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Unconditionally Mine
Nadine Gonzalez
Miami dreams…Event planner Sofia Silva is hiding a big secret. No one can know that her engagement to her lying, cheating fiancé is over. Until she meets gorgeous, wealthy newcomer Jonathan Gunther.Jon moved to Miami for a life of waterfront property, convertibles and no emotional entanglements. When he invites Sofia to lie low at his house, their attraction is undeniable…but will her dilemma ruin their chance at forever?
Miami Dreams
Event planner Sofia Silva is hiding a big secret. No one can know that her engagement to her lying, cheating fiancé is over. Until she meets gorgeous, wealthy newcomer Jonathan Gunther. Jon moved to Miami for a legally sinful life of waterfront property, convertibles and no emotional entanglements. When he invites Sofia to lie low at his house, their undeniable attraction explodes...but will her dilemma ruin their chance at forever?
NADINE GONZALEZ was born in New York City, the daughter of Haitian immigrants. As a child, she was convinced that NYC was the center of the universe. But life has its twists and turns, and eventually she landed in Miami. She fell in love with the people, the weather and the unique mix of cultures. Now this vibrant city has become her home and muse.
Raised on a steady diet of soap operas, Mills & Boon romances, pop culture, global music, film and classic literature, Nadine hopes to infuse her novels with her unique worldview.
A firm believer in work-life balance, Nadine is not only a lawyer but also a self-proclaimed fashionista, political junkie, art lover, amateur illustrator, wife and mother. Learn more at www.nadine-gonzalez.com (http://www.nadine-gonzalez.com).
Unconditionally Mine
Nadine Gonzalez
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-07805-4
UNCONDITIONALLY MINE
© 2018 Nadine Seide
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
For Ariel, my love, and Nathaniel, my heart.
For Stephanie, Katherine, Melissa, Ericka, Alexander and Andrew. The future is yours.
Acknowledgments (#ulink_807b7220-399b-58a9-b7f7-cf133ae42be8)
I am grateful to the editors at Kimani Press: Shannon Criss, Glenda Howard and Keyla Hernandez. Special thanks to Keyla for being the best first editor an author could have. Your patience and dedication to authentic storytelling is greatly appreciated. I wish you all the best in the future.
Contents
Cover (#u4751f85c-1147-5ce9-bb75-b642c21e5048)
Back Cover Text (#u53d00d63-2596-5a90-ae8f-52d7938107aa)
About the Author (#uc2bd23b1-ecc8-5152-b742-8b565f776865)
Title Page (#u716d96cf-ffc7-5129-8f59-afab41a800fd)
Copyright (#u5e98e04f-fc36-5ce3-a06f-5a9547658861)
Dedication (#uda2f185b-3d26-5401-8d57-d1e9ae9baa08)
Acknowledgments (#ulink_0208dcce-a942-5cab-9281-aed623a8dc9b)
Chapter 1 (#u216b6daa-8385-52c1-b3d9-5a68aa965823)
Chapter 2 (#uaa8002bf-f1fa-586b-b71e-56869e36b562)
Chapter 3 (#u6f40aa3d-93f3-50c5-a9c6-d2de55780fe5)
Chapter 4 (#uc9d02686-21dd-56e9-afeb-3c84337d3230)
Chapter 5 (#u608b0602-a4ae-5f0d-9e31-32e1fb5b4202)
Chapter 6 (#u460f61d8-8ff5-5f22-add7-c954cac959fc)
Chapter 7 (#udde5aacf-4c1f-5be6-a18e-11bd948160c8)
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)
Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 25 (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 1 (#ulink_826f875d-cf9d-5a0e-893b-37e7f979611f)
Sofia cupped the bottle of Dom Pérignon and released the cork. Pop! She poured the overflow into a glass and took a sip. Like water into sand. When was the last time I’d opened a bottle and had some non-work-related fun, she wondered. Short answer: her engagement party. But that didn’t count. The formal event had been organized at her mother’s request. And since that night, over a year ago, life had gone stale. No joy, no fizz, no pop.
This, however, was no time for a pity party. Sofia had an actual party—cocktails and hors d’oeuvres for fifty—to wrap up. Real life was work. Whoever promised her fizz and pop, anyway?
Sofia rested her champagne glass on the counter—a treat for later—took a deep breath and handed out her orders. “Melissa, please set up the champagne flutes... Ericka, where’s the box with the trays?”
The kitchen door creaked open. Expecting one of the waiters, she frowned at the guest peering in. Ground zero—in this case, a French country kitchen in the host’s Coral Gables home—was a madhouse. Guests weren’t welcome. And this guest... Jesus! He was two hundred pounds of muscle beautifully packaged in a heather-gray suit. She took in his toasty brown skin and intelligent brown eyes, and cleared her throat. “May I help you?”
“Some water...please.”
“Melissa, get this gentleman a glass of water.”
“A bottle, if you have it.”
Melissa held open the refrigerator door. “Would you prefer sparkling or flat?”
“Flat.”
“Spring or—”
“Melissa, please!” Sofia cried. The man shouldn’t have to answer a quiz.
Melissa handed him a small FIJI bottle. “Here you go.” She smiled shyly.
He smiled too, but there was nothing shy about it. Sofia stiffened. She felt the oddest sensation, the turn of a dial.
But with Watergate resolved and the guest gone, she focused on the task at hand. “Guys, the toast is in five minutes. Let’s go!”
Melissa lined up a row of champagne flutes, giggling as she worked. “That guy was so hot I nearly fell on my face.”
Ericka piled a dozen silver trays on the counter. “I thought you were only into pretty boys.”
“Comes a time in every woman’s life to forget the boys and find a man,” Melissa said.
“You’re a woman now?” Ericka asked.
Valid question. Melissa was only nineteen and looked even younger. But now was not the time to delve into it.
“Quiet!” Sofia snapped. “I need to focus.”
Everybody fell silent. She took a breath and started pouring from the bottle of Dom. The host, a hotshot Miami lawyer, was throwing this party for his firm. This wasn’t the usual office party fare. Normally, they’d serve coconut shrimp and California sparkling wine. This event was all about grilled scallops, crab cakes, smoked salmon topped with caviar, top-shelf liquor and fine champagne. For that reason, she’d taken on the task of filling the glasses herself—not that she was any good at it. It required steady hands, and she was anything but calm.
“Can I help?”
Damn! The words were spoken so close to her ear, she jumped and nearly spilled two hundred dollars’ worth of champagne down her shirt. Him again! What was he doing back in the kitchen? She straightened up to better confront him. His eyes had flecks of gold. One sip of champagne would do that to you; make you see all the sparkle in the world.
She clutched the bottle to her chest. “You really shouldn’t be here.”
He slipped off his suit jacket, revealing a gorgeous garnet lining, and draped it over a chair. Sofia’s mother owned a fabric shop and Sofia had her eye for quality.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I used to be a waiter.”
So what? Hadn’t everyone?
Over her protests, he confiscated the bottle of champagne. Then she watched as he expertly poured eight glasses with a sure hand, not spilling one precious drop. Those brown hands...the nails were clean and clipped, but there was no mistaking them for the hands of a gentleman. If he applied even the slightest pressure, the thick green bottle might shatter.
“How many glasses do you need me to fill?” he asked.
“I don’t need you to do anything,” Sofia replied. “I’d love for you to join the party and enjoy your evening.”
She couldn’t drop the show of indignation. She had employees to impress. He glanced up at her. Brown eyes like rum swirling into a glass.
“Fifty,” she said. “Plus an extra ten. You never know.”
“Well, line ’em up.”
Melissa handed him bottle after bottle. Ericka loaded up the trays. Sofia stood to the side, watching her team and this stranger work quietly and efficiently together. The door swung open again. A young guy, a lawyer-in-the-making type, poked his head in. “What are you doing in here? Everyone’s looking for you.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’m done!”
Sofia inspected his work. All sixty champagne flutes were filled to equal height, ready to go. He reached for his jacket. On his way out, he turned to her and said pointedly, “You’re welcome.”
She shrugged. He wasn’t worth sparring with—because for sure she’d lose. Her staff, though, cheered the unlikely hero.
“Give me a break!” Sofia groaned. “He poured champagne!”
“But he did it with style!” Melissa declared.