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Oh, God, he was planning to kiss her, and if he did she’d kiss him back. She knew she would.
‘You said you weren’t interested.’ ‘I lied. I’m interested.’ ‘No,’ she breathed, managing to sound outraged, sexy and needy all at the same time—which so wasn’t the plan. ‘Why not?’ ‘I never mix business with pleasure,’ she said, focusing on one of the founding principles of her company, albeit a bit belatedly. ‘Neither do I. But the party’s over and we no longer have business together.’ ‘We might. Hopefully.’ ‘What does that have to do with now?’ he asked, his gaze roaming slowly, sensuously, over her features. ‘All I’m suggesting is a kiss.’ Yeah, right. Like they’d stop at a kiss. Like she’d be able to. A kiss would be the beginning. THE PARTY STARTS AT MIDNIGHT is one of two books that feature a couple of property tycoon brothers. Both are gorgeous (naturally!) but very different. Leo—the numbers man—is dark and serious, while Jake—the ‘face’ of the company—is more of a charmer. First up is Leo, whose calm, ordered life is just as he likes it. Until, that is, he meets events planner Abby Summers—and from that moment on he’s in a complete spin. As a perfectionist, career-driven Abby’s none too happy about the chaos Leo brings to her thought processes either. I loved the idea of two people who think they have life sussed and then, like two hydrogen atoms crashing together with a whole lot of heat—boom!—realise they so very clearly don’t. Talk about chemistry… phew! I hope that you love it too. Lucy x LUCY KING spent her formative years lost in the world of Mills & Boon® romance when she really ought to have been paying attention to her teachers. Up against sparkling heroines, gorgeous heroes and the magic of falling in love, trigonometry and absolute ablatives didn’t stand a chance. But as she couldn’t live in a dream world for ever she eventually acquired a degree in languages and an eclectic collection of jobs. A stroll to the River Thames one Saturday morning led her to her very own hero. The minute she laid eyes on the hunky rower getting out of a boat, clad only in Lycra and carrying a three-metre oar as if it was a toothpick, she knew she’d met the man she was going to marry. Luckily the rower thought the same. She will always be grateful to whatever it was that made her stop dithering and actually sit down to type Chapter One, because dreaming up her own sparkling heroines and gorgeous heroes is pretty much her idea of the perfect job. Originally a Londoner, Lucy now lives in Spain, where she spends much of her time reading, failing to finish cryptic crosswords, and trying to convince herself that lying on the beach really is the best way to work. Visit her at www.lucykingbooks.com The Party Starts at Midnight Lucy King To my wonderful readers, without whom I couldn’t do a job I love.
Table of Contents
AS THE LIFT DOORS opened with an expensively soft swoosh, Abby gave her head a quick shake to dispel the ear-popping dizziness caused by the thirty-floors-in-three-seconds ascension, and stepped into the hall of the penthouse suite of London’s newest South Bank hotel. ‘Hello?’ she called, her voice ringing out weirdly loudly in the silence of the apartment. And then, after a moment during which there was no answer, she tried again. ‘Mr Cartwright? … Leo? … Anyone? ‘ But there was still no reply. Frowning slightly, she headed down the hall, barely noticing the thick cream carpet her heels were sinking into or the cool sophistication of the dove-grey walls that stretched out either side of her, and came upon the sitting room. A quick scan showed it to be huge and beautifully furnished but disappointingly empty, as, she subsequently
