This stubborn tycoon isn’t a family man...or is he?
When Royce Brazier hires the hottest event planner in Savannah to mastermind his charity masquerade ball, it’s just another win for his portfolio. But Jasmine Harden isn’t some lackey to boss around. The dynamic single mom and her adorable little girl quickly penetrate Royce’s business-only facade...and Jasmine’s passionate kisses cast a sensual spell...
Jasmine fears falling for the most eligible bachelor in town, even as she falls into Royce’s bed. Is her billionaire boss’s bad attitude about family based on a deeper hurt? Perhaps Jasmine and her daughter are the ones to change his mind!
He couldn’t think of anything he wanted more than for Jasmine to spend the rest of the night with him.
“Need to go?” he finally asked.
Jasmine hesitated. If he’d been in her situation, he would have, too.
Covering the few steps left between them, Royce let his body act on instinct. He reached out and cupped the cool skin of her upper arms. Then he rubbed up and down, aiming to warm her. But also to fulfill his own craving to simply touch her.
She stared up at him in the dark. Beneath his touch, she shivered, then she shook her head no.
“Then come back to bed.”
That first touch of skin on skin exhilarated him. He rolled over her in the bed, covering her cool body with his warmth. Savoring the gasp of air that signaled her surrender.
* * *
A Family for the Billionaire is part of Mills & Boon Desire’s No. 1 bestselling series, Billionaires and Babies: Powerful men…wrapped around their babies’ little fingers.
DANI WADE astonished her local librarians as a teenager when she carried home ten books every week—and actually read them all. Now she writes her own characters, who clamor for attention in the midst of the chaos that is her life. Residing in the Southern United States with a husband, two kids, two dogs and one grumpy cat, she stays busy until she can closet herself away with her characters once more.
To all the sisters who have enriched my travels and blessed my life—
LeaAnn, Sheridan, Tammy, Hannah, Nicole, Kim, Kira, Andrea, Marilyn, Linda and LJ.
My journeys wouldn’t have been the same without you...
“I assume this meeting is being conducted with the utmost confidentiality?”
“Of course,” Jasmine Harden said, though she had never before had to assure a potential client of that.
“Then I’ll be honest.”
She eyed Royce Brazier as he paced before her in his suit and tie. The floor-to-ceiling windows of his office overlooked the river and provided the perfect backdrop. Gorgeous—the man and the view. As he paused for a moment, she noticed just a hint of something on his neck, right above his collar in the back. Was that a tattoo?
Quickly Jasmine dropped her gaze. She knew exactly how easy it was to read her expression, so she turned her thoughts in more businesslike directions.
“Besides,” he continued as he faced her once more, “if word got out, I’d know where it came from, wouldn’t I?”
Okay, Royce was making it a lot easier to focus on business.
“My shipping fleet has done very well, but I’m interested in taking my business to a new level. To that end, I’m aiming to attract a certain family that I hope will contract extensive work from my fleet.” A frown marred Royce’s smooth forehead. She could almost see the thoughts as they took hold of him. “This family is very altruistic and so I want to do a fund-raising event that appeals to them.”
“So this is all about a business deal?” Though she could understand the logic Royce was working with, the conclusion was still disappointing. The hot CEO apparently didn’t have a heart...
“It’s purely a business endeavor. As with other projects, I’ll write the check, you do the work.”
Wasn’t that a nice attitude? Not. Though Jasmine regularly worked with high-profile businessmen in this city, she’d never had one approach her with a proposal this cold. “Why me?” she asked quietly.
“I did my research,” he said, turning a direct stare on her that made her uncomfortably aware of things other than business. “You’re well known in the circles I want to attract, your clients have a very high rate of satisfaction and we use some of the same vendors, the best vendors in the city of Savannah.”
His praise should make her feel better, right?
“My assistant received some wonderful feedback on you. You were rated the highest of star-quality event planners in the region.
“I only work with the best of the best. That’s how I can trust you to do the work.”
Why did he have to be so handsome? A handsome automaton. That slight peek at a tattoo on his neck had led her to expect more. A huff of laughter escaped as she imagined him as a true robot in her overactive imagination.
“Is there a problem?” he asked, narrowing his eyes on her as if suspicious she was making fun of him.
“Nothing.” At least she hadn’t giggled. That would definitely be unprofessional. “Can you tell me what charity you have in mind?” she asked, trying to get back on track.
“I don’t. Pick whatever you feel is appropriate.”
Jasmine blinked. Everything about this meeting was completely out of the ordinary when it came to how she worked with her clients.
“I simply need an event that is noteworthy and appropriate,” he continued. “They seem to be involved in quite a few causes. Oh, and I need it in less than two months.”
Oh, my. “So you think I’m a miracle worker?”
This time he relented enough to offer a small smile. “I certainly hope so. Otherwise the event will be too late to have any impact on my bid. Can I count on you?”
She thought back over their conversation. No. No. And no. “Listen, I don’t think I’m the right person for this job.” Or quite frankly, for this boss. She had a feeling that working for him would be a minefield, and with her life in tumult already, she didn’t need a difficult boss.
He stopped his pacing to stare. “Why not?”
You’re too handsome, too business minded and too cavalier about this endeavor altogether.
Only she couldn’t say any of that out loud. Questions rang in Jasmine’s mind as she watched him, thinking hard. She’d heard plenty about Royce Brazier, but she’d never actually
