Louisa George - Enemies with Benefits

THE FLAT IN NOTTING HILL

Love and lust in the city that never sleeps!

Izzy, Tori and Poppy are living the London dream—sharing a big flat in Notting Hill, they have good jobs, wild nights out … and each other.

They couldn’t be more different, but one thing is for sure: when they start falling in love they’re going to be very glad they’ve got such good friends around to help them survive the rollercoaster …!

ENEMIES WITH BENEFITSby Louisa George

When I was invited to participate in a continuity series for the Modern Tempted™ line I was absolutely thrilled, and when I found out who my co-writing partners in crime were I knew we were in for a fun and very special time. I’m a huge fan of authors Nikki Logan, Joss Wood and Charlotte Phillips, so creating characters and stories with them was a real treat.

The Flat in Notting Hill series follows four couples—eight very busy people—living, working and falling in love in London. For my couple, Poppy and Isaac, that means living and occasionally working together whilst ignoring the attraction between them that has been simmering for years!

Poppy made a big mistake a long time ago and has been trying to make amends ever since—with the consequence of not fully living her life. Isaac, on the other hand, with his own demons to conquer, has grabbed life by the horns and thoroughly made his mark by being very successful in his business life but not so much in his personal one. It takes one night of them being left alone together in the flat for the tensions to come simmering to the surface and for them to take a step into unknown and very uncertain territory.

It was such fun to write about a cast of characters who have become family to each other over the years, and to steer Poppy and Isaac along towards the future they both deserve—even though they’re very reluctant from the outset! And setting a book in London is always great for me as it brings back wonderful memories of living there (in a flat in Notting Hill too!).

I hope you enjoy Poppy and Isaac’s story. This is book four in the series, so if you want to find out what happens to Izzy and Harry, Alex and Lara, and Tori and Matt their books are THE MORNING AFTER THE NIGHT BEFORE, SLEEPING WITH THE SOLDIER and YOUR BED OR MINE? I know you’ll love their stories too.

For all my writing and release news visit me at www.louisageorge.com

Louisa x

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Having tried a variety of careers in retail, marketing and nursing (where a scratchy starched uniform was mandatory), LOUISA GEORGEis now thrilled that her dream job of writing for Mills & Boon® means she gets to go to work in her pyjamas.

Originally from Yorkshire, England, Louisa now lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with her husband, two sports-mad teenage sons and two male cats. Writing romance is her opportunity to covertly inject a hefty dose of pink into her heavily testosterone-dominated household.

When she’s not writing or reading Louisa loves to spend time with her family and friends, enjoys travelling, and adores eating great food (preferably cooked by someone else). She’s also hopelessly addicted to Zumba®.

Visit her at www.louisageorge.com

To Nikki Logan, Joss Wood and Charlotte Phillips—thanks so much for the fun and the friendship during the creation of this wonderful apartment and the people in it. It was an absolute pleasure working with you all—I hope we can do it again some time.

To #TeamKISS for help with the cocktail names—many thanks to you all! I hope we all get to have a Merry Margarita together one day!

This book is dedicated to my fabulous editor Flo Nicoll. Thank you for your continued support, help and advice—you are amazing!

Cover

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

DEDICATION

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

Copyright

1st December. Operation Christmas

CHRISTMAS MUSIC. CHECK.

Dodgy Christmas tree and decorations from attic. Check.

Decent bottle of red and one extra-large glass. Check … Oops … one bottle down. Better make that two bottles of decent red …

Poppy Spencer dumped the years-old artificial tree by the corner window and started to pull back its balding branches, creating a kind of … sort of battered tree shape.

It was about time someone in this apartment got into the Christmas spirit and if that meant she had to do it on her own, then she would. So what if her AWOL flatmates were too busy to care about the festive season? She had to do something to fill the long, empty holiday that stretched ahead of her.

‘Never mind, poor thing.’ She was talking to a tree? That was what being alone in a flat, which until recently had resembled a very busy Piccadilly Station, did to a reasonably sane woman. ‘Looks like it’s just you and me. We’ll soon have you shipshape and looking pretty and sparkly for when everyone comes home. Cheers.’

She chinked a branch with her glass and took a large gulp. There were few things in life that beat a good Shiraz. It went down rather quickly, coating her throat with the taste of blackberries and … well, wine. She poured another. ‘And here’s to absent friends.’ All of them. And there appeared to be more going absent every day.

The box of baubles and decorations seemed to have ended up in a similar state to the tree: a nibbled corner, depilated tinsel. Mice perhaps? Surely not rats? She shuddered, controlling the panicky feeling in her tummy … Rats were horrific, nightmare-inducing, disease-ridden rodents and mice their evil little siblings.

So maybe she wasn’t alone after all.

Standing still, she held her breath and listened. No telltale scurrying, no squeaks. Quiet. The flat was never quiet. Ever.

Oh, and there was some woman crooning about not wanting a lot for Christmas. Yeah, right, said no woman ever.

Note to self : ask big brother, Alex, to look for evidence of four-legged friends—the man had fought in Afghanistan; he was more than equipped to deal with a little mouse infestation.

Second note to self : Unfortunately, Alex was sunning himself on an exotic beach somewhere with Lara. And Isaac, the only other male flatmate, was … well, hell, who ever knew where Isaac was? He was like a sneaky, irritating nocturnal magician, here one minute, gone the next, probably expanding his über-trendy bar portfolio along with his list of short-term female conquests.