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“If it comes to selling, if it’s what you have to do, I’ll buy the place myself.”
She laughed. “Yeah, right.”
Nathan cleared his throat and looked up, not wanting to sound arrogant but needing her to know it wasn’t an empty offer. That he could buy it tomorrow and come up with the cash immediately if he had to. “I’m serious.”
Her laughter died, the uneasy smile wiped from her face. She studied him, eyes no longer full of tears—her gaze was serious now. “You could actually buy this place, just like that?” she asked.
He shrugged, not wanting to make a big deal out of it. A year ago, hell, a few months ago, he’d have had no problem letting anyone know what he could afford, but since coming here … he just didn’t want to be that guy anymore. Staying on the farm had given him the break he’d needed, and it had also given him a fresh start, even if he was going to have to face reality and head home one day soon.
“Yeah, I could. But if I did I’d need a manager, so there’s no chance I’d evict you.”
Jessica smiled, but he knew she wasn’t sure what to say or how to take his words.
The Billionaire in Disguise
Soraya Lane
Writing for Mills & Boon is truly a dream come true for SORAYA LANE. An avid book-reader and writer since her childhood, Soraya describes becoming a published author as “the best job in the world”, and hopes to be writing heart-warming, emotional romances for many years to come.
Soraya lives with her own real-life hero on a small farm in New Zealand, surrounded by animals and with an office overlooking a field where their horses graze.
For more information about Soraya and her upcoming releases visit her at her website, www.sorayalane.com, her blog, www.sorayalane.blogspot.com, or follow her at www.facebook.com/SorayaLaneAuthor
I am so fortunate to have an amazing support network,
and that includes some very special author friends. From daily e-mail chats, text messages and writing sprints, it all means so much to me. Thank you Natalie Anderson, Nicola Marsh, Yvonne Lindsay and Tessa Radley, for your constant encouragement, support and friendship.
Contents
JESSICA FALLS LEANED against the wooden fence and stared out at the land. She hadn’t been home in almost two years, but there was nothing about her surroundings that wasn’t familiar to her. The horses grazing in the fields, the smell of the pine trees, the big house behind her—they were all things ingrained in her memory that she would never forget, no matter how long she lived.
But nothing was like it used to be. She wiped away tears that had escaped from the corner of her eye, despite her best efforts to blink them away, and forced herself to turn and go back to the house. She’d only just arrived back, but instead of going straight in she’d walked around outside and done her best to ignore reality. That she wasn’t going to have to live in the house alone, that her grandfather wasn’t really gone, that she hadn’t just lost everything that mattered to her.
Jessica moved slowly up the veranda steps, stopping when she reached the door and taking a deep breath. She eventually put her key in the lock and pushed the door open, listening to it creak as she stared into the dark hallway. She picked up one of her suitcases and wheeled it in behind her, moving slowly to the bottom of the stairs. It was quiet, too silent for her liking, but it was something she was going to have to get used to.
“Hello?”
She jumped and turned at the sound of a deep voice, not expecting anyone else to be on the property, let alone at her front door.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Jessica locked eyes with a man leaning against her doorjamb. Who the hell was he? She slipped her hand into her back pocket, feeling for her phone, ready to dial for help if she needed it.
“Ah, can I help you?” She didn’t care how handsome the guy was—she didn’t want company right now, and definitely not from some stranger.
“I saw you arrive before and I wanted to say hi.”
Jessica stood still for a moment, silent, before she realized who he was and felt like a complete idiot. She prized her fingers from her phone and pushed her hands into her pockets instead.
“You’re the guy renting the cottage, right?” she asked, wishing she hadn’t glared at him like he was some kind of intruder. Her granddad’s lawyer had told her all about the guest staying on the grounds, and she’d forgotten about him. “The jet lag must be getting to me.”
His smile was genuine when he flashed it, his eyes crinkling ever so at the corners to match the upturn of his mouth.
“Understandable. I only knew Jock a couple of months and I’m