Jackie Braun - Marrying the Manhattan Millionaire

“Maybe it isn’t a good idea for you to fraternize with the enemy.”

Michael shook his head. “I have to take issue with that comment.”

“Look, Michael—”

The rest of Sam’s reply never made it past her lips. Michael cut it off when he framed her face in his hands and leaned in to cover her mouth with his. The encounter was infused with all the passion and promise she remembered so vividly, though she’d done everything during the past seven years to forget it. They were both breathing hard and heavily when Michael pulled away. Afterwards, they stared at one another in stunned silence.

“Wow,” Sam murmured.

“Exactly.” Though Michael appeared to be just as dazed as she was, he also looked pleased. He touched her lips with the tip of one finger. “Now, that’s what’s called fraternizing with the enemy.”

Praise for Jackie Braun:

‘Jackie Braun’s MOONLIGHT AND ROSES

spins a familiar premise into a truly special story.

It’s sexy and funny, and the characters are fabulous.’

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

On EXPECTING A MIRACLE:

‘Jackie Braun has done it again—

penned a heartwarming novel of love and family.

Lauren and Gavin are both characters I made

an emotional connection with and came to care about

like close friends. Lauren is an admirable young

woman, getting out of a bad marriage rather than

give up her gift of a baby. Gavin is an honourable

hero, ignoring his attraction to the single mother until

her divorce is final. I found myself cheering these

two individuals on to make a family together, and

applauded each of their triumphs.’

— Cataromance.com

Jackie Braunis a three-time RITA ®finalist, three-time National Readers Choice Award finalist, and past winner of the Rising Star Award. She worked as a copy-editor and editorial writer for a daily newspaper before quitting her day job in 2004 to write fiction full-time. She lives in Michigan with her family. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.jackiebraun.com

Dear Reader

The idea for this book came in the middle of the night. I got out of bed, jotted down some notes, and was pleasantly surprised when they made sense in the morning. Believe me, that’s not always the case.

I imagined an intense rivalry between two advertising executives working in glamorous Manhattan. To complicate matters, I made them former lovers who are trying to land the same huge advertising account. For them, competition winds up being the ultimate aphrodisiac.

I hope you enjoy spending time with Samantha and Michael. As always, I’d love to hear what you think. You can contact me through my website at www.jackiebraun.com

Happy reading

Jackie Braun

BY

JACKIE BRAUN

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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For my nieces and nephews:

Jason, Michelle, Steve, Stacey, Joanne, Jackie, Abby,

Amy, Mary, Renee, Alex, Yui, Stephanie, Eric, Nicole,

Allison, Meredith, Garrett, Roman, Payton, Sammy,

Connor, Ben, Natalie, Todd and Elizabeth.

Remarkable young people, all.

CHAPTER ONE

“AND the winner is…”

During the infinitesimal pause before the presenter read the Addy Award recipient’s name, Samantha Bradford was sure her heart stopped beating.

This is it , she thought. This is my moment .

“Michael Lewis of the Grafton Surry Agency.”

Or not .

Sam straightened in her seat, pasted a smile on her face and joined in the applause. As her palms slapped together with stinging force, her gaze narrowed on the man who was striding across the stage of the Atlanta Herriman Hotel’s grand ballroom, buttoning the jacket of his superbly tailored suit as he went. She knew him well. He was admittedly handsome, sexy, smart, insightful and charismatic. He also sang off-key in the shower, preferred boxers to briefs, enjoyed watching old war movies, had the annoying habit of leaving the seat up and possessed an untouched trust fund whose worth was on par with the gross national product of some small countries.

Yes, she knew him that well.

Seven years earlier Samantha had been in love with him and blissfully counting down the days until she became his wife. They’d found advertising jobs in Los Angeles, put down a deposit on a town house and made all manner of grand plans for their new life together. Those plans never materialized. The reason no longer mattered as far as she was concerned, though at the time Michael had accused her of choosing her family over him. Sam saw things differently. Everything could have worked out if only the man had been capable of compromise.

They’d gone their separate ways, bitterness burning any bridge that might have remained. She’d been fine with that. Really. She’d patched up her heart, put her life back in order. Michael had moved to Los Angeles without her. Sam had stayed in Manhattan, but she too had moved on.

Then fifteen months ago he’d returned to the city and the advertising scene where she was now at the top of her game. Ever since then, all of the memories, both good and bad, that Sam had safely stored away kept threatening to tumble out. She found that damned irritating. She found the man to be even more so. Michael had taken a job with one of the city’s largest ad agencies and a key rival to the one where Sam worked, which was owned by her father. She and Michael had been in competition ever since, angling for each other’s clients and going head-to-head for the industry’s highest accolades.

Such as the Addy.

The hands that a moment ago had engaged in polite applause balled into fists in her lap. What made tonight’s loss all the more galling was the fact that just the previous month Michael had snatched up the honors she’d been nominated for in the print campaign category of the Clio Awards.

For anyone keeping score, and she knew damned well Michael was, tonight made it two and zip in his favor.

Sure enough, when he reached the podium and took the trophy in his hands, his gaze seemed to search the audience. She swore he was looking straight at her when he brought the Addy to his lips and gave it a lingering kiss. Afterward, he offered a sexy grin that had half the women in the room issuing a sigh and the other half wanting to. Sam’s stomach did a familiar little flip and roll, but she reminded herself that she’d long ago conquered the weakness that would have had her falling into either category.

“Some people might say it’s an honor just to be nominated for this award,” Michael began. “But I’ll let you in on a little secret. I really wanted to win this one. And victory is all the sweeter for having been chosen from a group of such talented people.”

He winked in her direction.

Why you arrogant son of a…

She let the thought go unfinished. Instead, she instructed herself to take a deep breath and hold it before releasing it slowly between her teeth. She knew from past experience that the relaxation technique worked, so she tuned out the rest of Michael’s short acceptance speech and continued, feeling some of her tension ebb away.