Tara Pammi - A Hint of Scandal

Notorious socialite in over her head?

Olivia Stanton’s name has been synonymous with scandal—every bad choice scrutinized in the headlines—but she’s finally getting herself together. That is, until her twin sister disappears right before her wedding and Olivia’s needed to stand in—as the bride!

Alexander King’s ruthless determination for perfection is world renowned and he’ll make Olivia pay for her latest stunt—by enforcing their marriage vows! He expects her to be the model wife in public. And in private? With her feisty attitude and his strong will, it won’t be long before the tension between them reaches boiling point!

Liv gripped the counter behind her. “I can’t go anywhere with you. We hate each other, remember?”

Alexander laughed. The rippling sound of it surrounded her in overwhelming waves.

“Yes, but not as much as I hate being front-page fodder for trashy tabloids.”

“This isn’t funny.” She moved away from the intoxicating scent of the dratted man. “I have to do a pitch for our agency in two weeks. I can’t miss it.”

“Still playing at being the hardworking career woman? Give it up, Olivia. You don’t have it in you.”

She pushed out the fury scratching at her throat and steadied herself. “It’s your honeymoon, Alexander. No one will know you’re by yourself unless you advertise it.”

His fingers gripped her arm and turned her around. His gaze was frantic in its search of hers. “You truly live in your own world, don’t you?” Bitterness laced his every word. “The press hounds me wherever I go, whatever I do, and I refuse to throw even a morsel of scandal their way. If you’re not going to tell me the truth, you’re damn well going to stick with me until Kim’s back.”

THE SENSATIONAL STANTON SISTERS

Notoriety has a new name!

The exploits of the famous— or should that be infamous —Stanton Sisters are guaranteed to sell newspapers the world over.

While they are physically identical, the sisters are as different as night and day.

Olivia Stanton can create scandal from thin air, but this bad girl is desperate to be oh-so-good. Until she comes face to face with the one man whose dark looks are a temptation too far!

Kimberly Stanton is a stunning socialite with a brilliant head for business. But when her dirty little secret comes back to haunt her Kim’s entire life is turned upside down!

One thing’s for sure—both deserve the middle name ‘trouble’ with a capital T!

And what of the men sent to tame them?

We wish them luck!

Read Tara Pammi’s stunning debut in:

A HINT OF SCANDALOctober 2013

Kimberly’s story A TOUCH OF TEMPTATION is available November 2013

A Hint of Scandal

Tara Pammi

www.millsandboon.co.uk

TARA PAMMIcan’t remember a moment when she wasn’t lost in a book—especially a Mills & Boon ®romance, which provided so much more excitement to a teenager than a mathematics textbook. It was only years later, while struggling with her two-hundred-page thesis in a basement lab, that Tara realised what she really wanted to do: write a romance novel. She already had the requirements—a wild imagination and a love for the written word.

Tara lives in Colorado with the most co-operative man on the planet and two daughters. Her husband and daughters are the only things that stand between Tara and a full-blown hermit life with only books for company.

Tara would love to hear from readers. She can be reached at tara.pammi@gmail.com or her website www.tarapammi.com

This is Tara’s stunning debut, we hope you love it as much as we do!

Did you know these are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

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For my real-life hero, my husband Raghu, for being my biggest supporter, my strength, and the wind beneath my writing wings.

For the Minxes of Romance— for being the most generous and awesome online family I could ever ask for.

For my editor Pippa, for her incredible patience and invaluable advice— this wouldn’t have been possible without you.

Contents

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

EXCERPT

CHAPTER ONE

“KIMBERLY, DO YOU take this man, Alexander King, to be your lawfully wedded husband, until death do you part?”

Nooooo.

Olivia Stanton looked around in alarm. Had she said it aloud? Her fingers slipped on the satin ribbon that held the elaborate orchid and white rose bouquet in her hand. Her heart pounded. The calm, bespectacled priest looked back at her patiently. She released the breath she’d been holding and pulled another one in. The scent of the flowers in her hand enveloped her, the sweet smell intensifying her panic.

Seconds ticked by. The silent anticipation of the guests behind was her a tidal wave threatening to pull her under.

Her gaze collided with Alexander King’s: blue, cool and unflappable. His composure in the face of her anxiety grated on her already-taut nerves. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. Her heart roared in her ears, a thundering beat in contrast to the silence enclosing them.

She couldn’t do this. Yes, they had done it before, Kim and she—pretended to be each other. Usually Kim pretended to be Liv, to save her from getting into trouble with their father, with the school authorities. So she owed it to Kim. Her successful, accomplished twin had saved her ass more times than Liv could count.

But to marry Alexander King in her place... An extreme step even for her.

“I can’t marry him today. I’ll be back soon.”

Her twin’s words rang in her ears. If Kim, who was ever dependable and unwavering, had to leave at the last minute, in a panic, surely it had to be something serious. Wouldn’t Alexander understand if she pulled him aside and explained everything?

“Don’t tell Alex. He’ll be disappointed in me. He despises even a hint of scandal.”

What kind of a man was her twin involved with if she couldn’t confide in him over her doubts on the most important day of their lives?

A hand at her elbow, the touch infinitely gentle, pulled her back into the waking nightmare. She tilted her head. Alexander’s blue gaze trapped hers, shooting questions she wasn’t equipped to answer. Yet his gaze was gentle. He must care for her sister, for she had never spied a trace of tenderness in him before. Because even in the very little time she had spent with her sister’s successful, intensely private fiancé, Olivia had realized that Alexander King hated her guts.

“I don’t want to lose him.”

Kim’s desperate plea pumped blood back into her numb brain. Ungluing her tongue from the roof of her mouth, Olivia took a deep breath and uttered the scariest words of her life. “I do.”