The
matchmaker meets her match…in one very persistent tycoon!
THE MAGNATE'S MARRIAGE MERGER
The McNeill Magnates #2
Joanne Rock
Releasing May 9th, 2017
Harlequin Desire
The
matchmaker meets her match…in one very persistent tycoon!
Secretive matchmaker to the rich and famous, Lydia Whitney prefers to stay behind the scenes. But after one mistake, rich resort developer Ian McNeill is hot on her trail, and he’s more attractive—and persistent—than ever before.
Secretive matchmaker to the rich and famous, Lydia Whitney prefers to stay behind the scenes. But after one mistake, rich resort developer Ian McNeill is hot on her trail, and he’s more attractive—and persistent—than ever before.
Ian can’t
believe it when he figures out who’s messing with his family: a woman who has
deceived—and seduced—him before. What’s her agenda? And why can’t he resist
her? He’ll get the answers to all his questions, if Lydia agrees to his
convenient marriage proposal. But once she’s in his arms again, will he let her
go?
EXCERPT
She was a
woman of habit and that would serve him well now. He hoped. He remembered how
much she had enjoyed swimming first thing in the morning when they were working
together in the islands of Tahiti. He’d accused her of being a mermaid with her
daily need to return to the sea, but even when he’d been bleary-eyed from
working late the night before, he never missed a chance to swim with her. For
safety purposes, he’d told her, and not just because he enjoyed the occasional
chance to slide a hand beneath her bikini top or wind the wet rope of her hair
around his hand and angle her sea-salty lips for his kiss.
When the
elevator sounded its dull chime, he slowly looked up. The doors opened and
Lydia strode into view. His gaze fell on her long, shapely legs, the hem of her
black mesh tunic revealing a hint of thigh.
“Ian?” Her
voice tugged his attention higher, pulling his focus to her green eyes and
creamy skin devoid of makeup.
With her hair
scraped back into a ponytail, she looked every inch the part of his earthy,
warmhearted lover from last summer. He had to remember that she hadn’t been the
woman he thought, that he’d been wrong about her, or he might have swept her up
into his arms and ridden the elevator back up to her hotel room to remind her
how good they were together in at least one respect.
Sex. Raw,
sensual, mind-blowing sex.
His pulse
ramped up at the steamy memories, so much so that he had to shut down those
thoughts and focus on the present or his plan would be doomed before he even
started.
“Hope you
don’t mind if I join you.” Ian tucked his phone back into the pocket of the
cargo shorts he’d slid on over his swim trunks.
She halted in
front of him abruptly. Then, eyes sliding to the desk attendant, she stepped
closer. Probably she did it to minimize the chance of being overheard.
Ian liked the
opportunity to breathe in the scent of her—the lavender fragrance of the
detergent she washed her clothes in and a subtle perfume more complex than
that.
“What on
earth are you doing here?” She glanced over her shoulder. “You realize most of
the consultants working on the Foxfire are staying in this hotel? What will
they say if someone sees us together at this hour?”
“They’ll
think we had a whole lot more fun last night than they did.”
Last night,
he’d paced the floor of his penthouse suite for far too long, thinking through
every aspect of a contract marriage and what details he should include in the
paperwork.
In the end,
she would sign. But she wasn’t going to like him forcing her hand, and that
bothered him more than it should have.
“And that
doesn’t concern you? I happen to enjoy a hard-earned reputation as a
professional.” Her clipped words and the high color in her cheeks told him he’d
gotten under her skin in record time.
“If you don’t
want anyone to see us together, we might as well hit the beach. Take refuge in
the water.” His hand itched to touch her. To rest on the small of her back and
steer her out the door, across the street and onto the soft sand. But he had to
be careful not to push or she could dig her heels in about his suggestion and
delay the whole thing.
Now that he’d
made up his mind and seen the benefits of a union between the two of them, he
couldn’t think of one damn reason why he should delay.
After
narrowing her green eyes at him for an instant, she pivoted on her wedge
sandals and strode toward the exit.
He caught up
to her in two long steps, holding the door wide for her before as they headed
out onto Ocean Drive, which was strangely quiet in the predawn dark. There were
more joggers on the beach than bathers; a few runners kicked up sand as they
pounded past them.
“It’ll be
quieter down here.” He pointed out a stretch of the shore where no beach
loungers had been set up yet, a spot free from any hotel guests.
In fact, he’d
claimed the location for them earlier when he’d ordered a cabana and sunrise
breakfast. Lydia apparently didn’t notice his preparations, however, instead
appearing too absorbed in her frustrated march toward the water, her feet
churning through the sand at breakneck pace.
The horizon
was starting to smudge from inky black to purple as she reached the shoreline
and kicked off her shoes. Then she yanked the black mesh cover-up off and over
her head. Mesmerized by her silhouette as his eyes adjusted to the light, Ian
watched as she ran into the surf and made a shallow dive under an oncoming
wave… She was a woman of habit and that would serve him well now. He hoped. He
remembered how much she had enjoyed swimming first thing in the morning when
they were working together in the islands of Tahiti. He’d accused her of being
a mermaid with her daily need to return to the sea, but even when he’d been
bleary-eyed from working late the night before, he never missed a chance to
swim with her. For safety purposes, he’d told her, and not just because he
enjoyed the occasional chance to slide a hand beneath her bikini top or wind
the wet rope of her hair around his hand and angle her sea-salty lips for his
kiss.
Don't miss ANY of The McNeill Magnates
Four-time
RITA nominee Joanne Rock has never met a romance sub-genre she didn't
like. The author of over seventy books enjoys writing a wide range of stories,
most recently focusing on sexy contemporaries and small town family sagas. An
optimist by nature and perpetual seeker of silver linings, Joanne finds romance
fits her life outlook perfectly--love is worth fighting for. A frequent speaker
at regional and national writing conferences she enjoys giving back to the
writing community that nurtured and inspired her early career. She has a Masters
degree in Literature from the University of Louisville but credits her fiction
writing skills to her intensive study with friend and fellow author Catherine
Mann. When she's not writing, Joanne enjoys travel, especially to see her
favorite sports teams play with her former sports editor husband and three
athletic-minded sons.
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