Kate Hoffmann

Incognito


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      “You have too many clothes on,” Aidan murmured.

      Lily crawled out of her seat and retrieved a pair of blankets from the overhead bin. The cabin was silent and dark, the flight attendants busy in the galley. She sat down next to him and handed him one.

      He chuckled softly, drawing her back onto his lap. “Good idea.” Aidan pulled the blanket around them and worked at the buttons on her blouse.

      Lily stared up into his eyes. Suddenly she felt a bit light-headed. “I think we need more privacy,” she whispered. “I’ll meet you in the bathroom. Wait for a minute or two and then come back.”

      She rebuttoned her blouse and crawled off him, then tiptoed down the aisle. She wasn’t afraid, and that’s what surprised her most. Lily had spent years being fearful of one thing or another. Maybe it was the alcohol, or the altitude—or simply the man himself. But Lily knew exactly what she wanted—no doubts, no insecurities.

      A few seconds later Aidan knocked at the door. Lily opened it without hesitation. She was going to have this man, here and now. And she was determined she wouldn’t regret it tomorrow.

      Dear Reader,

      What’s my fantasy? I have more than a few. How about a live-in masseuse, or a cat that doesn’t shed. A computer that can type the words directly from my brain to my word processing program without me having to lift a finger. I wouldn’t mind having a coffee bar in my kitchen with a barista to run it. And I’d love a car that cleaned itself. So none of my fantasies involve sex, but sometimes a girl just needs help with the everyday stuff.

      In Incognito, I got a chance to explore the naughty side of fantasies. Lily Hart makes one of her fantasies come true when she has the chance to step outside herself and become the kind of woman who’d seduce a man at first sight. And it all happens at 20,000 feet!

      I hope you enjoy her story. And I hope you get the chance to make one of your forbidden fantasies come true.

      Happy reading,

      Kate Hoffmann

      Incognito

      Kate Hoffmann

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Kate Hoffmann has been writing for Harlequin Books since 1993. Over that time, she’s published nearly sixty titles for Harlequin Blaze, Harlequin Temptation, Harlequin anthologies and continuities, and various other lines. When not writing, Kate is involved in musical and theater activities in her community. She lives in southeast Wisconsin with her two cats, Tally and Chloe, and enjoys golf, genealogy and talking on the phone with her sister.

      Books by Kate Hoffmann

      HARLEQUIN BLAZE

      234—SINFULLY SWEET “Simply Scrumptious”

      279—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: MARCUS

      285—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: IAN

      291—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: DECLAN

      340—DOING IRELAND!

      356—FOR LUST OR MONEY

      379—YOUR BED OR MINE?

      HARLEQUIN SINGLE TITLES (The Quinns)

      REUNITED

      THE PROMISE

      THE LEGACY

      HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION

      847—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: CONOR

      851—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: DYLAN

      855—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: BRENDAN

      933—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: LIAM

      937—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: BRIAN

      941—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: SEAN

      963—LEGALLY MINE

      988—HOT & BOTHERED

      1017—WARM & WILLING

      To my wonderful, patient, insightful editor,

       Brenda Chin, who can always find a way to make

       my words work—even when they don’t want to.

      Contents

      Prologue

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Epilogue

      Prologue

      Last Summer

      “YOU HAVE our tickets, don’t you?”

      Lily Hart sighed softly, her meditation interrupted. She was due to get on a plane in a half hour and if she didn’t calm herself, the panic attacks would set in the moment she stepped on board. “Yes, Miranda, I have the tickets. Have I ever forgotten the tickets?”

      She reached down into her tote and pulled out the ridiculously expensive Italian leather travel wallet that Miranda had given her last Christmas. As she stared at their boarding passes, tucked neatly into the inside pocket, Lily shook her head. This was her life—designer accessories, first-class tickets to Paris, three weeks in a rented six-bedroom apartment on some fancy rue on the Left Bank. This was her life.

      Except it wasn’t her life. She was living the life of Miranda Sinclair, bestselling novelist. As Miranda’s research assistant, social secretary and girl Friday, it was Lily’s responsibility to see that Miranda’s life was as close to worry-free as possible. And for that, she was paid quite handsomely.

      A good-paying job shouldn’t come at such a high price, Lily mused. Miranda was Lily’s godmother and she’d been her legal guardian since Lily’s parents divorced fourteen years ago. Miranda had offered her a home, a place to live when her parents had decided to leave the States. Miranda needed her, more than anyone had ever needed her before, and Lily ought to be grateful.

      “I’m sorry,” Lily murmured. “I didn’t mean to snap. You know how I feel about flying.”

      Miranda reached out and patted Lily’s hand. In addition to providing a home, Miranda had paid Lily’s college tuition and she’d given her a job when she got out of school. Lily was grateful. Yet she couldn’t help but wonder what it might be like to have a life all her own.

      “Look,” Miranda murmured, nodding in the direction of a man sitting on a sofa on the other side of the first-class lounge. “Gorgeous, no?”

      Lily turned to Miranda and frowned. “Stop. I thought we decided you wouldn’t do that anymore.”

      “Just look.” She pointed a perfectly manicured finger, then straightened, tucking her ash-blond hair behind her ear. Even though she’d just turned fifty-four, Miranda acted more like a big sister than a parent figure. She certainly didn’t look much older than Lily’s twenty-seven years. “That is a very fine specimen.”

      Lily refused the order. For the past few years, Miranda had been intent on finding a man for Lily. Apparently, she hadn’t fully approved of the men Lily occasionally found for herself—nice, stable, slightly boring men who wouldn’t cheat and wouldn’t hurt her. Miranda preferred another type of man—passionate, temperamental, creative—the typical bad boy.

      “God, he is gorgeous. You know who that is, don’t you? That’s Aidan Pierce. Hollywood’s new enfant terrible. Three hit