Too Proud to be Bought

Too Proud to be Bought
Шэрон Кендрик

The humble waitress and the Russian billionaire…Waitress Zara Evans doesn’t belong in glittering high society. That is until she finds herself unexpectedly at an exclusive party and manages to captivate the most soughtafter man in the room – Russian oligarch Nikolai Komarov – by attracting his undivided attention…For Nikolai, there’s something about Zara’s beauty that makes her stand out from the firstclass crowd. Experience has taught him all women have their price, but he has never encountered anyone like Zara – a young woman who is too proud, too independent, too wilful to be bought…

‘So how come you dramatically ripped up the cheque I left you?’

Incredulously, she stared back. ‘You know exactly why. You paid me over double what I was owed!’ she accused.

He raised his eyebrows.'That’s the first time someone’s ever complained that I’ve overpaid them,’ he drawled.

‘Don’t be obtuse, Nikolai—you know exactly what I mean.’

‘No, I don’t. I thought you were good at your job and deserved the extra payment.’

‘What? Or the extra services provided?’

He froze. ‘You think that I’m the kind of man who pays for sex?’

‘Can we keep your ego out of it for a moment? This isn’t about you—it’s about me’, she shot back, swallowing down the intense hurt she still felt at the memory of him waving that wretched envelope at her as if she was some kind of hooker. ‘So why the over-generous gesture, if not for that?’

For a moment he was silent as he battled with his feelings, angry that she was forcing him to offer some kind of explanation—he who never had to explain himself to anyone. ‘I realised that I’d misjudged you,’ he said heavily.'That you were not the woman I thought you to be.’

Dear Reader (#ua70eead7-7abd-5edc-bba2-ad587217d2b7),

One hundred. Doesn’t matter how many times I say it, I still can’t believe that’s how many books I’ve written. It’s a fabulous feeling but more fabulous still is the news that Mills & Boon are issuing every single one of my backlist as digital titles. Wow. I can’t wait to share all my stories with you - which are as vivid to me now as when I wrote them.

There’s BOUGHT FOR HER HUSBAND, with its outrageously macho Greek hero and A SCANDAL, A SECRET AND A BABY featuring a very sexy Tuscan. THE SHEIKH’S HEIR proved so popular with readers that it spent two weeks on the USA Today charts and…well, I could go on, but I’ll leave you to discover them for yourselves.

I remember the first line of my very first book: “So you’ve come to Australia looking for a husband?” Actually, the heroine had gone to Australia to escape men, but guess what? She found a husband all the same! The man who inspired that book rang me up recently and when I told him I was beginning my 100

story and couldn’t decide what to write, he said, “Why don’t you go back to where it all started?”

So I did. And that’s how A ROYAL VOW OF CONVENIENCE was born. It opens in beautiful Queensland and moves to England and New York. It’s about a runaway princess and the enigmatic billionaire who is infuriated by her, yet who winds up rescuing her. But then, she goes and rescues him… Wouldn’t you know it?

I’ll end by saying how very grateful I am to have a career I love, and to thank each and every one of you who has supported me along the way. You really are very dear readers.

Love,

Sharon xxx

Mills & Boon are proud to present a thrilling digital collection of all Sharon Kendrick’s novels and novellas for us to celebrate the publication of her amazing and awesome 100th book! Sharon is known worldwide for her likeable, spirited heroines and her gorgeous, utterly masculine heroes.

SHARON KENDRICK once won a national writing competition, describing her ideal date: being flown to an exotic island by a gorgeous and powerful man. Little did she realise that she’d just wandered into her dream job! Today she writes for Mills & Boon, featuring her often stubborn but always to-die-for heroes and the women who bring them to their knees. She believes that the best books are those you never want to end. Just like life…

Too Proud to be Bought

Sharon Kendrick

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

To David Small—a true knight in shining armour!

CONTENTS

Cover (#u4170373b-cd73-521e-97c6-083e09238fd0)

Extract (#u23052147-4f3e-529d-8da0-bd9dace4c576)

Dear Reader (#ue458c8e5-5d9d-560b-93d9-d711b7382160)

About the Author (#u75981479-f970-5f0b-8209-094880a7660d)

Title Page (#u04812bbe-647d-569f-b3e6-83b778613359)

Dedication (#u10e69fb7-67f7-56a5-b275-97e3cd2de86e)

CHAPTER ONE (#ubbc0616b-8c16-5eb5-b928-1a751e91ece5)

CHAPTER TWO (#u4b8d1681-2b16-536a-9320-5f089e99f477)

CHAPTER THREE (#u9a9e1bdd-b855-514d-bb4c-41e1ce57ab01)

CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ONE (#ua70eead7-7abd-5edc-bba2-ad587217d2b7)

IT WAS like looking at a stranger.