From the first moment coffee mogul Will Carrington gazed into the fiery, green eyes of Clare Sullivan, he’s hit with the feeling she does not like him. Not. One. Little. Bit. Used to being the proverbial prize by some gorgeous gold digging fortune hunter, he’s learned to be careful. But with his hunter instincts now on high alert, he’s determined to find out the why behind her stormy-eyed glances.
Top home designer Clare Sullivan wants absolutely nothing to do with arrogant, self-assured Will Carrington, especially after he called her half-sister a gold digger. When she gets the opportunity to design his multi-million dollar Miami penthouse, she arrives at his office ready to decline his offer, and to tell him exactly what she thinks of his cruel and un-warranted comments.
While there, she overhears his one-sided phone conversation, which seems to further insult her sister. Assuming the worse, Clare makes the rash decision to accept the job and charge him a fortune in the process. Someone needs to teach him a lesson and what better way then with a swift kick in his wallet.
Since she and her sister have different surnames, Clare conveniently hides the connection to her sister. But while she works with Will, she discovers another side to this self-assured, woman-hater. A Jekyll to his Hyde. Charming and professional, he’s nothing like the man she’s heard about. What she doesn’t know is Will Carrington has a few secrets of his own.
Excerpt:
“Now may we continue?” she said.
“Absolutely.” He dove into the rich dessert, or what was left of it.
Flipping the tablet back open, she continued. “What are your
outside interests? What do you do for fun?”
“I like water sports. Sailing, scuba diving, fishing. Aren’t
you going to write that down?”
She put the pen to the paper. “Enjoys outdoor activities.”
“Water sports,” he purposely clarified.
“Anything else?”
“I like to read. Biographies, mainly.”
“Enjoys learning about other people.” She scribbled across
the page as she spoke out loud.
“Is it necessary to repeat everything I say?”
She raised her eyes and looked at him. “I’m sorry. Do my
stilted, boring answers bother you?”
“Touché.”
“I think...” She snapped the tablet shut and stuffed it in
her purse along with the pen. “I have enough information to get started. You
know. If we’re going to be working together, it would be helpful if—”
“Why did you take this job?”
She stiffened, touched her throat, opened her mouth as if
she was going to speak, then clamped her lips together. For a split second, her
gaze lowered to her purse, then she glanced back up. “It’s my work. I had an
opening, and I love what I do.”
“True. But, I get the feeling you don’t like me.” There, it was
out. But would she take the bait and be honest with him?
My thoughts:
This
isn’t my first Darcy Flynn romance. I’ve enjoyed several of her others, and
this one doesn’t disappoint! The writing is excellent, and the conflicts, both
inner and external, come through clearly without being flaunted. I loved the
natural progression of the relationship. The only thing that puzzled me: why
would it take an identical twin like Will so darned long to figure out why
Clare didn’t like him?
