A Boss in a Billion

Dr. Mack Hart is 28. He's a computer genius. A billionaire. The most gorgeous guy I've ever met in real life. And he wants to see me in his office. I'm terrified. I'm pretty sure he's caught me on the security camera. I took photos of his files when I should have been cleaning. His research is so important that his rival will pay big money for it. And I desperately need some of that cash. But when I walk in, his eyes hold heat, not ice. And he asks me to be his date at a party this evening.

Oliver Huxley has asked me out on a date every month for the last ten years. And every time, I've said no. Yes, he's a billionaire. Okay, he's heart-meltingly gorgeous. And it's true he has a great reputation in the bedroom. Look, I have my reasons. He's already broken my heart once. And I know he wants me only because he can't have me. If I sleep with him, I'll just end up another notch on his bedpost. My heart won't survive a second break. Whoever said it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all clearly didn't know what he was talking about.

I've had a crush on Titus Oates since I was sixteen. We met at my brother's twenty-first birthday party. I asked Titus to kiss me, thinking he'd give me a peck on the cheek. Instead, he kissed the living daylights out of me. I was so young that it never came to anything. But I thought about him a lot. Eventually, I moved to the UK. I didn't think I'd ever see Titus again. And then he calls and says he's in London. He wants me to be his fake date for the weekend. He needs to impress a wealthy investor.

After the most intense and passionate night of my life, I do my Cinderella act and slip away. I'm disappointed to leave him behind but desperate to start over. Unfortunately, disaster is determined to follow me across the country. I can't find a permanent secretarial position in the whole of Wellington and have to resort to temping. The one room available for rent in the city is damp, the size of a matchbox, and beneath a herd of elephants. And my no-strings-attached fling results in a complication I'm totally unprepared for. Convinced I've reached rock bottom, I begin a new temp job.

My virginity is a millstone around my neck. And I want to get rid of it. All I need is one night with one stranger so I don't look like an idiot when I start dating for real. My sister convinces this country bumpkin to sign up for Tinder and to head to the city. My first two matches were complete failures, and I'm about to give up. Then I see Kip's profile. I swipe right, and so does he. We chat for ages and agree to meet that evening for dinner.

Just between you and me, my brother's best mate is hot as. I'd never admit how I feel about him to my brother, Alex, because he warned me years ago never to go near his friends. I'd never admit it to Damon either. Even though he's only six years older than me, he's very much a man, so different from the boys I've dated over the past few years. Just the way he calls me ma belle is enough to make me melt. But he treats me like his kid sister, which irritates the hell out of me. Then, Alex asks Damon if he'll pick me up from university and drive me home for Easter break.