скачать книгу бесплатно
Her Sexiest Surprise
Dawn Atkins
All Chloe Baxter wants for her birthday is one kiss from hottie Riley Connelly. She gets that and more.That one kiss leads to the most amazing one-night stand of her life. Sex with Riley is beyond spectacular. But when morning comes, she's resigned to returning to real life. Except that for Chloe, real life has gotten complicated. Her big job promotion has landed her in the middle of Riley's undercover investigation.Worse, he wants her to spy on her employers. Can she betray the people she cares about for a man she can't keep her hands off? And if survival means choosing between her head and her heart, Chloe's not sure which one will hurt worse if she loses it. . . .
If she didn’t act, she’d regret it
Chloe steadied her gaze on Riley, his smile broader with each step she took toward him. She stopped inches away.
“Hello there,” he said softly.
“It’s my birthday. And when I blew out my candles, I promised myself the next time you walked in here, I would…” She trailed off.
He looked her over, slow and easy. Every place his gaze touched came alive to him. Then he kissed her.
She wanted more. She wanted this. She wanted it all. The new Chloe was going to kiss this man until she was finished with him. Kiss him and then some. When she slid against him, he groaned and his eyes lit with fire. He grabbed her backside to stop her movements.
“This could get hot fast, Chloe.”
“Exactly what I had in mind,” she said, thrilled by her boldness.
“You sure this is what you want, Chloe?” he asked.
“This is my birthday. And this is my wish,” she said. “Please take me to bed.”
Dear Reader,
Believe it or not, this book made me a better cook! To understand Chloe’s passion for cooking I had to do some research, of course. I discovered how much better freshly chopped garlic tasted than the stuff in a jar. And fresh herbs? Yum. What aromas, what flavors. So that was a cool benefit of the book, beyond bringing together a man and woman who needed each other.
It was so rewarding to match Chloe with Riley, the tough-guy cop who needed her optimism like water in the desert. Who could be better for a man who believed he didn’t have much heart than a woman who has nothing but heart? And Riley helped Chloe free herself from the family obligations that kept her from living her own life, going after what she wanted—in bed, too. Now, that was fun to write. Especially the handcuff part.
I hope you enjoy how these two work out their differences as much as I did writing their story. Now I can’t wait to get a reservation at Chloe’s restaurant when she finally opens it. Something tells me Riley will be in the kitchen doing prep work. What do you think?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this love story. Write me at dawn@dawnatkins.com. Keep track of upcoming projects at www.dawnatkins.com.
Best,
Dawn Atkins
HER SEXIEST SURPRISE
Dawn Atkins
TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON
AMSTERDAM • PARIS • SYDNEY • HAMBURG
STOCKHOLM • ATHENS • TOKYO • MILAN • MADRID
PRAGUE • WARSAW • BUDAPEST • AUCKLAND
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This is award-winning Harlequin Blaze author Dawn Atkins’s twenty-second published book. Known for her funny, spicy romances with a touch of mystery, she’s won a Golden Quill for Best Sexy Romance and has been a several-times Romantic Times BOOKreviews Reviewers’ Choice finalist. This year she was a finalist for a Romantic Times BOOKreviews Career Achievement Award for “Best Love and Laughter.” She lives in Arizona, where, inspired by this book’s heroine, Chloe Baxter, she tries out culinary experiments nightly on her hapless husband and teen son. So far, they’ve survived.
Books by Dawn Atkins
HARLEQUIN BLAZE
93—FRIENDLY PERSUASION
155—VERY TRULY SEXY
176—GOING TO EXTREMES
205—SIMPLY SEX
214—TEASE ME
253—DON’T TEMPT ME* (#litres_trial_promo)
294—WITH HIS TOUCH† (#litres_trial_promo)
306—AT HER BECK AND CALL† (#litres_trial_promo)
318—AT HIS FINGERTIPS† (#litres_trial_promo)
348—SWEPT AWAY# (#litres_trial_promo)
391—NO STOPPING NOW
To Amy and Laurie for never letting go
Contents
Acknowledgment
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Heartfelt thanks to Carol Jennings for sharing her culinary-school expertise with me over that leisurely lunch.
Carol, your courage in the face of the challenges that began that very day moves me beyond words.
1
HOLDING HER BIRTHDAY CAKE high, Chloe Baxter backed through the restaurant pass door, grinning in advance at how delighted her friends would be when they tasted what she’d made.
She whirled, then froze, startled by the sight of Riley Connelly in a nearby booth. She’d missed his arrival and so had Sadie, her fellow hostess, who’d threatened to drag him to the birthday celebration if he showed at Enzo’s tonight.
He’d showed all right, and he’d stopped Chloe dead. The pass door whapped her on the butt and she jolted forward, looking ridiculous, no doubt.
Riley flashed a grin, knowing and sexy and so kissable that Chloe melted like the candles she would soon blow out.
Jeez, Louise, the man merely smiled and she dissolved? She should get out more. She should get out, period. And she should certainly get laid.
She smiled back, hoping her face didn’t look as hotly red as it felt. She had such a crush on the man.
Walking toward her party table, Chloe felt light-headed. Part of that was the champagne Enzo insisted they tap from the bar’s stock. She rarely drank, but in honor of her birthday, she’d downed an entire flute of the bubbly gold.
At the table, everyone exclaimed over her cake, which she set at her place, midtable, right across from the booth where Riley, who mouthed happy birthday to her, sat.
She nodded her thanks, wishing she were bold enough to do something—anything—more than smile and nod at the man.
At least Sadie had been too busy lighting Chloe’s candles to notice Riley and mortify Chloe by inviting him over. Sadie said he was hot for her, too, but Sadie exaggerated everything about sex, including how much Chloe needed it.
Chloe dropped her gaze to her cake, where twenty-five candles sent up hopeful little flames.
Twenty-five. A quarter of a century and what did she have to show for it?
Not much. Her hostess job and her own car. But she still lived at home to look after her father. She rarely dated, even more rarely had sex, and she’d saved only seven thousand dollars toward her dream of culinary school.
At least now that her sister Clarissa was finally settled with her husband in California, Chloe could sock away more cash. All she needed was time and no disasters. She lowered her face to wish for that, the candles warming her cheeks.
“Not yet! Don’t wish yet!” Enzo’s wife, Natalie, waved at Chloe from down the table. “Enzo! Give it to her.” She tugged her husband’s sleeve.
Enzo pulled an envelope from the dinner jacket he always wore when he appeared at his beloved restaurant, and passed it down the row with a somber nod.
“We know your dream is cooking school,” Natalie said as the envelope reached Chloe. “So practice on us!” Natalie was ten years younger and far livelier than her husband.
Puzzled, Chloe tore the envelope flap.
“We want you to be our cook!” Natalie burst out.
The card inside offered a too-generous salary for cooking for the Sylvestri family. “This is too much just to cook,” Chloe said.
“So we add some light housekeeping.” Natalie beamed at her. “I finally talked Delores into retiring. It was frozen foods and takeout every night. Come save us, Chloe. Will you? Please?”
“But…my job here…” she said, stunned by the offer.
“We’ll fix the schedule,” Enzo said. “No trouble.”
“Save your money and you’ll be in cooking school before you know it,” Natalie added. “That was your wish, right?”
Exactly. “I don’t know what to say…”
“Say yes and blow out your candles.”
How could she turn them down? The Sylvestris had treated the Baxters like family since the Chicago days. “Yes,” she said softly. “Thank you so much.”
Everyone applauded.
“Now make a new wish,” Natalie commanded.
“Okay,” she said, leaning down to the glowing cake.
“Wish for Riley,” Sadie murmured. “Quick, before he escapes. Last chance for a b-day lay.”
Chloe glanced up to see Riley putting his wallet away, ready to leave. He caught her gaze and saluted her before he turned to go.
“He’s getting away,” Sadie said. “Go get him.”
“Forget it,” she said. She couldn’t chase after the man. Not even for a date, let alone sex.
But that would sure be…exciting. Different. Kind of crazy. When was she ever crazy? Never. She did the practical, responsible thing at every turn. She looked down at her candles, melted to stubs in hot puddles, the flames flickering fiercely, fighting going out with all their waxy might.
Maybe it was time to try something different. Something wild and fun and just for her. Why not, now that she had a quarter century under her belt?
Yeah. So, instead of a wish, she made herself a promise: The next time Riley Connelly walks through that door, I’ll ask him out.
She blew out all twenty-five candles to cheers from her friends. Now came the best part—serving her cake. “This is called the Surprise Cake,” she announced to the group. “It’s ten cakes in one. Every piece is different so we can pass them around and share.”
