an arm around her daughter’s waist. “So! You’re Derek Darcy. I am Willa Isari, Hara’s mother.” The tiny woman formally shook hands with the much taller man. “You’ll be back on the team, then? For sure?”
“Mom…” Hara rolled her eyes. She thrust the bouquet into Willa’s arms. “Here. Do you mind putting these in water?” Only her mother would take this moment to make sure Derek would be a suitable prospect, set up to take care of her daughter’s financial needs … Little did she know, Derek didn’t need to be playing ball to make money. More important, Derek didn’t need to have any money at all in order for him to be a suitable prospect for Hara.
Her father coughed. She remembered herself and said, “Derek, this is my father, Thomas Isari.”
Derek strode over to the side of the bed. “Nice to meet you, sir. I’m sorry it’s under these conditions.”
“We both know I helped create the conditions.” Thomas paused and then held out his hand. “I’m the one who’s sorry. My actions caused so much pain. I thought I was doing the right thing, trying to help Hara.”
Hara had been afraid that Derek wouldn’t shake with her father, the infamous criminal. But she needn’t have worried. They shook, both eyeing each other carefully but respectfully.
“I can understand wanting to do what you can for your daughter, sir. And Hara is a special girl.” Derek flushed when he said it and ducked his head, making Hara grin. It was so surreal, this six-foot-five man made of muscle acting like a shy little boy. Hara was relieved that Derek could be deferential, even to a felon who didn’t really deserve it. Thomas had problems but he was her father and she loved him.
Willa gaped at Derek, no doubt stunned and delighted to hear a man “of means” give Hara a compliment. Coyly, Hara elbowed her in the stomach, and then stepped up to the ballplayer’s side, holding her hand out. But he surprised her by stepping back.
“Oh, wait. I have something for you. The real reason why I came to Oregon.”
Hara’s heart pinged. She’d been under the impression that she was the real reason he’d come. Watching him pull a handful of newspaper articles out of a backpack, however, she was curious despite herself.
Derek handed the papers to her. “These reporters are botching the story.” Then he paused a second and blew out a breath, as if still deciding something. But then he straightened his shoulders, determined. “I want you to interview me, Hara. To write the story of what happened. To write Charles’s story. These news outlets are getting it all wrong. From the beginning, he trusted you to do a good job, and he was right. Only you can tell it the way it needs to be told.”
She heard her mother gasp behind her.
The blood swooshed loudly through Hara’s brain. Derek was here, with her family, he’d said she was special, and now he was trusting her with the story of the year. Maybe the decade. Her mother and father had heard him—they knew someone out in the real world thought she was worthy and capable. And that someone just happened to be Derek Darcy, star basketball player and the man she was very likely falling in love with.
Who am I kidding? I love him. I do.
“This could harm your career, Derek. It will serve to keep you in the eye of the scandal.”
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I should be able to weather this. If I don’t, I’ll survive. As long as you’ve got my back, I’m all right. I’ve got yours.” Then he offered her a devilish grin, with just a hint of vulnerability in his copper eyes. If he was thinking like she was, he was probably remembering last night, when he’d wrapped himself around her back and held her tight. And caressed. And tantalized …
Hara Isari felt the tick-tick-tick of her heart, beating in time to the second hand of the old clock on the hospital wall. The universe had come through, given her a gift that was unconditional and welcomed. Not the interview. Her gift was Derek Darcy.
She didn’t care about her parents or the guard or that she was back in a hospital, a mile from the prison. This was her story, the story of Hara, and she was going to make it a good one. She knew who she was, who she wanted to be, and who she wanted to share her story with. The reporter stood on her tiptoes and kissed the basketball player, long and hard.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to the team at St. Martin’s Press—Monique, Mara, Kelly, Ashley, Marissa, Sara, Naureen, and all the rest—for their work and support. It’s nice having a strong group of women at our backs.
Thank you to romance-reader extraordinaire Breanna Stephens for her thorough and thoughtful critique. She is a gifted editor.
Also, thank you to our lovely and insightful beta readers Lynn Kyriss and Kathie Hightower.
Thank you to literary agent Chip MacGregor for continuing to make magic happen.
A huge thank-you to sports reporter Bill Oram, who covers the Los Angeles Lakers for the Southern California News Group. His advice and his humor were necessary and impactful. He’ll be the first to tell you that any errors in regard to the culture, habits, or rules of a sports journalist or a basketball player belong to us.
Also by Evelyn Lozada with Holly Lörincz
The Perfect Date
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
EVELYN LOZADA is a high-profile American-Latina reality television personality, entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her role on VH1’s hit series Basketball Wives (2010–present), OWN’s hit series Livin’ Lozada (2015), as the author of Inner Circle, the first installment of the book series The Wives Association (2012), and as the creator of “Healthy Boricua,” a Puerto Rican lifestyle guide to healthy living. She has become a national trendsetter, a “go-to” fitness expert, a jewelry designer, a fashion and beauty maven, social media royalty, and a stimulating voice and proactive supporter of causes that affect women and girls through the Evelyn Lozada Foundation. Evelyn is a Bronx native and a mother of two, Shaniece Hairston and Carl Leo Crawford, who currently resides in Los Angeles. You can sign up for email updates here.
HOLLY LÖRINCZ is a successful collaborative writer and owner of Lörincz Literary Services. She is an award-winning novelist of Smart Mouth and co-author of The Everything Girl, and of the bestselling novels Crown Heights and A Day in Prison. Holly currently lives in Oregon. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Acknowledgments
Also by Evelyn Lozada with Holly Lörincz
About the Authors
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by St. Martin’s Griffin, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
THE WRONG MR. DARCY. Copyright © 2020 by Evelyn Lozada. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
Cover design and illustration by Ali Mac
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Lozada, Evelyn, author.|Lörincz, Holly, author.
Title: The wrong Mr. Darcy / Evelyn Lozada with Holly Lörincz.
Description: First edition. | New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2020. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2020006769 | ISBN 9781250622143 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781250125026 (ebook)
Subjects: GSAFD: Love stories.
Classification: LCC PS3612.O954 W76 2020 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020006769
e-ISBN 9781250125026
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: 2020