Bella Frances – Dressed to Thrill (страница 1)
‘I bet we could find at least one thing we both enjoy.’
‘What did you have in mind?’
‘It’s way too early in the night for me to tie myself down to anything specific.’
‘You’ve got an answer for everything, Ms Devine. Sadly it’s too late in the night for me to stay on and find out what you’ll tie yourself down to. Or tie yourself up with. It’s been … interesting.’
He leant a hand on her shoulder and leaned down for the obligatory goodbye cheek-kiss. He smelled product—perfume, hairspray, cosmetics. He touched smooth skin. He let his lips linger for a second too long to be strictly platonic. He curled his other arm round her waist, drawing her closer into him. Her body was soft and nestled perfectly, and he moved his lips to her other cheek. But her lips were in the way, so he placed his kiss there. Just one.
When Tara Devine first burst onto the page even
Enter one super-sure, super-hot Michael Cruz. He’s seen more than enough of life to see right through Tara. But what he does see hooks him. And even though she pushes him to his very limits, and brings out every chest-thumping, testosterone-pumping part of him, he’s her guy and he’s prepared to hold on until all the champagne’s been drunk and the party’s over.
I truly loved these characters. I loved their hot sex and their love story. And I so admired Michael for the patience he was prepared to show. Falling in love with love is easy. But playing the long game and putting yourself second is what really counts.
I hope my very first Modern Tempted™ rocks you the way it rocked me. To be part of this wonderful world of writers and readers sharing the eternal quest for eternal love is the best feeling ever!
With my warmest wishes
Dressed to Thrill
Bella Frances
Unable to sit still without reading, BELLA FRANCES first found romantic fiction at the age of twelve, in between deadly dull knitting patterns and recipes in the pages of her grandmother’s magazines. An obsession was born! But it wasn’t until one long, hot summer, after completing her first degree in English Literature, that she fell upon the legends that are Mills & Boon® books. She has occasionally lifted her head out of them since to do a range of jobs, including barmaid, financial advisor and teacher, as well as to practise (but never perfect) the art of motherhood to two (almost grown-up) cherubs.
Her eclectic collection of wonderful friends have provided more than their fair share of inspiration for heroes, heroines and glamorous locations, and it was while waiting to board a flight home after a particularly lively holiday that the characters for her first competition success in
Bella lives a very energetic life in the UK, but tries desperately to travel for pleasure at least once a month—strictly in the interests of research!
Catch up with her on her website at www.bellafrances.co.uk
DRESSED TO THRILL is Bella Frances’ debut book for Mills & Boon® Modern Tempted™ and is also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk
For Margaret Isabella Mustard, who loved literature and life. Governess, teacher, farmer’s wife, mother and grandmother. Thank you.
Contents
Tara Marie Fitzpatrick Devine knew how to behave badly. Very badly. She made it her business to work hard, play hard and then read the hard online copy of her triumphs. It was quite simply the most delicious way to promote herself in the dog-eat-dog world of international fashion. And tonight—the culmination of a whole season of glamorous graft—tonight, her wild streak was shining like neon body paint in a nightclub-dark room.
‘But what am I going to do?’
Barely aware of the feet that drummed beside hers under the table in the shady booth, Tara dipped into her clutch and pulled out her compact. Another streak of siren-red over her pout while she was still sober enough to care.
‘You’ll be fine,’ she managed to say, looking at her reflection in the tiny mirror.
The thick slicks of liquid eyeliner were almost perfect—crazy that she had never rocked this look before—it was so, so burlesque!
‘But I’m sure he’ll be on his way here next! And if he catches me here…after I told him I was going straight home…’
Tara replaced the lipstick in its little case. Honestly, there was no getting through to this girl.
‘Fernanda.’
She swept a glance from the now resting silver platforms to the mouthwateringly beautiful face of Fernanda Cruz—the sexiest Spanish teenager to grace the runways and the tabloids in a decade. Her brown mane hung sexily over one eye and her fuchsia silk mini-dress rode high on endless thighs. The girl looked as if she had never even heard of the word carbohydrate.
‘What?’
Tara pointed her lipstick at her.
‘You need to stop this. First of all, you’re not even sure if he’ll definitely turn up. Secondly, if he does…and—let’s face it—it is quite likely, then you need to stand up to him. Tell him to get out of your life and stop acting like the overbearing, macho pain in the ass that he is.’ She flipped open the compact again and checked her slightly wonky teeth for lipstick, rubbing at them until they squeaked. ‘It’s not as if you’ve done anything wrong, Fernanda. It’s only an after-party! ‘
‘But you don’t understand. My brother Michael rules the family. If he is here, I’m…’ She mimed being garrotted.
‘And he has to realise that a life in fashion these days means you have to promote yourself—be seen, get papped, kiss Harry…’
‘But I’m his baby sister, Tara! And he hates it. Hates all of it. He wants me to study to be an accountant or something. He thinks models are airheads and designers are fakes.’
Tara’s snapped her clutch closed with a little more attitude than was necessary. She knew all about the über-dominant Michael Cruz, Fern’s brother and legendary King Machismo. Ten hours earlier, as Fernanda had sublimely showcased Tara’s funkiest spring/
summer dresses on the runway of her London show, her sickeningly handsome brother had sat in the front row, looking as bored as if he were watching paint dry—the dull shades.
And, though no one had dared tell Tara at the time, the press had been all over it. Photos of him in his immaculately tailored suit, with his perfectly masculine jaw and utterly uninterested expression had hit every online fashion site within moments. Thank heavens his other sister Angelica had shown enough enthusiasm for the whole row. And had been kind enough to drop that she was ‘considering’ commissioning Tara to design her wedding dress. That just about made up for the arrogance of the man!
‘Fern, honey, we’ve worked hard. Our careers are just taking off. For me, this party is as important as the show. And for you it’s what you’ve been looking forward to for the last month. And we’ve got it all to do again in two weeks’ time in Paris! Cha-ching! So if he is here we’ll tell him to…to go and count his own beans—and we’ll mingle and dance and see what column inches we can capture. Come on!’
She grasped Fern’s hand and pulled her to her feet. All six feet of her size zero frame only served to highlight Tara’s own whipped cream curves. Fattest woman in fashion. Overeater von Tease. Yep, she’d heard them all. And sometimes it hurt—of course it did. But she’d learned long ago that even if she ate air and drank dew she was only ever going to be voluptuous. So she’d put her voluptuousness to good use—she knew how to enhance a cleavage and minimise a belly better than any bra or pair of magic pants.