LITMIR.BIZ

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Accidentally educated in the sciences, Kelly Hunter has always had a weakness for fairytales, fantasy worlds, and losing herself in a good book. Husband…yes. Children…two boys. Cooking and cleaning…sigh. Sports…no, not really—in spite of the best efforts of her family. Gardening…yes. Roses, of course. Kelly was born in Australia and has travelled extensively. Although she enjoys living and working in different parts of the world, she still calls Australia home. Visit Kelly online at www.kellyhunter.net

      Kelly’s novel SLEEPING PARTNER was a 2008 finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA^® award, in the Best Contemporary Series Romance category!

       Recent books by the same author:

      UNTAMEABLE ROGUE

      ^*REVEALED: A PRINCE AND A PREGNANCY

      ^*EXPOSED: MISBEHAVING WITH THE MAGNATE

      PLAYBOY BOSS, LIVE-IN MISTRESS

      TAKEN BY THE BAD BOY

      SLEEPING PARTNER

       Dear Reader

      My first Mills & Boon^®, WIFE FOR A WEEK, featured a heroine with four over-protective big brothers. That heroine helped launch a new editorial stream called Modern Heat™. Those brothers helped keep my writing on track, and every now and then one of them would declare his story ready to be told. I left the hardest story ‘til last, but eventually I took a deep breath and put Jake on the page.

      Did I save the best ‘til last? I suspect I did.

      Am I a little wistful now that Jake’s story has finally been told and there are no more Bennett stories left to write? I am.

      But mostly I’m just thrilled that readers enjoyed the stories and that I had the opportunity to finish what I’d started.

      With thanks

       Kelly Hunter

      The five titles in the Bennett Family series are:

      WIFE FOR A WEEK

      PRICELESS

      TAKEN BY THE BAD BOY

      HONOURABLE ROGUE

      RED-HOT RENEGADE

      Chapter One

      IT was all about saving face. From the tailor-made dinner suit and austere white dress shirt he wore, to the antique gold cufflinks at his wrists, to his hard-won air of indifference. Every breath Jake Bennett took this evening was directed towards getting through his brother’s engagement party without incident and with honour intact.

      ‘Where’s your tie?’ murmured his soon-to-be sister-in-law as she stopped beside him, her eyes sharp and her smile wry. ‘The one I gave you earlier this evening. The one you’re not wearing.’

      ‘In my pocket.’ Where it was staying.

      Not what Madeline Mercy Delacourte wanted to hear. ‘Something wrong with it?’ she enquired ever so sweetly.

      ‘Maddy, it’s lilac.’ He liked Madeline. He did. But lately she’d gone a little insane.

      ‘It’s lilac for a reason, Jacob. Seriously, if you looked any more formidable this evening I wouldn’t have any guests left.’

      ‘Well, I try,’ he murmured. ‘And stop trying to corrupt my apprentice.’

      ‘Po?’ Maddy’s eyes narrowed with concern. ‘What’s he done?’

      ‘You want to know what I found in the dojo showers this afternoon?’

      ‘Xena warrior princess?’

      ‘Soap.’

      ‘The horror.’

      ‘Lavender soap. Little squares of it, imprinted with fat naked cherubs. Have you any idea what sort of message soap like that sends a class full of black belts?’ A snigger from Madeline. Clearly she did. Clearly Jake’s formidable façade needed work. ‘Po said he got them from you.’

      A peal of laughter this time. ‘Sorry,’ murmured Madeline once she’d managed to collect herself. ‘Have you enlightened Po as to the soap’s unsuitability for that particular bastion of rampant masculinity?’

      ‘I thought you might have a word with him.’

      ‘What? And deny you the opportunity? What sort of future sister-in-law would I be if I did that?’

      ‘A helpful one?’

      ‘That’s me,’ she said. ‘I’m all about the help. Tell you what. You manage a smile in the next twenty minutes and I’ll find Po and talk soap. Deal?’

      ‘Deal,’ he said and smiled.

      ‘Damn,’ she said, and Jake’s smile widened.

      Shooting him a decidedly dirty glare, Madeline swanned off to mingle with the elegant throng gathered in the glittering cocktail bar of Singapore’s Delacourte Hotel.

      That Madeline and Luke’s engagement needed to be celebrated in such moneyed style was a function of Madeline’s insane wealth and of a society that expected such an introduction to her betrothed as their due. The proud presentation of family, the underlying tow of big business, and, most importantly, the forging of profitable alliances—all would take place here tonight. Singapore demanded no less of its inhabitants and, for the chance to do business and grow rich here, Singaporeans willingly paid the price.

      As far as the proud presentation of family was concerned, the Bennett siblings and their partners were here en masse. Tristan and Erin had flown in from Sydney. Hallie and Nick and their month-old daughter had arrived this morning from London. Serena and Pete had flown in from Greece early afternoon and hit the ground running. Serena was currently immersed in the crowd somewhere. As for Pete, he’d just moved silently into position at Jake’s side.

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