Lieutenant Cade Grant wears his scars well on the outside. He’s rugged, strong and gorgeous, but his heart is as hard as they come. Sweet, innocent, and in need of employment fast, Liv will do almost anything. If that means donning her housekeeper’s pinny for the brooding Lieutenant then so be it.
As sparks fly between them, Cade’s more interested in having his beautiful new housekeeper between his sheets rather than washing them. But the plucky virgin’s nervous. The job description has just been changed – the situation vacant is now in his bed – and Cade will teach her everything she needs to know...
He flung the door wide. And was forced to adjust his eye line radically down to where a small bedraggled wretch stood at his doorstep wearing some sort of fancy dress.
‘Can I come in?’ she said.
He took in everything at a glance. Something inside him stirred, which required stamping on, plus a stern reminder that appearances could be deceptive. The girl was young with honey-coloured hair hanging in drenched straggles around a heart-shaped face. She wore a tiara, tilted at a precarious angle on her head, and her silk shoes were ruined. What appeared to be a bridal gown and veil were ripped and streaked with mud… and now he could see she’d been crying- whether from relief or grief, he couldn’t know. But one thing he did know- this was not fancy dress. ‘What do you want?’ he asked suspiciously.
‘The job you advertised… The notice on the gate?’
Standing back, he thumbed his stubble. He needed someone, and quickly, but first he had to make sure he’d got this right. He raised his brow as he looked the girl over a second time. ‘You’re applying for the job as my housekeeper?’
‘I know this doesn’t look good,’ she said, mashing her lips together as she struggled to convince him. ‘And of course, I would have preferred to make a proper application, wearing a suit-’
‘But?’
‘But events overtook me.’
Talk about understatement. But she held his gaze steadily enough, and this was hardly a high risk situation. ‘Okay, you can come in.’
‘Do you mind if I get warm?’ she said, walking straight past him to hold her hands in front of the blazing log fire.
‘Go right ahead.’ It was a reasonable request, and she was shaking- with cold or shock, he couldn’t tell. He closed the door and turned back to find her unpinning her veil. But when she started tugging off her wedding dress-
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