Jill Monroe - Tall, Dark and Filthy Rich

Six winners. Six fantasies .

SIX MILLION DOLLAR SECRETS…

Plain Jane Kurtz is going to use her winnings to discover

her inner vixen. But what’s it really going to cost her?

She Did a Bad, Bad Thing by Stephanie Bond Available from Mills & Boon® Blaze® in July 2008

* * *

New girl in town Nicole Reavis is on a journey to find

herself. But what else will she discover along the way?

Underneath It All by Lori Borrill Available from Mills & Boon® Blaze® in August 2008

* * *

Risk taker Eve Best is on the verge of having everything

she’s ever wanted. But can she take it?

The Naked Truth by Shannon Hollis Available from Mills & Boon® Blaze® in September 2008

* * *

Young, cocky Zach Haas loves his instant popularity,

especially with the women. But can he trust it?

For Lust or Money by Kate Hoffmann Available from Mills & Boon® Blaze® in October 2008

* * *

Solid, dependable Cole Crawford is ready to shake

things up. But how “shook up” is he prepared to handle?

Tall, Dark and Filthy Rich by Jill Monroe Available from Mills & Boon® Blaze® in November 2008

* * *

Wild child Liza has always just wanted to belong.

But how far will she go to get it?

What She Really Wants for Christmas by Debbi Rawlins Available in the M&B™ collection He r Christmas Temptati on in December 2008

JILL MONROE

makes her home in Oklahoma with her family. When not writing, she spends way too much time on the internet completing “research” or updating her blog. Even when writing, she’s thinking of ways to avoid cooking.

Dear Reader,

Have you ever thought about winning the lottery?

Yes? Me, too! Only about a billion times. I’ve played the “What if I won a million?” on many a boring road trip.

One thing that never figures into those dreams – the problems that would arise from that kind of notoriety and that kind of cash. Cole Crawford wasn’t expecting those difficulties either. Nor was he expecting the kind of delicious turmoil Jessie Huell would bring into his life.

Cole and Jessie’s story was a lot of fun to write. I even played the lottery a time or two to really get the research! OK, I probably would have played it anyway. That one hundred and twenty million powerball jackpot is a hard thing to resist. If I win, the pizza will be on me!

I’d love to hear from you. E-mail me at jill@ jillmonroebooks.com or visit me on the web at www.jillmonroe.com.

All my best,

Jill

BY

JILL MONROE

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Thanks to my husband and family.

I love you and treasure your support.

Special thanks to Gena Showalter – a great

dancer who’s taught me all her best moves.

Please note what DOES happen to those who

steal garden gnomes.

Thanks also to Sheila Fields, Donnell Epperson

and Betty Sanders, who always make me laugh

and are always there for me. And to

Kassia Krozser, whose name is always

on my dedication page.

To my friends Jennifer and Karen, who’ve put up

with a lot during this book. Thanks. I promise to

return to all sweetness and light shortly.

I also want to thank the other authors from the

MILLION DOLLAR SECRETS books and

Kathryn Lye. It was great fun working

with all of you.

1

“EVER THINK MAYBE YOU’RE in the wrong line of work?” Dana, the reporter from the Atlanta Daily News , asked in a bored tone as she flipped a Skittle into her mouth.

“No. Why?” Jessica Huell shrugged. So much for the great article the reporter planned to write about Atlanta’s Most Interesting Professionals. Clearly, Jessie’s execution of her current job was proving to be a dud, and she’d really hoped the exposure from the proffered feature in the newspaper would swing a little more business her way.

Movement caught her eye. “Wait, get down,” Jessie said, as she pushed Dana’s head below the dashboard.

Both women scrunched low, toward the floorboard of Jessie’s car, which was littered with sacks of fast food they’d eaten earlier that night.

Jessie listened. They’d cracked the windows for a little air and to hear the night sounds more easily. At two in the morning, this residential street in Atlanta was quiet. She easily heard the clap of high-heeled shoes on the sidewalk. The opening and closing of a car door. The turning of an engine.

After counting to ten, Jessie poked her head up over the steering wheel. The blue car. Bingo . She watched as it drove down the street, then turned left. She counted another ten seconds and then slowly took the same path.

Dana sat up in her seat and rubbed the muscles of her neck. “This wrecks that ‘female private investigators are cool’ thing I was going for.”

Good. Jessie curled her fingers around the steering wheel in satisfaction. Being an investigator could be dangerous and exciting, but when people were drawn to the job for those qualities, that’s when folks started getting hurt. Her job entailed hard work, long nights and little sleep. With “boring” thrown in to smooth out the rough edges. A whole lot of boring.

“Whew, I’m glad that’s over,” Dana said as she rummaged in her purse for something, obviously ready for her one night of undercover to be over. “I don’t know how much longer I could stand being in this car.”

“Well, we still have a ways to go.”

The reporter stopped applying her lip gloss. “Why? You already have the picture of him with the woman.”

Jessie dropped back farther from the car she was trailing. Even in a big city like Atlanta, a car closely following another would be suspicious after 2:00 a.m. “A picture tells only part of the story. We don’t know who the woman is. What her relationship is to Mr. Roberts.”

Dana scoffed. “She hugged him, then stayed in his home for over three hours. I don’t think she was the maid. Not with those shoes.”

Those were some pretty sexy stilettos. Not that Jessie was much of a shoe person. Not much call for high-heeled sling-backs in her line of work, in spite of the Hollywood image.

Smiling, she kept an eye on the sedan several car lengths ahead. They were back on side streets, where only an occasional streetlight or neon sign broke the darkness. They’d be hitting a residential neighborhood soon. She gave a silent plea that the car would lead her to a house with an address rather than to an apartment complex. Those were the worst. A lot of effort wasted on a dead end.

Yes! The owner of the nonmaid shoes was pulling into a paved driveway. Jessie held back, waiting for the woman to enter her home before driving past.

Then she slowly moved forward, looking as casual as she could. Just an insomniatic neighbor out for a drive. Or maybe a desperate mother hoping to get her baby to sleep. Whatever. Blending in. Appearing like someone who belonged there. That was her strength; she’d never been one to stand out. She hated flash, and unlike the reporter beside her, Jessie had never applied lip gloss in a moving vehicle. She wouldn’t even know how to take care of a highlight.