Barbara Dunlop: Next To Nothing!

Tyler also knew that nobody said no to a woman who looked and smelled, sounded and felt like Jenna.

He needed to stop this. He needed to let her down easy. She was the subject of his investigation, for goodness sakes.

“Tyler?” she breathed. She closed her eyes and leaned into him.

He clenched his hands into fists, trying to get the right words, the right phrases to form in his mind. But they didn’t. There was no way out of this without kissing her. Just a taste, he promised himself.

Aw, hell. Tyler gently pressed his lips against hers, but promised he wouldn’t pucker.

Jenna wound her arms around him, her soft body cradling his tightly.

A roar started in his ears and quickly overwhelmed his brain. Forget puckering, his lips parted. She tasted of sweet wine and summer sunshine.

Damn.

Dear Reader,

I love a hero with a secret. I particularly love a hero who has to choose between his secret and his principles. Add to that a sexy heroine who tempts him to compromise both, and you’ve got Tyler Reeves, private investigator, a man going quietly insane while he watches the one woman in the world he can’t possibly touch.

Growing up in Vancouver, Canada, I often drove with my family across the border to visit Seattle. With its towering hotels, exciting shopping and extraordinarily beautiful scenery, it remains one of my favorite cities. The last time I visited, my good friend Jane Porter drove me along the winding lakeshore roads to view the magnificent homes set between cedar forests and the rocky shore. This laid-back luxury was the inspiration for the Quayside hotel, the fictional setting for Next to Nothing!

I had a great time writing this story. I hope you enjoy the atmosphere of the West Coast.

Best wishes,

Barbara Dunlop

HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION

848—FOREVER JAKE

HARLEQUIN DUETS

54B—THE MOUNTIE STEALS A WIFE

Next to Nothing!

Barbara Dunlop

www.millsandboon.co.uk

For my editor, Kathryn Lye.

Thank you for your advice and encouragement,

and most of all for your unfailing patience.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Epilogue

“HE STILL OUT THERE?” Jenna McBride watched as her business partner, Candice Hammond, crossed in front of the waterfall fountain in the hospital’s new atrium lobby.

“Short guy?” asked Candice, her high heels clicking on the freshly finished sienna tile floor. “Balding. Doesn’t know polyester is dead?” She spoke loudly enough to be heard above the rushing water.

“That’s him.” Jenna snapped her pencil into the clasp at the top of her Canna Interiors clipboard. The closed-for-construction lobby was nearly empty now that most of the workers had left for the day. “Where on earth did Brandon find that guy?”

Jenna’s partner in Canna Interiors arched her perfect eyebrows, her dark lips curving up in a half smile that revealed the dimple in her left cheek. “One-nine-hundred aging gumshoe?”

Jenna shook her head and raked her auburn, shoulder-length hair back from her forehead. She was hot from working all day, and a fine sheen of sweat dampened her hairline.

“I can’t believe he’s still trying.” She’d finally broken off her engagement to Brandon four months ago. Then she’d moved from Boston to Seattle to put some distance between them.

“You always did live in denial,” said Candice as she settled on the bench facing the fountain, crossing one stocking-clad leg over the other. “Ol’ Brandon’s like the Energizer Bunny.”

“Not in bed,” scoffed Jenna, surprising herself with the moment of pithy honesty.

Candice’s eyes lit up with newfound admiration and humor. She sat slightly forward. “You’ve come a long way, baby.”

“Because I no longer think the sun rises and sets on Brandon Rice?” Jenna took a seat at the opposite end of the bench, curling one denim-covered calf beneath the opposite leg and setting her clipboard down next to her purse.

It was embarrassing to realize she’d been taken in so easily, and for such a long time. Naive and gullible. Book smart and life stupid. That was Jenna.

“Because you can finally admit he was a loser in bed,” said Candice, gazing at the water as it foamed against the natural rocks and sculpted mortar. Her short, chic hair curled against the collar of her jacket.

“It was kind of hard to tell in the thick of things,” said Jenna. She eased off her loafers, wiggling her toes.

The high ceiling fans sent a light breeze wafting down, but the mid-June sunshine had warmed the atrium.

Candice fought a smirk.

“It’s not like I’d done any comparison shopping,” Jenna added. “I was barely twenty-two when we met.”

She was twenty-six now. And, thanks to Candice, she had a second chance on life. A chance that didn’t include becoming Mrs. Brandon Rice—properly behaved trophy wife. Or was that properly behaved lap dog? Hard to know for sure.

“You don’t need vast personal experience to know three minutes is pathetic,” said Candice, giving her head a shake and rattling her silver earrings. “You just need the public library.” She cocked her head, contemplating the newly finished fountain. “You think the whale is too much?”

“The whale is perfect,” said Jenna, turning her attention to the brightly painted stone sculpture spouting beneath the waterfall, which was surrounded by tropical plants.

Forget uptight, three-minute Brandon, the kids were going to love that whale. The hospital board had asked for something with child-appeal when they’d given Canna Interiors the contract to decorate the pediatric lobby. Other than that, Candice and Jenna had been given a pretty free hand in the conceptual designs.

Jenna was proud of the results.

A collection of jumbo African animals adorned one corner. They were made of durable acrylic, and perfectly suited to climbing. Comfortable furniture groupings and lush plants dotted the high, glass-ceilinged room, and the carpet was a maze of brightly colored pathways twisting among cute, brown monkeys.

A week, maybe two at the most, and it would be ready to open. They were on time and on budget. And, on the strength of this project’s success, they’d been invited to submit designs to the public library.

A design invitation wasn’t a guarantee, but Jenna was finally beginning to feel optimistic about the future. After Candice had helped her see Brandon for the control freak he was, they’d moved clear across the country and pumped their life savings into a new interior design firm.

Though Jenna’s financial contribution was much lower than her friend’s, Candice had insisted they become equal partners. Jenna was determined to work day and night to prove her friend’s faith was justified.

“Why don’t you call him?” asked Candice, turning to peer enigmatically at Jenna.

“Call Brandon?” Jenna tucked her loose hair behind her ear, fingering the small gold stud in her lobe.

She hadn’t spoken to her ex-fiancé since she’d left him. In fact, it was Candice who’d insisted she break all ties. They’d burned all his letters, kept their apartment phone number unlisted and screened calls at the office.

“You want me to call Brandon?” Jenna repeated, having trouble with her friend’s about-face.

“Yes. I do.” Candice sat up straighter. “Maybe I was wrong.”

“You? Wrong?”

“I know.” Candice waved a hand in the air. “It’s hard to believe. But, maybe you should tell him once and for all that it’s over.”