A proposal of convenience!
Jacques Brookes wants the world to see the real him—the man behind the headlines. When he catches the eye of beautiful Lily Newman, he knows she could be just the woman to help him...
Jacques screams trouble—Lily’s already had her heart broken by her cheating ex-fiancé. But by pretending to be Jacques’s girlfriend she may be the only person who can help him on his journey to redemption. And he could be just what Lily needs to believe in love again!
Lily took a shaky breath as she walked into the Latté Morning studio. She still wasn’t sure why she was there.
When she’d gotten home the previous night, she’d convinced herself that she would forget all about Jacques. Especially since she still felt raw because his interest in her—his kindness to her—had all been a ploy to get her to help him.
She’d told herself she should have known. Her ex, Kyle, had been nice to her once upon a time. It was how she’d fallen for him—and how she’d learned niceness was never simple.
But still, it stung.
His dismissal felt like confirmation that she wasn’t likable. And even though he’d claimed otherwise, his actions had shown her the truth. It had amplified all of her insecurities, and she’d been determined to escape it. She’d been determined to show Jacques she was as right for his plan as anyone else was. So she’d kissed him.
It was impulsive. It was hot. It was everything she’d expected from a man with Jacques’s undeniable sexiness and charm. But there was something more, too. She remembered the scar above his mouth again, the fight he’d said he’d had with Kyle, and realized it was dangerous, too.
It both thrilled and terrified her that she seemed to be attracted to the danger she sensed in Jacques. And though she wanted to, she couldn’t deny that it was part of the reason she was walking into a television studio at six in the morning to pretend to be his girlfriend. She knew this plan was a form of redemption for him.
Dear Reader,
I can happily admit that writing Jacques, the hero of this book, was a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. He’s done things he isn’t proud of, earned his bad-boy reputation and is now looking for a way to redeem himself. While bad boys were never my cup of tea, I can definitely see the appeal of a bad boy gone good, hence Jacques. In fact, I’m fairly sure that’s the reason I’m a little in love with him myself...
It’s also the reason why Lily, his heroine, falls for him. Lily has struggled all her life with insecurities and bullies, and pairing her with a charming and slightly arrogant hero was such a pleasure—and probably a tribute to my younger self, who had a lot in common with Lily. It was wonderful to witness these characters grow and defy their pasts. And making sure Lily didn’t give in to Jacques as easily as he would have liked was pretty great, too!
Jacques and Lily’s story is fun and sassy, filled with all the satisfying emotions of falling in love. I hope you love it as much as I do! And if you want to get in touch, you can find me on Twitter, @ThereseBeharrie, or Facebook at Therese Beharrie, Author. You can also contact me through my website, theresebeharrie.com.
Here’s to happily-ever-afters that sparkle!
Love,
Therese
THE MILLIONAIRE’S
REDEMPTION
Therese Beharrie
Therese Beharrie has always been thrilled by romance. Her love of reading established this, and now she gets to write happily-ever-afters for a living and about all things romance in her blog at theresebeharrie.com. She married a man who constantly exceeds her romantic expectations and is an infinite source of inspiration for her romantic heroes. She lives in Cape Town, South Africa, and is still amazed that her dream of being a romance author is a reality.
Books by Therese Beharrie
Harlequin Romance
The Tycoon’s Reluctant Cinderella
A Marriage Worth Saving
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.
Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!
Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards
http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010002
For my husband, who was the official consultant for this book (and the unofficial consultant for every other). Thank you for making me see that I am more than enough.
For my mother, who taught me that the best way to deal with bullies is to believe in myself and work even harder. Thank you for helping me through it.
And Lunelle, who’s always willing to defend me (even when it isn’t necessary). Thank you for your love and support.
I love you all.
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
EXCERPT FROM CAPTIVATED BY THE ENIGMATIC TYCOON BY BELLA BUCANNON
CHAPTER ONE
‘AND THE SOLUTION you’ve come up with is marriage?’
Lily Newman’s steps faltered at the words. Not because she was at an engagement party—her best friend Caitlyn’s—where marriage was supposed to be celebrated, but because of the anger that stiffened every word she’d overheard.
There was something familiar about the voice, though not because she knew the person speaking. It was just something in the tone... But that was ridiculous, so she focused on the fact that since she didn’t recognise the voice entirely she couldn’t be overhearing either of the individuals she was celebrating that evening.
She looked around to check whether she might be caught eavesdropping. Not that she wanted to be doing that. She had come upstairs to have some time alone. Yes, maybe it did have something to do with seeing her ex-fiancé Kyle arrive with the woman he’d cheated on Lily with. Okay, maybe it had everything to do with that.
Because she hadn’t wanted to face it, she’d escaped the lavish party Caitlyn’s wealthy fiancé Nathan was hosting at his newly purchased home, thinking she might as well explore considering the time she would spend there once her friend was married. But her exploration had ended fairly quickly when she’d heard those angry words from the room she was now standing outside.
‘Mr Brookes, we think—’
Brookes was Nathan’s surname, she thought, and realised why the man’s voice had sounded so familiar. He was one of Nathan’s family. Perhaps the brother Caitlyn had told her Nathan had a tenuous relationship with. The one she’d never met and knew not to bring up in front of Nathan after Caitlyn had told her not to. She knew she should give him his privacy, and was about to leave when the man spoke again.
‘It doesn’t really sound like you were thinking at all, Jade.’
The voice hadn’t risen in volume, but Lily felt a chill go through her.
Poor Jade.
‘We...we actually did put a lot of thought into this, Mr Brookes.’ A male voice took over from Jade, though his words were no more confident.
‘Then take me through your thought process.’
Careful, Lily thought.
She looked around again, saw that she was still alone, and leaned against the wall.
‘We did the research.’ Jade was speaking again. ‘The file we mailed you has all the results from various avenues—test groups, opinion polls, social media. Yes, you’re a successful businessman now, but you’ve done that largely outside of the public eye. People still remember you as the man who lost the Shadows Rugby Club their chance to compete internationally. They remember you as the man who would do anything to win a game, but took it too far in the end.’
There was a pause, and then Jade continued hesitantly. ‘And then all the attention was on your suspension, and the partying you did during the year after your last game for the Shadows...’
‘You’re not telling me anything new.’ The words were flat. ‘I hired you because I knew that it would be difficult to...restore my image. But I’m doubting my decision now, since you’re telling me marriage is the only way I can do that.’
‘It’s not the only way,’ the other man Lily had yet to identify said quickly. ‘But it’s the fastest way. And considering that the buy-out is time-sensitive...’ He trailed off.
There was silence for a while, and Lily pushed away from the wall. Guilt spread through her when she realised she shouldn’t be listening to a private conversation. Sure, she wanted to know more about Nathan’s mysterious brother—if that was who he was—but it was purely out of curiosity. There really wasn’t a reason for her to listen to Nathan’s family’s business.
She turned away, forcing herself to act like the confident woman she was trying to be and face Kyle, but she paused when she heard the voices in the room again.
‘I shouldn’t have asked you to come to my brother’s engagement party.’
So he was Nathan’s brother.
‘We can discuss this tomorrow, after the TV interview.’
Her thoughts froze when she realised the man was now walking towards the door, and her legs moved just in time to avoid being caught. She hurried down the passage and turned the corner that led to the stairs...
And then stilled when she saw the man she was trying to avoid walking up them.
Kyle.
His date—the other descriptions in her mind weren’t quite as polite—was giggling as he whispered something into her ear. Lily had never bothered to learn the woman’s name—why would she need to know the name of the woman she’d caught naked in her fiancé’s arms?—but she did remember the red hair and petite frame.
It made her pull at the dress Caitlyn had begged her to wear a few days ago. It was too tight, Lily thought desperately. She wished with all her might that it wasn’t in a shocking red colour that did nothing to hide the curves Lily had plenty of—too many, in fact.
Her pretend confidence was already dwindling, she realised. And although there was a part of her that told her it was to be expected when she was about to face the man who had broken her down throughout their relationship—who had cheated on her—she had expected more of herself.
It also did her no good to notice how much smaller than Lily Kyle’s date was. She watched the man she had once thought she loved slide a hand around the woman’s tiny waist, pulling her close enough that there was no space between them. They were sneaking away to fool around, she realised, nausea fierce in her belly. How many times had she thwarted Kyle’s attempts to do just that with her when they were at parties? He hadn’t only found a woman smaller than her, Lily thought. She was also the risk-taker Kyle had always wanted and Lily would never be.
In the split second before Kyle saw her Lily decided to take a risk. She wanted Kyle to think that she had been making out with someone upstairs. That the thing she had refused to do with him—the thing he had found someone else for—she was now doing with someone other than him.
She would probably think that it was a terrible decision later, but as she fluffed her coiled curls and rubbed her lips together to smudge her lipstick she only hoped one thing—that Nathan’s brother had a sense of humour.
‘Lily?’
Kyle’s voice immediately sent her skin crawling and her heart galloping. She couldn’t believe that she’d once found that voice attractive. Now she heard the slime curl around every word.
She lifted her eyebrows. ‘Kyle? I didn’t see you there. How are you?’
The of-course-you-saw-me glint in Kyle’s eyes set her teeth on edge and had a small part of herself recoiling.
‘I’m well. How are you? I heard you managed to get that bookstore up and running eventually.’
‘It’s doing really well, actually. My initial investment was quite substantial, as you know.’
Kyle’s eyes hardened, and satisfaction pumped through her. But then it gave way to the usual feelings of disgust at the thought of how their relationship had ended. At how she’d compromised her integrity, her dignity.
She ignored the fact that her self-confidence was deteriorating with every moment she spent in his presence.
‘You’ve never met Michelle before, have you? At least not officially.’ Kyle pushed the woman forward. ‘We’re getting married in a few months.’
‘Congratulations,’ she answered, and though ice stiffened her spine at the woman’s cold look she felt nothing else at the news that Kyle was getting married.
That didn’t mean relief didn’t wash over her when she heard steps behind her.
Not even considering that it might be someone else, she spoke again. ‘I didn’t think you needed that much time to recover, honey...’
She turned around, and the words tailed off when she saw her supposed ‘boyfriend’ for the first time. His skin was the colour of coffee with cream, complemented by dark hair tousled in a style that made her fingers wish they’d been the ones to style it. His dark eyes were stormy, and she realised she had taken a massive gamble with the man—he was clearly still upset about the conversation he had just had.
But the storm cleared immediately after that thought, and was replaced by a look of calm that made her feel even more uneasy. His eyes flickered over her, and then looked at Kyle before resting on her again. The calm then transformed into interest—amusement, too, she thought—with the faintest hint of some secret knowledge that made her skin heat.
He looked nothing like his traditionally handsome brother. His face was made of rugged planes that suggested he had a thousand stories to tell, and just above his mouth was a scar that she could imagine feeling during a kiss.
When the sides of the lips she was admiring curved upwards, she flushed. He might not be traditionally handsome, but he sure as hell was sexy.
‘“Honey”? You and Jacques...you’re dating?’
Kyle interrupted her perusal, and Lily felt her tongue stick in her mouth when she realised that Kyle knew Nathan’s brother—Jacques.
You should have thought of that, Lily admonished herself.
She knew that Kyle was here because Nathan worked in Kyle’s family’s law firm. Nathan loved his job, and hadn’t wanted to upset the prestigious Van der Rosses by not inviting the man who would one day become his boss. Caitlyn had assured her it was the only reason Lily’s ex-fiancé had been invited.
‘Yes, we’re dating.’
The smooth baritone of Jacques’s voice sent shivers down Lily’s spine, and she struggled to shake the feeling.
‘For how long?’ Kyle said, and she turned back to see the smugness disappear.
It bothered him, she thought, her heart accelerating in an instinctual response to Kyle’s anger. But then she paused, and told herself she didn’t have to be worried about him lashing out.
She didn’t have to worry about him at all any more.
‘Almost six months now,’ she said as Jacques moved down a step to stand beside her. He was a full head taller than she was, and she tried
to ignore the awareness that realisation brought.
‘Six months?’ Kyle repeated, and she saw his eyes flash.
They’d broken up a year ago, and clearly he thought six months was too short a time for her to mourn for him.
‘It doesn’t feel like six months, though,’ Jacques said, and she shifted her gaze to him. ‘I barely feel like I’ve scratched the surface with you.’
So he did have a sense of humour, she thought, and smiled. When he responded with a smile of his own her breath caught and she thought something crackled between them. Her heart thudded when Jacques wrapped an arm around her waist, and for a moment she forgot that it was all a game and lifted her hand to brush at a piece of his hair.
‘How did you two meet?’
Kyle’s voice punctured the tension in the air and she looked at him with a foggy mind. It took her a minute, but when she came out of her Jacques-induced haze she noted the grim set of Kyle’s lips. He really didn’t like this, she thought, and waited for the panic. For that quick rush of trepidation that anticipated that she was about to be put in her place.
But nothing came. And somehow she knew it was because of the easy strength exuded by the man at her side.
‘I’d love to tell you all about it, Kyle, but we were up there for far too long.’
Lily shot a flirtatious glance at Jacques, and briefly wondered how deep a hole she was digging when she saw a flash of heat in Jacques’s eyes.
‘We should probably spend some time with the happy couple. Enjoy the rest of your evening.’
Taking Jacques’s hand, she hurried down the stairs, weaving her way through the guests. She only stopped once they were outside on the balcony, and then she immediately let go.
‘I’m so sorry about that,’ she said hurriedly, her chest suddenly tight.
Just breathe, Lily, it’s over now.
‘Care to explain?’
There was a slight breeze in the air and Lily walked to the edge of the balcony, turning her face towards the wind. It helped steady her, and when she opened her eyes—when she saw the view in front of her—that did, too.
The Millionaire's Redemption Page 1