Courage Blurb
BY USA TODAY BESTSELLING Author, Lexy Timms.
The SECRET of happiness is FREEDOM. The secret of freedom is COURAGE.
The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past as better than what is was and the present worse than it actually is.
SIMON DIESEL, billionaire extraordinaire, is being played: Either by the woman he’s hopelessly in love with, or by someone he trusts.
That narrows the list down significantly. There’s only a handful of people Simon trusts, so it shouldn’t be that hard to find the perpetrator. However, how much is he willing to risk for his company? For his heart?
Will falling in love with Heather a second time be a second chance, or payback for the heartbreak he caused her years ago?
“The harder thing to do and the right thing to do are usually the same thing.”
Chapter 1
The sound of screeching tires made Heather Hall race to her front door. On the way she peered out the window in the living room, trying to see what the hell was going on outside. When she spotted Simon’s car pulling up her driveway, her anxiety gave way to raw anger.
She flung the door open and rushed out. It didn’t matter that she was barefoot. Simon Diesel was the last person she wanted to see right now. “What on earth are you doing?”
Simon stepped out of his car. All six-foot-something of his large frame made her momentarily stop in her tracks. Even in her anger, his sex appeal took her breath away. He had that mix of confident intellect and effortless masculinity that made her heart race. And those smoldering blue eyes didn’t hurt either.
Right now he was focusing his turbulent gaze on her, a storm gathering in those extraordinary eyes. “Heather, listen to me—”
“No, you listen,” she snapped, getting in his face. “Who do you think you are? I know it’s not as fancy as the neighborhood you live in, but people live here. Kids live here. You can’t come racing your car through here like some maniac.”
He held his hands up, his brow furrowing. “I’m sorry.”
His apology did nothing to cool her temper. After the way he had left things between them at her Dover office mere hours ago, she was in no mood for his attempt at an apology. “Glad you got that out of the way. You can leave now.”
“I’m sorry I accused you,” he said. “I had no right to accuse you without evidence.”
“Oh, but you seemed to think you had plenty of evidence,” she shot back. “I’m a liar after all. I started our working relationship with a lie, so why wouldn’t I be a spy and a hacker on top of it? I’m pathetic and untrustworthy, remember?”
“Will you just listen to me?” He started to walk up and down her driveway, pacing with a determined stride. Damn, his legs were so long, and from experience she knew how muscular they were from all the swimming that he did to stay in shape.
Ugh. Not even half a day had gone by since he’d insulted her in her own office, yet here she was, practically drooling over him. The hold that he had over her was so excruciatingly delicious she felt like she was in high school all over again. Pining over the high school golden boy who had become one of the richest men in the country.
“What do you want?” she demanded.
“You’re not the only person who knows about the servers in my apartment building.” He didn’t stop his pacing. It should have annoyed her, but it was a habit of his when the gears of his mind started going. That pacing was the price of his genius, but the way his pants hugged his ass when he walked away from her didn’t exactly feel a heavy price at all.
She swallowed hard. If she had any hope of surviving this mess she absolutely, positively could not let Simon have such a hold on her. Letting him go completely was her only option.
“If you want me to leave I’ll go, but I really think you need to hear this,” he continued.
Curiosity was overriding her caution. “Who else knows about the servers?”
When he was just inches away from her, he stopped his pacing. Stopped and stared down at her. The last time he had looked down his nose at her like this had been hours ago in her office. His stare had been much harder then. Much more arrogant.