Read Online Millionaire Dad's SOS by Ally Blake - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ally Blake
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this time didn’t bother trying to put a stop to it. ‘Both.’
‘Fine.’ She took a breath. ‘The only reasons I am telling you any of this is recompense for Ruby. Okay?’
‘Okay.’
‘Fame is a funny old thing. It’s not like I’ve done anything to deserve being remembered. I haven’t invented something, or cured anything or broken any world records. But my name has brand recognition, which gives me not only a certain power, but responsibility as well. Say the name Kelly and what do you think?’
Wealth. Charm. Beauty. But also excessive influence. Secrets. Lies. Scandal. Everything he wanted Ruby nowhere near.
She didn’t wait for him to answer. ‘I had to figure out early on how to deal with all that baggage. I have no interest in running the company like Brendan. Or owning the city like Cameron. And the rush Dylan feels every time a new client is lured into the KInG net is a mystery to me. I wouldn’t even begin to know what drives King Quinn himself. But what I can offer with a splash of perfume, a flash of designer skirt and a dash of feminine glamour is a much-needed counterpoint to the excess of testosterone my family exudes. A way to use some of that power for the greater good. And, boy, am I good at it. So good I could sell tickets. But unless you know a guy with a good linein wigs and fake noses it’s twenty-four hours, seven days a week, barely a holiday in sight.’
‘Why do it at all?’
She blinked, clearly thinking him obtuse. ‘For them. For each other.’
‘For your family?’That kind of self-sacrifice was something he was only just beginning to understand.
‘Jobs change. Friends come and go. Family is where you begin and where you end. My brothers may appear to be the kings of the jungle, but deep down they have the hearts of big kittens. They need me as much as I need them. And no matter what part we play all of us are working towards the same goal.’
‘The succecss of your father’s business.’
‘No. For our family to be happy. The business success is a side effect. I certainly don’t dance to my father’s tune, if that’s what you mean.’
‘Is that what I said?’
She frowned deeply. ‘It’s what you intimated, isn’t it? To be fair, I did once. Then a time came when I became a right little tearaway. The things I got up to would make your eyes water. Then I grew up. Took charge of my life. And decided making love and not war was the only way forward.’
‘Who knew the life of a society princess was lived on the front line?’
Her frown faded away, but her eyes remained locked on his, a tad wider than normal, as thoughshe couldn’t quite believe she was telling him all of this. ‘You can mock me all you like, but in offering a corner of myself to those who are interested, I am able to use my money, my influence and my time helping some of the less trendy, less telethon-appropriate organisations I believe need all the help they can get, which is extremely satisfying.’
‘I wasn’t mocking you. I—’
What? Envy you your infamously close family? Like hell he was going to tell her that.
Not knowing how to ask, he instead said, ‘Moving on.’
‘Excellent idea.’ She let out a deep breath and leant forward, just a touch, but enough that when her mouth curved into an all-new smile, a luscious, flirtatious, brain-numbing smile, he felt it like nothing else. If her life really was lived on a battleground, that mouth was as good a weapon as they came.
‘Am I off the hook?’ she asked.
He slowed his strokes, not quite ready to return to land. To real life. To the other side of the battle from her.
‘Just one last thing. Tell me how you got the chip in your tooth.’
She crossed her eyes as her tongue slid to the gap. His hands gripped the oars for dear life.
‘It’s so tiny. How did you even notice it?’
‘I happen to be an extremely perceptive man.’
Her eyes slid to his, warm, tempting, wonderingjust how perceptive he might be.
‘Fine.’ She took a breath. ‘The only reasons I am telling you any of this is recompense for Ruby. Okay?’
‘Okay.’
‘Fame is a funny old thing. It’s not like I’ve done anything to deserve being remembered. I haven’t invented something, or cured anything or broken any world records. But my name has brand recognition, which gives me not only a certain power, but responsibility as well. Say the name Kelly and what do you think?’
Wealth. Charm. Beauty. But also excessive influence. Secrets. Lies. Scandal. Everything he wanted Ruby nowhere near.
She didn’t wait for him to answer. ‘I had to figure out early on how to deal with all that baggage. I have no interest in running the company like Brendan. Or owning the city like Cameron. And the rush Dylan feels every time a new client is lured into the KInG net is a mystery to me. I wouldn’t even begin to know what drives King Quinn himself. But what I can offer with a splash of perfume, a flash of designer skirt and a dash of feminine glamour is a much-needed counterpoint to the excess of testosterone my family exudes. A way to use some of that power for the greater good. And, boy, am I good at it. So good I could sell tickets. But unless you know a guy with a good linein wigs and fake noses it’s twenty-four hours, seven days a week, barely a holiday in sight.’
‘Why do it at all?’
She blinked, clearly thinking him obtuse. ‘For them. For each other.’
‘For your family?’That kind of self-sacrifice was something he was only just beginning to understand.
‘Jobs change. Friends come and go. Family is where you begin and where you end. My brothers may appear to be the kings of the jungle, but deep down they have the hearts of big kittens. They need me as much as I need them. And no matter what part we play all of us are working towards the same goal.’
‘The succecss of your father’s business.’
‘No. For our family to be happy. The business success is a side effect. I certainly don’t dance to my father’s tune, if that’s what you mean.’
‘Is that what I said?’
She frowned deeply. ‘It’s what you intimated, isn’t it? To be fair, I did once. Then a time came when I became a right little tearaway. The things I got up to would make your eyes water. Then I grew up. Took charge of my life. And decided making love and not war was the only way forward.’
‘Who knew the life of a society princess was lived on the front line?’
Her frown faded away, but her eyes remained locked on his, a tad wider than normal, as thoughshe couldn’t quite believe she was telling him all of this. ‘You can mock me all you like, but in offering a corner of myself to those who are interested, I am able to use my money, my influence and my time helping some of the less trendy, less telethon-appropriate organisations I believe need all the help they can get, which is extremely satisfying.’
‘I wasn’t mocking you. I—’
What? Envy you your infamously close family? Like hell he was going to tell her that.
Not knowing how to ask, he instead said, ‘Moving on.’
‘Excellent idea.’ She let out a deep breath and leant forward, just a touch, but enough that when her mouth curved into an all-new smile, a luscious, flirtatious, brain-numbing smile, he felt it like nothing else. If her life really was lived on a battleground, that mouth was as good a weapon as they came.
‘Am I off the hook?’ she asked.
He slowed his strokes, not quite ready to return to land. To real life. To the other side of the battle from her.
‘Just one last thing. Tell me how you got the chip in your tooth.’
She crossed her eyes as her tongue slid to the gap. His hands gripped the oars for dear life.
‘It’s so tiny. How did you even notice it?’
‘I happen to be an extremely perceptive man.’
Her eyes slid to his, warm, tempting, wonderingjust how perceptive he might be.
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