SUSAN MEIER - The Boss's Fake Fiancée

The perfect fake fiancée—his assistant!

Billionaire Mitcham Ochoa never expected to be the best man for his brother and his own ex! But what better way to prove he’s over her than to have his very own “fiancée” at his side?

PA Lila Ross has had a crush on her boss since day one, but surely pretending to be his fiancée is a step too far? She knows she’ll be heartbroken when she has to walk away... Only Mitch is beginning to find Lila as indispensable in life as she is in the office!

Mitch turned to the door, then faced her again. “And don’t worry about missing me while I’m busy. I’ve arranged for us to have a private dinner here in the apartment tonight.”

Lila’s breath froze. Private dinner? She remembered those thirty seconds when he’d yanked her against him on the dance floor. The sizzle. The confusion.

And the longing.

She fought the urge to squeeze her eyes shut. She’d had a crush on this man forever. When he’d pulled her so close… well, her thoughts had spun out of control and she’d felt so many wonderful things.

What if he’d felt them too?

Oh, boy .

The words “private dinner” took on a whole new meaning.

But he opened the door and was gone before Lila could blink, let alone argue. She straightened her shoulders. She wasn’t going to fall into the trap of thinking he intended to seduce her. They’d shared one “crackly” moment the night before. He hadn’t instantly fallen in love with her. He probably wanted them to have dinner alone so he could catch her up on whatever happened at the family business meeting that day.

She was, after all, his assistant…

The Boss’s Fake Fiancée

Susan Meier

www.millsandboon.co.uk

SUSAN MEIER is the author of over fifty books for Mills & Boon. The Tycoon’s Secret Daughter was a Romance Writers of America RITA® Award finalist, and Nanny for the Millionaire’s Twins won the Book Buyers’ Best Award and was a finalist in the National Readers’ Choice Awards. She is married and has three children. One of eleven children, she loves to write about the complexity of families and totally believes in the power of love.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text The perfect fake fiancée—his assistant! Billionaire Mitcham Ochoa never expected to be the best man for his brother and his own ex! But what better way to prove he’s over her than to have his very own “fiancée” at his side? PA Lila Ross has had a crush on her boss since day one, but surely pretending to be his fiancée is a step too far? She knows she’ll be heartbroken when she has to walk away... Only Mitch is beginning to find Lila as indispensable in life as she is in the office!

Introduction Mitch turned to the door, then faced her again. “And don’t worry about missing me while I’m busy. I’ve arranged for us to have a private dinner here in the apartment tonight.” Lila’s breath froze. Private dinner? She remembered those thirty seconds when he’d yanked her against him on the dance floor. The sizzle. The confusion. And the longing. She fought the urge to squeeze her eyes shut. She’d had a crush on this man forever. When he’d pulled her so close… well, her thoughts had spun out of control and she’d felt so many wonderful things. What if he’d felt them too? Oh, boy . The words “private dinner” took on a whole new meaning. But he opened the door and was gone before Lila could blink, let alone argue. She straightened her shoulders. She wasn’t going to fall into the trap of thinking he intended to seduce her. They’d shared one “crackly” moment the night before. He hadn’t instantly fallen in love with her. He probably wanted them to have dinner alone so he could catch her up on whatever happened at the family business meeting that day. She was, after all, his assistant…

Title Page The Boss’s Fake Fiancée Susan Meier www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author SUSAN MEIER is the author of over fifty books for Mills & Boon. The Tycoon’s Secret Daughter was a Romance Writers of America RITA® Award finalist, and Nanny for the Millionaire’s Twins won the Book Buyers’ Best Award and was a finalist in the National Readers’ Choice Awards. She is married and has three children. One of eleven children, she loves to write about the complexity of families and totally believes in the power of love.

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

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

“I THINK YOU’RE going to have to do more than show up at the wedding.”

Mitcham Ochoa tossed his pen to his desk and glared at his cousin Riccardo. It wasn’t exactly like looking in a mirror when he saw Riccardo, but it was close. All the Ochoa men had dark hair and dark eyes. Most were tall. The same age, Mitch and Riccardo didn’t just share physical characteristics; they behaved like brothers and knew everything there was to know about each other. Both had also been dumped by a woman they thought they wanted to marry. Except Riccardo had been broken to his very core when his fiancée chose her former boyfriend over him and Mitch eventually realized he hadn’t really loved Julia. Because Riccardo knew that, Mitch was not pleased with what Riccardo was hinting.

“I’m over her.”

Riccardo winced. “You know that and I know that, but it isn’t every day that a woman leaves her boyfriend for his brother, and then the jilted brother is asked to be the best man at their wedding. Tongues are going to wag, my friend. Everybody’s going to watch every move you make. Unless—”

“Unless what?”

“Unless you have no reason to be jealous.”

Righteous indignation whipped through Mitch and he bounced out of his tall-back black leather office chair. If anybody knew Mitch felt nothing but happiness for his brother and Julia, it was Riccardo. It annoyed the hell out of him that his cousin was pushing this nonissue. “I have no reason to be jealous!”

“Your brother is the oldest. He got the CEO-ship of your family’s business. He stole your girlfriend.”

Mitch growled.

“And let’s face it. He’s better looking.”

Mitch tossed his pen at Riccardo, who ducked.

“It’s reactions like that that will have Nanna fussing over you for the two weeks we’re in Spain celebrating this wedding. Do you want to have Nanna hovering?”

Finally seeing what Riccardo was doing, he slowly lowered himself to his seat again. “No.” Oh, Lord. He did not want Nanna hovering. His mother would be bad enough, but his grandmother? If she thought he was having even one iota of sadness over Julia marrying his brother, she’d do everything but spoon-feed him his dessert and make him look pathetic, when he wasn’t. Finding his brother in his bedroom with his girlfriend two years ago hadn’t been upsetting as much as it had been a wake-up call that rippled through his whole life. Losing Julia had put him back into the dating pool where he’d realized maybe their “love” was more about convenience than real emotion. They’d been together so long that staying together just seemed like the right thing to do. Recognizing the mistake he’d almost made in the name of comfort had jarred him. And now he was smarter, sharper, alert to the pitfalls of getting too comfortable with anything.