Tanya Michaels – Good with His Hands (страница 1)
The right man for the job
Real estate agent Danica Yates did everything right. She found the right man, waited the right amount of time to get engaged and planned the perfect wedding. Then everything went very, very wrong. Now Dani is left with one unworn bridal gown, one canceled honeymoon and one jerk of an ex-fiancé. The bright side? She can finally make her move on the gorgeous man known only as Hot Architect...
Except that Sean Grayson is actually Hot Architect’s Even Hotter Twin Brother. But before Sean can admit his real identity, the chemistry between them takes over, fierce and demanding. He can’t refuse her, or turn away from the blinding want that consumes them both. He knows he has to admit the truth...and convince Dani that the wrong brother is definitely the right man!
“I’m too busy imagining kissing you to think straight...”
Except Dani’s imagination hadn’t exactly stopped with kissing.
Right now, she couldn’t bring herself to care about playing pool. She wanted Gray’s mouth on her, his hands on her. Since she couldn’t seem to find her voice, she met his eyes, confident that the longing she felt was clear in her expression.
Even though it had only been hours since they’d encountered each other at the office, it felt as if she’d been waiting forever for him to kiss her. His mouth settled over hers, and she parted her lips in invitation. She buried her fingers in his hair, surprised at how silky it was. Their kiss was salty and spicy, and her body pulsed with sensation.
Gray kissed the same way he shot pool, with bold assurance and innate skill. His possessiveness nearly made her moan, and he pulled back, teasing, nipping at her lower lip. She was glad she was balanced between him and the pool table. Despite her mocking his earlier boast that he made her weak in the knees, the longer he kissed her, the less steady she felt.
Lifting his head, he reached for the eight ball on the table and swiped it into a pocket. “Oops.” His breathing was rapid, his voice strained. “Guess I lose. Ready to get out of here?”
Wordlessly, she nodded. If she were any more ready, they’d be arrested for public indecency.
Like the characters in this book, I live in the Atlanta area. One of my favorite things to do here is attend plays at the always entertaining Shakespeare Tavern. Since I’m a fan of Shakespeare’s mistaken-identity comedies, it’s fitting that my first book for Mills & Boon Blaze is a The Wrong Bed story.
On the day of her would-be wedding, Danica Yates decides that instead of brooding over her ex-fiancé’s recent elopement, she’ll celebrate her newfound freedom. By seducing the hot architect who works in her office building.
Her plan works great—except that she unknowingly propositions the architect’s twin brother.
Aside from being physically identical, Sean Grayson is nothing like his studious, workaholic twin. Sean is impulsive with a track record of being just a bit wild. When a sexy brunette asks him to help her forget that it was supposed to be her wedding day, Sean can’t resist saying yes.
But before the night is over, Sean starts to realize Dani may be his perfect match. How can he convince her they should have a real relationship—especially once she learns he hasn’t been completely honest about his identity?
I hope you have as much fun reading my Mills & Boon Blaze debut as I did writing it. Look me up on Twitter (@TanyaMichaels) or facebook.com/AuthorTanyaMichaels and let me know what you think!
Best,
Tanya
New York Times Bestselling Author
Good with His Hands
Tanya Michaels
TANYA MICHAELS, a New York Times bestselling author and five-time RITA® Award nominee, has been writing love stories since middle school algebra class (which probably explains her math grades). Her books, praised for their poignancy and humor, have received awards from readers and reviewers alike. Tanya is an active member of Romance Writers of America and a frequent public speaker. She lives outside Atlanta with her very supportive husband, two highly imaginative kids and a bichon frise who thinks she’s the center of the universe.
Thanks to Mills & Boon editors Kathleen Scheibling and Johanna Raisanen for welcoming me to Blaze and to writer Lila Bell for the timely reminder of how exhilarating it can be to try something new.
Contents
AS A REAL-ESTATE AGENT, Danica Yates couldn’t live without her cell phone. Clients and potential clients called at all hours to ask questions, make counteroffers and set up meeting times. But, so help her, if one more person texted another pitying variation of “How are you holding up?” Dani was going to run over the damn phone with her car.
For her smartphone’s sake, she hurried through the parking lot, away from looming vehicular phonicide and toward the relative safety of her office building. More well-meaning texts and calls were inevitable. She’d already fielded a few in the weeks since her broken engagement, but just as the people in her life were beginning to drop the subject, Tate had made his big social-media announcement last night, spurring more unwanted sympathy.
Grimly hoping that Tate Malcom’s hairline would recede and his man parts wither, she dropped her phone into the pocket of her lightweight trench coat. Spring in Atlanta was fickle. This particular Wednesday morning, it was only ten degrees above freezing, but by afternoon, she’d probably be coatless and running the air-conditioning in her car.
As she passed a row of blooming Bradford pear trees, the heels of her boots clicked decisively against the pavement. She loved the black leather boots and their defiant three-inch heels. After Tate’s self-deprecating jokes about her “towering” over him—she was five-ten to his five-nine—she’d mostly worn flats during their relationship.
First, she was going to stop by the coffee place on the first floor for a much-needed chai latte. Then, with her mind sharpened by caffeine, she would resume negotiations on the Hanlon house and score her client as many concessions as possible. She would schedule more house showings for next week. She would
When Tate had called her last month to worm out of the wedding that had been scheduled for this Saturday, she’d canceled the week of vacation allotted for her honeymoon. But she’d left this weekend free. In retrospect, perhaps that had been a mistake. What was she planning to do on Saturday? Mope? Stare at the useless bridal gown in the back of her closet? Definitely not. Sulking wasn’t her style.
So what if she was single? Dani kicked ass at her job. Focusing on that could help get her through the next few weeks, as well as boost her bank account. Some of the homes for sale in affluent Fulton county neighborhoods would bring very generous commissions.
As she entered the posh office building, the scent of coffee wafted down the corridor to meet her. She was still early enough that there wasn’t yet a line stretching into the hall. The small coffee shop was wildly popular with those who worked in the twelve-story building. There was also a food court on the atrium level, but only one of the vendors opened for breakfast and the hot beverage options were limited.
She was just passing the elevator banks when her phone chirped, signaling a text. Had the owners of the two-story colonial in Dunwoody made a decision on her clients’ offer? Without breaking stride, she pulled out the phone. The text was from Katie Whitman, Dani’s passive-aggressive cousin who’d been furious that Dani hadn’t asked her to be a bridesmaid.
I just heard!!! Like it wasn’t bad enough he dumped u 3 wks before the wedding, now he’s eloped? U poor thing. Ur better off w/out him. Total d-bag.
Dani growled involuntarily at the “poor thing.” The d-bag assessment was accurate enough, but—
A muffled curse in a deep male voice cut through her preoccupation, followed by a pointed “excuse me.”
Jerking her head up, Dani realized she’d nearly collided with a man exiting the coffee shop. And not just any man. She’d almost caused Hot Architect to dump his drink down the front of his expensive suit jacket. The dark-haired, broad-shouldered man—who was taller than her in spite of her heeled boots—worked for the design firm that took up the other half of the fifth floor, down the hall from the real-estate brokerage.