Tempted by Her Fake Fiancé


 
 
 
 Charlie looked at the woman who was sitting opposite him, taking notes.
 She wasn’t the Ellie Newton he’d known ten years ago, the shy girl who kept to herself at school. She’d even changed her name to Elle—sophisticated and glamorous, to match the way she looked. Though he couldn’t think of her as anyone other than Ellie.
 Right now, she looked like all the women in his old life, wearing a smart office dress, high heels and her dark hair in a high-maintenance pixie cut. Her nails were perfectly manicured, her makeup flawless—and the bright red lipstick she wore made him very aware of the curve of her mouth. For a mad second, he found himself wondering what it would be like to feel that mouth against his own, sweet and teasing and utterly seductive...
 But that wasn’t going to happen.
 Apart from the fact he wasn’t in the market for any kind of relationship—it would feel like a betrayal of Jess—this meeting was all about business. 
 
 
 Dear Reader,
 Fake fiancé is my absolute favourite trope—so I’ve been a little bit indulgent with both the subject and the setting in my one hundredth title. It’s set in the bit of the world where I live, complete with bluebell woods, and there’s a scene at the beach where my husband took me on our first Saturday date.
 So we have marketing guru Elle, who’s convinced she’s a city girl and avoids the farm where she grew up, and Charlie, widowed tragically early in London and who’s gone from a banker to an ecologist, turning Elle’s family farm into a rare breeds/rewilding sanctuary.
 When Elle nearly loses her job and her boss gives her a month to learn how to be family oriented, she asks Charlie to be her fake fiancé on social media in return for sorting out the farm’s marketing. Knowing they want completely different things out of life, they think they’re safe from falling for each other—but their hearts have other ideas!
 Can they find a compromise? Read on to find out!
 With love—and thank you for being with me on this journey to one hundred books.
 Kate Hardy
 
 
 Tempted by Her Fake Fiancé
 Kate Hardy
 
 
 
 Kate Hardy has been a bookworm since she was a toddler. When she isn’t writing, Kate enjoys reading, theatre, live music, ballet and the gym. She lives with her husband, student children and their spaniel in Norwich, England. You can contact her via her website, katehardy.com.
 Books by Kate Hardy
 Harlequin Romance
 A Crown by Christmas
 Soldier Prince’s Secret Baby Gift
 Summer at Villa Rosa
 The Runaway Bride and the Billionaire
 Reunited at the Altar
 A Diamond in the Snow
 Finding Mr. Right in Florence
 One Night to Remember
 A Will, a Wish, a Wedding
 Surprise Heir for the Princess
 Snowbound with the Millionaire
 One Week in Venice with the CEO
 Crowning His Secret Princess
 Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
 
 
 To my family, friends, readers and editors who’ve been with me on the journey to my one hundredth Harlequin book—thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you! Xx
 
 
 Praise for Kate Hardy
 “Ms. Hardy has written a very sweet novel about forgiveness and breaking the molds we place ourselves in...a good heartstring novel that will have you embracing happiness in your heart.”
 —Harlequin Junkie on Christmas Bride for the Boss
 
 
 Contents
 CHAPTER ONE
 CHAPTER TWO
 CHAPTER THREE
 CHAPTER FOUR
 CHAPTER FIVE
 CHAPTER SIX
 CHAPTER SEVEN
 CHAPTER EIGHT
 CHAPTER NINE
 CHAPTER TEN
 EPILOGUE
 EXCERPT FROM UNBUTTONING THE TUSCAN TYCOON BY MICHELLE DOUGLAS
 
 
 CHAPTER ONE
 ‘ELLE, YOU’RE GOOD with shoestring budgets,’ Rav said. ‘I’ve got a project I want you to handle.’
 Even though Elle had a ridiculous workload at the moment—because she’d been pushing herself harder ever since the head of the agency had announced a restructure that would mean a new senior account manager, a job she really wanted—she smiled at her boss. ‘Sure. Do we have a brief and a pitch meeting scheduled?’
 ‘Not quite,’ Rav said. ‘The client’s already seen your work and liked it. He happened to be in London this morning, so he wanted to meet you and talk over the brief for the marketing campaign himself.’
 ‘That’s fine.’ If she worked through lunch—again—she’d be able to juggle her deadlines; Elle was pretty sure she could carve out enough time to get herself up to speed on the client’s current marketing and his competitors before the meeting. ‘What time’s he coming in?’
 Rav coughed. ‘He’s waiting in the meeting room, right now.’
 Oh. So she wasn’t even going to have time to check out the client’s website, let alone come up with any ideas. ‘Just as well I can think on my feet,’ she said dryly.
 ‘It’s a skill we’re looking for in the new senior account manager,’ Rav said.
 Her heart skipped a beat. Was her boss hinting...?
 ‘Hugo’s delighted with what you’ve been doing lately,’ Rav said. Hugo, the head of the agency, was notoriously difficult to please. He could spot the most minor fault at a thousand paces, and his door-slamming abilities were legendary. ‘We were talking about the restructure yesterday, and whether we should recruit internally or externally. We’re both of the same mind. Get this campaign going viral, Elle,’ Rav added, ‘and the senior account manager job’s yours.’
 That wasn’t a hint: it was explicit. All the hours she’d put in were finally going to pay off, provided she got the campaign to go viral; and Elle intended to pull out all the stops to make absolutely sure it did. ‘Thank you, Rav,’ she said quietly.
 ‘I’ll take you in to meet the client,’ Rav said.
 But no introductions were necessary.
 The second Elle walked into the room, she recognised the man sitting at the table. Charlie Webb’s stunning blue eyes were unmistakable: the colour, she thought, of