Christine d'Abo - Nailed

Warning: This show contains scenes of sexual tension.

Hosting a new TV show is a fantasy-turned-reality for diva decorator Sophia Holbrook. But concentrating on color swatches is hard when all she can think of is her studly cohost, contractor Fynn Babineau. These two may clash over blueprints and budgets on-screen, but with the lust palpable between them, rumor has it they have been putting more than just their heads together behind the scenes....

What secrets will the cameras expose? Tune in tonight to find out.

Viewer discretion advised. Mature audiences only.

Contemporary, sexy stories for sassy women

Cosmo Red-Hot Reads from Mills & Boon

www.millsandboon.co.uk/cosmo

For Mark.

You’re the only handyman I’ve ever needed. Love you always.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for picking up a copy of Nailed, my debut book with Cosmo Red-Hot Reads from Mills & Boon. I’m super excited to be sharing this story with you.

I’ve been telling stories for as long as I can remember. As a child, those stories got me in trouble with my parents. But as an adult, I’m fortunate to be able to tell them for a living.

Nailed was inspired by my love of home improvement shows. It’s safe to say that I’m addicted to watching the men and women on HGTV brighten the lives of those around them. Naturally, my mind took a turn for the naughty as my hero and heroine maneuver their way around each other on the set.

The heart of this book is about self-discovery and giving second chances. I’m a firm believer in second chances and the power of love. My heroine learns that in order to go forward, sometimes the past needs to be let go.

I hope you enjoy my debut Cosmo Red-Hot Reads from Mills & Boon book. I love to hear from readers, so please drop by my website, www.christinedabo.com.

Have fun and stay sexy,

Christine d’Abo

Nailed

Christine d’Abo

Contemporary, sexy stories for sassy women

Cosmo Red-Hot Reads from Mills & Boon

www.millsandboon.co.uk/cosmo

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Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter One

Production meeting for show Impact Load scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on site Monday. Walk-through and safety checks still required of building. Cam will be gaffing cables after meeting in prep for sound checks. Cast note: curious how Fynn will make out on this one—being pushed into spotlight and also working with the new girl. His preference to stay off camera won’t work this time if Carl has his way.

—Impact Load Production Notes, Brian Merrick, Director

It was a warm morning for early May in Toronto, and I wanted nothing more than to ditch my faux-leather jacket for something lighter. Not that I would. No friggin’ way. Not after the hours I’d spent picking this ensemble out, making sure I looked the part of the perfect television host. Today was launch day for Impact Load, my brand-new home-improvement show and dream come true. I only had one shot to make a good first impression on the production team and the film and building crews, which meant keeping my jacket in place and praying that I didn’t sweat like a man.

We were filming at Trinity House. God, I couldn’t believe I was back here after all this time. It’s weird how a place morphs into this giant thing in your brain as time passes. I was five when I first walked down this pathway toward the shelter with my mom. I swore the large house was actually a castle. It might as well have been given the tiny apartment we’d been living in previously. Now standing here, looking at the peaked roof and long windows with gingerbread woodwork and seeing how much the place had decayed since my mother and I had lived there, broke my heart. Twenty years can change a lot.

I would breathe life back into this place if I had to change out every single board in the building with my own bare hands. I owed it not only to Trinity House, but to myself. I had to give back to the place that gave me and my mom a fresh start, to ensure that other families would have a place to go. Plus, adding some stained-glass inlays to provide additional color and life would show off my design style for the show. That was the whole point of the program after all.

“Dammit, they’re all single-pane windows. That’s going to be expensive to switch out.”

I jumped and spun around so quickly my coffee sloshed out from the opening of its plastic lid and burned the side of my hand. “Shit!”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The man was incredibly handsome, though his scowl made his full lips sag and his laugh lines droop. His black hair lacked any sort of obvious product and yet still managed to lie in exactly the best way possible to highlight his crystal-blue eyes. He looked familiar—I felt like I had seen him before. Or maybe it was just those insanely good looks.

He cleared his throat as his gaze slipped down my body.

Oh, hello there. “That’s okay. Good to know my coffee can wake me up one way or the other.” I’m not a natural flirt, but I like to try whenever the opportunity allows. This guy was a temptation I wouldn’t be able to resist. Plus, it would add some sizzle to my Monday morning.

“A shame. It’s a waste of good caffeine.” He wasn’t bad in the flirting department either. He hooked his thumb on his belt close to his groin, his fingers rubbing a small circle across the denim. Oh, yeah—that got me looking all right.

I jutted my hip out a bit when his gaze tracked down my legs. He looked away briefly, only for his gaze to flick up to my throat, which I immediately touched. I swore I heard his swallow from where I stood. “I’m sure I can find more if I need it.”

The hand that held his tablet flexed, causing the muscles of his biceps to flex. “I have no doubt you’d find an endless supply.”

I countered with a smile that Tamara once told me could melt any man’s heart. “No doubt.”

His frown morphed into a tiny smirk.

I shouldn’t preen, but damn he was hot—and it had been more than a little while for me. Yet this guy already seemed different from the typical type of guy I’d normally find following me at the bars. I immediately got a laid-back vibe from him, as though he was a man who’d be just as happy curled up on the couch watching television with a woman as he’d be actively seducing one. I liked TV as much as the next girl.

Almost as much as I liked getting seduced.

Tucking my hair behind my ear, I licked the now-cool coffee off the back of my hand. His eyes widened for a moment, but he didn’t look away. All too easy.

When his gaze lifted back to mine, a shiver of desire shot straight through me. I shouldn’t get wet from a single heated look from a guy, even if he was more than a little good-looking. That’s not normally my style.