His Christmas Cinderella! From New York Times bestselling author Barbara Dunlop.
These days, the only woman who interests Matt Emerson is the one working on his yacht. Even covered in grease, marine mechanic Tasha Lowell excites him. But he knows a romance with the boss isnt part of her professional playbook.
Yet when a saboteur targets Matts charter-boat empire, Tasha agrees to be Matts date at a holiday ball to gather intel. Tasha was beautiful before the makeover, but now she takes his breath away. Suddenly, keeping this strictly business isnt an option...
Twelve Nights of Temptation is part of the Whiskey Bay Brides trilogy.
I want to kiss you.
Thats a bad idea, Tasha said.
Why? Matt asked.
The signature on my paycheck. Besides, Im not that kind of girl.
The kind that kisses men?
The kind that randomly kisses men, while Im working, in an engine room, covered in grease.
So, are there any circumstances under which youd agree to kiss me? Maybe if we left the engine room? Perhaps if you washed off the grease?
Nice try.
I thought so.
Youre just not used to hearing the word no.
Youre right. It makes you even more attractive to me. Now Im hoping against hope that youll admit youre attracted to me.
A flush came up on her cheeks. We both know you struck out.
Maybe. But this is only the first inning. In fact, lets call it batting practice.
* * *
Twelve Nights of Temptation
is part of the Whiskey Bay Brides series:
Three friends find love on the shores of Whiskey Bay.
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the second book in the Whiskey Bay Brides series! The Pacific Northwest is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Where else can you go from skiing a snowy alpine run to swimming on a warm beach in only a few hours? The rugged beauty of Whiskey Bay is the perfect setting for romance.
In Twelve Nights of Temptation, marina owner Matt Emerson is the target of sabotage, which endangers both his fleet of luxury yachts and his hardworking staff. When he joins forces with his mechanic, Tasha Lowell, to catch the culprit, he finds himself seeing past her unadorned exterior to find a gorgeous woman beneath. But Tasha refuses to compromise her hard-won respect by dating the boss.
Then the stakes grow higher when Tasha becomes the target, and she and Matt are thrown togetherat sea with no one to depend on but each other.
Barbara
Twelve Nights of Temptation
Barbara Dunlop
www.millsandboon.co.uk
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author BARBARA DUNLOP has written more than forty novels for Mills & Boon, including the acclaimed Chicago Sons series for Mills & Boon Desire. Her sexy, lighthearted stories regularly hit bestseller lists. Barbara is a three-time finalist for the Romance Writers of Americas RITA® Award.
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For Jane Porter
Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
Introduction
Dear Reader
Title Page
About the Author
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Extract
Extract
Copyright
One
A banging on Tasha Lowells bedroom door jarred her awake. It was midnight in the Whiskey Bay Marina staff quarters, and shed been asleep for less than an hour.
Tasha? Marina owner Matt Emersons voice was a further jolt to her system, since shed been dreaming about him.
What is it? she called out, then realized hed never hear her sleep-croaky voice. What? she called louder as she forced herself from beneath the covers.
It might be unseasonably warm on the Pacific Northwest coast, but it was still December, the holiday season, and the eight-unit staff quarters building had been around since the 70s.
Orcas Run broke down off Tyree, Oregon.
What happened? she asked reflexively as she crossed the cold wooden floor on her bare feet. Even as she said the words, she knew it was a foolish question. Wealthy, urbane Matt Emerson wouldnt know an injector pump from an alternator.
She swung the door open, coming face-to-face with the object of what she suddenly remembered had been a very R-rated dream.
The engine quit. Captain Johansson says theyre anchored in the bay.
This was very bad news. Tasha had been chief mechanic at Whiskey Bay Marina for less than two weeks, and she knew Matt had hesitated in giving her the promotion. Hed be right to hold her responsible for not noticing a problem with Orcas Runs engine or not anticipating some kind of wear and tear.
I serviced it right before they left. She knew how important this particular charter was to the company.
Orcas Run was a ninety-foot yacht, the second largest in the fleet. It had been chartered by Hans Reinstead, an influential businessman out of Munich. Matt had recently spent considerable effort and money getting a toehold in the European market, and Hans was one of his first major clients. The last thing Whiskey Bay Marina needed was for the Reinstead family to have a disappointing trip.
Tasha grabbed the red plaid button-down shirt shed discarded on a chair and put it on over her T-shirt. Then she stepped into a pair of heavy cargo pants, zipping them over her flannel shorts.
Matt watched her progress as she popped a cap on top of her braided hair. Socks and work boots took her about thirty seconds, and she was ready.
Thats it? he asked.
What? She didnt understand the question.
Youre ready to go?
She glanced down at herself, then looked back into the dim bedroom. Im ready. The necessities that most women carried in a purse were in the zipped pockets of her pants.
For some reason, he gave a crooked smile. Then lets go.
Whats funny? she asked as she fell into step beside him.
Nothing.
They started down the wooden walkway that led to the Whiskey Bay Marina pier.
Youre laughing, she said.
Im not.
Youre laughing at me. Did she look that bad rolling straight out of bed? She rubbed her eyes, lifted her cap to smooth her hair and tried to shake some more sense into her brain.
Im smiling. Its not the same thing.
Ive amused you. Tasha hated to be amusing. She wanted people, especially men, especially her employer, to take her seriously.
You impressed me.
By getting dressed?
By being efficient.
She didnt know what to say to that. It wasnt quite sexist...maybe...
She let it drop.
They went single file down the ramp with him in the lead.
What are we taking? she asked.
Montys Pride.
The answer surprised her. Montys Pride was the biggest yacht in the fleet, a 115-footer, refurbished last year to an impeccably high standard. It was obvious what Matt intended to do.
Do you think well need to replace Orcas Run? Shed prefer to be optimistic and take the repair boat instead. Montys Pride would burn an enormous amount of fuel getting to Tyree. Theres a good chance I can fix whatevers gone wrong.
And if you cant?
What did the captain say happened? She wasnt ready to admit defeat before theyd even left the marina.
That it quit.
It was a pathetic amount of information.
Did it stop all of a sudden? she asked. Did it slow? Was there any particular sound, a smell? Was there smoke?
I didnt ask.
You should have asked.
Matt shot her a look of impatience, and she realized shed stepped over the line. He was her boss after all.
Im just thinking that taking Montys Pride is a whole lot of fuel to waste, she elaborated on her thinking. We can save the money if I can do a quick repair.
Were not even going to try a quick repair. Ill move the passengers and crew over to Montys Pride while you fix whatevers gone wrong.
Tasha hated that her possible negligence would cost the company so much money. Maybe if I talk to the captain on the radio.
I dont want to mess around, Tasha. Matt punched in the combination for the piers chain-link gate and swung it open.
Im not asking you to mess around. Im suggesting we explore our options. Montys Pride burns a hundred gallons an hour.
My priority is customer service.
This is expensive customer service.
Yes, it is.
His tone was flat, and she couldnt tell if he was angry or not.
She wished she was back in her dream. Matt had been so nice in her dream. Theyd been warm, cocooned together, and hed been joking, stroking her hair, kissing her mouth.
Wait. No. That was bad. That wasnt what she wanted at all.
I want Hans Reinstead to go back to Germany a happy man, Matt continued. I want him to rave to his friends and business associates about the over-the-top service he received, even when there was a problem. Whether we fix it in five minutes or five hours is irrelevant. They had a breakdown, and we upgraded them. People love an upgrade. So much so, that theyre generally willing to gloss over the reason for getting it.
Tasha had to admit it was logical. It was expensive, but it was also logical.
Matt might be willing to take the financial hit in the name of customer service, but if it turned out to be something shed missed, it would be a black mark against her.
They approached the slip where Montys Pride was moored. A crew member was on deck while another was on the wharf, ready to cast off.
Fuel? Matt asked the young man on deck.
Three thousand gallons.
Thatll do, Matt said as he crossed the gangway to the stern of the main deck.
Tasha followed. Montys Prides twin diesel engines rumbled beneath them.
Is my toolbox on board? she asked.
We put it in storage.
Thanks. While they crossed the deck, she reviewed Orcas Runs engine service in her mind. Had she missed something, a belt or a hose? She thought shed checked them all. But nobodys memory was infallible.
It could be as simple as a belt, she said to Matt.
That will be good news. He made his way to the bridge, and she followed close behind.
She had to give it one last shot, so as soon as they were inside, she went for the radio, dialing in the company frequency. Orcas Run, this is Montys Pride. Captain, are you there?
While she did that, he slid open the side window and called out to the hand to cast off.
She keyed the mike again. Come in, Orcas Run.
Matt brought up the revs and pulled away from the pier.
* * *
Matt knew he had taken a gamble by using Montys Pride instead of the repair boat, but so far it looked like it had been the right call. Two hours into the trip down the coast, even Tasha had been forced to admit a quick fix wasnt likely. Shed had Captain Johansson walk her through a second-by-second rehash of the engine failure over the radio, asking him about sounds, smells and warning lights. Then she had him send a deckhand back and forth from the engine room for a visual inspection and to relay details.