Cassie
Morgan doesn't need a man--or so she thought--but when her controlling
ex-husband invites her to his wedding, she can't resist showing him
that she doesn't need him anymore. Unfortunately, she's never been good
at attracting the right sort of man, so she decides to hire a gigolo
to pretend to be her husband. What she doesn't realize is the handsome
player in reality works for her new boss. And worse still ... he's a
lawyer, schooled in the intricacies of the law and the many ways she's
breaking them....
Publisher: New Concepts Publishing
www.newconceptspublishing.com/husbandforhire.htm
Also available in trade paperback through
New Concepts Publishing
Walden Books
Amazon.com
Borders.com.au
Doctor
Cassie Morgan is determined to show her controlling ex-husband that she
can survive without him, even hiring handsome gigolo Lee Osbourne, to
act as her husband at her ex's wedding.
But, Cassie's plans go haywire when she falls in love with Lee only to discover he has tricked her and works for her new employer as a medical defense lawyer.
Sparks fly between the lovers, when Cassie is accused of a terrible crime and Lee is assigned to defend her.
Cassie was to meet Lee at four o’clock at the bus shelter outside of the practice and made her way there now with ten minutes to spare.
Thirty minutes later and Lee hadn’t arrived. Cassie shifted from one foot to another for the umpteenth time. It was pouring with rain. She was cold and miserable. Where was he!
She sat down on the seat inside the shelter. It had suited her for Lee to pick her up here, as she didn’t want him to know where she lived, although she had capitulated and given him her mobile number in case of an emergency. This was an emergency and he hadn’t rung!
He isn’t going to turn up, Cassie thought bitterly, watching the rain rushing along the gutter in a torrent. She had forgotten her raincoat and umbrella in the rush of packing this morning and was going to get wet if this rain continued. She studied the shiny toes of her new beautiful shocking pink shoes, which matched her new, beautiful, shocking pink suit. She had bought several outfits including a magnificent dress to wear at the wedding and her bank balance was definitely the worse for wear. It would be even more depleted by the time she wrote a cheque for Lee’s fee.
She groaned inwardly. Perhaps this wasn’t a good idea after all. Perhaps it would be better if he didn’t turn up and she never saw him again. She would hide away in her bed-sitter and shrivel into an old maid never to be touched by human hands again.
Whoosh! Cassie shrieked as a car roared up shooting a soaking spray of rainwater over her. She gasped as she looked down at her saturated skirt and shoes but before she could utter a word, Lee was along side her wielding a large umbrella.
‘I’m sorry I’m late, Cassie – Good Heavens, how did you get so wet?’
‘You did this,’ Cassie spluttered. ‘Look, you’ve ruined my suit – it’s soaking.’
Lee inspected her clothes and then gave her a warm grin. ‘Get in, sweetie,’ he said holding open the door of the low-slung sports car and helping her into the passenger seat. He quickly loaded her case, plus her medical bag and the umbrella into the boot and jumped into the driver’s seat.
There was a tense silence except for the beating of the rain on the roof of the car. Cassie turned, her green eyes sparkling with fire as she glared at him.
‘This is not a good start, Lee,’ she said through clenched teeth. ‘You were thirty minutes late then you just about drowned me. How am I going to travel to Newcastle like this?’ She pulled at the wet skirt trying to cover her thighs where it had ridden up.
Lee started the engine and pulled into the heavy stream of traffic. Cassie noted he was very casually dressed in blue jeans and a matching blue sweatshirt. He looked elegant and relaxed while she – she looked like she had been pulled through a hedge backwards.
‘You’re not going to travel like that. I’ll find a hotel where you can dry off and change into something more comfortable. Put your seatbelt on,’ he said all in one breath.
Cassie yanked at the belt and, snapping it into place, folded her arms across her chest and stared in front of her.
Lee touched her thigh. ‘I really am sorry I was late – I was held up with something at work.’ He could have bitten his tongue out as he said the damning words.
‘Oh, I bet you were,’ Cassie said pushing his hand away. ‘I hope she paid you extra because I’ve just made a substantial deduction from your fee for this debacle.’
‘You know, you are very Irish when you’re cross,’ Lee replied swinging the car into the front entrance of a large hotel and pulling to a stop.
‘I am Irish and I warn you Lee, I have a temper to match this red hair so don’t mess with me.’
Lee turned and leaned towards her so his face was only inches from hers. ‘I love Irish women with red hair and green eyes who wear crazy pink suits with impossibly pink high heels in the pouring rain,’ he whispered and his mouth covered hers in a hard kiss. Cassie tried to draw back stunned by the feel of his lips but Lee took advantage of her surprise and deepened the kiss. He felt his head spinning as she allowed him to taste the inside of her mouth as she tentatively pushed her tongue against his. She tasted of honey and smelt of jasmine and Lee’s heart slammed in his chest as his hand traced the velvet of her cheek.
He drew back at last and gazed into her face now soft with beauty, her eyes huge green pools.
‘Just practising for later,’ he said in an act of flippancy as he turned away and opened the car door.