Kimberly Lang - The Secret Mistress Arrangement

The mood shifted the moment Matt touched her.

Light flirtation was over. This was serious stuff. Ella tried to ignore his hand as he tucked the wayward strands behind her ear, but couldn’t. A shiver ran down her spine, and she couldn’t stop herself from leaning, just slightly, into his hand.

“You, Ella, are beautiful, smart, and can single-handedly organize large weddings.” He brushed her bangs back off her face. His hand slid down so that he cupped her cheek. His eyes locked with hers. “That’s impressive.”

He was so close Ella could feel his breath and the warmth radiating off his body. His voice and the gentleness of his hand hypnotized her. He had called her beautiful. This unbelievably gorgeous man had called her beautiful. Her mouth went dry, and she swallowed hard—again—but still couldn’t get her voice above a whisper. “I’d say you were the impressive one.”

To illustrate her point, she laid one hand on Matt’s broad shoulder, slid it down to where his biceps bulged under his shirt, and squeezed the hard muscle. She had meant to simply emphasize his size, but at her touch Matt’s breath caught, and his hand reflexively curled around the nape of her neck to pull her closer to him.

Kimberly Langhid romance novels behind her textbooks in junior high, and even a Master’s programme in English couldn’t break her obsession with dashing heroes and happily ever after. A ballet dancer turned English teacher, Kimberly married an electrical engineer and turned her life into an ongoing episode of When Dilbert Met Frasier. She and her Darling Geek live in beautiful North Alabama with their one Amazing Child—who, unfortunately, shows an aptitude for sports.

Visit Kimberly at www.booksbykimberly.com for the latest news—and don’t forget to say hi while you’re there!

This is Kimberly’s debut novel for Mills & Boon ® Modern Heat™ !

Dear Reader

I once heard someone describe his ten-year marriage as a ‘one-night stand that just got completely out of hand’. That lit my imagination. How could something so temporary and transient in its nature lead to a happily ever after? Could the intense spark of physical attraction that fuels a one-night stand really have staying power? So I took two characters who seemed likely candidates for a temporary arrangement—Ella, a commitment-phobic control freak, and Matt, a workaholic who lives in a different state—and let those sparks fly. THE SECRET MISTRESS ARRANGEMENT is the result.

Call me a hopeless romantic, but I love to fall in love. That’s why I read romance. But I really love that I’ve found a career where I can do that over and over again—and hopefully give that feeling to readers as well. As my first couple to come to life in the pages of a book, Matt and Ella will always have a special place in my heart. I hope they’ll earn a special place in yours.

All the best

Kimberly

BY

KIMBERLY LANG

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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To my wonderful husband Peter.

Thank you for believing I could do this and for your unwavering support while I did.

I’m very lucky to have you…

CHAPTER ONE

“DAMN, damn, damn!”

Matt leaned on the horn as a Cadillac swerved into his lane without indicating and slowed to about twenty-five miles an hour. He was now over an hour late for the wedding rehearsal, and at this rate he was going to miss the dinner, as well. In Matt Jacobs’s world, only idiots showed up late, and he didn’t like to be one.

He accelerated around the Caddy but suppressed the urge to flip the driver off. How could getting to a wedding be so difficult? Getting to Chicago from Atlanta should have been easy. But, no . Instead, a last-minute client meeting caused him to miss his flight out last night, and bad weather canceled or delayed all outgoing flights this morning. The resulting chaos at Hartsfield airport as the airlines reshuffled put him at O’Hare without even enough time to grab a shower before fighting the traffic out to the church in his old stomping grounds of Berwyn.

His cell phone rang. Glancing at the number, he contemplated ignoring it. He was on his first real vacation in three years, after all. Instead he answered the call on hands-free and barked instructions at the paralegal at the other end.

Swinging the rental car into a parking space at the church, he could see the caterer carrying food into the parish hall behind the sanctuary. At least he was still in time for dinner.

“Look, make the changes they want. It’s not a real problem. Just be sure to run the contract by Darren to double-check before anyone signs it. You all will have to handle this without me. I’ll check messages on Monday, but I’m turning my phone off now.” He tossed the phone into the glove compartment for good measure. He’d been accused of being a workaholic before, and it had served him well so far, but even he had his breaking point. They could damn well get by without him for a week.

The October breeze felt good after a day spent in airports and airplanes, but the nip it carried promised winter was not far behind. Grumbling, he grabbed his jacket from the backseat. He’d traded frigid, snowy winters for hot, sunnier climes years ago and never regretted it.

When he entered the church, he could see Brian surrounded by his family, playing the part of happy groom to the hilt, and several of his high-school friends milling about. He forgot about his disastrous afternoon as Brian caught his eye and waved and Jason, another of their childhood friends, approached Matt with a large grin.

“You made it. I was starting to wonder.”

“Me, too.” Matt ran a tired hand through his hair, wishing again he’d had time for a shower. “Did you pick up my tux?”

“It’s at Brian’s.”

“Thanks. How mad is Brian that I missed the rehearsal?”

“Oh, he’s fine about it. It’s Ella who’s spitting fire.” Jason nodded toward a group of women surrounding the bride.

“Who?”

“The maid of horrors. I’d steer clear if I were you.” Jason paused as a woman carrying a clipboard separated herself from the group and headed in their direction.

Oh, that Ella. In the three years Brian had been dating Melanie, he’d heard about her, but their paths had never crossed before now. “I think she’ll—”

“Too late. Someone’s told her you’re here. See ya.” Jason practically ran toward the other groomsmen, who called out greetings but made no attempt to come over and say hello to him.

Watching Jason hightail it away was strange enough, but the others’ attitudes were equally odd. What was that about? Matt turned his attention to the young woman purposefully approaching him, her high heels tapping on the stone floors.

She was petite, almost tiny really, but perfectly formed for her height. Silky dark hair brushed her shoulders and called attention to her fair skin. In a pale-blue dress that clung in all the right places and seemed to float around her shapely calves, she hardly looked like a harridan who would send Jason skittering off to the safety of the other groomsmen. As she got closer, he could see that what would have normally been a very pretty face was pinched with stress.