“I don’t act like this around other women.”
He paused and caught her gaze. “I mean, I do, but it’s more a matter of politeness. With you, it’s automatic. Almost like I was made to please you.”
Laurel’s eyes widened. “Stop that. I’ll never be able to resist you if you don’t stop saying such sweet things.”
“Sweet isn’t all you bring out in me,” Deke warned quietly. “I have a whole range of feelings for you, and about you,” he said, walking away from the steps and over to her. “At home, I usually felt very specific things for the women I dated. Some women I was attracted to. Others I liked as friends. But my feelings for you encompass all those things and more.” He traced his finger along the line of her cheekbone, sending shivers of awareness through her.
Dear Reader,
As senior editor for the Silhouette Romance line, I’m lucky enough to get first peek at the stories we offer you each month. Each editor searches for stories with an emotional impact, that make us laugh or cry or feel tenderness and hope for a loving future. And we do this with you, the reader, in mind. We hope you continue to enjoy the variety each month as we take you from first love to forever….
Susan Meier’s wonderful story of a hardworking single mom and the man who sweeps her off her feet is Cinderella and the CEO. In The Boss’s Baby Mistake, Raye Morgan tells of a heroine who accidentally gets inseminated with her new boss’s child! The fantasy stays alive with Carol Grace’s Fit for a Sheik as a wedding planner’s new client is more than she bargained for….
Valerie Parv always creates a strong alpha hero. In Booties and the Beast, Sam’s the strong yet tender man. Julianna Morris’s lighthearted yet emotional story Meeting Megan Again reunites two people who only seem mismatched. And finally Carolyn Greene’s An Eligible Bachelor has a very special secondary character—along with a delightful hero and heroine!
Happy reading!
Mary-Theresa Hussey
Senior Editor
Cinderella and the CEO
Susan Meier
Books by Susan Meier
Silhouette Romance
Stand-in Mom #1022
Temporarily Hers #1109
Wife in Training #1184
Merry Christmas, Daddy #1192
*In Care of the Sheriff #1283
*Guess What? We’re Married! #1338
Husband from 9 to 5 #1354
*The Rancher and the Heiress #1374
†The Baby Bequest #1420
†Bringing Up Babies #1427
†Oh, Babies! #1433
His Expectant Neighbor #1468
†Hunter’s Vow #1487
Cinderella and the CEO #1498
Silhouette Desire
Take the Risk #567
SUSAN MEIER
has written category romances for Silhouette Romance and Silhouette Desire. A full-time writer, Susan has also been an employee of a major defense contractor, a columnist for a small newspaper and a division manager of a charitable organization. But her greatest joy in her life has always been her children, who constantly surprise and amaze her. Married for twenty years to her wonderful, understanding and gorgeous husband, Michael, Susan cherishes her roles as mother, wife, sister and friend, believing them to be life’s real treasures. She not only cherishes those roles as gifts, she tries to convey the beauty and importance of loving relationships in her books.
Contents
Chapter One
Deke Bertrim stopped his rental car in front of a simple Cape Cod house in Greenburg, a small blue-collar town in Maryland. On this sunny Sunday afternoon in May, bicycles and assorted toys littered the front yard, but the grass was trimmed and the flower beds were free of weeds. Though all the residences on this block appeared to be well maintained, the neat fieldstone-and-brick home was the best kept on the quiet street.
Deke breathed a silent sight of relief. The house belonged to L. Hillman, supervisor of the Shipping and Receiving Department at Graham Metals, and was to be Deke’s residence for the next three months. Ostensibly he was here to go through executive training at the plant, but the truth was he would be investigating why the last audit of Graham Metals’ books was off by more than three hundred thousand dollars. Though he hadn’t said anything to his stepfather, he had been apprehensive about staying in the home of an employee, even if all the other executive trainees before him had done so because the rural Maryland plant was more than thirty miles from the nearest hotel. But seeing this well-kept house and the quiet neighborhood, Deke knew he had worried for nothing.
He got out of his car and grabbed his duffel bag and one suitcase. Considering the persona of an executive trainee, Deke had done what he supposed others before him had done. He’d packed light. He’d dressed down, wearing simple dark slacks and a comfortable polo shirt, and he would try to appear confident without being arrogant so Mr. Hillman and his family wouldn’t be suspicious of him. As he scoured every nook and cranny of the factory, subtly interrogating the employees and even stealthily prying details from Mr. Hillman himself, he had to look like an executive trainee.
Striding