One Night In My Rival's Bed

MELANIE MILBURNE read her first Harlequin novel at the age of seventeen, in between studying for her final exams. After completing a master’s degree in education, she decided to write a novel, and thus her career as a romance author was born. Melanie is an ambassador for the Australian Childhood Foundation and a keen dog lover and trainer. She enjoys long walks in the Tasmanian bush. In 2015 Melanie won the HOLT Medallion, a prestigious award honoring outstanding literary talent. Books by Melanie Milburne The Billion-Dollar Bride Hunt The Scandalous Campbell Sisters Shy Innocent in the Spotlight A Contract for His Runaway Bride Weddings Worth Billions Cinderella’s Invitation to Greece Nine Months After That Night Forbidden Until Their Snowbound Night Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk. One Night in My Rival’s Bed Melanie Milburne www.millsandboon.co.uk ISBN: 978-0-008-92888-9 ONE NIGHT IN MY RIVAL’S BED © 2023 by Melanie Milburne Published in Great Britain 2023by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises ULC. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental. 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Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries. www.millsandboon.co.uk Note to Readers This ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings: Change of font size and line height Change of background and font colours Change of font Change justification Text to speech Grayson’s gaze roved over my face in slow motion. He studied my grey-green eyes for a heart-stopping moment. Then he shifted his focus to my mouth and paused there even longer. I was having trouble breathing. I had forgotten how to do it. My breath was locked somewhere in my throat as the seconds ticked on and on and on. He strode purposely over to the door and opened it for me, standing to one side as I walked through. I was aware of the difference in our height as I walked past him. I was aware of the citrus and bergamot fragrance of his aftershave that was as intoxicating as a mind-altering drug. I was aware of his gaze following my every movement, making my body feel different somehow, more feminine, more graceful...desirable. And I was acutely aware that I was the one who needed some solid sense talked into. To Cliona Kennedy, who looks after our pets when we need her to. You are such a wonderful caretaker of our fur family and we appreciate you so much. We can truly relax with you in charge! Contents Cover About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Note to Readers Introduction Dedication CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE Extract About the Publisher CHAPTER ONE I WAS MEETING my younger sister Niamh for a drink after work at one of London’s swanky hotels. Now, you might think there is nothing unusual about two sisters catching up over a cocktail but it’s nothing short of a miracle I still have a sister. It’s also a miracle Niamh could not only book the venue but get there without her support worker. And it’s an even bigger miracle I arrived at the hotel more or less on time. I’m normally a super punctual person but my last client of the day wanted some changes to the plans I was drawing up for his luxury villa in Italy. Before you get too excited, the client is nudging eighty and he’s building it for his grandchildren. Lucky grandchildren. The only thing I got from my paternal grandparents was a chip on my shoulder. Long story. I won’t bore you with it. I spotted Niamh sitting in the brass and glass mezzanine level area, surrounded by gorgeous fresh flower arrangements that made it look like summer had come inside. Which was kind of nice because even though it was June, summer certainly hadn’t made much of an appearance outside. It had rained for twenty-two days in a row. But I live in hope. I moved through the chairs and tables, and I noticed with a pulse-tripping jolt that Niamh was not alone. A stop-your-heart-handsome dark-haired man was beside her seated in a wheelchair. He looked vaguely familiar and I narrowed my gaze as I tried to place him. Neither he or Niamh were looking my way, they seemed completely absorbed in each other. Yikes! They were even holding hands. Okay, so now you’re probably wondering why I was so surprised to see my sister holding hands with a gorgeous-looking man. Why shouldn’t my sister be