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  Reunited in Love

  Hearts on the Line [2]

  Nadia Lee

  Four Isles Press (2014)

  * * *

  Book 2 in the Hearts on the Line Series

  A temporary reunion...

  Newly jobless and adrift, former investment banker Kerri Wilson travels to Virginia to see her best friend and regroup, only to run into billionaire playboy Ethan Lloyd. It's been years since she's snuck out of his bed after the most amazing sex of her life, and he's so not her type--she likes them tall, dark and manageable. But he's too hot to resist, and she succumbs to another sizzling, no-strings-attached (or so she thinks) night.

  Unwilling to let her go this time, Ethan makes a simple proposition: a job, a place to stay, and an exclusive affair that will end when either of them finds someone else. But with her dark, painful past catching up to her, Kerri may have to bolt again--even though her heart is telling her to stay. And Ethan's not giving her up without fighting to make their "temporary" arrangement something far more permanent...

  Recommended for readers who enjoy:

  Alpha heroes

  Protective billionaire heroes

  Smart heroines

  Mildly (and unsubtly) meddling, matchmaking best friend

  Forced close proximity romance

  Table of Contents

  About This Book

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  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

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Epilogue

  Thank You

  What’s Next

  Titles by Nadia Lee

  About Nadia Lee

  A temporary reunion…

  Newly jobless and adrift, former investment banker Kerri Wilson travels to Virginia to see her best friend and regroup, only to run into billionaire playboy Ethan Lloyd. It’s been years since she’s snuck out of his bed after the most amazing sex of her life, and he’s so not her type—she likes them tall, dark and manageable. But he’s too hot to resist, and she succumbs to another sizzling, no-strings-attached (or so she thinks) night.

  Unwilling to let her go this time, Ethan makes a simple proposition: a job, a place to stay, and an exclusive affair that will end when either of them finds someone else. But with her dark, painful past catching up to her, Kerri may have to bolt again—even though her heart is telling her to stay. And Ethan’s not giving her up without fighting to make their “temporary” arrangement something far more permanent…

  Reunited in Love

  Hearts on the Line, Book 2

  Nadia Lee

  Reunited in Love

  Copyright © 2014 by Hyun J Kyung

  Kindle Edition: January 9, 2014

  Formatting by Nadia Lee

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  nadialee.net

  For Benjamin. Hello, Little Dragon.

  Acknowledgments

  Writing is solitary, yet publishing requires so many people’s hard work.

  Reunited in Love couldn’t have been written without the infinite patience of my husband and toddler boy who fended for themselves while I typed away. Gwen Hayes, Diana Fox and Melissa Karcz provided invaluable editorial feedback. Special thanks to Zara Keane for reading an earlier draft of the story and cheering me on. I owe you, V and Jim, for holding down the fort in America while I moved and tried to repair a townhouse halfway around the world. And my awesome friends May Khaw, Amanda Bonilla, Amanda Carlson, Shawntelle Madison and Sandy Williams—thank you for keeping me sane.

  I couldn’t have written and published this book without all of you.

  Chapter One

  KERRI WILSON MADE her way out of the international terminal at Dulles International Airport after going through immigration and customs. The final leg of her flight was taking off in an hour, and she couldn’t spot the two irritating men who had been tailing her since Hong Kong. She smiled to herself, the tightness around her shoulders easing. She’d never had any intention of getting on that Texas-bound plane.

  She wasn’t going home.

  She touched the black wig lightly, making sure it was still on straight. Its short and blunt Cleopatra hairstyle changed her appearance completely. Certainly it looked nothing like her usual shoulder-length copper waves. That, combined with a change into atypically casual clothes and shoes that added a few inches to her height, made her look too different for anyone to recognize her at a glance.

  She briefly regretted having to abandon her rolling carry-on in the ladies’ room, but it was a small sacrifice to pay for anonymous independence. And now she was free again to do as she wished.

  A big crowd was gathered on the other side of the black security line. A brunette in her early thirties rushed past Kerri to a group of three—one man and two little boys. The latter wrapped their plump arms around her, while the man took her bag and kissed her in greeting.

  Time stood still for a moment, and Kerri stared. The scene reminded her of what her family had lost because of her, and the time away hadn’t done a thing to dim the memory.

  The brunette and her family started walking off. Drawing in a breath, Kerri tore her gaze from their retreating backs. Less than an hour back on U.S. soil, and she had to see that.

  Oh well. Shaking her head, she scanned the waiting crowd for her best friend Natalie Hall…no, it was Natalie Damon now. She’d recently married one of the richest and most successful businessmen in America. Kerri had wanted to cab it from the airport, but Natalie had insisted.

  I’m not letting my BFF take a taxi. Stay put for a pickup. Or else!

  A frown creased Kerri’s forehead as she scanned the area. She couldn’t spot Natalie’s familiar Asian face with its quick smile and warm dark eyes.

  Maybe Natalie had needed to leave. The flight was more than an hour late. A newly-wedded woman probably had better things to do—like seducing her husband—than waiting for a friend’s super-late plane to land.

  Kerri looked around some more and noticed a sign with her name scrawled on it in block letters. She raised her eyes to the man holding it and blinked. He had his head angled away, but a vague sense of familiarity tugged at her as heat curled in her belly. The way his charcoal-gray Savile Row suit hung on his frame said not only did he work out, but the body underneath didn’t have an ounce of excess fat. Her lips parted slightly as she tried to draw in more air to clear her suddenly foggy head.


  Where had she seen him before?

  His ensemble—the suit, discreet watch, platinum ring on his right middle finger and gleaming shoes—probably cost more than what most limo drivers made in a year.

  No way he’s my chauffeur.

  Was this Natalie’s idea of a joke…or help?

  Kerri had everything except…well, a job, a home and a man. The first two were recent phenomena that hadn’t made the gossip circuit yet—so she still had time to rectify them before word got around—but the last one was common knowledge among her friends and acquaintances. She wouldn’t put it past Natalie to fix it. Fix her.

  After all, Natalie was a woman in love. Who believed in the power of love.

  Well, she’d have to do better if she wanted to recruit Kerri into the cult. She believed in many things, but love wasn’t one of them. Actually, that wasn’t technically true. She did believe in love. Just didn’t think it was for her.

  Dragging her lone suitcase, she approached the supposed chauffeur. Whatever he’d done to deserve this, it was time to end his misery. She wanted to check in and unpack her stuff for the week she was planning to stay in Virginia. Then she could figure out her next step.

  “Hi.” Despite her five-foot-nine height plus stiletto sandals, she had to tilt her chin upward to address him directly. “I’m Kerri Wilson.”

  He held up a long, strong finger without turning to face her. It had a small white scar running diagonally down the fleshy pad. “Gotta go. We’ll finish this later,” he said.

  The voice was low and matter-of-fact. But it intensified the sense of familiarity she’d felt earlier and made her toes curl. Good lord. He could’ve said, “I like eggs,” and her toes would still have scrunched up like shrimp tails.

  For god’s sake, Kerri, get a grip!

  In the last seven years, she’d never sighed over a man, lusted after one or wanted one with any degree of intensity. They’d been a nice addition to her life when she could spare the time and energy necessary to manage a romantic relationship in addition to the dozens of responsibilities on her plate. The result? Exactly three boyfriends since college.

  Of course, she no longer had the job that had kept her so busy. Serendipity?

  He turned around and the world seemed to go into slow motion. She noticed a small black earpiece, eyelashes whose length made her slightly jealous…and then a face that could cause a riot in a nunnery. All the air rushed out of her lungs as she stared at the blue eyes that belonged to Ethan, the only man who’d made her succumb to a white-hot passion one foolish night. The only man who’d succeeded in tempting her to be irresponsible.

  And what a night she’d had in his arms.

  The eyes narrowed as he studied her. The full intensity of his gaze prickled her skin. She had the oddest feeling that he was trying to see through her dove gray baby tee and short denim skirt. It wasn’t anything as clichéd as trying to strip her with his eyes. That she could handle. He was trying to see beneath her skin.

  Sweat slickened her palms. She felt terribly exposed, especially without her power suit, but she couldn’t seem to erect a barrier fast enough to keep herself insulated.

  Men never looked at her like this, like they wanted to see her soul.

  Why would he want to do that? It had just been one night. And he’d known the terms of the deal.

  She had to be imagining things. Most likely she was just tired from the trans-Pacific flight. He probably didn’t even remember her. Men like Ethan had harems full of willing women at their disposal.

  “Jacqueline?” he whispered.

  So much for him not remembering their night toge—

  “No, wait.” He glanced down at the sign he was holding. “You said Kerri Wilson.”

  She nodded, unable to speak. He’d become even more arresting since their one-night stand seven years ago. His voice had deepened, age and experience adding a dark timber to his tone; his body was wider, thicker through the shoulders, more powerful. Her body, meanwhile, was busy recalling every deliciously wicked thing he’d done. The flesh between her legs tightened, reminding her how long it’d been since she’d had any.

  “Which one’s the real name?” he asked.

  “Both,” she said faintly. “Jacqueline’s my middle name.” She’d gone by a different name in college to distance herself from her family, just in case they’d cared enough to…what? Come visit? Check up on her?

  Yeah, right.

  After graduation, she’d gone back to Kerri. It didn’t matter what she called herself. Never had.

  He shook his head. “No wonder.”

  “No wonder what?”

  “Nothing.” His tone said anything but that, but the firm line of his mouth indicated the topic was closed.

  “You’re still Ethan, I presume?”

  “Correct. I don’t usually give out my middle name to people I’m about to sleep with.”

  An awkward silence stretched. Her heartbeat skittered as more people moved past them. She didn’t want to dredge up the past.

  Well, it didn’t matter what Ethan did with people he was about to sleep with. She’d never owed him anything, including her real name. She swallowed and forced a light tone. “Shall we?”

  “Of course.” He glanced at her suitcase. “Is that all?”

  “I had my other bags Fed Ex’d to my hotel.” She’d gotten one of the analysts to do the honors of sending her real bags directly to Virginia under a managing director’s name. Then at Hong Kong International Airport she’d checked two large empty suitcases, and as soon as US customs cleared them in Dulles she’d handed them to the airline luggage workers and hit the ladies’ room to change. The private investigators would report everything to her family in great detail. It was important they didn’t know what she was up to—that she was leaving Hong Kong for good.

  Ethan nodded. “May I?”

  He put his hand over hers on the smooth luggage handle. The instant of skin-to-skin contact felt shockingly good. Precisely because of this, she pulled away as if scalded.

  He tossed the sign into the nearest trash can and led her into the parking structure, one hand dragging her bag and the other on her elbow, the contact courteous yet somehow more than that. He moved with confidence and an animal grace that said he was utterly comfortable in his body. This close, she could smell mouth-watering warm dark spice and male flesh. She wanted to lean into him, just melt against his towering height and strength. The thought sent a fissure of shock through her. This wasn’t like her.

  On the other hand, Ethan wasn’t like any of the other men she’d dealt with.

  Men didn’t crowd her like this. When they came to her, it was because they needed something impersonal, such as an opinion on a merger or help with a spreadsheet. Even the ones she’d dated wouldn’t have taken her arm after she’d withdrawn a hand, not without an encouraging signal from her first, which she hadn’t always given. Relationships, when she had them, required careful planning and management.

  Ethan had triggered her finely honed radar for unsuitable men. He would not only demand at least fifty percent input on both the planning and management, but expect more than what she was comfortable giving. As tempting as he was, those two things disqualified him from the pool of potential dating candidates, which was why she’d snuck out the morning after their one-night stand.

  A subsequent encounter with a friend of his had further confirmed she’d made the right choice.

  He wants you. Come on, Jacqueline. You work your ass off for shitty pay. He’s fucking loaded. Why not give him a call and see where things go?

  Had either of them thought so poorly of her? That she’d date a man so she could live the easy life?

  Working every second of her free time to pay for her college education hadn’t meant she was in need of a sugar daddy. If she’d wanted easy money, she would’ve run to her family. They redefined the term loaded.

  Kerri shook off the memory. No point in letting it bother her. If Natalie th
ought Ethan was good enough to pick her up, then everything was cool. Natalie was an excellent judge of character. She’d probably sent Ethan for his mad driving skills.

  They reached a shiny black BMW with temporary tags and he opened the door for her, then picked up her suitcase like it was loaded with helium and put it in the trunk. So. All that new muscle wasn’t just for show.

  She settled into the soft seat. Her fingertips tingled as they brushed over the smooth, luxurious leather. His car didn’t have any personal clutter, not even a single receipt. But then it had that new car smell. He probably just hadn’t had a chance to put his mark on it yet.

  He got in, closing the door with a solid thunk, and turned the engine on. A powerful purr vibrated through her skirt.

  The pleasant, warmly slick feeling between her legs must be from that, not from Mr. Gorgeous sitting next to her. No, not quite sitting, but not slumping either. She couldn’t come up with an exact term for the posture, but he looked sort of boneless and utterly relaxed in his seat.

  “You’re at the Marriott, right?” he asked, maneuvering his car out of the parking garage. His large hands hooked casually around the steering wheel.

  “Yeah, the one not too far from Natalie’s.” She checked her phone and rattled off the address. “Guess she told you?”

  He nodded.

  “So, what are you?” She wanted to understand the mystery that was Ethan. If she knew, maybe she wouldn’t respond to him so strongly. It had to be the process of solving a puzzle that was intriguing her, not the puzzle itself.

  He glanced over. She almost tugged on the hem of her skirt. Wearing the feminine clothing had seemed to make perfect sense earlier, when her primary objective was to lose the PIs her family had sicced on her. They’d never seen her in anything but power suits—with trousers, of course.

  She hated how the skirt left her legs three-quarters bare and the baby tee clung to her torso. She couldn’t have felt more exposed if she’d been sitting next to Ethan in her underwear.