скачать книгу бесплатно
Seduced In Seattle
Kristin Gabriel
Can a skirt really act as a man-magnet? Kate Talavera is a true believer. After all, the skirt has already snared husbands for her two best friends! So when seriously sexy Brock Gannon storms back into her life after twelve years, and makes it plain that he has seduction on his mind, she thinks he's the one.Only, little does Kate guess that Brock's only after the skirt.…
“Okay,” Kate said, closing the door. “You can come out now.”
Brock slowly slid out from under the bed, his dark hair slightly tousled. “It’s been quite a while since I’ve hidden under a girl’s bed.” He smiled. “Makes me feel seventeen again.”
His smile made her stomach feel funny. “Glad to know I’m not your first.” Kate held out her hand to help him to his feet, her heart skittering at the way his big hand closed around her fingers.
“Thanks,” he said, straightening to his full height.
“You’re welcome,” she replied, automatically reaching up to brush the dust bunnies out of his hair. Suddenly she realized just how intimate her actions were and drew back her hand as if she’d been burned. “Sorry.”
“Me, too,” Brock said huskily. “I’m sorry you stopped.”
Kate swallowed, the tone in his voice making her skin tingle. It’s the skirt, she reminded herself. Brock wasn’t really attracted to her. He was just reacting to the skirt’s magnetic qualities.
But after seeing how good he looked in her bedroom, Kate was tempted to take Brock any way she could get him….
Dear Reader,
Do clothes make the man, or in this case, the woman? Most people think so. As a poor college student, on the first five dates I had with my future husband, I actually wore clothes I borrowed from friends. I really wanted to impress him, and I was sure that nothing I had in my meager closet could do the job. And I wouldn’t be surprised if young women today were having the same problem. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a special store that sold clothes guaranteed to attract men?
In Seduced in Seattle, Kate Talavera doesn’t find the store—but she gets The Skirt! And she’s determined to use it to catch the man of her dreams. Only, when she meets sexy Brock Gannon, her dreams begin to change….
I hope you enjoy the third installment of the SINGLE IN THE CITY miniseries. Cara Summers, Heather MacAllister and I had so much fun writing them! And the fun isn’t over yet! To find out more about our ongoing series, check out our Web site at: www.singleinthecity.org.
Enjoy,
Kristin Gabriel
Books by Kristin Gabriel
HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION
834—DANGEROUSLY IRRESISTIBLE
HARLEQUIN DUETS
7—ANNIE, GET YOUR GROOM
25—THE BACHELOR TRAP
27—BACHELOR BY DESIGN
29—BEAUTY AND THE BACHELOR
61a—OPERATION BABE—MAGNET
61b—OPERATION BEAUTY
Seduced in Seattle
Kristin Gabriel
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
This book is for Brenda Chin—editor, adventurer and friend.
Contents
Prologue (#u94684fe2-9e21-5358-b12e-5823edffddb7)
Chapter 1 (#u13cce2ee-a25e-59af-874c-0bf19f541b76)
Chapter 2 (#u570d009f-64b9-5462-9f66-ff45303962de)
Chapter 3 (#u8ccc070d-dc42-5d18-86df-bdd2caa864bb)
Chapter 4 (#u93054255-d156-5701-a485-fe80802dab3c)
Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue
FATE WAS CONSPIRING against Kate Talavera. There could be no other reason she found herself locked in the ladies’ room of the reception hall the very moment the bride was scheduled to toss the skirt.
“Let me out of here!” Kate pounded on the bathroom door, hoping someone could hear her over the loud music reverberating from the reception hall. The strong odor of pine-scented air freshener was giving her a headache.
When her fist grew sore, Kate leaned against the sink and debated her options. Staying stuck in the ladies’ room wasn’t an option. Not when an event that could change her entire future was about to take place.
She glanced at her watch, noting that it was almost time for the bride, Gwen Kempner, to toss the bouquet. But Kate didn’t care about that. She wanted the skirt. The secret weapon that had snared husbands for all three of her old college roommates.
The skirt came from an island hidden deep in the Caribbean and a rare, powerful thread ran through it. A thread that drew men to the woman who wore it and entranced them forever.
Wearing the skirt, which she had caught at Torrie’s wedding, Chelsea Brockway had found true love with Zach McDaniels and been married at Christmas. Kate and Gwen had both been bridesmaids, only Gwen was the one lucky enough to catch the skirt that night. Shortly afterward, Gwen had met Alec and this morning, on Valentine’s Day, she had become Mrs. Alec Fleming. Now it was Kate’s turn.
If she could get out of the bathroom.
She looked around the small lavatory for some kind of tool that she might be able to use to pry the door open. But all she found were some extra rolls of toilet paper and an empty tube of lipstick. This couldn’t be happening. Not when she’d finally found the perfect man.
Todd Winslow, her former next-door neighbor and the current owner of one of the most successful home shopping channels on cable television. He was smart, successful and, best of all, single. In two weeks, he’d be coming to Seattle to attend her parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary party.
That’s when she planned to snag him. All she had to do was catch the skirt, then catch Todd. She’d waited so long for true love that she wasn’t about to let a locked door stop her now.
Kicking off one shoe, she whacked the three-inch heel against the edge of the sink until the small rubber tip on the end of the heel came loose. She pulled it off, then rubbed one finger over the sharp metal point. She’d chisel her way out of here, if necessary.
A knock sounded on the door, sending a rush of relief flowing through her. Kate dropped her shoe and ran to the door, pounding as hard as she could on the solid wood. “Please, help me! I’m stuck in here.”
“Kate?” Chelsea’s familiar voice drifted through the door. “Is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me. Have I missed it yet?”
“No, but Gwen’s been stalling until I found you. She can’t hold off much longer. Alec is more than ready to start their honeymoon.”
“You’ve got to get me out of here!”
“Okay,” Chelsea replied through the door. “Hold on and try to stay calm. I’ll get Zach and see what he can do.”
Kate paced back and forth across the porcelain tile floor. She had to catch the skirt. At twenty-seven, she’d kissed more than her share of toads in search of a prince. And endured yet another Valentine’s day without a date. It was time to take her future into her own hands.
“Zach tracked down the manager,” Chelsea called through the door. “He’s getting a key.”
“Tell him to hurry.”
“I can’t believe this is happening to you,” Chelsea said, laughter bubbling in her voice.
“I can.” Kate slumped against the door. “This kind of thing happens to me all the time. I find a decent guy, then fate steps in and snatches him away.”
“I think you’re exaggerating just a little.”
“Then how come the last guy I dated got transferred to Hong Kong? And the one before that got hit by a car?”
“That’s terrible,” Chelsea exclaimed. “Was he killed?”
“No. The car was only going five miles per hour. But he fell in love with the emergency room nurse who treated him. They were married six weeks later.”
The door was finally opened by a grinning Zach. Chelsea pulled Kate toward the reception hall. “Let’s go. Hurry!”
Kate kicked off her remaining shoe, then rushed out into the decorated hall, noting the excited group of women gathered in the center of the room. She could see Gwen standing on the balcony above them, her new husband next to her.
Elbowing her way through the crowd, Kate did her best to ignore the growls of displeasure and dirty looks all around her. Gwen gave her a relieved smile when she finally saw her, then tossed the skirt high in the air.
Kate watched it float toward her, almost in slow motion. She boxed out her competition, just like her big brother had taught her to do when going up for a rebound in basketball. Adrenaline and hope fueled her leap as she reached up to snatch the skirt out of the air. She pulled it down. The unusual fabric felt soft and silky in her hands.
Victory.
Until the woman standing next to her, a buxom blonde wearing a gown with huge shoulder pads, tried to grab it. “That skirt should have been mine.”
“Sorry, it’s mine,” Kate said firmly, tightening her grip on the skirt. “I caught it.”
“Possession is nine-tenths of the law,” the woman said through clenched teeth, giving it a hard tug.
“Be careful!” Kate exclaimed. “You’re going to…”
The sound of tearing fabric made the words die on her lips.
Chelsea arrived, her eyes wide with horror. “What happened?”
The blonde dropped her end of the skirt, then pointed accusingly at Kate. “She tore it. Now it’s probably ruined.” Then she stomped away.
Kate held up the skirt to survey the damage. “It looks like it’s just ripped a little at the side seam. All it needs is some mending.”
Chelsea nibbled her lower lip. “I’m not so sure, Kate. It’s the thread that makes it special. I don’t know what will happen if you mend it with plain old cotton thread.”
“Don’t worry.” Kate squared her shoulders. She had the skirt and that’s all that mattered. “I’ll think of something.”
1
BROCK GANNON walked into Dooley’s Bar and looked through the smoky haze. He didn’t feel any of the old excitement at embarking on a new mission. Maybe turning thirty had something to do with it. Or the fact that nothing seemed to challenge him anymore. He specialized in recovering stolen goods that the police couldn’t, or wouldn’t, find. Of course, sometimes the clients didn’t want to involve the police, especially if a relative was involved in the theft.
Working as a mercenary had taught Brock to suspect everyone and trust no one. It was a cynical attitude, but it had kept him alive and well for the past eight years. His occupation was a dangerous one, since it often brought him into the company of thieves and other lowlifes. But it had made him a very wealthy man and had taken him all over the world, including exotic places where few civilized people ever ventured. But somehow, he always found his way back here to Boston, to Dooley’s, although he didn’t really have anywhere that he could call home.
Brock’s boss worked out of this bar, owned it in fact, having retired from the mercenary field himself. Now Sam Dooley simply supervised the missions, assigning the best man or woman in his employ to the job, and taking a small percentage of the fee for himself.
A haunting Irish melody emanated from the jukebox and two men sat at the long oak bar, each of them staring into his mug of dark beer. The sound of a woman’s laughter drew Brock’s attention toward the back of the bar. A billiard game was in progress and he spotted the snow-white hair of his boss as he bent over the table to rack up the balls.
Brock ordered a beer, then ambled over to an empty booth to wait until the billiards game ended. He wasn’t in any hurry. He’d spent enough nights in empty hotel rooms to appreciate the change of scenery.
Thirty minutes later, Dooley approached the table. “Well, hell, Gannon. Why didn’t you let me know you were here?”
Brock nodded to the two women at the billiards table. “Looked to me like you were busy.”
