by Helen Conrad
She nodded. “Exactly.”
He groaned. “Listen, I’ve got to go on this Barefoot Cruise thing.”
She shrugged. “Of course. And I’ve got plans, too.”
“You do? What?”
“I worked with an orthopedic surgeon who moved to Phoenix. He’s trying to get me to come work with him in his clinic this summer. The other physicians are all unmarried and very eligible, or so he says. He promises I’ll have an engagement ring on my finger by the end of the summer.”
Michael swallowed hard. He knew he’d been lucky to find a woman like this not yet attached to some bow-legged man. She was an anomaly as it was and that couldn’t last much longer. It would be a big risk to walk away from her now and expect things to be the same when he came back.
“You should think about going,” he said. But why did his voice sound so false in his ears? Then he realized why. He didn’t want her to go. He wanted her right here, untouched, in that castle of a house, protected by her trolls. That was the way he wanted her to stay. How could he expect the miracle that was this unspoiled gem of a woman to stay lonely any longer? Looking down at her, he suddenly realized he didn’t care about anything else anymore. He didn’t care about anything but Jackie.
Would it last? He didn’t know. He only knew that right now, he was ready to do anything to have her in his arms again.
“Let’s get married,” he said recklessly. “Hey, you want to come with me on that cruise?”
The joy in her face was all he needed right now. She nodded happily.
“I’d love to,” she said.
“Great. Let’s go on up to our little secret hideway and…”
She was shaking her head. “The preacher,” she reminded him. “First things first.”
He stared at her for a long moment, then pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “Okay,” he said. “You win. We can at least make plans.”
“Plans.” She nodded happily. “I really do love making plans.”
He grinned. “I really do love just about everything about you,” he said.
“Forever?”
He sighed. He'd never used the "forever" word before. But maybe that was why he'd had such bad luck with women. When he looked at Jackie, she looked so hopeful, he couldn’t stop smiling.
“Forever, huh? We’ll see. Maybe going on the cruise will tell us.”
She nodded. “I think I love you,” she warned him. “And I think I’ve proven to you that I know how to get my man.”
He laughed. “Oh yeah. I got the message.” He pulled her close, looking down into her eyes. “And Jackie, I think I love you too.”
“Forever.”
“What the hell. Forever.”
PROLOGUE TO
FLIRTING WITH THE BILLIONAIRE
CHARLA~BOOK 4
The number rang three times before a soft voice answered.
“Xanadu.”
Stephen raised one dark eyebrow. “May I speak to Ms. Olivia Chang?”
“May I ask who’s calling?”
“Stephen Connors.”
“One of the Hudson Academy boys?”
His wide mouth twisted in a fond smile. “I guess you could characterize me that way.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Connors. Ms. Chang is ill and can’t come to the phone right now.”
“Ill?” He frowned, startled. “What do you mean, ill? What’s wrong with her?”
“Mr. Connors… .”
“Is she under a doctor’s care?”
“Oh yes. Don’t worry. She has the finest care available.”
He shook his head. Olivia was never “ill”. What did it mean? “Does she need me to come to her?”
“No, Mr. Connors. This is something unpleasant, but not life-threatening. She will be fine in a day or two.”
“I see,” he said, though he didn’t. “Well…let her know that I called, will you? And that I’m in Tokyo and can come to her at a moment’s notice if she needs me.”
“I will tell her. Is there any other message?”
“What? Oh, yes. I wanted to let her know that Danny Craig seems to have positioned himself in the running for the wedding bet. She’ll know what I mean.”
“Yes. She’ll know.” The soft voice paused, then added, “and so do I.”
“I see.”
“Thank you for calling Mr. Connors.”
“And you are?”
But she had already hung up.
Stephen frowned, wondering about that. He had an impulse to drop everything and run down to Hong Kong to see what was up. He might consider that again a bit later, but in the meantime he had a commitment to attend a showing of computer art at the Matsumoto House.
Kind of a drag, but he’d said he would attend. With a sigh, he went into his dressing room and began to prepare for an evening out. Things moved fast in the corporate world these days. He had to stay on top of things. But he was ready to drop it all if Olivia needed him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For those who missed them, here are repeats of prologues to the first two books of the series.
~*~ SUMMER ~*~
FLIRTING WITH THE BILLIONAIRE
Book 1
By
Tracy Court
PROLOGUE
Yearly Meeting of
Hudson Academy Alumni
The Empire Room
Castle Xanadu
Hong Kong
Attending:
Jack Masters, owner Lelei Plantation, American Samoa
Danny Craig Castalon, attorney at law, owner Seven Seas Inc.,
San Francisco
Michael Black, confidential Wall Street lawyer, New York City
Jason Franks, owner Franks Electronics, Los Angeles and Tokyo
Tony Richards, owner Carlton Casino, Las Vegas
Marco Merchado, owner Meztecha Horse Ranch, Mexico
and
Their Hostess, Ms. Olivia Chang
Owner of Castle Xanadu
These attendees of past classes at the Hudson Academy in a mountainous region of Luzon Island in the Philippines are a special group of men. Each is from a prominent family—sons of ranchers, industrialists or diplomats from countries all over the world—and each was molded into the important and successful man he is today by experiences at Hudson, and by loyalty to the school and to each other. The annual dinner is always in Hong Kong and always hosted by Olivia Chang.
#
Dinner had been sumptuous, wine was flowing freely, and the six wealthy and successful men had been talking jovially. Jokes and banter had flown back and forth. And now, as usual, the chat was becoming more pointed, the insults less affectionate and cheerful, the barbs more lethal. Competition was rearing its hoary head.
Olivia Chang surveyed them each in turn with a jaundiced eye and sighed. She’d known them all for years. In fact, she’d been their English Literature professor at the academy. They’d been through a lot together. She’d acted as surrogate mother to many of them over the years, a valued resource of experience for every one of them. She’d encouraged them when they faltered, celebrated their victories, and even led them for a week in the mountains when their school came under terrorist attack one year. In a word, they’d bonded.
But that was years ago. Now she owned and managed one of the most expensive restaurants in Hong Kong—and served as their reunion hostess here at her magnificent home every year.
The arrangement had worked well for a long time, but now she was worried about her charges. Though ridiculously successful--each could probably be called a billionaire--these men were edging toward middle age without growing up, as far as she could see. Once they relaxed enough to behave naturally, they reminded her of a basket full of furry puppies. They argued and snapped at each other and challenged everything as though it were the most important thing in the world. And even worse, they were still acting like greedy alpha males in a candy store where women we
re concerned.
Losing patience with them, she stood and faced them all, banging her sterling silver spoon against her crystal water glass. The attention she commanded was immediate. Their respect was well-earned and automatic.
She glared as she faced them all, then got right to the point.
“Not one of you is married. Why is that?”
There was a pause, and then each man spoke at once, each with his own transparent excuse. She held up her hand for silence.
“I guess you aren’t aware of the surveys which show that unmarried males tend to go to hell pretty rapidly once they reach a certain age.” She stared at them sternly. “I don’t want that to happen to any of you. You need wives. You need children. You need a reason to invest in the future. Without those ties taking root in your existence, you will risk falling into decadence, debauchery and… madness.”
“Ouch,” Tony said, making a face.
But the others didn’t laugh. They each knew there was a grain of truth in what Ms. Chang was presenting as a possible fate for them all. It was sobering. But they were problem solvers and each immediately began to work on a solution. She watched them for a few minutes, then gasped softly as the pain in her chest attacked her once again. Very carefully, she changed her position and got her breath back. The last thing in the world she wanted was for any of them to know she was ill.
Death wasn’t imminent—or so the doctors told her. But it was inevitable and coming closer. She had a few things that had to be taken care of before she left this world with its charms and dangers. This property was one of them—though not the only one.
Xanadu Castle was ancient and unique. It had been built by one of her ancestors, but through one thing or another, there was no one left of her family to take it over. She couldn’t bear to think of it falling into the hands of strangers. It had to be one of her “boys”. She’d made that decision a long time ago. But whomever she decided to leave the property to had to earn the privilege. And marriage was one of the proofs she would need.
Once again she held up a hand for silence, and once she got it, she began to talk about the Castle, about how important it was to find a caretaker who would love it as much as she had. Without letting on that there was a looming deadline that couldn’t be avoided, she proposed a contest between them, a challenge that each actively work on finding a wife and report back in one year. They seemed puzzled at first, but very soon they all began to realize something important was going on. They listened intently. When she was finished, they sat silent for a long moment, then Jason rose slowly and lifted his glass.
“To the wedding bet,” he toasted. “And to Olivia for caring enough to kick us all in the ass.”
“I’ll second that,” Danny said, rising as well. “Are you in Jack?”
Jack Masters looked up moodily, sighed, and rose as well. “Why not?” he said. “Living my perfect life in Samoa on my own tropic island was getting tedious. Why not bring in a woman to totally destroy my peace of mind?”
Laughter rocked the room, but cries of “Hear hear!” came as well.
The wedding bet was on.
~*~ BRIE ~*~
FLIRTING WITH THE BILLIONAIRE
Book 2
By
Tracy Court
Olivia Chang sat in her ornately carved chair and gazed at the framed photograph on her wall. Graduation at the Hudson Academy. How many years ago now? But there were most of her boys, so tall, so proud, so handsome.
Her boys.
She felt her heart swell as she let her gaze embrace each one in turn. They were the most important things in the world to her.
“Excuse me, Auntie.”
A soft voice interrupted her musings and she stiffened resentfully.
“What is it, Lisle?” she asked quickly, bringing her fine linen handkerchief to her mouth in case the cough that was threatening came through.
“Are you alright?”
Olivia sighed impatiently. “Of course I’m alright. I’m strong as an ox. Don’t try to baby me, girl. I’m not so easily bamboozled.”
Lisle stifled the comment that rose to her lips and tried to smile. “Sorry. I don’t mean to hover. But I took a call from one of your boys this morning.”
“What? Who was it?”
“Danny Craig. You were asleep and I didn’t want to….”
Olivia pulled herself to her feet and glared at her sister’s daughter. “I can sleep any time. When one of my boys calls, you had better wake me. If you can’t do any better than this….”
“I’m sorry,” Lisle said calmly. “I’ll do better next time, Auntie.”
Olivia stared at the pretty girl and sank back slowly into her chair. Lisle was certainly nice to look at. And she was trying to make herself pleasant and useful. But Olivia couldn’t help but wonder why she was here.
“What did he say?”
“He’s going to spend the summer at Lake Havasu in Arizona. He’ll be incommunicado for a few weeks, but he’ll get back to you soon.”
Olivia nodded. She put her hand over her heart and spent a few seconds evaluating her heartbeat. No chest pain today. That was good. Maybe she would last through the summer. Maybe she would have one more yearly celebration with her boys in the Empire Room here at Castle Xanadu.
Maybe…or maybe not.
“Next time, wake me,” she said gruffly.
Lisle hesitated, watching as her aunt’s gaze went back to the photo on the wall. All those students she’d have over the years. All the heart and soul she’d invested in them.
And now, she was preparing to give one of them her castle.
Lisle knew all about the wedding bet—the commitment each one of Olivia’s charges had made to find a wife and compete for the honor of becoming the heir to Olivia’s Hong Kong mansion.
“What if one of them cheats?” she asked softly, standing close to her aunt and gazing at the handsome faces along with her. “What if one of them pretends to have found true love, just to go to the head of the line? How will you know?”
Olivia turned a steely gaze on her sister’s child. She and her sibling had been enemies for years and she wondered, suddenly, why she allowed Lisle, a veritable Trojan Horse, into her home. She could be spying for Anna. She could be bent on revenge. She could be waiting her chance to grab the castle for herself. That’s what her mother would have done.
Yes, she knew all that. But somehow, she couldn’t turn her niece away. She was family. Even if Olivia despised her sister more than she hated anyone else on earth, Lisle was welcome here. For the moment, at any rate. For the moment.
“I’ll know,” she told her. “I know my boys. And I know you, my darling.” She smiled, touching Lisle’s cheek. “I know you.”
Suddenly chilled, Lisle backed away. “Call if you need anything, Auntie,” she said, then turned and escaped down the hallway. She hurried into the garden, looking for a place where she could be alone.
Why was she here? What made her stay with a woman who hated her mother—and might even hate her? What did she hope to accomplish?
Tears burned her eyes, because the answer eluded her. She wished she knew. She wished she could find a reason, find an explanation for this strange compulsion she felt. She had to be here with her aunt in this elaborate castle in Hong Kong. And that was all she knew.
About the author
Tracy Court calls California home, though she spent her childhood moving all over the place. After obtaining a degree in English Literature, she looked around and decided writing was the best thing she could do with all that reading experience. It took a few years, but she finally found romances--her niche. Since then she's published with many houses, selling over ten million romances. Now she's self-publishing e-books--and that includes rewriting some of those originals. For once she's got the chance to go back and redo the past!
FLIRTING WITH THE BILLIONAIRE
Books 1, 2 and 4 are full sized novels.
Book 3 is a 80-85 page novella.
> ~***~
Book 1~ Summer
Book 2~ Brie
Book 3~ Jackie
One Little Wedding, Shotgun Style
(A Flirting with the Billionaire Novella)
Book 4~ Charla (coming soon)
Finding Susan
FINDING SUSAN
Romantic Suspense
By
Dakota Kahn
Chapter One
Kate Becker stepped out of her car and looked around at the pine-covered mountains that rimmed the valley that held this Northern California settlement. She’d finally come back to the only place she could claim as a hometown. But where had this foreboding sense of doom come from? She didn’t remember that.
Or had she brought it with her? She shuddered and looked behind her as though expecting disaster to be rampaging her way. Then she took hold of things.
Snap out of it! she told herself firmly. No more gloom. You’re here to find Susan and that’s all.
She couldn’t blame it on the town itself. Standing just outside the Sheriff’s station, hand on the door, Kate finally realized what made this quaint country village so surreal--it looked like a movie set on a studio back lot. The tree-lined streets of Whispering Pines were for postcards, not for living in, and everything was archaic—just the way you wished it really had been in the old days. It was a misty-colored dream scene-simply adorable.
Too bad the people couldn’t be adorable, too. She sighed. What the heck. It might be better if they just put up mannequins and let the tourists take pictures.
The scene was set for cuteness, though. The sheriff’s car was a station wagon with a blue light strapped to the top, and from outside his office you could see the town’s only traffic lights.
