In Good Company

In Good Company
Teresa Southwick

Now Playing: The story of the unsinkable Molly PrestonGone were the glasses, braces and baby fat. Molly Preston had changed heaps since the days they kept company in high school. Since Des O'Donnell had betrayed her. Now, of all the men on the charity auction block, she'd taken the upper hand and secretly bid on him.His Big Scene: Convincing her that with him she was in good companySeemed Molly had past wrongs she wanted to right. And she believed having big-man-on-campus Des O'Donnell as her reunion escort would send a statement. But Des owed her more. So he fibbed a little…and introduced her as his fiancée!

“I bought you to be my escort for the reunion,” she said in a rush.

He looked genuinely surprised. “Why?”

So many reasons. None of them she wanted to share.

“Guys are probably lined up to take you out.”

“Not really.” Damn that little glow starting in her belly.

“Molly, I’d have taken you to your reunion even if you hadn’t bid on me.”

Recently he’d told her she was a knockout. And the geeky adolescent still lurking inside her desperately wanted to believe he meant what he’d said. But she’d believed him once and paid a high price, in self-esteem and trust.

Now she’d made a deal with the devil—or rather, devil-may-care Des. She needed to guard her emotions carefully. To do that, she’d have to keep her mind on the reunion, and only on the reunion.

But just this once, as she closed the door behind her, she’d revel in the intensity burning in his blue eyes as he watched her walk away.

In Good Company

Teresa Southwick

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

TERESA SOUTHWICK

lives with her husband in Las Vegas, the city that reinvents itself every day. An avid fan of romance novels, she is delighted to be living out her dream of writing for Silhouette Books.

Do you need a man? The 75

semi-annual Charity City Buy-A-Guy Auction

This is your chance to find the right one for that “honey do” list!

Could you use a weekend warrior? Ex-U.S. Army Ranger Riley Dixon is the guy for you. He’s donating a survival weekend guaranteed to get your heart rate up.

What about that home repair you’ve been putting off?

Dashing Des O’Donnell, former Charity City High football hero, now owner and president of his own construction company, is offering a repair of your choice.

Personal security issues? Defend your honor?

Savvy Sam Brimstone, recently of the LAPD and a hotshot detective, is your man.

These are just a sampling of the jaw-dropping guys available to the highest bidder. Ladies, don’t miss the chance to buy a guy—no strings attached.

Cash, Check, Credit and Debit cards gratefully accepted by the Charity City Philanthropic Foundation.

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

Epilogue

Chapter One

Charity City, Texas

Mid September, two weeks before the bi-annual town auction

Desmond O’Donnell was back. Like the Terminator. Or a bad penny. Or both.

Molly Preston watched him walk past her classroom window, wishing he looked like a troll. But, where Des O’Donnell was concerned, her luck had never been that good. Now was no exception. All she could see was his profile and that was still to die for.

She was dabbing green paint on construction paper with one of her kids, when he entered her classroom and began looking around. She took a good look, too. The rumor mill had been working overtime since Des had returned to Charity City, and reports of his hunk quotient bordered on the stuff of urban legend. The reports were annoyingly accurate.

Ever since she learned the Charity City Foundation had awarded First Step Preschool the money for a new wing of classrooms and Des had won the contract to build it, she’d known their paths would cross. Again. But he’d picked a bad time to drop in. Not that any time would have been especially good, but it was craft time for her pre-K kids and when paint was involved, it was always uncharted territory. On top of that, a handsome stranger’s appearance was like a shot of adrenaline to her four-year-old charges.

They weren’t the only ones. Her twenty-five-year-old hormones whipped her heart into a serious palpitation. And her hands were sweating. She was no good around men—never had been, never would be—especially not around one who looked like he should be on the cover of Carpentry Quarterly.

Still, she’d been preparing herself to deal with him. But this time she wasn’t an overweight, orthodontically challenged, four-eyed high-school girl, easily dazzled by the PHAT—pretty hot and tempting—captain of the football team.

This time, she was a woman, and a professional. More classrooms meant more kids getting a head start on learning—a start that would make them kind, caring and productive members of society.