CHAPTER ONE

'ALL right.' Fess up. Just tell me what you've done.' Max Taylor looked suspiciously at his PA.

'Nothing.'

Lisa looked the picture of innocence. Five feet ten, slender, pretty, with long blonde hair cut in the latest fashionable style. But Max knew his PA was more than just a clothes-horse for the designer gear she favoured. She was an organisational demon who could charm the hardest heart. When she had that kind of smile on her face, it meant she was plotting something.

'You brought me my favourite coffee first thing this morning.'

'I always do.'

'And chocolate biscuits. The really nice kind.'

'Because you deserve a treat, sweet cheeks.'

Fear lurched in his stomach. Was this a goodbye treat? He forced himself to sound light-hearted. 'Please don't tell me you've been offered a his 'n' hers film contract and you're going back to Hollywood with Joe.'

She laughed. 'No. He's got another month to go on this contract, and anyway if I went back to acting I'd rather be in theatre. Treading the boards is way better—you actually see your audience. With film, you just have a crew and the extras and amazingly hot lights and a cold, cold camera lens. And you don't get audience reaction from a camera.'

'You've been offered a dream job, one you can't refuse, and you're going to start it tomorrow?'

'I already have a dream job.' Lisa batted her eyelashes at him, then blew him a kiss. 'And a dream boss.'

'Okay, now I'm really worried. You normally spend most of the morning insulting me. Today, you've been all sweetness and light.'

'There's nothing to worry about. Hey, I know I'm not going to move you from that desk until you've tweaked those plans, so I brought you some lunch. Smoked salmon bagel. Oh, and some fresh strawberries.'

His favourites. And it was March, so the strawberries were out of season. She was definitely up to something. 'Are you going to tell me, or do I have to threaten to fire you?'

'Okay.' She spread her hands, looking all innocence. 'I need a favour.'

He exhaled. Very, very slowly. He'd heard that before, so he knew what it meant. Business as usual. He wasn't about to lose the best PA he'd ever had and go through the headache of finding a replacement, then the inevitable settling-in period while they got used to the way each other worked. 'Don't tell me. There was a pair of shoes yelling your name, your credit card's up to its limit and you need an advance on your salary or some overtime, right now. All right. Whatever. It's fine by me.' He waved a dismissive hand. Problem sorted. Now he could get back to work.

'Actually, no. It's kind of…personal.'

Now she had his attention. She wasn't coming on to him, was she? He liked Lisa—he liked her a lot—but she wasn't his type. And she was already engaged, to an actor. Joe was filming away on location most of the time, so the relationship tended to be long distance, but Max was sure he'd seen her flicking through a stack of bridal magazines recently…hadn't he? Besides, he didn't do serious relationships. Not since Gina. Right now, he was focused on his career—on bringing neglected houses back to life and winning awards for his work. Which meant he didn't have time to lavish attention on a serious girlfriend. And if Lisa had split up with Joe, he definitely wasn't going to be her 'transition' romance. No way was he going to exchange a brilliant working relationship for one night of good sex. For one night of wonderful sex, even. Lisa was in the pigeon-hole marked 'colleague' and she was staying there. 'How do you mean, personal?' he asked suspiciously.

'I have this friend. She has to go to the wedding from hell, and she needs a partner to go with her.'

'So how does that involve me?'

'Well, duh.'

Max couldn't help laughing at the look on Lisa's face when she realised what she'd said and tried to backtrack fast. 'Oh, no. I was going to play this sweet. I was going to be so nice to you.'

'I knew it couldn't last. You want me to be her date for the day?' He shook his head. 'Sorry, Lise. It sounds like a bad idea.'

'No strings. You never, ever have to see each other again after this one day.'

'It's very sweet of you to try and fix me up, but I'm not looking for Ms Right.' He was perfectly happy with Ms Right Now—someone who knew the rules: that a date was for fun, and having sex didn't mean that he was desperate to put a platinum band on the ring finger of her left hand.

'I'm not fixing you up,' Lisa protested. 'It's…escort duty. A favour to me, as your best-ever PA.'

Max raised an eyebrow. 'You want me to go to a wedding with a girl I don't even know.'

'She's lovely,' Lisa said.

'If she's so lovely,' Max asked, 'how come she doesn't have a date already?'

'Because…' Lisa growled in frustration. 'Look, she's like you. She loves her job more than anything else, so she doesn't date.'

Okay, he'd concede the point on the job front. But he dated. Just not the same woman more than three times. 'Hasn't she got any male friends she can ask? Someone she works with?'

Lisa scoffed. 'Hardly. She works in IT. This is a flash wedding, so she needs someone who can wear a suit without looking like a schoolboy who's been forced into it to please his mother. I would've lent her Joe for the day, but you know he's on location. He can't get the time off. And anyway, you look fabulous in a suit.'

Copyright © 2008 Harlequin Books S.A.