Remember in Reckless in Love when
Matt spies the beautiful Ariana Jones just on the other side of the fountain at
Charlie’s grand debut…
I just adore this cover. Matt is such a
total hottie!
Now we’ve got Matt and Ari’s beautiful story for you…
After
growing up dirt poor in a seedy Chicago neighborhood, Matt Tremont seemingly
has it all now—brains, brawn, and billions. And most importantly, Noah, his
five-year-old son, the one good outcome of a disastrous relationship that destroyed
his last ounce of trust. The only thing he’s lacking is the perfect nanny for
his son. And Ariana Jones is absolute perfection. Utterly enchanting.
Completely fascinating. And totally off limits.
Like a
match made in heaven, this is Ari's dream job. Swallowed up in the foster care
system after losing her brother and mother, Ari has always dreamed of family.
She showers five-year-old Noah with all the love she’s kept bottled up inside.
Love she could also offer to her gorgeous billionaire boss—if only he weren’t
the very last man she could ever hope to have.
But when
sizzling sparks of attraction turn into a forbidden, sinfully hot night of
pleasure, will Ari’s love be enough to make Matt forget the past and love
fearlessly?
Fearless in Love, Book 3, available now! Kindle Kindle
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Let me give you an excerpt of Matt and Ari’s tantalizing
story.
Fearless
in Love
Maverick
Billionaires, Book 3
©
2016 Bella Andre and Jennifer Skully
Chapter One
Matt Tremont’s home was amazing.
Ten thousand square feet, maybe fifteen thousand—though it was hard to judge
something that massive when Ari was used to living in three hundred square
feet.
The man himself left her
awestruck. As gorgeous as a movie star, with rangy muscles that made her mouth
water, just looking at him was enough to make her lose her words right in the
middle of a sentence. He was thirty-four—ten years older than she was—and he
made guys her own age seem like boys.
When he’d approached her at the
grand opening of Sebastian Montgomery’s media headquarters in San Francisco,
she’d actually started to tremble. It had seemed like a pivotal moment that
would change her life forever, when a gorgeous, charming billionaire wanted to
talk to her. She’d fantasized that the sparks flying everywhere weren’t
just in her imagination. “Ariana,” she
could almost hear him saying in his deep, sexy voice, “let me whisk you away
to my private lair for champagne and caviar.”
Only to have her fantasies blown
sky-high when he’d asked her to interview as a nanny for his five-year-old son.
Ari was still laughing at
herself; obviously, she’d been the only one feeling any sparks. But that didn’t
make him any less mouthwatering, even in jeans. Especially in jeans.
Her stomach did backflips as she
sat across from him in his living room, but she had her crazy attraction under
control.
Sort of.
“Ariana,” Matt said.
Oh, that voice... It was
enough to make a girl spin out into fantasy again.
“Please, call me Ari.”
Only Daniel Spencer called her
Ariana. Daniel and Matt were two of the Mavericks, five billionaires who had
taken the world by storm with their business prowess in many different fields.
She knew a little about Matt’s past. Like Daniel and the other Mavericks, he
hadn’t been born into money. She knew what it was to be poor, and she admired
them all for what they’d accomplished.
Daniel had given a glowing
recommendation to Matt. Though technically he wasn’t her boss, since he owned
the whole company, Daniel had been really sweet to her since she’d landed the
job at Top-Notch DIY when she was eighteen. She’d worked there part time ever since
she’d aged out of foster care, scraping together every dime to go to college.
Daniel had helped there too, with company-sponsored scholarships, something for
which she could never thank him enough. He said she reminded him of his kid
sister, Lyssa, who was close to Ari’s age.
Not that she wanted Matt to
think of her as a little sister. She already had a big brother, even if she
hadn’t seen him in years. Thinking of Gideon made her chest hurt, so she pushed
away the memories as she focused on what Matt was saying.
“Daniel told me that in addition
to working at his San Jose store, you also take care of kids.”
Nodding, she said, “I graduated
from San Jose State last May with a degree in child development. I’d like to be
a teacher someday, but right now, I want the one-on-one, full-time experience.”
She didn’t add that she also needed to beef up her cash reserves after using
everything for college, even with the scholarships.
He looked at her with a
penetrating gaze, seeming to weigh her every word, figuring out how it fit into
the whole picture. She wondered if that was part of the reason he was hugely
rich and successful—because he took note of everything.
Sitting in a big leather chair
next to her, Matt shifted his legs a little wider. “That’s very commendable,
getting your education while you’re working. So tell me more about how you
envision teaching my son.”
Swallowing hard at the
ridiculously sexy picture he made, Ari settled into the buttery smooth leather
of the sofa. With an intricate pattern of vibrant colors, the carpet was so
thick it tempted her to take off her shoes and sink her toes into the plush
pile. She couldn’t imagine living in a place like this. Just walking from the
front door to the living room had seemed like a mile across polished hardwood
floors, past paintings and artwork that probably cost a fortune. But live here
she would, if she got the job taking
care of Noah.
Her smile grew bigger with the
memory of the day she’d played with Matt’s son at the youth center Daniel was
building in San Jose. “I like to play in the sandbox rather than sticking kids
in front of the TV to let their little minds get warped by cartoons. Not that
there’s anything wrong with cartoons,” she clarified. “As long as they’re
the cherry on top of the sundae, rather than the entire meal.”
“I agree,” Matt said with a nod.
“Children should be outdoors, enjoying nature, playing with insects, and
chasing frogs.”
As a kid, she’d lived in an
apartment—lots of different apartments—and the only insects she could have
played with were cockroaches. The only frogs she’d seen were in stagnant pools
of water left behind in abandoned lots. When she wasn’t in school, she’d spent
her time buried in the pages of books.
“I like the zoo,” she continued,
hoping she was saying the right things. The problem was that he smelled so
good, like clean, hot male. It was messing big-time with her concentration.
“And you’ve got Henry Coe State Park almost in your backyard.” His huge home
was nestled in the trees overlooking Anderson Lake. Footpaths probably led up
into the hills right from the back door. “Is that why you chose to live in
Morgan Hill—because it’s so much prettier than San Jose?”
“After I had my new factory
located here, I figured it was easier to build our home nearby.”
He was so matter-of-fact. Did he
ever chase butterflies with his son? She hoped he did.
To prep her for this interview,
Daniel had told her that Matt was a brilliant high-tech robotics
manufacturer—and a bookworm. Crossing the mile-long foyer, she’d caught a brief
glimpse of a library jammed with books. If she got the job, she’d love to spend
as much of her free time there as possible. Evidently, Matt had put himself
through college with scholarships and hard work, blowing through in three years
instead of four. His ideas and inventions were so groundbreaking that his
professors had told him to forget earning a PhD and move right into industry
instead, so he’d started his company, Trebotics International, when he was
about her age.
Though she admired him for his
smarts and his success, she didn’t know anything about him as a father. Or as a
man. But Daniel had said he was the best dad any kid could ever have. He’d also
mentioned that Noah’s mom had dropped out of the picture early and rarely saw
her son.
How had that affected Matt and
Noah?
“One of Noah’s previous nannies
had a boyfriend she constantly talked with on the phone when she should have
been paying attention to my son. Will that be a problem for you?”
“I don’t have a boyfriend, or
unlimited texting and minutes on my cell phone.” She couldn’t afford a smartphone,
and she’d signed up for the cheapest service plan she could get. “So you
definitely won’t find me distracted by my phone.”
“I’m glad to hear that. How many
children do you currently babysit?”
Interesting that he wanted to
know more about her actual experience with children rather than what she’d
taken in school, but she knew that book smarts weren’t always the same as
hands-on learning. “Six, but only part time for each. One is my best friend’s
little boy. She’s a single mom, and I help out with Jorge.” Ari gave it the
Spanish pronunciation: Hor-hay. She
loved Jorge and didn’t charge Rosie. “I also work for four women in the South
Bay who aren’t working moms, taking care of their kids when they’ve got errands
or appointments. I wouldn’t be leaving them in the lurch if I came to work for
you.” She didn’t want him to think she’d dump him if a better opportunity came
along. “I’ve got friends who would love to work for them. I’d just have to make
arrangements.” It would be difficult leaving the kids, but she needed the
full-time job. Both Daniel and the moms understood that, though it was harder
for the kids to accept. “They all said they’d give you references.”
“I’d like to speak with them.”
She fished in her bag for the
list. “Here you go.” Their hands brushed, and she went warm all over.
As he looked over the names,
numbers, and addresses, she noted that he had sun lines at his eyes, and she
wondered if he swam with Noah in the huge kidney-shaped pool she’d seen through
the French doors. Or maybe they spent time in the playground out back, with its
swings, slides, monkey bars, and huge sandbox.
He was rich. He could give his
son anything that was for sale. But she hoped he gave his son time too.
Looking back up at her, he
asked, “How long have you been babysitting?”
“Since I was sixteen.” Not
counting the foster homes where she’d taken care of the younger kids.
“And you’re twenty-four now?” He
frowned slightly as he said her age, but before she became worried, he said,
“Eight years is good experience.”
She smiled, then dove in with
her own question. “What would my duties be?”
“You would get Noah up in the
morning, take him to school. He started kindergarten this year, and he’s
attending a private school in Almaden Valley.”
That was twenty-five minutes
away. She thought about the morning commute traffic and how brutal it was as
more companies moved into Silicon Valley.
As if he could see the thought
bubble over her head, he said, “My driver Doreen would drive you when you take
Noah out.” Matt Tremont and his son lived a life she’d seen only on TV, with
private drivers and mansions. “You would also be responsible for his nutrition.
I have a cook, but I’d want you to make sure he’s eating healthy.”
Nutrition had been part of her
education. “No treats?”
He smiled for the first time.
And she stopped breathing.
Literally stopped.
No one should be allowed that
much gorgeousness. She would see that smile in her dreams.
“Treats were my favorite thing
as a kid. Probably because I didn’t get many.” He said it with a laugh, but she
wasn’t sure she bought the way he tried to play off his difficult childhood
with a smile. Ari hadn’t grown up with much either—and she’d also learned how to
smile through it. “In any case,” he continued, “treats are fine every now and then,
but I don’t want him gorging on candy and soda.” With that, he went on with her
duties. “He’s only in school in the morning, so I would want you to devise
lesson plans for the afternoon. Trips to the zoo and other activities that
teach him would be great. He’s learning to swim, and I’d want you to continue,
as long as he’s got his water wings on.”
A commotion in the hall drowned
out the rest of Matt’s list—a young voice, the stomp of running feet. For a
little boy, Noah Tremont made big noise, which she loved.
He flew around the corner,
sliding on the hardwood floor until his toes hit the rug. “Daddy, Daddy, you
gotta see!” A moment later, he saw Ari. “I know you.”
“We met a month ago at the house
your daddy was building with his friends.”
Noah had a mop of hair as dark
as his father’s and cheeks that hadn’t lost their baby roundness yet. He ran
around the coffee table and flung himself at her on the sofa, grabbing her
hand. “You gotta see too.”
“Noah,” Matt interrupted. “We’re
in a meeting.”
A harried older woman appeared
in the doorway, wisps of hair flying out of a bun that had probably been neat
that morning. This must be the temp Matt said he’d brought in while he was
searching for a full-time nanny. “Mr. Tremont, I’m sorry. Noah, come here.” Her
voice was more tired than annoyed.
But Noah was too excited to
listen. Ari plucked him up and set him on her lap, a wriggling bundle of
boundless energy. He was adorable. She wanted to spend her days with someone so
happy and sweet, take him to the zoo, chase butterflies, teach him the names of
birds.
“You know”—she gave Noah the
biggest smile—“it’s nice to let people finish what they’re saying. So as soon
as your dad’s done talking, then you can show us whatever you want.”
“It’s my new Lego set Jeremy
gave me!” He couldn’t stop bouncing. Ari remembered Jeremy from the day at the
youth home, a sweet young man—a brother of one of the other Mavericks, maybe?
“All righty then. We’ll finish
up, then you can show us your Lego.” She gave Noah a solemn look. “I’m a Lego
master, by the way.”
“Cool, me too!” He nodded
vigorously, his curls bouncing. Then he stopped and bit his lip, and she was
struck by how much of a mini-Matt he was. “I forgot your name.”
“It’s Ari.”
He beamed at her. Yup, the kid
version of his dad’s smile. “I like your name.” With that, he hopped off her
lap.
When Ari turned back to Matt, he
was staring at her with his head cocked slightly. “A Lego master?” He shook his
head. “Even I have a hard time putting some of them together.”
“I doubt that,” she said, which
made him smile again. Oh, that smile. It got under her skin, made her
hum inside. Everywhere inside. “You were saying? About my duties?”
“We’ve pretty much covered it.”
He began to list the things she’d get out of the deal. “You’d have your own
suite next to Noah’s. You could eat meals with us, but you’d be free to raid
the kitchen. Sunday would be your day off. If you wanted to make prior
arrangements to go out in the evening for a date or whatever, that would be
fine. I try to be home in the evenings and on weekends for Noah.”
“Like I said, I don’t have a
boyfriend, but I get together with my girlfriends sometimes in the evenings.”
He nodded, then said, “The
salary is twelve hundred a week, plus medical insurance.”
She barely managed to keep her
chin from hitting her knees. “A week?” She couldn’t believe it. It rivaled what
she made in a month. Plus benefits.
“Considering that you would be
on duty almost twenty-four hours a day, six days a week, it’s reasonable.”
“Reasonable?” She was afraid she
sounded like an airhead repeating everything he said, but his offer was beyond
anything she’d dreamed of. “I mean, yes, it’s totally reasonable.”
Especially considering all she
had to do was look after an adorable little boy and live in a fabulous mansion
with her own suite. And she could have all the sizzling-hot fantasies
she wanted about Matt, whose bedroom would undoubtedly be just down the hall.
Completely secret fantasies, locked in a compartment inside her brain that she’d
wait to open until she was alone.
If there was one thing she knew
how to do, it was compartmentalize. She’d spent six years in the foster care
system after her mom died, so Ari was a master at living a rich fantasy life
without confusing it with reality. Everyone deserved a dream world. In fact, it
was healthy—as long as you knew the difference between fantasy and reality, and
Ari always had.
She knew what it was like to
have things ripped away from you at a moment’s notice, when you thought a
foster family cared about you only to realize it was the money they received
that meant the most, or their real daughter hated your guts so you had to go.
And she knew about other things that still gave her nightmares sometimes—foster
fathers and brothers who didn’t care about the personal boundaries of the new
foster girl.
So, yes, she definitely kept her
dreams uncontaminated by reality. And this
job was far better than anything she could have dreamed up on her
own. If she got it, she would owe Daniel for recommending her, more than she could
ever repay.
“I’ll check your references
tonight.” He tapped the list she’d given him. “But after what Daniel said, it
all looks good. I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”
Please, she silently
prayed as she grabbed her bag, hire me and make this dream real. “I really like Noah. He’s a great kid.”
“I’m lucky to have him.” Love
filled Matt’s voice when he talked about his son. “And he obviously likes you.
I hope you have time to see his latest Lego masterpiece before you go.”
“Of course.”
They stood at the same time,
suddenly close beside each other at the edge of the coffee table. For the
briefest of moments, she let her eyelids drift shut as her senses drank him
in—that fresh rain scent, the heat radiating off his body, the gentle wash of
his breath across her hair.
Noah was so cute, and the setup
was amazing. But Matt? Well, he was
the cherry on top of her sundae.
And if she got this job, she
would make sure nothing screwed it up.
I hope you enjoyed this taste of Ari and Matt!
If you missed the first two books in the Maverick
Billionaire series, here’s where you can catch up!
Breathless in Love, Book 1, Will and Harper Kindle Kindle UK Kindle
CA Kindle AU Nook iBooks iBooks
UK iBooks
CA iBooks
AU Kobo Google Play Print Audible iTunes
Reckless in Love, Book 2, Sebastian and Charlie Kindle Kindle UK Kindle
CA iBooks iBooks
UK iBooks
CA iBooks
AU Kobo Nook
Nook
UK Google
Play Print Audible
iTunes
Preorders
Preorder Irresistible in Love, Maverick
Billionaires Book 4 (Evan’s story) on iBooks Preorder!!!
Don’t miss Love Affair to Remember, After
Office Hours Book 2, also an iBooks preorder.
Dead to the Max, Max Starr Series, Book 1 is still free!
She’s Gotta Be Mine is FREE! Try Book 1 of the Cottonmouth Series.
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