Hero at Large (18 page)

“What on earth are you doing?” Chris grinned.

Ken turned and stood. One hand dangled at his side. The other held a long fork with a black hot dog speared on the end. He wore jeans and a faded T-shirt. His ebony hair was backlighted by
the fire. It was in need of a cut again, falling in waves over his ears, and Chris felt her heart flip as a broad smile flashed white in his permanently tanned face. “I'm cooking supper.”

Chris looked at the small television set on the floor. “And watching TV?”

“Just for the noise. I hate this house. It's like living in a mausoleum.”

“Where is everybody? Aren't there servants?”

“A whole pack of them. A butler, a cook, a chauffeur, and God knows how many maids.”

Chris raised her eyebrows.

“I know what you're thinking, but these maids  are
old.
I inherited them with the house, and there's not a single one that doesn't need support hose.”

“So where are they?”

Ken tested his hot dog with his finger to see if it was hot. “My estate supervisor is having a crew come in to paint this barn and thought it would be easier if he didn't have to deal with my decrepit household staff, so we sent the old folks off for a week.”

Chris regarded the lone frankfurter. “This looks like fun, but couldn't you construct a more nourishing meal in the kitchen?”

“My cook would kill me if I got anything out of place. And besides, the kitchen scares the hell out of me. It's all stainless steel—cabinets, appliances, and pots and pans. It reminds me of the embalming room in a morgue. The only thing missing is a tilt-top table.”

Chris smiled and knelt in front of the fire. “This library's nice.”

“It's my favorite room.” He put the hot dog on a plate on the hearth and gestured to a large window opposite the desk. “That window opens on the back of the house. I can sit here and watch the cows.”

Chris looked at him in wonderment. Kenneth Knight…watching cows?

He grinned at her. “I like cows.”

Chris burst out laughing. “You like everything.”

He sat beside her on the rug. He reached out and twirled a strand of her hair, causing goose bumps to erupt over ninety percent of her body. “I like you.”

Chris turned her eyes to the fire while she tried to catch her breath. She felt his hand trail along the line of her jaw and drop to the zipper on her jacket.

He slid the zipper down and parted her jacket,
revealing a soft yellow cotton sweater. When he finally raised his eyes to hers, they were black with passion. “I see you're wearing my ring.”

“Mmmmm.” Chris smiled, discarding her jacket. “I had to use the cup for hot chocolate and didn't have any place else to put the ring.” She leaned forward and ran her hands under his shirt, smoothing them across his tight stomach. “Why are you having the house painted? Planning on having a party? Or a wedding reception, maybe?”

Ken blinked. “The house painted?” He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. “Honey, if you want me to answer questions, you're going to have to stop touching me!”

Chris drew away from him. “I do have a few questions…”

“Mmmm.”

“Do you still want to marry me?”

His eyes held hers in solemn adoration. “Yes.”

Chris felt tears trickle down the back of her throat. She loved him so desperately, but she had to ask. “About your work, will a family interfere? All that traveling that you do…”

“All that traveling has ended. I've spent the last six months consolidating and selling and transferring power to good people. I'm not chairman-of-the-board material. I like being in jeans and
sweatshirts and taking my dog to work with me.” He stirred the logs in the fireplace. “I'm not nearly as rich as I've been made out to be, but I'm very comfortable.”

“Comfortable enough to afford a skating rink as a ‘toy'?”

“Yes. But I don't really consider it a toy. I think what you're doing is important. I want Patti to have her chance. I like the idea of helping young athletes.” He grinned his little-boy grin at her. “I've hired myself as rink manager—not only will we be able to work together, but I'll get to run the Zamboni!”

Chris smiled at the thought of Ken atop the Zamboni. “I love you.”

“Does that mean I should cancel Zanzibar?”

Chris lowered her eyes and heard a sound emerge from deep in her throat. Something between a purr and a growl. She unbuttoned his shirt.

Ken fell back onto the rug and pulled Chris on top of him. “Okay, vixen,” he growled, smiling huskily, “what other sweet tortures are you going to inflict on me?”

Chris looked at him in mock innocence. “I don't know what you mean by sweet tortures.”

He rolled her over and straddled her. His eyes
were soft and molten, heavy lidded with hungry passion. “Sweet tortures,” he repeated. “Like this.” He leaned forward and kissed her parted lips, allowing her to sample only a small portion of the passion he held for her. “I've had two long weeks of sleepless nights to think of sweet tortures,” he whispered. “It will take me a lifetime to show them all to you.”

Don't miss any of her early romances!

 

The Rocky Road to Romance

Love Overboard

Back to the Bedroom

Manhunt

Smitten

Thanksgiving

Wife for Hire

Naughty Neighbor

Foul Play

The Grand Finale

Hero at Large

Her tall, dark, and deliciously dangerous boss…

 

When the delightful, daffy Dog Lady of station WZZZ offered to take on the temporary job of traffic reporter, Steve Crow tried to think of reasons to turn Daisy Adams down. Perhaps he knew that sharing the close quarters of a car with her for hours would give the handsome program director no room to resist her quirky charms. He'd always favored low-slung sports cars and high-heeled women, but that was before he fell for a free spirit who caught crooks by accident, loved old people and pets, and had just too many jobs!

 

Loving Daisy turned Steve's life upside down, especially once he adopted Bob, a huge dog masquerading as a couch potato. But was Daisy finally ready to play for keeps?

Sinfully handsome schooner captain Ivan Rasmussen deserved to be called Ivan the Terrible, Stephanie Lowe decided. First he'd sold her a haunted house, and now he was laughing at her Calamity Jane cooking! She'd only agreed to work one voyage of his Maine coastal cruise in exchange for the house repairs promised by her cousin, who'd run off to marry a plumber.

 

But the brazen Ivan, descendant of a pirate, insisted on flirting with her. When the voyage ended, he even managed to be on hand to help her trap the “ghost” in her house. Fun and comic mayhem, as only Janet Evanovich can write it.

For months he'd thought of her as the Mystery Woman, draped in black velvet cloak, with outrageous red curls, flawless skin, and carrying a large, odd case. But the night David Dodd sees a helicopter drop a chunk of metal through the roof of his lovely neighbor's bedroom, he gets to meet the formidable and delightful Katherine Finn at last!

 

Kate is a driven concert musician with more commitments than hours in the day. Dave is a likable slacker who seems to be drifting through life. Yet, no one has ever made her feel as cherished, and she's never had so much fun, even though her eccentric boarder, Elise, assures her that where Kate is concerned, Dave has plenty of ambition.

Alexandra Scott, Alaskan Wilderness Woman. It had a terrific ring to it, but Alex felt a sudden twinge of uncertainty. She'd traded in her Wall Street job and fancy condo for a rundown cabin in the woods and a bait & tackle store. She'd wanted to escape the rat race and to go husband-hunting where men outnumbered women four to one, but was she ready for the challenge?

 

Then she spotted Michael Casey, a sexy pilot who was undaunted by disaster, had hero written all over him…and was a confirmed bachelor. Michael Casey was the man she had come to Alaska to hunt, and Alexandra Scott had him in her sights.

Single mom Lizabeth Kane wasn't exactly construction-worker material, but she truly wanted a job—and Matt Hallahan found her radiant smile utterly irresistible. When he agreed to hire her as a laborer, Lizabeth sent up a cheer. Since her divorce from a snobby philanderer, she'd frankly lost interest in men, but this macho carpenter, who smelled of sawdust and musk, made her senses sizzle.

 

As for Matt, he was charmed by Lizabeth's enthusiasm, her spunky kids, and wacky aunt. Clearly, this was a match made in heaven.

When Megan Murphy discovers a floppy-eared rabbit gnawing on the hem of her skirt, she means to give its careless owner a piece of her mind—but Dr. Patrick Hunter is too attractive to stay mad at for long.

 

As for Patrick, he wants to play house together and make Thanksgiving dinner for their families. But Megan has wept over one failed love and is afraid to risk her heart again.

Hank Mallone spotted trouble when she sat down and said she'd marry him. Maggie Toone was a tempting firecracker who'd make his life delightful hell if he let her pretend to be his wife in order to improve his rogue's reputation. Would his harebrained scheme to get a bank loan for his business backfire once Maggie arrived in his small Vermont town and let the gossips take a look?

 

Maggie never expected her employer to be drop-dead handsome, or to affect her like a belt of bourbon on an empty stomach, but she was too intrigued by his offer to say no…and too eager to escape a life that made her feel trapped. The deal was strictly business, both agreed, until Hank turned out to be every fantasy she'd ever had.

Louisa Brannigan's neighbor was driving her crazy. He snatched her newspaper and listened through her town house walls. But when she got fired from her government job, Pete was there, asking her to join his undercover operation. So  Louisa was hopelessly entangled—professionally speaking—with the sexiest man alive. Sneaking around corners was fun, especially when the getaway car was a Porsche. Suddenly, Louisa was enjoying life on the edge.

When Amy Klasse loses her TV job to a dancing chicken, handsome veterinarian Jake Elliott rescues her with an offer to be his receptionist. Jake just can't resist a damsel in distress, and Amy certainly doesn't mind Jake's charming sincerity.

 

Then, suddenly, the job-stealing chicken disappears and Amy is suspected of foul play. Amy and Jake search for clues to prove her innocence. But will Jake be able to prove to Amy that love, too, is a mystery worth solving?

Berry Knudsen had a talent for disaster, but when she climbed a tree to rescue a  kitten, she wasn't prepared for the scrumptious hunk undressing in a nearby window, or her dive downward that smashed Jake Sawyer's pizza and won his heart! But was there room in her chaotic schedule for a risk-taking inventor with dreams?

 

Berry took classes, delivered pizzas, and cared for three eccentric old ladies she rescued from the train station. But Jake thrived on a challenge, and he could be very inventive. Could he teach her there was time to make butterscotch pudding and let herself be loved?

It seems like good luck when gorgeous and mysterious Ken Callahan stops to help single mom Chris Nelson with her car. But then she breaks his arm…then his toe…and then his heart. Not easily discouraged, Ken moves into her basement…cooks her potholder in the spaghetti sauce…attempts to seduce her with cookies…and destroys her favorite pan by trying to make a roast in it. All may seem lost for Chris and Ken, until a meddlesome Aunt Edna, a ride on a Zamboni, and a genuine love of family all conspire to turn their luck around.

Bestselling author
JANET EVANOVICH
is the winner of the New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Award and multiple
Romantic Times
awards, including Lifetime Achievement. She is also a longstanding member of RWA.

“Romance novels are birthday cake and life is often peanut butter and jelly. I think everyone should have lots of delicious romance novels lying around for those times when the peanut butter of life gets stuck to the roof of your mouth.” Janet Evanovich, 1988

Visit Janet Evanovich's website at www.evanovich.com, or write her at P.O. Box 2829, Naples, FL 34106.

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.