Dani Wade - Son Of Scandal

“Dance with me?”

Sometimes desire has wicked consequences...

A member of Savannah’s most influential family, Paxton McLemore has his life planned out. Until one dance at a masquerade ball leads to a night of passion with his assistant, Ivy Harden. Now Ivy is pregnant, and Paxton is falling hard. But the masks are coming off...revealing Ivy’s true identity and rekindling a blood feud that will rock Savannah society!

DANI WADEastonished her local librarians as a teenager when she carried home ten books every week—and actually read them all. Now she writes her own characters, who clamor for attention in the midst of the chaos that is her life. Residing in the Southern United States with a husband, two kids, two dogs and one grumpy cat, she stays busy until she can closet herself away with her characters once more.

Also by Dani Wade

His by Design

Reining in the Billionaire

Unbridled Billionaire

A Family for the Billionaire

A Bride’s Tangled Vows

The Blackstone Heir

The Renegade Returns

Expecting His Secret Heir

Taming the Billionaire

Son of Scandal

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Son of Scandal

Dani Wade

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09218-0

SON OF SCANDAL

© 2019 Katherine Worsham

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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This book is dedicated to everyone

who helped me through one of the hardest times

in my life, also known as January 2018.

My sister, Ella (as always!). My mother.

My husband and children. My coworkers.

The Playfriends. My editor.

And all the readers and author friends

who reached out to me on Facebook to offer

encouragement and prayers.

This book would never have been

finished without you!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Epilogue

About the Publisher

One

“Dance with me?”

Ivy looked at the outstretched hand, surprised and nonplussed at the same time. Her own fingers clenched over the itch in her palm. The itch that told her to reach out, to take what she coveted.

After a year and a half of carefully keeping Paxton McLemore at arm’s length, did she dare step in close for a waltz?

They were at a masquerade ball, after all. The most glamorous charity event of the year, planned by her sister Jasmine Harden, Savannah’s most noted event planner. Dancing with Paxton would be a natural action. One that wouldn’t be judged by those around them, even though he was her employer. But she would know. Could she successfully hide how she felt when she was that close?

Though he wore a traditional black mask, she’d recognize his brilliant amber eyes anywhere—not just because of the intense color, but also the ever-present flash of intelligence and intuition she observed every day as his executive assistant.

It was just a dance... Why did she hesitate?

Suddenly he wiggled the fingers of the hand she had left dangling by her indecision. She smiled; the silly gesture was a charming reminder of the lighthearted moments they shared every day at work.

Ivy finally reached her hand out to his.

“You know, there’s been a change in my office,” Paxton said as his warm fingers curled around hers. “This new assistant came to work for me, and she makes me smile every day.”

A glow warmed Ivy’s core as he lifted her hand to graze her knuckles with his sculpted lips. She glanced down at their clasped hands as Paxton led her toward the dance floor in Keller House’s renovated ballroom.

Though she should be focused on doing her part to make sure the incredible masquerade ball her sister had orchestrated ran smoothly, Ivy let thoughts of caterers and fund-raisers and responsibility fall away. But with a single touch, the struggle to breathe became real. It took her a moment to realize the truth—Paxton had never touched her before this.

Oh, she went out of her way to make him smile at the office, to soften the strain of his intense focus on work. Though her crush had intensified since she’d been working for him, she’d kept her actions and words strictly professional.

No touching. Until tonight.

Before she could register what was happening, they’d moved onto the dance floor and Paxton had turned to face her. He opened his arms, inviting her in. Ivy blinked—once, twice.

This is dangerous.

She chose to ignore her mind’s warnings. Ivy stepped forward, and they took the waltz position, but didn’t move. Instead Paxton’s eyes widened at the initial contact, as if he, too, could feel the electric shock as they embraced.

Then his eyelids lowered to half-mast, taking on a slumberous, sexy look. A look she’d only seen in her fantasies.

Her heartbeat sped up, thrumming at the base of her throat. He took the first step, leading her in a modern-day version of the traditional dance.