love you, too, Ross. You’ve always been my forever. You always will be.”
* * *
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At the Rancher’s Pleasure
by Joss Wood
Runaway groom Brett Harrison was Royal’s
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Banished years before by her ex-husband, she’s
determined to reclaim her life and reputation.
But a spontaneous kiss meant to rile up town gossips unleashes a passionate romance neither can ignore...
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Heir by Joanne Rock.
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The Heir
by Joanne Rock
Prologue
Tired from a long night of travel, Nicole Cruz was still in bed when her phone rang on a Sunday morning.
She answered before fully awake, her thoughts still half in dreamland. She’d gotten a flight into San Francisco after midnight, but hadn’t fallen into bed in San Jose until long afterward. It had been the first time she’d slept in her own home for nearly two weeks and she’d crashed hard.
“Hello?” Propping herself up on her elbow, she shoved tangled auburn hair from her eyes for a better peek at her phone screen when she realized two things at once.
First, this wasn’t a normal phone call. She’d swiped the connect button on a video chat.
Second, her caller was Desmond Pierce, the rich and powerful casino resort owner who’d footed the bill for the return flight from Prince Edward Island yesterday so that Nicole and her nephew, Matthew, could answer his summons to western Montana. Nicole had insisted they stop in San Jose first so she could pick up a few of their things.
In reality, it was so she could surreptitiously drop Matthew off at his boarding school this morning. She hadn’t told Desmond she had no intention of bringing the boy with her to Mesa Falls Ranch, the site of their appointed meeting later today to discuss the mystery of the teen’s paternity.
“Good morning, Nicole.” Desmond’s deep voice resonated through the phone as his image filled her screen. His dark brown hair looked freshly cut around the sides, but the top was longer and slightly unruly. The bristle along his jaw was trimmed, too, but the shadow effect gave an edge to his tailored, European-cut suit.
Gray eyes zeroed in on her with startling clarity, making her all too aware of the skimpy pink camisole she’d slept in.
“Desmond,” she said on an awkward gasp, dragging an oversize pillow in front of her to hide her breasts. “I—probably shouldn’t have picked up.”
Her pulse stuttered at the sight of him, his broad shoulders filling out his suit in an appealing way. She’d liked the sound of his voice the first time they’d spoken on the phone earlier in the week. But seeing him now had the strangest effect on her, heightening her senses, making her very aware of him. And of herself and her lack of clothes. His gaze never left her face—at least not that she’d noticed. But she would swear there was a hint of amusement gleaming in their depths.
“Would you like to call me back when it’s more convenient?” His tone remained even, as if unaware he was talking to a woman in bed. “I just wanted to give you the details for your flight today.”
And you couldn’t have just texted them? But she’d rather get the conversation over with now than have another talk hanging over her conscience, making her feel guilty about flying solo today.
“Now is fine,” she assured him with false brightness, careful not to straighten up too much or she’d lose the pillow barrier she was banking on for coverage. “I should be up anyhow. I’ve got a lot to do before heading to the airfield.”
“It’s not too late for me to send a car for you,” he offered, tapping the screen to life on a tablet as he spoke to her from behind a sleek mahogany desk. Behind him, a bank of windows overlooking the Bitterroot Mountains let her know he was already at Mesa Falls Ranch.
He hadn’t been in residence during the few weeks she’d worked there. Shortly after Christmas she’d taken a job in guest services under an assumed name in the hope of learning more about the partners who ran the ranch. Before her sister’s untimely death from a brain aneurysm last year, Lana