exhilaration. True, he’d been searching for an assistant, and had subsequently been drowning in paperwork for the last month. Finding Myrna’s replacement would take a load off of his mind as well as his sagging in-box.
Then he thought of Crickitt’s startled expression from earlier and felt the smile spread across his face again. Watching her go from crying to confident had been the best reward of all.
The moment reminded him of landing a new account at work. His clients were entrepreneurs who often came to him fraught with worry. Staffing, selling, accounting, and every moving part of the business was overwhelming when it rested on one person’s shoulders.
Handling the mundane but necessary details that kept businesses humming along without sending their owners in search of a razor blade was what Shane did best. He thought he’d caught a glimpse of that same kind of relief on Crickitt’s face tonight.
Shane stood up and headed for the shower, grateful tomorrow was Sunday. Maybe he’d reward himself by sleeping in for a change. He flipped on the bathroom light, stopping short of going in when he caught sight of his mother’s picture hanging in the hallway.
She smiled back at him, her gold-brown eyes open and inviting. In the photo she’d been the age Shane was now. She’d die later that year, just shy of his fourteenth birthday. The faded image showed her pressing a pie crust into a pan, her red-and-white apron covered in flour. Seeing it made him wish his father hadn’t thrown away everything of hers after she’d passed away.
That sobering thought swept away whatever was left of his buoyant mood. His legs felt suddenly tired, his heart heavy, as he spun the knobs on the large stone-walled shower.
He stepped beneath the spray considering the very real possibility Crickitt hadn’t been grateful for his butting in. She could have been lying about her work experience, or about her intentions of showing up tomorrow. And while he’d like to think her tears were genuine, she could have played up the damsel in distress routine for attention.
As the steaming water pounded against his taut neck muscles, he thought of how being prepared for the worst was wiser than being blindsided.
That was one lesson from his childhood he didn’t have to be taught twice.
Don’t miss these other fantastic Forever titles.
IF YOU CAN’T STAND THE HEAT…
Photographer Lili DeLuca spends all her time managing her family’s Italian restaurant, instead of following her dream of getting an MFA. When famous British chef Jack Kilroy unexpectedly challenges her father to a cook-off, Lili decides she’s tired of playing it safe and vows to seduce the tempting Brit. But once a video of her and Jack kissing goes viral and her luscious butt starts trending on Twitter, Lili fears she’s cooked up a recipe for disaster…
…GET INTO THE BEDROOM
Jack Kilroy’s celebrity has left him feeling used and used up. While Lili’s oh-so-sexy moans when she tastes his delicious creations turn him on, he’s even more aroused by how unimpressed this beautiful, funny woman is with his fame. He knows they could be amazing together, if she could only see past his bitch fork-wielding fan base. Now, as he’s about to start a new prime-time TV cooking show, can Jack convince Lili to realize her own ambitions—and turn up the heat in his kitchen?
WHEN YOU GO LOOKING FOR TROUBLE…
Avery Price is taking her life back. Fleeing her überrich, overbearing family, and an arranged wedding to a wealthy, cheating fiancé, she trades couture for country and makes her way to Trouble, Wyoming. Going incognito gives her the chance to try things the old Avery wouldn’t dare, like having a sizzling, no-strings affair with her sexy new boss, Noah McDermott—and discovering he's the kind of mistake she can’t resist.
Noah didn’t become a successful business owner by letting people get the best of him. He knows Avery is running from something, and if
Then he thought of Crickitt’s startled expression from earlier and felt the smile spread across his face again. Watching her go from crying to confident had been the best reward of all.
The moment reminded him of landing a new account at work. His clients were entrepreneurs who often came to him fraught with worry. Staffing, selling, accounting, and every moving part of the business was overwhelming when it rested on one person’s shoulders.
Handling the mundane but necessary details that kept businesses humming along without sending their owners in search of a razor blade was what Shane did best. He thought he’d caught a glimpse of that same kind of relief on Crickitt’s face tonight.
Shane stood up and headed for the shower, grateful tomorrow was Sunday. Maybe he’d reward himself by sleeping in for a change. He flipped on the bathroom light, stopping short of going in when he caught sight of his mother’s picture hanging in the hallway.
She smiled back at him, her gold-brown eyes open and inviting. In the photo she’d been the age Shane was now. She’d die later that year, just shy of his fourteenth birthday. The faded image showed her pressing a pie crust into a pan, her red-and-white apron covered in flour. Seeing it made him wish his father hadn’t thrown away everything of hers after she’d passed away.
That sobering thought swept away whatever was left of his buoyant mood. His legs felt suddenly tired, his heart heavy, as he spun the knobs on the large stone-walled shower.
He stepped beneath the spray considering the very real possibility Crickitt hadn’t been grateful for his butting in. She could have been lying about her work experience, or about her intentions of showing up tomorrow. And while he’d like to think her tears were genuine, she could have played up the damsel in distress routine for attention.
As the steaming water pounded against his taut neck muscles, he thought of how being prepared for the worst was wiser than being blindsided.
That was one lesson from his childhood he didn’t have to be taught twice.
Don’t miss these other fantastic Forever titles.
IF YOU CAN’T STAND THE HEAT…
Photographer Lili DeLuca spends all her time managing her family’s Italian restaurant, instead of following her dream of getting an MFA. When famous British chef Jack Kilroy unexpectedly challenges her father to a cook-off, Lili decides she’s tired of playing it safe and vows to seduce the tempting Brit. But once a video of her and Jack kissing goes viral and her luscious butt starts trending on Twitter, Lili fears she’s cooked up a recipe for disaster…
…GET INTO THE BEDROOM
Jack Kilroy’s celebrity has left him feeling used and used up. While Lili’s oh-so-sexy moans when she tastes his delicious creations turn him on, he’s even more aroused by how unimpressed this beautiful, funny woman is with his fame. He knows they could be amazing together, if she could only see past his bitch fork-wielding fan base. Now, as he’s about to start a new prime-time TV cooking show, can Jack convince Lili to realize her own ambitions—and turn up the heat in his kitchen?
WHEN YOU GO LOOKING FOR TROUBLE…
Avery Price is taking her life back. Fleeing her überrich, overbearing family, and an arranged wedding to a wealthy, cheating fiancé, she trades couture for country and makes her way to Trouble, Wyoming. Going incognito gives her the chance to try things the old Avery wouldn’t dare, like having a sizzling, no-strings affair with her sexy new boss, Noah McDermott—and discovering he's the kind of mistake she can’t resist.
Noah didn’t become a successful business owner by letting people get the best of him. He knows Avery is running from something, and if
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