CHAPTER FIVE
JC Harroway
The romantic vs. the cynic
Chemistry is all they have in common!
New York lawyer Ash has moved to London to escape his demons—and one red-hot night with gorgeous stranger Essie is the perfect distraction! He’s ready to forget about her entirely...until she walks into his office for her first day at work. She’s a romantic, seeking her happily-ever-after—he’s a distrustful cynic who can’t commit... Could a sexy fling be the best mistake of their lives?
“DARE is Harlequin’s hottest line yet. Every book should come with a free fan. I dare you to try them!”
—Tiffany Reisz, international bestselling author
To E
for inspiring the fun, bubbly, caring Essie. x
IF THIS SETTING, so far from the wreckage he’d left behind in New York, couldn’t provide ballast, nowhere could. Ash Jacob closed his eyes, sucked in a deep breath and focussed on the sun warming his back, the hypnotic chatter of English birdsong and the continuous distant hum of London traffic.
‘Shit!’
The violent exclamation pulled him up short. So he wasn’t the only one having a bad day. His vision hazed as the bright July sunlight hit his retinas once more, his surroundings sharpening into focus. He stretched one arm along the back of the park bench, the wooden slats of which dug into his fatigued muscles—a reminder that he’d spent twelve hours on a plane yesterday, largely bent like a pretzel despite his first-class seat.
‘Bloody, buggering, shit.’
What a charming turn of phrase.
His mouth twitched and his mood lightened. She stood a short distance away from
