 by Carly Phillips.jpg)
Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 61851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Standing on stage and being auctioned off in the name of charity is awkward AF… until his business partner’s younger sister wins him for the weekend. He’s all hers to do with as she pleases and he can’t say he’s unhappy with the prospect. Especially since she saved him from an ex-fiancée determined to get her claws into him again.
Jessica Cavanaugh never intended to bid on the man she’s had a lifetime crush on. But her spur-of-the-moment decision gives her a chance to exact a bit of playful payback, for old time’s sake. And Derek is all too happy to indulge Jessica’s whims.
What starts as a fun, flirty, game, with Derek acting as her personal handyman, quickly turns into a steamy and forbidden weekend. Lines are crossed that they never intended and emotions unravel their playful facades. Afterward, he can’t get the gorgeous, full-figured woman out of his head and he’s determined to make her his.
But how can they concentrate on a future when someone is threatened by their relationship and will do anything to come between them?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
“See anything you like?”
Jessica glanced from the larger-than-life poster featuring photos of the bachelors up for auction at tonight’s charity event to her best friend, Avery, who wore a knowing smile.
Jessica shrugged nonchalantly. “Twelve gorgeous single men up for auction. What’s not to like?”
“Let me be more specific,” Avery said, as other guests strolled along the adjoining tables near them, filled with items up for silent auction. “Is there anyone in particular you’d like?”
Jessica knew which bachelor Avery was alluding to. Dark-haired, green-eyed Derek Bettencourt, her secret crush since she was a teenager. He was also her older brother Ben’s best friend and business partner. If that little detail didn’t make him off-limits, there were two other very legitimate reasons why her attraction to him would never be reciprocated.
One, she wasn’t his type at all.
And two, he’d only ever treated her like a second little sister.
Unfortunately, her infatuation with the man was stronger than ever.
“I am not bidding on anyone tonight,” she insisted, finishing off her third glass of champagne for the evening and enjoying the pleasant buzz she was feeling. She’d already supported the charity in other ways . . . the per-plate fee for attending and even bidding on a few silent-auction items that interested her.
“No?” Arms crossed over her chest, Avery tapped her chin thoughtfully with her finger, a devious look twinkling in her eyes. “You know, this might be the perfect opportunity for you to get a little payback.”
Jessica tipped her head in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“Remember that summer our senior year when Derek blabbed about us sneaking out of the house and going to that party where we got drunk and stoned?”
Ten years had passed, but it was hard to forget any of the painful, humiliating things that had happened that last year of high school. Or the party they’d stupidly gone to, thinking that being around the cool kids and doing the same stuff they did would make them fit in. They never had—all because they were the chubby chicks none of the popular girls wanted to be seen with.
Instead, she and Avery had been the target of ridicule on a regular basis. At least they’d had each other.
“He didn’t really blab,” Jessica said, automatically defending Derek, since he’d been the one they’d called for a ride home from the party. “I mean, it wasn’t his fault that my mother overheard him telling my brother what we did.” Which resulted in her being punished for her antics.
“Still, you spent two weeks grounded and doing ridiculous chores, which meant you missed out on being with me at the lake house for the rest of the summer.”
The yearly vacation with Avery had been the one thing she’d been looking forward to, and her mother had known it. “Yeah, that part sucked.”
“Just saying,” Avery teased. “You could put him to work around your new place. Make him paint the fence or trim the hedges . . . shirtless. Watching all that sweat drip down his chest and into the low waistband of his shorts as he labored away on your . . . shrubbery.”
Jessica’s face flamed at the hot, sexy images of Derek now emblazoned in her mind, even if she knew Avery was just trying to play matchmaker in her own not-so-subtle way. “Okay, you can stop now. It’s not going to happen.”
As much as she’d enjoy having Derek’s undivided attention for a weekend, it would also be nothing short of sheer torture. Ogling but not being allowed to touch.
“Jessica!” a female voice called out.
She turned around to see Faith Dare approaching. Jessica had been introduced to Faith through her brother’s friendships with the Dare siblings, and the other woman was becoming one of Jessica’s best Curvy Girl Couture customers.
Jessica took in the red sequin mermaid-style gown Faith wore, the one Jessica had designed especially for her voluptuous curves and fuller figure. “You look amazing.”
“Don’t I, though?” Faith asked with a laugh and did a little spin that made her long, blond hair fall around her bare shoulders. “You outdid yourself with this custom dress. I was lucky that Jason let me leave the house tonight,” she said of her hunky husband. “He took one look at me and got that seductive gleam in his eyes. It’s been like that all evening, so it’s going to be a very good night when we get home, if you know what I mean.”
Jessica loved seeing Faith’s elevated confidence. Making women like herself feel beautiful in their own skin was all she’d ever wanted and why she’d created her own fashion line for females who loved their curves, which she sold in her boutique and online.
“By the way, the desserts you made for this evening were to die for,” Jessica said, complimenting the other woman right back. Faith ran her own successful business, Faith’s Sweet Treats, which were incredible.