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Authors: Kelly Hunter
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fool me. You’re security.’ High-end protection with supernatural hearing and a penchant for kitchen knives. Lucky for Nick she’d had years of experience when it came to outwitting suspicious, eagle-eyed men whose mission in life was to serve and protect. At least this one wasn’t related to her. ‘Pleased to meet you.’
‘And you, Mrs Cooper.’
Mrs Cooper
. Oh, hell. This was it.
For the next five days she was Mrs Nicholas Cooper.
The drive to the Tey residence was a silent one. The driver drove, Nick brooded, and Hallie grew wide-eyed again as they entered the neon-lit tunnel that would take them beneath Victoria Harbour and across to Hong Kong Island. Awe at the tunneladded to her anxiety about meeting the Teys and set her stomach to churning. Funny, but she’d never actually thought posing as Nick’s wife was going to be hard.
Until now.
Finally, they shot out of the tunnel into real light again, skirted Hong Kong Island’s central business district, and started weaving their way up a long, steep slope; towering apartment blocks giving way to luxury villas that grew bigger and grander the higher they climbed.
‘How do I look?’ she asked as the Mercedes pulled into a paved driveway and swept through no nonsense wrought iron security gates that closed behind them.
‘Beautiful.’ Nick took her hand in his and, with a reassuring smile, brushed her knuckles with his lips. ‘You look beautiful.’
‘Not helping,’ she warned, rapidly withdrawing her fingers from his grasp.
‘Beddable,’ he said next, which earned him a glare.
They were as ready as they were going to get.
Nineteen-year-old Jasmine Tey stood at her bedroom window and waited for her father’s guests to arrive with a mixture of anticipation and terror.Nicholas and his wife would arrive within the hour, their room was ready, refreshments were ready and Kai had gone to collect them from the airport. Everything was as it should be except for the butterflies in her stomach that would not be still and the suffocating fear that within this next hour Kai and her father were going to find out about her late night visit to Nicholas’s room, and once that information came out …
If
that information got out …
Because Jasmine’s current mission in life was to
prevent
that information from coming to light. She had to get Nick off somewhere by himself and apologise and beg his pardon for her earlier behaviour. Somehow, she had to swear him to silence on the matter and she had to do it fast.
Because Kai and her father; they could never know.
Jasmine turned away from the window at the sound of her father’s footsteps, slid damp palms down the front of her pretty silk sundress and offered up a smile.
‘Everything ready for our guests’ arrival?’ he asked from the doorway.
‘Yes, Father.’
Her father’s eyes were smiling and wise. They’d always been wise. They’d always looked on herwith love and delight and Jasmine never wanted that to change.
‘I wonder what his wife will be like,’ he said.
‘Me too.’
‘He didn’t mention her last time he was here,’ her father said next.
Jasmine offered up a composed smile – a smile that pretended indifference when it came to Nicholas and his rarely mentioned wife. No secret shame here, nothing to worry about at all. ‘He did to me.’
Nicholas’s wife was a vibrant, bright-eyed woman not that much older than Jasmine. She had a wide warm smile, golden-brown eyes and the most amazing dark red hair … Jasmine tried not to stare at her hair and did a poor job of it as her father moved in to welcome Nick and they shook hands and clasped shoulders and then Nick turned to his wife and put a gentle hand to the small of her back.
‘I’d like you to meet my wife, Hallie Bennett-Cooper,’ said Nick and Jasmine stood back, making herself as small as possible, and let the introductions continue until her father beckoned her forward.
‘My daughter, Jasmine,’ said her father
‘And you, Mrs Cooper.’
Mrs Cooper
. Oh, hell. This was it.
For the next five days she was Mrs Nicholas Cooper.
The drive to the Tey residence was a silent one. The driver drove, Nick brooded, and Hallie grew wide-eyed again as they entered the neon-lit tunnel that would take them beneath Victoria Harbour and across to Hong Kong Island. Awe at the tunneladded to her anxiety about meeting the Teys and set her stomach to churning. Funny, but she’d never actually thought posing as Nick’s wife was going to be hard.
Until now.
Finally, they shot out of the tunnel into real light again, skirted Hong Kong Island’s central business district, and started weaving their way up a long, steep slope; towering apartment blocks giving way to luxury villas that grew bigger and grander the higher they climbed.
‘How do I look?’ she asked as the Mercedes pulled into a paved driveway and swept through no nonsense wrought iron security gates that closed behind them.
‘Beautiful.’ Nick took her hand in his and, with a reassuring smile, brushed her knuckles with his lips. ‘You look beautiful.’
‘Not helping,’ she warned, rapidly withdrawing her fingers from his grasp.
‘Beddable,’ he said next, which earned him a glare.
They were as ready as they were going to get.
Nineteen-year-old Jasmine Tey stood at her bedroom window and waited for her father’s guests to arrive with a mixture of anticipation and terror.Nicholas and his wife would arrive within the hour, their room was ready, refreshments were ready and Kai had gone to collect them from the airport. Everything was as it should be except for the butterflies in her stomach that would not be still and the suffocating fear that within this next hour Kai and her father were going to find out about her late night visit to Nicholas’s room, and once that information came out …
If
that information got out …
Because Jasmine’s current mission in life was to
prevent
that information from coming to light. She had to get Nick off somewhere by himself and apologise and beg his pardon for her earlier behaviour. Somehow, she had to swear him to silence on the matter and she had to do it fast.
Because Kai and her father; they could never know.
Jasmine turned away from the window at the sound of her father’s footsteps, slid damp palms down the front of her pretty silk sundress and offered up a smile.
‘Everything ready for our guests’ arrival?’ he asked from the doorway.
‘Yes, Father.’
Her father’s eyes were smiling and wise. They’d always been wise. They’d always looked on herwith love and delight and Jasmine never wanted that to change.
‘I wonder what his wife will be like,’ he said.
‘Me too.’
‘He didn’t mention her last time he was here,’ her father said next.
Jasmine offered up a composed smile – a smile that pretended indifference when it came to Nicholas and his rarely mentioned wife. No secret shame here, nothing to worry about at all. ‘He did to me.’
Nicholas’s wife was a vibrant, bright-eyed woman not that much older than Jasmine. She had a wide warm smile, golden-brown eyes and the most amazing dark red hair … Jasmine tried not to stare at her hair and did a poor job of it as her father moved in to welcome Nick and they shook hands and clasped shoulders and then Nick turned to his wife and put a gentle hand to the small of her back.
‘I’d like you to meet my wife, Hallie Bennett-Cooper,’ said Nick and Jasmine stood back, making herself as small as possible, and let the introductions continue until her father beckoned her forward.
‘My daughter, Jasmine,’ said her father
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