Calling All the Shots

Calling All the Shots
Katherine Garbera

The irony of working on a matchmaking reality TV show hosted by the guy who broke her heart in high school has producer Willow Stead tied in knots. Not only that, but Jack Crown even has the nerve to ask her out. Should she risk taking him up on his offer?Jack sees Willow Stead all grown up and has to have her. Soon passions erupt that rival the drama on the show. But does Willow have a trick up her sleeve that will throw the celebrity pitchman a major curveball?

He lifted his head, and she felt cold without his mouth pressed against hers.

“One kiss … I thought it would be enough, but I want more,” he said.

She did, too, but this was Jack. And now that his mouth wasn’t on hers … She pushed away from him and he let her go, his hands trailing over her hips until they fell to his sides.

“That got out of hand,” she said.

“I don’t think so, but I guess you’re not ready for anything more,” he said.

She sensed the frustration behind his words and she felt it, too, but she wasn’t going to rush things with Jack. She still didn’t know how she felt about him, and instead of making matters clearer, this night had only served to muddle them.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t rush into this. I thought you were a shallow guy when I came here tonight,” she admitted.

“And now?”

“I’m not sure,” she said.

She wasn’t sure about anything anymore.

Dear Reader,

I hope you enjoy this installment of the MATCHMAKERS, INC. series. Willow was the spark for the entire series. I had this image in my head, inspired in part by a production assistant I’d met when auditioning for TLC’s Four Weddings, of a woman who was clearly single but liked seeing other people get together. I started thinking about what had damaged her—relationship-wise.

I really wanted Jack to be the golden boy who seemed to have just the perfect life and always got everything he desired. So that from the outside, his life seemed the opposite of behind-the-scenes Willow, who was more comfortable talking to the world through her shows.

And as I slowly created the characters over their four stories, they really developed to me as people. I hope they have for you, too!

Happy reading!

Katherine

About the Author

KATHERINE GARBERA is a USA TODAY bestselling author of more than forty books who has always believed in happy endings. She lives in England with her husband, children and their pampered pet, Godiva. Visit Katherine on the web at www.katherinegarbera.com, or catch up with her on Facebook and Twitter.

Calling All

the Shots

Katherine Garbera

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

This book is dedicated to my family. I know that I thank them a lot, but without them I don’t think I’d want to tell stories with happy endings. So a big thank-you to Rob, Courtney, Lucas, Mom and Dad.

Acknowledgments

It feels wrong not to mention once again how wonderful my editor Charles Griemsman is and how much fun I have chatting with him about stories!

Thank you for your guidance and insight.

One

Most days Willow Stead loved her job. She felt very lucky to be pretty much her own boss. But not today.

The problem had actually started months ago, when the network bigwigs had pulled some strings and gotten the second most popular television host in America to work on her show. Great, right?

Not if that man was Jack Crown.

Sure, he was good-looking and charming. But beneath that toothy grin and effervescent personality beat the heart of a rogue. While his type of bad boy could be redeemed on TV or on the pages of a romance novel, in real life he couldn’t. Which was something Willow knew firsthand, having had her heart broken by this very man at the tender age of sixteen.

“Drinks, Willow, that’s all I’m suggesting,” Jack was saying with that sexy smile of his.

There was no doubting why he’d been named one of People’s Sexiest Men Alive for the past four years. But she was resistant to his appeal. Yeah, right. If only the callousness she remembered—he’d stood her up on prom night, for Pete’s sake—was enough to keep her from falling for him.

She’d done her best to keep her distance from him over the past six months as they’d worked together on Sexy & Single, the New York–based reality TV matchmaking show she was producing. But she couldn’t deny she wanted to accept his invitation for drinks.

“Um … you haven’t said no yet, so I guess you need me to talk you into it,” he said, his voice dropping to an intimate whisper. “Is that what you want?”

“What I want is for you to stop acting like I’m one of your rotating harem,” she said, trying for disdain. “I’m not like all the other women that fall at your feet.”

“Ah, you’ve wounded me,” he said, clutching at where his heart should be.

“Doubtful,” she said. “But since we do need to discuss the show, I’ll accept.”

“Geez, Willow, don’t sound so eager,” he said. “There was a time when you used to enjoy being with me.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. She didn’t like being reminded of her past infatuation. God, could she have been more obvious back then? If she could write a letter to her sixteen-year-old self, she’d start it with STOP MOONING OVER JACK CROWN! and be done with it.

“I’m not that girl anymore,” she said.

“I don’t believe that,” he said. “I still see shades of her in how you act with everyone but me. Why is that? Clearly I’ve done something to rub you the wrong way.”

“Just because I’m not buying your public image doesn’t mean anything,” she said. “Gail has told me enough about PR for me to know that you can’t be America’s Sweetheart in real life.”

Gail Little was one of Willow’s best friends and had been the reason Willow had pitched the idea of this show to her bosses at the network. Gail’s personal matchmaking experience had been captured on the first episodes of Sexy & Single—her dates with New Zealand billionaire playboy Russell Holloway had really brought in the viewers. The quiet, sophisticated Gail taming the wild Russell had been ratings gold.

“Forget image. You know me,” he said. “What do you believe?”

He didn’t want to know, and there was no way she was opening that can of worms. “I don’t know you. Not really. You spend more time flying cross-country to host your other shows than here on the set with me. But that doesn’t matter. So what about those drinks?”

He rolled his eyes. “I’ll buy you dinner and drinks if you stop evading the question and tell me what’s going on. We’ve been working together for six months and I keep getting the cold shoulder from you. I must be remembering our high school years differently because I thought we’d been friends.”

“You must be,” she said. “Can we eat out without your legions of fans finding us?”