LITMIR.BIZ

       Dear Reader

      The idea for this book came in the middle of the night. I got out of bed, jotted down some notes, and was pleasantly surprised when they made sense in the morning. Believe me, that’s not always the case.

      I imagined an intense rivalry between two advertising executives working in glamorous Manhattan. To complicate matters, I made them former lovers who are trying to land the same huge advertising account. For them, competition winds up being the ultimate aphrodisiac.

      I hope you enjoy spending time with Samantha and Michael. As always, I’d love to hear what you think. You can contact me through my website at www.jackiebraun.com

      Happy reading

       Jackie Braun

      MARRYING THE

      MANHATTAN

      MILLIONAIRE

      BY

      JACKIE BRAUN

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      For my nieces and nephews:

      Jason, Michelle, Steve, Stacey, Joanne, Jackie, Abby,

      Amy, Mary, Renee, Alex, Yui, Stephanie, Eric, Nicole,

      Allison, Meredith, Garrett, Roman, Payton, Sammy,

      Connor, Ben, Natalie, Todd and Elizabeth.

      Remarkable young people, all.

      CHAPTER ONE

      “AND the winner is…”

      During the infinitesimal pause before the presenter read the Addy Award recipient’s name, Samantha Bradford was sure her heart stopped beating.

      This is it, she thought. This is my moment.

      “Michael Lewis of the Grafton Surry Agency.”

      Or not.

      Sam straightened in her seat, pasted a smile on her face and joined in the applause. As her palms slapped together with stinging force, her gaze narrowed on the man who was striding across the stage of the Atlanta Herriman Hotel’s grand ballroom, buttoning the jacket of his superbly tailored suit as he went. She knew him well. He was admittedly handsome, sexy, smart, insightful and charismatic. He also sang off-key in the shower, preferred boxers to briefs, enjoyed watching old war movies, had the annoying habit of leaving the seat up and possessed an untouched trust fund whose worth was on par with the gross national product of some small countries.

      Yes, she knew him that well.

      Seven years earlier Samantha had been in love with him and blissfully counting down the days until she became his wife. They’d found advertising jobs in Los Angeles, put down a deposit on a town house and made all manner of grand plans for their new life together. Those plans never materialized. The reason no longer mattered as far as she was concerned, though at the time Michael had accused her of choosing her family over him. Sam saw things differently. Everything could have worked out if only the man had been capable of compromise.

      They’d gone their separate ways, bitterness burning any bridge that might have remained. She’d been fine with that. Really. She’d patched up her heart, put her life back in order. Michael had moved to Los Angeles without her. Sam had stayed in Manhattan, but she too had moved on.

      Then fifteen months ago he’d returned to the city and the advertising scene where she was now at the top of her game. Ever since then, all of the memories, both good and bad, that Sam had safely stored away kept threatening to tumble out. She found that damned irritating. She found the man to be even more so. Michael had taken a job with one of the city’s largest ad agencies and a key rival to the one where Sam worked, which was owned by her father. She and Michael had been in competition ever since, angling for each other’s clients and going head-to-head for the industry’s highest accolades.

      Such as the Addy.

      The hands that a moment ago had engaged in polite applause balled into fists in her lap. What made tonight’s loss all the more galling was the fact that just the previous month Michael had snatched up the honors she’d been nominated for in the print campaign category of the Clio Awards.

      For anyone keeping score, and she knew damned well Michael was, tonight made it two and zip in his favor.

      Sure enough, when he reached the podium and took the trophy in his hands, his gaze seemed to search the audience. She swore he was looking straight at her when he brought the Addy to his lips and gave it a lingering kiss. Afterward, he offered a sexy grin that had half the women in the room issuing a sigh and the other half wanting to. Sam’s stomach did a familiar little flip and roll, but she reminded herself that she’d long ago conquered the weakness that would have had her falling into either category.

      “Some people might say it’s an honor just to be nominated for this award,” Michael began. “But I’ll let you in on a little secret. I really wanted to win this one. And victory is all the sweeter for having been chosen from a group of such talented people.”

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