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“I think you could persuade me to do anything,” Noah said.
His finger trailed down her throat to rest against her collar. Her heart fluttered.
She stepped away and eyed him suspiciously. “What would it take for you to listen to my side of the story?”
He shrugged. “Not much.”
“How much?”
Noah’s eyes gleamed devilishly. “Why don’t we start with dinner?”
“All right, Noah. Why not?” Sheila countered. “But I insist we keep the conversation on business.”
“Just come with me,” he suggested wickedly. “The conversation and the night will take care of themselves.”
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Tears of Pride
Lisa Jackson
MILLS & BOON
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To Mary Clare, my editor,
with love and affection.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
HE STOOD ALONE, and his vibrant blue eyes scanned the horizon, as if he were looking for something…or someone. The cold morning fog on the gray waters of Elliott Bay hampered his view, but the lonely, broad-shouldered man didn’t seem to notice. Haggard lines were etched across his forehead and an errant lock of dark brown hair was caught in the Pacific breeze. Noah Wilder didn’t care. Though dressed only in a business suit, the icy wind blowing across Puget Sound couldn’t cool the anger and frustration burning within him.
Realizing that he had wasted too much time staring at the endlessly lapping water, he began to walk along the waterfront, back to a job he could barely stomach. He gritted his teeth in determination as he continued southward and tried to quiet the anger and fear that were tearing him apart. Just half an hour earlier he had been notified that his son was missing from school. It had happened before. Noah closed his mind to the terrifying thoughts. By now, he was used to the fact that his rebellious son hated school—especially the school into which he had been transferred just two months before. Noah hoped that Sean wasn’t in any real trouble or danger.
He paused only once as he walked back to the office and that was to buy a newspaper. Knowing it was a mistake, he opened the paper to the financial section. Although this time the article was buried, Noah managed to find it on the fourth page. After all this time, he had hoped that the interest in the scandal would have faded. He was wrong. “Damn,” he muttered to himself as he quickly scanned the story.
It had been four weeks since the fire, but that had been time enough for Noah Wilder to have the opportunity to curse his father too many times to count. Today was no exception. Actually
