From playboy to papa!
Kendall Rossâs latest PR assignment is the perfect jump start for her career. But her client is hotel magnate Sawyer Lockeâthe no-holds-barred one-night stand she had six weeks ago. Sawyer knows the feisty redhead is the key to successfully launching his new hotel, but with his meddling father sabotaging his business plans, they have to keep their arrangement strictly professional. As in, no kisses. No fondling. And certainly no mind-blowing sex! Yet when their best-laid plans end with an unexpected pregnancy, the rebel billionaire must choose between his bachelor ways or losing Kendall and his baby for good!
Pregnant by the Billionaire is part of The Locke Legacy.
âDo you think about our night together?â he asked.
Kendall waited to answer, not sure if it was better to lie and protect herself or give in to the truth. âI think you know the answer to that question.â
Sawyer sat next to her on the couch. He took her hand. âI had a similar problem, but I didnât tell you. I think about everything. Asking you to dance. Having you in my arms on the dance floor. That whole night together. What that first kiss was like.â
He was leaning closer, giving in inch by inch, and she mirrored his every move. Their mutual resolve was evaporating before her eyes. âIt was a great one.â
He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb softly. Carefully. âOne of the best.â
âThe kiss goodbye was pretty amazing, too,â she said. âI tried to send you a message with that kiss.â
âAnd what message was that?â He moved his head closer and nudged at her hair with his nose before pressing his lips to her cheek.
Her eyelids fluttered. He was sending electricity straight through her. âThe message was youâd better call me.â
âLet me send my own message.â
His lips fell on hers, strong and insistent.
* * *
Pregnant by the Billionaire is part of The Locke Legacyâ This familyâs glamorous Manhattan hotel is a five-star location for love.
KAREN BOOTH is a Midwestern girl transplanted in the South, raised on â80s music, Judy Blume and the films of John Hughes. She writes sexy big-city love stories. When she takes a break from the art of romance, sheâs teaching her kids about good music, honing her Southern cooking skills or sweet-talking her husband into whipping up a batch of cocktails. Find out more about Karen at www.karenbooth.net.
For my kids, I love you more than youâll ever know.
Also, Iâm sorry for the many times dinner has been late (or was pizza delivery) because I was writing. The world needs love and romance, and every time you give me a free pass, you help to make that possible. Thatâs yet another reason to love you.
One
Sawyer Locke marched into his Manhattan office, phone pinned between his ear and shoulder. âThatâs your answer? You donât know how the story ended up in the paper?â He slammed the newspaper down on his desk. Grand Legacy Hotel Rebuild in Shambles. âYouâre my PR company. Am I not paying you to be on top of this? The reporter didnât come to you for a comment? Because she sure didnât call me.â
âI donât know what to tell you, Mr. Locke. It came out of nowhere.â
Nowhere. Sawyer suspected the likely origin of this story, and it didnât sit well with him at all. It never did. He left his laptop bag on his desk and wandered to his office window atop the four-story building heâd renovated when he started his real estate development firm five years ago. No high-rise for him. Too much like his dad. Down below, the trees lining the street were turning a rich shade of red impossible to ignore. Heâd been staring at the trees off and on for three days nowâa near match for the hair of a woman he couldnât seem to forget. Heâd had his share of one-night stands, but Kendall...well, he was having a terrible time getting her out of his head.
The changing leaves also meant December would be here soon, and that meant there could be no more disruptions on the hotel renovations. A gala New Yearâs Eve grand reopening cannot be late or rescheduled. âI need to know what youâre going to do about this. We have to fight back.â
âIn your case, I think itâs best if we ignore it and let the story take its natural course.â
For nearly a year, Sawyer had kept his frustration under wraps. There was too much money on the line, too many people watching and waiting for him to fail. Right now neither being calm nor collected was on the table. âAbsolutely not. Iâm not going to ignore negative publicity.â Inaction was an unfamiliar notion for Sawyer. He never sat on his hands.
âPerhaps we need to make a change, Mr. Locke. Maybe weâre no longer the right firm for you.â
Dammit. Sawyer knew that tone, that tentative tremble in a personâs voice. That was the sound of someone whoâd been threatened or bought off by his father. This had happened before. It would likely happen again. âPerfect, then. Youâre fired.â