Susan Crosby - The Millionaire's Christmas Wife

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Cover

Title Page The Millionaire’s Christmas Wife Susan Crosby www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dedication For Steve—brother, friend and cohort in childhood adventures. Thanks for all the times you got me out of trouble—and into it.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Copyright

Susan Crosbybelieves in the value of setting goals, but also in the magic of making wishes, which often do come true—as long as she works hard enough. Along life’s journey she’s done a lot of the usual things—married, had children, attended college a little later than the average co-ed and earned a BA in English, then she dived off the deep end into a full-time writing career—a wish come true.

Susan enjoys writing about people who take a chance on love, sometimes against all odds. She loves warm, strong heroes and good-hearted, self-reliant heroines, and will always believe in happily ever after.

More can be learned about her at www.susancrosby.com.

For Steve—brother, friend and cohort in childhood adventures. Thanks for all the times you got me out of trouble—and into it.

Denise Watson wondered if Gideon Falcon would be on time for his three o’clock appointment. She was an if-I’m-not-five-minutes-early-I’m-late kind of person herself, but he didn’t come across as a man who kept a close eye on the clock.

Anticipating his arrival, she stood at a window of her corner office, overlooking a bustling downtown Sacramento intersection. She’d moved her domestic-and-clerical-help agency, At Your Service, to this prestigious location a year ago, after four years of growing the business. She loved the view of the city skyline from her window.

From three stories up, Denise spotted a motorcycle zip into a just-vacated space on the street below. It had to be Gideon. A motorcycle would suit him—he was in the business of adventure, after all, flying planes and helicopters into remote areas, guiding office-bound executives on treks into the wilderness. He wouldn’t use conventional transportation, not even in mid-December, with rain predicted by commute time.

She watched him unhook something long and narrow from the back of his bike, take off his helmet then stride toward her building.

Giving her hair a quick toss over her shoulders, Denise returned to her desk, surprised to hear her pulse pounding in her ears. She’d been more than a little attracted to Gideon that night a month ago at his brother David’s wedding, had danced with him for hours, neither of them taking another partner.

What woman wouldn’t be attracted? He was breath-takingly handsome, his hair a rich, dark brown, his eyes not just blue, but intense, see-into-your-soul blue. And his body…He had a body , all right. He was also about as opposite from her as anyone could be. A daredevil man and a cautious woman mixed about as well as the proverbial oil and water.

Then there was also the minor point that he hadn’t called her since.

Her receptionist buzzed her. It was exactly three o’clock. Denise walked out to the reception area to welcome him.

You cut your hair .

It was the first thing that popped into her head when she saw him. It hadn’t been superlong before, but long enough to curl down his neck some. Long enough to fall into his face when she’d taken off her heels and he’d leaned closer while they danced. Now he looked like…well, a businessman, although an edgy, rather dangerous one.

“Thank you for fitting me into your schedule,” Gideon said as they shook hands, his eyes sparkling as if he knew all the secrets of the universe—or at least the one about whether or not she found him tempting. He wore boots, blue jeans, a white dress shirt and black leather jacket, somehow making casual look chic, as much a dressed-for-success look for his line of work as her outfit was for hers.

“I had a cancellation,” she said. They walked toward her office. “It’s our busiest time of year, since lots of people need temporary help right before and after Christmas.”

“This is my least busy time.”

He said it easily, as if it didn’t bother him. Maybe he liked the down time, which would drive her crazy. Working satisfied her. “Can I take your jacket?” she asked.

“Thanks.” He leaned a cardboard tube against her desk and slipped off the jacket. She was tempted to wrap herself up in it and savor his body heat before hanging it up.

Why didn’t you call? The question she wanted to ask most was the one she couldn’t ask, even as she felt him checking her out as she moved to sit behind her desk. “How can I help you?” she asked.

“I need a wife.”

Disappointment landed on her. Ever since he’d made the appointment, she’d been hoping it was just a ploy to see her again. But it was only business, after all. She hadn’t been on his mind as he’d been on hers.

“A wife. Okay,” she said, all business now. She pulled her keyboard in front of her and brought up a Request-for-Domestic form. “What kind of skills are you looking for?”

“Wifely skills.”

She smiled slightly at that. “Can you be a little more specific? Our domestics do everything from errands to party prep to cleaning to child care.”

“I don’t need someone with any of those skills, actually. I need someone to be my wife.”

She took her fingers off the keyboard. “I think you have me confused with a matchmaking service.”

“You did a good job for my brothers.”

He really did want a wife? “Not intentionally.”

He slouched in his chair a little, crossed an ankle over a knee. “David called you uncanny, the way you match up employers and employees. You even found Noah a teacher. Not a typical staffing placement for your company, right?”

“That was pure luck. Tricia just happened to come along, and she was qualified. She wasn’t even looking for a teaching job.”

“And now she and Noah are getting married, and David has already tied the knot,” Gideon said easily. “Don’t people call your company Wives for Hire?”

“That is the unfortunate nickname that some people use, yes, because our employees assume many of the roles that a wife would.”

“Except they can’t have sex with the employer.”

Denise’s pulse fluttered. “There’s that, of course, but being a wife certainly entails more than what my company provides, regardless of the sex issue.”

“But in my case, what I need is a wife.” He paused. “Without the sex.”

“You mean a pretend wife?”

“Exactly.”

“Why?”

“To help me woo an investor to a project of mine.” His logic intrigued and confused her. “You have to be married to accomplish that?”