A Date With A Billionaire. Julianna Morris

you all right, Miss Cox?”

      “I just fell…on the floor.”

      A cheerful chuckle came over the line. “Hear that, folks? We should have told our prize winner to sit down first. Can you believe you just won, Miss Cox?”

      “No. I…no.”

      “She’s speechless, folks. Well, practically.” The man chuckled again, apparently thinking he’d cracked a great joke.

      “Uh, am I on the air?” Beth asked cautiously.

      “Yes, ma’am. We just drew your name from the prize barrel.”

      Beth wasn’t certain luck had anything to do with it, and she was even more certain she’d never entered the contest. She knew about it, of course. Half the town worked for Kane O’Rourke; he was one of Crockett, Washington’s most prominent employers. And he was sinfully attractive. The contest was the only thing people had talked about since it was announced on the radio station.

      “Do you have anything to say to our audience, Miss Cox? We’re waiting to hear how you feel about your exciting prize.”

      “I think I’m…” She peered through her open door and saw her neighbor run up the walkway, waving a radio in the air.

      “Oh, my God, you won,” Carol shrieked as she darted inside the house. She snatched the receiver from Beth. “Hello? I’m Carol Hoit, one of Beth’s best friends.”

      While Carol chattered away, Beth tried to sort things out in her head. Carol must have entered her in the contest. Two weeks before her neighbor had bemoaned the fact she couldn’t qualify—being married—and had urged Beth to enter herself.

      Lord…Beth rubbed her throbbing temples. She didn’t want to go out with anyone. She’d lost her fiancé in an accident several years before, and if her heart wasn’t exactly buried with him, there was still an empty ache in her chest.

      Ignoring the thrilled chatter of her friend, Beth grabbed an old newspaper that had advertised the contest. Kane O’Rourke’s handsome features and level eyes gazed back from a publicity photo. Irish eyes, she thought idly, direct and accustomed to getting what he wanted.

      The whole town would think she was crazy, but there was no way she was going on her “prize” date.

       Chapter One

      Local Woman Says “No” To Date With Billionaire.

      Kane O’Rourke stared at the bold newspaper headline with something close to horror.

      “I’m going to kill him,” he growled.

      “Kill who?” asked his public relations manager as she walked into his office.

      “Your brother.”

      “He’s your brother, too,” Shannon said flippantly. “But which one, and what has he done to annoy you…this week?”

      Kane glared. “Patrick. He conned me into that damned contest for his radio station. I didn’t want to do it, I told him I didn’t, now look at this.” He thrust the paper at Shannon.

      His sister lifted an eyebrow. “You’re the one who said ‘anything you want’ when he asked for a favor. When you found out what he wanted you should have just said no. But instead, you still think we’re children you have to manage.”

      “That isn’t it at all, but I know the station isn’t doing well,” Kane said, exasperated. “So when Patrick asked me to…oh, forget it.” His family was always accusing him of playing daddy and interfering with their lives, but he was the oldest and he was only taking care of them. “Just read the article.”

      She looked down at the paper. “You’ve been turned down? She seemed more amused than offended, and he glared again.

      “Not funny. Do you realize how embarrassing this is for both me and Patrick’s station?”

      “You could propose to the lady, maybe that would make her reconsider.”

      His eyes narrowed. “That isn’t funny. I’m not getting married, period—I’ve got enough problems. And you aren’t helping. Brat,” he added.

      Her lips still twitching, Shannon tossed the newspaper back at him. “Go talk to her. She looks nice enough. Maybe she just got engaged or something and the newspaper thought it was a better story this way.”

      Kane glanced down at the picture of Bethany Cox. He couldn’t tell much from the grainy photograph, but she didn’t look like a kook or fanatic, and she had a sweet expression. From what the article said, she appeared to be the kind of woman who could understand how important this was for his brother. Patrick had made some mistakes in the past, and now he had a real chance for success…a success he wanted to earn for himself without the help of someone else’s money.

      “I’d probably blow it,” Kane muttered. “You should go.”

      Shannon laughed and shook her head. “In the first place, you’re the one who always thinks he can fix everything, so fix this. And in the second place, any woman worth her salt would be furious if you sent a flunky, instead of coming yourself.”

      “You’re not a flunky, you’re my sister.”

      “Same thing in a case like this.” After a moment Shannon leaned forward, her face growing more serious. “Kane, be careful. You’re right about it being a public relations problem for the radio station. If she’s getting married, I can use it to our advantage. If not, you better talk her into going. Be charming. What single woman would turn down a date with a charming billionaire bachelor?”

      Kane folded the newspaper into his briefcase. The picture of Bethany Cox gazed up at him and he grinned ruefully. “I don’t know, but I think I’m going to find out.”

      Beth dug her hand trowel into the soil of her flower bed, her free hand tugging at a particularly stubborn weed. Not a weed, she thought silently. A lovely wild buttercup, which just happened to be in a place she didn’t want it.

      A car pulled up to the curb, but she wasn’t expecting anyone, so she kept pulling at the pervasive plant.

      “Miss Cox?”

      The roots gave way abruptly, peppering Beth with dirt. Brushing it away from her T-shirt and shorts, she turned her head and saw a pair of legs wearing an expensive pair of suit trousers. She looked higher and her eyes widened.

      Kane O’Rourke.

      She’d seen him from a distance, of course. On podiums, giving speeches, accepting awards, that kind of thing. But never this close.

      “Uh…yes?”

      Kane extended his hand. “How do you do? I’m Kane O’Rourke, and we’re supposed to go on a date together.”

      Date?

      Together?

      Beth blinked. Hadn’t he seen the headlines? She hadn’t meant it to be such a big deal, but a reporter from the local newspaper had blown everything out of proportion. Honestly, what was so earth-shattering about turning down a date?

      “Miss Cox?” He was still holding out his arm and Beth groaned silently. Her fingers were grimy from working in the garden, she couldn’t possibly shake hands like a normal human being.

      “Sorry, you don’t want to touch me, I’m a mess.” She wiggled her fingers in the air and started to get up.

      “That’s all right.” Without warning he caught her hand in a firm grip. “Let me help.”

      He was strong. She had barely enough time to gather her legs under her before being swept upward, and Beth caught her breath as she found herself eye level with Kane O’Rourke’s chin. At nearly five foot eight inches