. âIâm still the guy who made you alternately sigh then scream with pleasure.â He paused. Heâd leave her knowing exactly what his intentions wereâplain and simple. He spoke softer still. âAnd Iâm the guy whoâs going to do it all again.â
Possibly the only librarian who got told off herself for talking too much, Natalie Anderson decided writing books might be more fun than shelving themâand boy, is it that. Especially writing romanceâitâs the realisation of a lifetime dream, kick-started by many an afternoon spent devouring Grandmaâs Mills & Boons®⦠She lives in New Zealand, with her husband and four gorgeous-but-exhausting children. Swing by her website any timeâsheâd love to hear from you: www.natalie-anderson.com
Recent titles by the same author:
BOUGHT: ONE NIGHT, ONE MARRIAGE
PLEASURED BY THE SECRET MILLIONAIRE MISTRESS UNDER CONTRACT
Dear Reader
Have you ever been in that awful awkward social situation where you felt totally out of place and just wished someone would come along and rescue you? Especially someone tall, dark and handsome, say? Wouldnât that make you look and feel like Miss Utterly Attractive herself?
Nice fantasy, isnât it? And Bella, my poor Bella, thought it might have actually happened to her!
But things are never quite as they are in fairytales, are they? Not everything goes as smoothly as we wish it would. And what if you do find your wish fulfilled? How do you handle it if it doesnât turn out to be all that youâd hoped?
Come and join Bella and Owen as they both discover that losing something they each thought precious might enable them to find something much, much better. Because there is nothing nicer than a happy ending and the beginning of a lifetime of love, is there?
I do hope you enjoy it!
Love
Natalie
For Sorayaâyou are so generous and supportive,
always dropping everything to read in a rush and then getting back to me so quickly and so helpfullyâ and this one was some rush, wasnât it? I am really looking forward to repaying you in kind so very soon.
CHAPTER ONE
DID she want a âsex machineâ or a âslow comfortable screwâ? Choices, choicesâ¦and tonight Bella was struggling with decisions. The names were all such appalling puns, she didnât know if sheâd be able to ask for one without blushing. Especially as she was sitting all alone in this barâon a Friday night. The bartender would probably panic and think she was coming on to him. But as she looked at the gleaming glasses lined up behind the counter and the rows of bottles holding varying amounts of brightly coloured liquid, her taste buds were tickled. It had been a while since sheâd had anything more indulgent than whatever was the cheapest red wine at the supermarket. Surely she was justified in having something fabulous to celebrate her day? And as this weekend had already burned one huge hole in her savings, she might as well make it a crater.
She looked back at the cocktail list, but barely read on. Sheâd waited all day for someone to say it. Someone. Anyone. It wasnât as if she expected a partyâa cake, candles or even a card. It was a frantic time getting everything organised for Vitaâs wedding, Bella understood that. But surely even one of them could have remembered? Her father perhaps?
But no. She was just there, as usual, in the background, like the family cat. Present, accounted for, but blending in as if part of the furniture. It was only if she had some sort of catastrophe that they remembered her. And she was determined to avoid any catastrophes this weekend. This was Vitaâs special time. As uncomfortable as Bella felt, she was determined to help make the weekend as wonderful as it could be for her sister.
Volunteering to oversee the decorating had been her best idea. It had meant sheâd been able to avoid most of the others. And honestly, sheâd felt more at home with the waitresses and staff of the exclusive resort than with her own family and their friends.
When sheâd paused at lunchtime sheâd looked up and seen them out walking along the beach. The island of Waiheke looked as if it had been taken over by an accountancy convention. In truth it basically had. They were like clones. All wearing corporate casual. The men in fawn trousers and open-collared pale blue shirts. Tomorrow theyâd be in fawn again only with white shirts for the wedding. Afterwards, theyâd saunter on the sand in three-quarter âcasualâ trousers, overly colourful Hawaiian shirts, with their pale feet sliding in leather âmandalsâ. They all had crisp cut hair, and expensive sunglasses plastered across their faces. The women were using their even more expensive sunglasses to pin back their long, sleek hair. Her tall, glamorous cousins, her sister. They were all the same. All so incredibly successfulâif you equated money, highflying jobs and incredibly suitable partners with success.