speak. Any woman worth her salt
knew how vital it was to use her femininity to her best possible
advantage…mostly, to lull unsuspecting men into doing her bidding without even
realizing they were under her spell.
And speaking of spells, she was fairly
certain that she had been the victim of just such a machination herself.
From the moment she had first laid eyes on the tall, dark headed man standing
beside her, she had known that she was out of her league. He had been
everything he had been rumored to be….demanding, exacting, ruthless, and
cutthroat in business. She honestly hadn’t expected anything less,
considering he had made the sneakiest backdoor deal in advertising history to
steal her away from his largest competitor two years ago.
Perhaps steal was too harsh of a
term. She hadn’t exactly been playing hard to get. She had wanted
out of Chicago as much as Colin Storm had wanted her to move to New York.
Why stay after a failed engagement to a fiancé who was more concerned about how
he was going to explain to his trust-fund family that he had been caught in
flagrante more times than either of them could count? Circumstances had
ensured that she’d be amenable to a change in zip code. After all, even a
strong woman like herself had to draw her line in the sand somewhere.
And that line had led her directly into
the life of Colin Storm.
And to this unexpected detour that
Mother Nature had decreed they must suffer.
Relieved when the elevator came to a
faltering stop, the floor beneath her feet trembling ominously as the wind
outside howled, Abigail pressed her lips together and stepped out into the
dimly lit hallway. A quick look toward the window at the end of the
corridor confirmed her worst suspicion. The hail pounding against the
glass testified that the storm outside had definitely shifted into high gear.
Seeing the direction of Abigail’s gaze,
Colin smiled faintly. Her distress was obvious. From the
dilated pupils and rapid rise and fall of her chest, it was clear that she had
an aversion to bad weather.
Or maybe, just maybe, he was the one
that was proving to be her stressor. Her mood had darkened the moment the
clerk had informed them that there was only a single room left in their
establishment. No amount of cajoling from his gorgeous employee had
swayed the concierge. She’d tried for several minutes to wrangle another
room from the man to no avail.
There was no other available room to be
had in the very nice upscale hotel.
Tonight, they would be sharing a bed.
And Colin Storm’ day had taken a
definitive turn for the better.
Chapter One
Necessity was indeed the mother of
invention.
He'd heard that platitude many, many
times in his life before. But never had it rang as true as it did now as he
watched Abigail Donavan make yet another pass in front of the opened drapes of
the hotel’s rain-splattered window. If he didn't find a way to calm his
colleague, this was going to be a very long night. Every once in a while she
would pause to finger the thick gold tassels that tied back the heavy patterned
drapes as she stared quietly out the window. But mostly, her dainty feet that
were now clad in ballet slippers just kept moving.
"Abigail, please sit down,"
Colin requested tiredly as he watched her pause in front of the window once
more to gaze out at the ominous grey clouds swirling on the horizon.
"You're making me dizzy, and unfortunately, you can't stare those storm
clouds into submission, no matter how hard you try." Although, he’d be
willing to bet that if anyone could manage the feat, it would be her. One of
the primary reasons that he enjoyed Abigail’s company so much was that she
didn’t cower in the face of a problem. She faced it. It was a sight to
behold, watching the petite woman face down advertising giants inside the
boardroom. The more those foes discounted her, the more determined and
ferocious she became. And he had
knew how vital it was to use her femininity to her best possible
advantage…mostly, to lull unsuspecting men into doing her bidding without even
realizing they were under her spell.
And speaking of spells, she was fairly
certain that she had been the victim of just such a machination herself.
From the moment she had first laid eyes on the tall, dark headed man standing
beside her, she had known that she was out of her league. He had been
everything he had been rumored to be….demanding, exacting, ruthless, and
cutthroat in business. She honestly hadn’t expected anything less,
considering he had made the sneakiest backdoor deal in advertising history to
steal her away from his largest competitor two years ago.
Perhaps steal was too harsh of a
term. She hadn’t exactly been playing hard to get. She had wanted
out of Chicago as much as Colin Storm had wanted her to move to New York.
Why stay after a failed engagement to a fiancé who was more concerned about how
he was going to explain to his trust-fund family that he had been caught in
flagrante more times than either of them could count? Circumstances had
ensured that she’d be amenable to a change in zip code. After all, even a
strong woman like herself had to draw her line in the sand somewhere.
And that line had led her directly into
the life of Colin Storm.
And to this unexpected detour that
Mother Nature had decreed they must suffer.
Relieved when the elevator came to a
faltering stop, the floor beneath her feet trembling ominously as the wind
outside howled, Abigail pressed her lips together and stepped out into the
dimly lit hallway. A quick look toward the window at the end of the
corridor confirmed her worst suspicion. The hail pounding against the
glass testified that the storm outside had definitely shifted into high gear.
Seeing the direction of Abigail’s gaze,
Colin smiled faintly. Her distress was obvious. From the
dilated pupils and rapid rise and fall of her chest, it was clear that she had
an aversion to bad weather.
Or maybe, just maybe, he was the one
that was proving to be her stressor. Her mood had darkened the moment the
clerk had informed them that there was only a single room left in their
establishment. No amount of cajoling from his gorgeous employee had
swayed the concierge. She’d tried for several minutes to wrangle another
room from the man to no avail.
There was no other available room to be
had in the very nice upscale hotel.
Tonight, they would be sharing a bed.
And Colin Storm’ day had taken a
definitive turn for the better.
Chapter One
Necessity was indeed the mother of
invention.
He'd heard that platitude many, many
times in his life before. But never had it rang as true as it did now as he
watched Abigail Donavan make yet another pass in front of the opened drapes of
the hotel’s rain-splattered window. If he didn't find a way to calm his
colleague, this was going to be a very long night. Every once in a while she
would pause to finger the thick gold tassels that tied back the heavy patterned
drapes as she stared quietly out the window. But mostly, her dainty feet that
were now clad in ballet slippers just kept moving.
"Abigail, please sit down,"
Colin requested tiredly as he watched her pause in front of the window once
more to gaze out at the ominous grey clouds swirling on the horizon.
"You're making me dizzy, and unfortunately, you can't stare those storm
clouds into submission, no matter how hard you try." Although, he’d be
willing to bet that if anyone could manage the feat, it would be her. One of
the primary reasons that he enjoyed Abigail’s company so much was that she
didn’t cower in the face of a problem. She faced it. It was a sight to
behold, watching the petite woman face down advertising giants inside the
boardroom. The more those foes discounted her, the more determined and
ferocious she became. And he had
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