The Magnate's Mail-Order Bride

A mix-and-match mock engagement?

Ballerina Sofia Koslov’s career is on the line when she’s accosted at the airport by a rich, reckless playboy who thinks she’s his mail-order bride! But the playboy’s levelheaded brother, Quinn McNeill, solves the media snafu with a switcheroo. He’ll pretend to be her legitimate fiancé to protect her reputation—and to protect his family’s business deals from her father’s wrath. Sofia’s one condition: they’ll share the spotlight as a loving couple but won’t share a bed. But soon Quinn’s gentlemanly ways strike a chord, and Sofia’s dying to renege on that condition and have a real fling...

Quinn’s blue eyes locked on her with an intensity that stirred an unexpected heat in her belly.

Even when she knew with 100 percent certainty it was all an act.

She licked her lips, her mouth gone suddenly dry. She should say something. Prevent this farce that no one would ever believe. But then again...hadn’t she promised herself she would make this a performance worth watching?

A show of passion?

“Now.” His gaze never left hers even as he continued to address the media. “I am going to ask you to check Ms. Koslov’s schedule for a new interview time tomorrow. Because tonight we have something private and wonderful to celebrate.”

The camerawoman gave a quiet squeal of excitement. A few people clapped halfheartedly. Sofia wondered how she’d ever dared to ask Quinn McNeill for a temporary fiancé. She couldn’t believe he’d granted her wish.

And not with his brother. But with Quinn himself as her fake groom.

The cameras captured every moment of this absurd dance as she clutched a bouquet in one hand while Quinn tucked the mysterious black velvet box into the other. Then, leaving no doubt as to his meaning, he slanted his lips over hers and kissed her.

* * *

The Magnate’s Mail-Order Bride is part of the McNeill Magnates trilogy: Those McNeill men just have a way with women!

The Magnate’s Mail-Order Bride

Joanne Rock

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Four-time RITA® Award nominee JOANNE ROCK has penned over seventy stories for Mills & Boon. An optimist by nature and a perpetual seeker of silver linings, Joanne finds romance fits her life outlook perfectly—love is worth fighting for. A former Golden Heart® Award recipient, she has won numerous awards for her stories. Learn more about Joanne’s imaginative Muse by visiting her website, www.joannerock.com, or following @joannerock6 on Twitter.

To Maureen Wallace, the empathetic and efficient property manager on-site at the vacation rental where I finished this book. When construction work outside my rental made writing impossible, Maureen listened to my tale of woe and found another spot for me, making sure I could get work done the next day and have a gorgeous water view to boot! Thank you for going above and beyond to help.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Extract

Copyright

One

“It’s no wonder her performances lack passion. Have you ever seen Sofia date anyone in all the time we’ve known her?”

Normally, Sofia Koslov didn’t eavesdrop. Yet hearing the whispered gossip stopped her in her tracks as she headed from the Gulfstream’s kitchen back to her seat for landing.

A principal dancer in the New York City Ballet, Sofia had performed a brief engagement with a small dance ensemble in Kiev last week. Her colleagues had been all too glad to join her when her wealthy father had offered his private plane for their return to the United States. But apparently the favor hadn’t won her any new allies. As one of the most rapidly promoted female dancers currently in the company, Sofia’s successes had ruffled feathers along the way.

She clutched her worn copy of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to her chest and peered toward her father’s seat at the front of the jet, grateful he was still engrossed in a business teleconference call. Vitaly Koslov had accompanied the troupe on the trip to the Ukraine, his birthplace. He’d used their rare time together as an opportunity to pressure Sofia about settling down and providing him with grandchildren who might be more interested in taking over his global empire than she’d been.

“That’s not fair, Antonia,” one of the other dancers in the circle of four recliners snapped, not bothering to lower her voice. “None of us has time to meet people during the season. I haven’t had a lover all year. Does that make me passionless when I go on stage?”

Sofia told herself she should walk back to her seat before the pilot told them to buckle up. But her feet stayed glued to the floor. She peered down at her notes on Shakespeare’s play, pretending to reread them for an upcoming role as Titania if anyone happened to notice her.

“But Sofia’s been with the company since ballet school and have we ever heard her name connected romantically with anyone?” Antonia Blakely had entered ballet school at the same time as Sofia, and had advanced to each level with the company faster than her. “Actually, her dad must agree that she’s turning into a dried-up old prune, because—get this.” She paused theatrically, having relied on showmanship over technical skill her entire career. Now, she lowered her voice even more. “I overheard her father talking to the matchmaker he hired for her.”