Accidental Cinderella

Accidental Cinderella
Nancy Robards Thompson

A FAIRY TALE RECIPE FOR ROMANCE INGREDIENTS: 1 beautiful woman 1 scandalous celebrity chef 1 heaping tablespoon of undeniable attraction 3 cups of pure chemistry Unlimited measure of sizzling passionMETHOD:1. Take one drop-dead gorgeous Lindsay Bingham.2. Place her at a castle on an exotic Mediterranean island.3. Add a little spice in the form of handsome celebrity chef Carlos Montigo.4. Make them the hosts of a TV cooking show set in Europe.5. Turn the heat up to an irresistible desire.6. Don't get burned as their scorching passion explodes.7. Cook until Lindsay and Carlos fall hopelessly in love!

“So, a man who cooks. Why hasn’t some lucky lady snapped you up?”

“There’s been no one recently I’ve wanted to be involved with.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Sort of.

A swarm of butterflies swooped in Lindsay’s stomach.

“I was a lonely kid,” he said. “The kind of lonely that can only be understood by someone who’s felt it, too. You know, not belonging. I can’t imagine that you were that kind of kid.”

“Ah, but I was,” she said. “Sometimes I still am.”

“I don’t believe it.” His voice was a sexy whisper.

Then he kissed her. His mouth was so inviting, and even though a voice of reason sounded in a distant fog in the back of her mind—she really shouldn’t be doing this—she had to have one more taste.

Dear Reader,

I have a confession to make: even though I’m not a terrific cook, I eat up the Food Network and cooking shows on other channels, such as Top Chef. I can’t get enough of them. From BBQ to beautifully baked cakes (and everything in between), I devour these tasty shows.

On the upside, this indulgence has greatly improved my previously limited culinary repertoire. It also started the wheels turning for Accidental Cinderella. I’ve always wondered about the stories behind these shows; how did these Food Network stars make the leap from the kitchen to cable? That question inspired this book. In these pages I explore what happens when you take an unlikely cooking/travel show host and mix her up with a bad-boy chef in desperate need of redemption. The result is deliciously sweet and spicy.

I hope you’ll have as much fun reading Accidental Cinderella as I had writing it!

Bon appétit!

Nancy Robards Thompson

Accidental Cinderella

Nancy Robards Thompson

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

NANCY ROBARDS THOMPSON

Award-winning author Nancy Robards Thompson is a sister, wife and mother who has lived the majority of her life south of the Mason-Dixon line. As the oldest sibling, she reveled in her ability to make her brother laugh at inappropriate moments and she soon learned she could get away with it by proclaiming, “What? I wasn’t doing anything.” It’s no wonder that upon graduating from college with a degree in journalism, she discovered that reporting “just the facts” bored her silly. Since hanging up her press pass to write novels full-time, critics have deemed her books “funny, smart and observant.” She loves chocolate, champagne, cats and art (though not necessarily in that order). When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, hiking and doing yoga.

For Michael, for all the wonderful meals over the years.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Chapter One

“You almost make a girl believe in fairy tales.” In this rare intimate moment amidst the festive chaos, Lindsay Bingham reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair into her friend Sophie Baldwin’s bridal veil.

Sophie looked every bit the princess she was. Literally. A real princess.

The wedding was magical and the reception was the social ticket of the year, Lindsay marveled. It was still hard to believe that salt-of-the-earth Sophie Baldwin from Trevard, North Carolina, was full-fledged royalty.

Last year, she’d discovered her birthright—or maybe it was more apropos to say her birthright finally found her—and she’d been swept away to the island of St. Michel in imperial fashion. As if that weren’t enough good fortune, she’d just married her prince in a gorgeous December wedding.

Right on cue, tall, handsome Luc Lejardin whirled by on the dance floor with another woman in his arms. But as he caught and held his bride’s gaze, it was perfectly clear he only had eyes for one woman.

Lindsay sighed. She would’ve gladly relinquished rights to an entire kingdom to have a man look at her that way.

“If I keep humming, ‘Wish Upon A Star,’ will I get my turn as Cinderella?”

Sophie smiled. “Maybe, but since that song belongs to Pinocchio, you might end up with a fibbing bad boy rather than a handsome prince.”

Fibbing bad boys. The story of her life.

“That’s right,” she conceded. “Cinderella’s fight song was ‘A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes….’”