by Jane Peden
One night together will change his life forever…
Camilla Winthrop is about to do something she’s never done in her life—she’s about to ask a man to marry her. Not just any man. She hasn’t seen Sam Flanagan in almost five years, after he coldly walked away from a passionate and intense two-week affair. Now Camilla is widowed and desperate…and marrying Sam is the only way she can protect their son.
The son he never knew about.
A hugely successful attorney in Miami, Sam certainly never expected to see the stunning Camilla come through his door again. Nor can he ignore the desire heating his blood. But after she tells him her situation, Sam is furious. He’ll marry her, but under his terms. And he’ll take everything, including Camilla in his bed…unless she can find a way to thaw the millionaire’s icy heart once more.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Phyllis J. Towzey. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Entangled Publishing, LLC
2614 South Timberline Road
Suite 109
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.
Indulgence is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.
Edited by Wendy Chen
Cover design by Liz Pelletier
Photography by iStock
ISBN 978-1-63375-239-9
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition March 2015
Table of Contents
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Indulge in these bestselling classic contemporary romances… The Baby Bargain
All the Way
His Southern Temptation
Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire
Weekend Agreement
To Dave, Tom and Megan, for believing in my dream.
Prologue
Sam Flanagan was on top of the world. Two weeks ago he’d won his biggest jury trial ever, defending a multimillion-dollar product liability case.
Five days after the jury returned its verdict for the defense, he cashed his bonus check and turned in his resignation. Now he was spending three glorious weeks in Las Vegas. When he returned, the new office in one of Miami’s high-rises would be decorated, furnished, and staffed, and the law firm of Flanagan, Berrington & Perez would officially open its doors for business.
But for now, Sam deserved to cut loose and have a little fun.
He took the elevator from his luxury suite to the lobby of the casino hotel and walked into the lounge. He took one quick look at the cool blonde seated alone at the bar and complimented himself on making the right decision.
The answer to how he was going to spend his first evening in Vegas was sitting right there at the bar. Short skirt, long legs, silky sleeveless blouse, and an air of class about her that made a man look twice and wonder if he could get lucky. And know that it would be well worth the effort.
She glanced around the room, her classically beautiful face expectant, not as if she were waiting for someone in particular but rather as if she were waiting for something interesting to happen. Her hair was cut in a sleek style just past her chin. She reached up and tucked a few strands behind her ear, revealing the long and lovely line of her neck, before she turned back to her drink and said something to the bartender.
Sam slid onto the barstool next to her. He ordered a beer, turned to her, and smiled.
“I’m wondering if you could help me out?”
She angled her chin toward him and raised an eyebrow, her expression cool. She had to be wearing contacts. No one’s eyes were that blue.
“I’m sorry, have we met?” Her voice was as cool as her demeanor, and it made him want her more.
“Sam Flanagan,” he said, and reached out his hand.
She hesitated, then put her hand in his. Her grip was firm but her skin was soft. He held her hand a second longer than necessary, then released it.
“May I ask your name?”
She hesitated again, then said, “Camilla.”
“Just Camilla?”
“I don’t give my last name to men I meet in bars. Not even in Vegas.”
Maybe that explained the trace of nerves he was sensing. He prided himself on being able to read people, and this was a woman who, despite her cool exterior, had just a hint of strain beneath the surface. Instead of flashing warning signals, it intrigued him.
He put some money on the bar, waved away the glass, and took a long drink from the icy cold bottle.
“Well, you know what they say about Vegas.”
“What happens here stays here?” she asked, and he nodded.
“I’m counting on it,” she said.
Now that was interesting. Was she running away from something? And he questioned again why such a sophisticated and beautiful woman was alone in a hotel bar. She definitely had his interest now. He leaned in a little closer.
“So will you help me?”
She shifted on the stool, crossing those long, elegant legs. When she raised her gaze to meet his, he was struck again by the beauty of her electric blue eyes. And the sudden heat that seemed to fill the small space between them. He knew she felt it too. And was almost as good as him at masking her reaction.
“What exactly is your problem?” Her voice was still cool, but she broke eye contact and reached for her wineglass, running her fingers down the stem for a moment before lifting it slowly to her lips.
“My friends have both canceled. Which means I’ll be eating dinner alone.”
“You don’t like your own company?”
He extended his hands, palms up. “It’s just that they always give a lone diner the worst table.”
She looked him over. “I’m sure you’ve never been put at a bad table in your life.”
You’d be surprised, he thought, but his answer was smooth to his own ears. “Wouldn’t it be terrible if I started tonight? Especially when I was supposed to be celebrating.” He gave her his best “innocence tinged with sadness” look.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What are you celebrating?”
“Fresh starts.”
That seemed to get her attention.
“Really.” She gave him a look that reminded him of 1940s movie stars, sultry and icy at the same time. She had a restrained sensuality Sam couldn’t wait to unleash.
“Really. And what are you doing here, alone?”
“Actually, I’m on the run.”
He glanced around the room. “Should I get my gun?”
“Do you have one?”
“No.”
He leaned closer. “What are you running from?”
She laughed. “At the moment, the spa where I’ve spent the last three days.”
“So an army of spa workers is searching the Strip for you?”
Her eyes narrowed. “How do I know you aren’t a deranged killer? You could be wondering how much time you have.”
He pulled out his wallet and extracted his driver’s license and a newly printed business card, pausing to write Camilla is safe with me and signing his name and the date on the back of the card before setting them both on the table in front of her. She picked them up, read the back of the card and smiled, then handed him back his license.
“Looks legit. What happens if I call the number on the card?”
“The answering service will tell you we open for business in three weeks.”
“Good thing I don’t have a pressing need for legal services.”
She tapped the business card against the smooth wood on the surface of the bar.
“I gave my treatment schedule to a willing victim. No one will even know I’m gone.” She grinned. “Slap enough mud and seaweed on naked female bodies, and it’s pretty hard to tell any of us apart.”
He held his finger up so she’d pause. “Sorry, just needed a moment to process that image.”
She laughed, the sound bubbling out of her, sweet and fresh, and suddenly she looked like a girl barely out of her teens. He’d pegged her in her midtwenties, close to his age, when he’d first spotted her at the bar. Now he wasn’t so sure.
Time to close the deal. “You’re alone. I’m alone. We could have dinner at two separate tables. Pitied by waiters. Or we could enjoy the evening together. It’s as simple as that.”
“How do you know I’m not waiting for someone?”
“Maybe you were waiting for me.”
She laughed and shook her head. “That’s a really bad line.”
“Have dinner with me and I promise to do better.”
He could almost see her mind working, considering. Could read in her eyes that she was weakening, the same way he could always read a jury.
“It’s just dinner,” he prompted.
“I’m not leaving the hotel with you,” she said, and he knew he had her. It was only a matter of time until she was in his suite.
“We’ll have dinner right here at the hotel,” he assured her.
He took her hand to help her off the barstool, then rested his palm lightly for a moment on the smooth silk on the back of her shoulder as he guided her out of the lounge and toward the nearby restaurant. Las Vegas was a town that was built on luck. And Sam was feeling lucky.
Chapter One
Five years later
The hot Miami sun beat down on Camilla as she shaded her eyes with her hand and looked up at the towering building. She stepped through the revolving door onto the marble floor and breathed in the crisp air-conditioning. She would never have come here if she had any other choice. Desperate times call for desperate measures, she thought, squaring her shoulders and steeling herself. It was, after all, the story of her life. And Danny—the man she’d married for all the wrong reasons and ended up loving for all the right ones—was hardly going to swoop in and save her this time. Or ever again.
The elevator whooshed her soundlessly to the fortieth floor, its doors opening directly into the impressive lobby of the firm. Camilla hesitated for a moment, then ruthlessly suppressed the urge to ride back down to the lobby. Her heels clicked as she walked across the polished wood floor toward the reception area.
The receptionist was a middle-aged woman, impeccably groomed and tastefully formidable.
“May I help you?”
“Yes, I’d like to see Sam Flanagan.”
She frowned slightly. “And you are?”
“Camilla Winthrop.”
She looked at her computer screen, then back at Camilla.
“I’m sorry. I don’t seem to have you listed on Mr. Flanagan’s schedule. Let me call his assistant. Jennifer will be happy to set up an appointment for later this week.”
“No.”
The woman looked up, hand poised over the phone, and raised one perfectly arched eyebrow.
“It’s urgent I see him today.” Before I lose my nerve.
“I’m sure Mr. Flanagan’s assistant will—”
“Just tell him…it’s Camilla from Las Vegas.”
“Camilla from Las Vegas.”
“Yes.” She reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out a card. “And give him this.”
The receptionist frowned at the business card, flipped it over, then looked back at Camilla.
“Please take a seat and I’ll check with Mr. Flanagan,” she said finally.
Camilla was too nervous to sit. She walked to the window overlooking a view of the Miami skyline and wondered if she was crazy to just show up here, at his office, unannounced. The two weeks they’d spent together in Las Vegas seemed like a lifetime ago. What had started out as a casual fling had quickly meant so much more, at least to her. But obviously not to Sam. The memory of how coldly he’d ended things still stung.
By the time she’d realized she was pregnant she had already married Danny, going through with the plans that ensured that her younger sister would get the expensive medical care she needed. Still, she’d tried to contact Sam. When he didn’t even bother to return her phone calls she knew that staying with Danny was the right decision, the only decision, for her sister and for her baby.
…
Sam was pacing in his office, fine-tuning the closing argument he would give to the jury when the case reconvened the next morning. His secretary’s voice came through the intercom, jarring him back into the present.
“Mr. Flanagan? I’m sorry to interrupt you, but—”
It better be important. “Jen, I asked you to hold all my calls.”
“I know but—“ She lowered her voice. “Can I come in?”
“Sure.” Whatever crisis it was now, he’d just have to get past it.
Jen slipped into the office and shut the door firmly behind her.
“There’s a woman in the reception area who is insisting that she see you today.”
“What’s her name?”
“Camilla Winthrop.”
He frowned. “I don’t recall anyone by that name.”
“She says she’s from Las Vegas. And she had one of your cards. But it looks like the old ones.”
He held out his hand, flipped the card over, read the inscription. The fact that his expression didn’t change was a testament to his finely honed ability to hold a poker face whenever damaging evidence was presented by the other side at trial.
“Send her in.”
He walked over to the window, frowning as he gazed out at the panoramic view of Miami afforded by his corner office. They were in the same office tower where they’d started out five years ago. But now, instead of a suite of offices they’d sublet from another tenant, their firm had taken over the entire floor. He flipped the card idly between his fingers.
Camilla. Camilla Winthrop. He realized with a start that he hadn’t even known her last name. He’d spent the most amazing two weeks of his life with her. Had actually thought he might be falling for her. And then realized it was time to back off fast. The last thing he’d needed before starting his new firm was to be distracted by an entanglement with a woman he met in a bar in Las Vegas. So he’d cut his trip short. He winced when he remembered their awkward last breakfast, in the dining room of the resort hotel, overlooking the glitter of Vegas. The way she looked when he said it was probably better if they just said good-bye. He’d watched the warmth fade from her eyes, replaced by the cool reserve that had first drawn him to her in the bar. That’s fine, Sam, she’d said. As it happens I have plans of my own.
For a while he’d regretted leaving so abruptly and had hoped she’d contact him. She had his business card, but he didn’t have a clue where she was from. It was only afterward that he realized that when
they weren’t making love, they’d talked about his plans, his future. Maybe the fact that she’d been such a complete mystery had added to the way the memory of those two weeks still haunted him.
He shook his head. He’d certainly never expected to hear from her five years later. Obviously, she was in some kind of trouble. And he didn’t need this kind of distraction, regardless of how strong the pull of curiosity was.
He turned, sensing a movement in the doorway.
“Hello, Sam.” His assistant retreated discreetly, closing the door behind her.
His first thought when Camilla walked across his office toward him was that she was even more stunning than he remembered. He felt, suddenly, as if someone had punched him in the gut. There was a large diamond on her left hand, and her clothes reflected understated elegance. Whatever her problems were, it didn’t look like they were financial.
“Camilla.” He kept his tone even.
He gestured to a visitor’s chair and sat down behind his desk. She was still the picture of cool sophistication and class, even more so than the first time he’d ever seen her. He had a sudden flashback of her sleek blond hair mussed as he ran his fingers through it, those long legs tangled in the silky sheets, her porcelain skin flushed, her quick little intake of breath right before she… Get a grip, Sam, he told himself, and kept his face carefully without expression. There was some reason she’d shown up here today, and he doubted if it was to reminisce about ancient history.
“I didn’t expect to ever see you again.”
“You’ve done well for yourself,” she said, looking around the office.
He was annoyed by his own reaction to her, and his words came out harsher than he intended.
“What are you doing here, Camilla?”
She shifted slightly in the chair. “It’s a little hard to explain.”
“Look, I don’t have time for small talk. So why don’t you get to the point.” He sat back, ready to digest whatever legal problem was on her mind. He’d help her if he could, but only because he still felt bad about the way he’d ended it in Vegas.
“Fine.” She crossed her legs and leaned forward, looking him straight in the eye. “I’m here,” she said, “because I need you to marry me.”
