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Fired Waitress, Hired Mistress
Robyn Grady
There’s only one position he wants her in…Nina Petrelle, disastrous waitress to over-privileged island holidaymakers, has just been fired by her high-handed new boss Gabe Steele – aka the smoking hot stranger she’s just spent the best night of her life with.Gabe can’t say no to Nina’s endless sun-kissed legs and her too-smart mouth that he’s just craving to keep busy! But, despite the sun, sand and scorching hot nights, his head is definite – it’s only a temporary fling. Isn’t it?
‘Nina, you can’t stay.’
‘You’re sacking me.’ Not a question. Rather a flat-line statement.
He stopped less than an arm’s length away, and instantly the space between them crackled with heat. The grooves in his mind slotted back into blistering memories of last night and the undeniable force that clawed at him whenever she was near.
He set his jaw. Got a grip. Slapped that mental wall back up.
‘Nina, you can’t continue to work here.’
Her slim nostrils flared before she slowly nodded. ‘I understand. I do.’ She glanced over their cold meals. ‘If it’s all the same with you, I won’t stay for dinner.’
She turned and, as his throat and chest burned, walked through into the main room.
Cursing under his breath, he strode off to catch up. This woman would drive him nuts.
The pull—this fierce physical attraction—was too strong to ignore. No matter how many times she walked away he would have to bring her back. Because what he’d tried to block from his mind all the long day would happen. He knew it as well as he knew his own name.
They would make love again, and she’d better prepare herself.
Dear Reader
Remember the movie Sliding Doors? Sometimes a closing door can be a blessing in disguise!
My heroine in FIRED WAITRESS, HIRED MISTRESS harks from a prestigious background. From a young age Nina Petrelle has expected, and received, the best of everything. Gabe Steele, on the other hand, comes from humble stock. Despite the difference in family bank balances, Gabe was Nina’s brother’s best mate. Fourteen-year-old Nina couldn’t pinpoint why Gabe’s dismissive behaviour towards her should rankle so much, but she evened the score by jibing Gabe about his station in life every chance she got.
Then those doors slapped shut.
When Nina’s father died, ultimately so did the Petrelle fortune. Nina, who would have continued along her privileged path, now struggles to meet bills. Conversely, the tragedy that struck Gabe’s world set a fire beneath his determination to succeed. It is as a cool, wealthy playboy that he meets Nina again.
A more mature and modest Nina scorns the hedonistic world in which Gabe now reigns supreme. Gabe, however, knows Nina is simply cut over their changed circumstances: beneath her waitress garb she’s still that spoilt brat. As mismatched as they were in the past, they are doubly so now. Yet neither can deny the explosive magnetism which, time and again, draws them together and fights to keep them close.
Life is a series of twists and turns. When one door shuts, another will surely open. But travelling a new road isn’t always easy—particularly where pride and love are concerned.
Hope you enjoy FIRED WAITRESS, HIRED MISTRESS!
Warmest wishes
Robyn
One Christmas long ago, Robyn Grady received a book from her big sister and immediately fell in love with Cinderella. Sprinklings of magic, deepest wishes come true—she was hooked! Picture books with glass slippers later gave way to romance novels and, more recently, the real-life dream of writing for Mills & Boon.
After a fifteen-year career in television, Robyn met her own modern-day hero. They live on Australia’s Sunshine Coast with their three little princesses, two poodles, and a cat called Tinkie. Robyn loves new shoes, worn jeans, lunches at Moffat Beach and hanging out with her friends on eHarlequin. Learn about her latest releases at www.robyngrady.com, and don’t forget to say hi. She’d love to hear from you!
Recent titles by the same author:
Modern Heat™
CONFESSIONS OF A MILLIONAIRE’S MISTRESS
NAUGHTY NIGHTS IN THE MILLIONAIRE’S MANSION
DEVIL IN A DARK BLUE SUIT
Desire™
FOR BLACKMAIL…OR PLEASURE?
BEDDED BY BLACKMAIL
Fired Waitress, Hired Mistress
by
Robyn Grady
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/)
This one’s for the mega talented ‘209ers RWA Bootcamp’ gals! Thanks Rachel, Alison and Nikki, for organising a great couple of days. Onward and upward, ladies!
With thanks, as always, to my fab editor Kimberley Young for helping to bring out the best in my work.
Table of Contents
Cover Page (#u5028b354-9298-5fe2-bf07-ffbf8b9b919d)
Excerpt (#ua1704421-21e3-5e2c-8f93-e122a5457449)
Dear Reader (#ub83f85b8-8586-5b7c-af97-b0ddde7880a8)
About The Author (#u88e736fa-4f2d-50bb-aa2f-73676a9ba61d)
Other Books By (#u15afff9a-a418-567b-945f-48f7bc9fb34f)
Title Page (#ub44ebb89-8e01-5011-8ba3-30ebf17a3196)
Dedication (#uf55ea92e-3858-5736-9226-b62dee5eca55)
Chapter One (#u138f8caf-03e4-5cf7-b214-5a7b31726ca8)
Chapter Two (#u90fe3bd7-7856-544c-8400-4e1aff21766d)
Chapter Three (#u576347d2-1900-5a03-ac80-faa27c79eea5)
Chapter Four (#u61bd1e5c-7acd-501e-ab1c-ec40a0993c46)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
FROM the moment Nina Petrelle opened her eyes, she was painfully aware of three things.
One: she had a pounding great bump on the back of her head. Two: her ankle was stuck in what felt like a soggy, splintered vice. Three: cool, salty water was lapping the length of her prostrate body…was filling her mouth and her lungs.
Choking on seawater, Nina came fully to. She sat bolt upright and, an instant later, yelped in hair-raising agony. Gritting her teeth, she clutched at her thigh. When the red-tipped arrows firing up her shin gradually eased, Nina withered back down.
But she wouldn’t give in to the tears. Damned if she would. Instead Nina thumped both fists hard against the sand.
Little by little over the last two months she’d felt tiny pieces of herself falling away. The sense that she was losing the battle kept rubbing and chipping at her strength until this afternoon, after a gruelling shift, she’d fixed her heart upon escape. But what she’d truly wanted to leave behind—the question she didn’t want to face—had followed her.
Lately it had haunted her.
Who am I?
She didn’t know any more.
Once life had shone out before her like a glittering golden path. Her father had owned a highly successful engineering firm and, growing up, she’d thought nothing of her family’s numerous house staff, nor her expectations of having the best clothes, the best food—the best of everything. Of course that had been before her father had died, her manic mother had stripped the family coffers clean and her usually responsible kid sister had got pregnant by a deadbeat who hadn’t hung around.
While her mother had gone into a tailspin, Nina had pulled up her sleeves. After completing her university degree, she’d landed a job in publishing—a fast-paced, intense world she adored. Until recently she’d worked as the features editor for an acclaimed teen magazine, Shimmer.
Then the blunt axe had fallen.
Along with a number of other staff she’d been retrenched. With a sizeable mortgage, and other commitments, she’d needed a job, but well-paid positions weren’t so easy to come by, particularly in her field. With everyone tightening their belts, the shrivelled industry grapevine was as quiet as a church.
One morning, while prioritising her mounting bills, a long-time friend had called. Alice Sully’s family owned a travel agency and, if Nina was desperate, her dad could wangle her a stint working on an exclusive holiday retreat; he knew the owner. Waitressing hours there would be long, Alice had warned her, but the money was great.
Slumping with relief, Nina had accepted, and these past six weeks she’d worked her butt off at Diamond Shores, Australia’s premier Great Barrier Reef resort.
And not one moment went by when she didn’t wish herself back home.
Most of the other staff had let her know they weren’t happy that she’d swung a ticket here via the back door. A job at what many considered Australia’s holiday Mecca was supposed to be hard-won, and two years helping part-time at the uni cafeteria didn’t make muster.
But, needing the work, she’d been determined to do her best. So she held her head high, when most of the time she felt like a big fat pretender. She smiled till her face ached. Even when pampered patrons accused her of getting their orders wrong. Or commanded her to do silly things, like massage their temples for ridiculous amounts of time if they felt a headache coming on. And that was only the beginning. When she crashed, late at night, her dreams were a jumble of spilled cocktails, tumbling plates and an endless parade of growling, super-rich guests.
That was the hardest.
Once Nina Petrelle had lounged on the A list. She’d sipped chilled Cristal cocktails and worried about little other than her designer tan, acrylic tips, or the lack of room to accommodate her ever-expanding wardrobe. Now, existing on the other side of the glass wall, that kind of over-indulgence near sickened her. She wanted to shake these out-of-touch squillionaires and let them know there were real people out there and they were doing it tough.
But alongside her indignation lived another emotion. A desire that, in the still dead of night, made Nina’s cheeks burn with shame.
Envy.
Secretly she craved to cast off her uniform and rest her weary limbs. She wanted to sprawl out on one of those sunwashed deckchairs and beg, borrow or steal the chance to return to the decadence of her previously worry-free life—if just for a day or two.
She hadn’t thought she’d miss extravagance. Had never imagined ever wanting to be a society princess again. She had a new life, and obscene luxury simply wasn’t her any more.
Yet here she was—torn between opposing selfindulgence and desperately wanting it back.
A monster of a wave crashed on the shore and Nina was brought back to the harrowing present. As the sea rushed in, a cry slipped from her throat, but, with water flooding her windpipe, her “Help!” came out a spluttering cough.
Who would hear anyway?
Determined to keep her mind off her troubles, and maybe trim up those saddlebags, this afternoon she’d strolled along the powder-soft sand until she’d reached the island’s unpopulated southern tip. Collecting shells and other flux, she’d happened upon a tree fallen across the full width of the beach. Its trunk had looked solid enough, but as she’d leaped over, her foot had broken through a patch of rotting wood. Off balance, she’d tumbled back, and had struck her head on something hard.
Nina touched that stinging lump now, and winced at the same time as another vivid memory flashed to mind.
A heartbeat before passing out she’d seen an angel standing on a nearby cliff…a brilliant vision, arched against the unsettled sky, which had made her heart hammer as well as melt.
She pushed up onto her elbows and angled her throbbing head. Tropical sunshine struggled through darkening clouds to bounce off the jagged ledges, but no angel adorned the cliff’s peak.
Pity. The image burned into her brain was of a male with raven’s wing hair, linebacker shoulders and a set of windblown white wings. Given the distance, those few delicious details ought to have been it. And yet a deeper, unshakable impression remained…
Strong, chiselled features. Mesmerising ice-blue eyes. A bare chest bronzed the colour of warm oak. His confident stance had conveyed not only a sense of authority but also…
What was it?
Destiny? Perhaps purpose? And what about the raw sexuality that had rippled off him in blistering waves? Did angels have dibs on that stuff? She’d never seen anything more powerful.
More beautiful.
Before she’d slipped into darkness Nina imagined their eyes had met and a message had passed between them. He’d told her not to worry, that he knew and would protect her.
She looked around, and a slightly hysterical laugh slipped out.
