Vacation with a Commanding Stranger

‘But if I hadn’t come upstairs when I did…’

‘It wouldn’t have made any difference,’ he told her. ‘Sooner or later it would have happened between us…if not by accident…’

As she lifted her face to look up at him, he smiled at her and bent to whisper something in her ear that made her face flush slightly.

‘You see…I would never, never have let you get away from me…and once we had been lovers…

‘You do love me, don’t you?’ he whispered against her mouth, and beneath the words Livvy could hear the hesitancy and uncertainty. It swept away the last of her doubts.

‘Yes, I love you,’ she whispered back as she clung to him. ‘Like you, I didn’t want to.’

‘But, like me, you’ve discovered that there are some things, some emotions that we can’t control.’

She was still in his arms half an hour later when the telephone started to ring. Reluctantly pushing him away, she told him, ‘That will probably be Gale.’

‘Tell her you’re far too busy to talk to her now,’ Robert whispered against her throat. ‘Oh, and warn her that she’d better prepare herself for a wedding. A very early wedding…’

* * * * *

Now, read on for a tantalizing excerpt of USA Today bestselling author Carol Marinelli’s next book,

CLAIMING HIS HIDDEN HEIR

Seduced then dismissed by her demanding boss Luka, Cecelia’s hiding a secret—their daughter! But when Luka uncovers her deceit, there’s no escaping the consequences of her passionate surrender…

Keep reading to get a glimpse of

CLAIMING HIS HIDDEN HEIR

PROLOGUE

HE WOULD NOT be hiring Cecelia Andrews.

Property magnate Luka Kargas had already decided that Candidate Number Two would be his new personal assistant.

‘Ms Andrews is here for her interview,’ Hannah, his current PA, informed him.

‘There’s no need for me to meet her,’ Luka responded. ‘I’ve decided to go with Candidate Two.’

‘Luka!’ Hannah reproached, a little braver now that she was leaving. ‘At least have the decency to see her. She’s been through two extensive interviews with me, and as well as that it’s pouring outside. She had to come across London in the middle of a storm.’

‘Not interested,’ Luka said, because he didn’t buy into sob stories. ‘It’s a waste of my time.’

And a slice of Luka’s time was precious indeed.

But then Luka suddenly remembered that Ms Andrews had been personally recommended by Justin, a contact he wanted to keep onside.

‘Fine, send her in,’ Luka said, deciding to see her briefly but then to get rid of her as soon as he could.

Impatient fingers drummed the desk as he waited, and then Candidate Three was shown in.

‘Ms Andrews.’ Luka stood and shook her right hand, noticing that on her left she wore an engagement ring.

Nothing would induce him to hire her, for she would have to have the most patient fiancé in the world to tolerate the ridiculous hours she would have to devote to him.

And everyone knew his reputation.

He just had to give her a few minutes of his time so he could tell Justin that he had interviewed her but gone with another candidate.