Master Of El Corazon. Sandra Marton

on>

      

      Excerpt About the Author Title Page CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE Copyright

      “I know you for what you are.”

      Arden moved quickly, but not quickly enough. Conor caught hold of her wrist before she could strike him.

      “Don’t,” he said, very softly. “Not unless you’re prepared to face the consequences.” She stood facing him, her face white, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. Her voice trembled when she spoke. “I hate you!” she said.

      He laughed. “What has that to do with anything?”

      Her brain worked desperately for words that would tell him how despicable he was, but before she could think of anything, he cupped the back of her head, drew her toward him and kissed her hard on the mouth.

      “I won’t buy you,” he whispered, stroking his thumb over her bottom lip. “I’m a patient man. I’ll wait until you find your way to my bed on your own.”

      SANDRA MARTON is the author of more than thirty romance novels. Readers around the world love her strong, passionate heroes and determined, spirited heroines. When she’s not writing, Sandra likes to hike, read, explore out-of-the-way restaurants and travel to faraway places. The mother of two grown sons, Sandra lives with her husband in a sun-filled house in a quiet corner of Connecticut where she alternates between extravagant bouts of gourmet cooking and take-out pizza. Sandra loves to hear from her readers. You can write to her (SASE) at P.O. Box 295, Storrs, Connecticut 06268.

      Coming in 1998!

      Three brides, three grooms—

      and they all meet at the Wedding of the Year.

      Look our for Sandra Marton’s memorable new series

      in Harlequin Presents.

      “Extraordinary tension, exceptional scenes...larger

      than life characters who will walk off the pages and

      into your heart.”—Romantic Times

      Don’t miss any of our special offers. Write to us at the

      following address for information on our newest releases.

      Harlequin Reader Service

      U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

      Canadian: P.O. Box 609. Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

      Master Of El Corazon

      Sandra Marton

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      CHAPTER ONE

      THE night the world came tumbling down around Arden Miller’s ears began just like any other, or, at least, like any other during the five months since she’d transferred from McCann, Flint, Emerson’s New York office to the firm’s newest branch in Costa Rica.

      She put in her usual eight hours as executive secretary to Edgar Lithgow, bid him a polite good evening, then drove her Ford Escort—a perk of her new job—the few miles to the hotel in which the company housed its small roster of North American employees.

      The clerk at the reception desk greeted her pleasantly.

      ‘Buenas noches, señorita. The cook says to tell you the langosta is especially good tonight.’

      Arden smiled. ‘I’m sure it is, but I think I’ll settle for a chicken sandwich in my room. Would you ask Alejandro to bring it up in an hour or so?’

      The clerk smiled. ‘With iced coffee, yes?’

      ‘Please.’

      ‘Of course, Senorita Miller. It will be my pleasure.’

      No, Arden thought, no, all of this is my pleasure. I have never been so fussed over, or made to feel so much at home as I have these last months.

      But she didn’t say that, of course. Such an admission would have been far too personal and out of keeping with her carefully honed professional image. Instead she gave him another smile, scooped up the few messages and letters that had been left for her, and made her way to the lift. She stabbed the button, then turned her attention to the envelopes in her hand.

      There was an advertisement from Macy’s, urging her to take advantage of a sale on shoes, and a form letter from a candidate for local office, pleading for her vote in an election that had taken place a month before. Arden smiled. It was amazing, the mail the post office re-routed so it followed you all these thousands of miles.

      The third letter was from her mother, and Arden opened it eagerly. Evelyn wrote that she was feeling fine and still happy in her new job as live-in housekeeper to the Carsons, up on the Hill in Greenfield. Did Arden remember them? Arden’s mouth turned down. Yes, she certainly did. They’d had a couple of sons who’d thought it was their absolute right to sexually initiate girls from the Valley in the back seats of their cars, and if there were any complaints they’d had the money and the clout to hush them up.

      Her gaze dropped to the next paragraph. There was good news about Emma Simms, her mother said. She’d just finished a course in beauty school and she was head over heels in love with that nice Evans boy, the one who was working over at Destry’s Plumbing. They planned to get married in February and honeymoon in Disneyworld. And Nan Richards was pregnant with her third baby and working weekends for a caterer so she and her husband could buy a house.

      Arden shook her head. Some things never changed, nor did the expectations of some people. She loved her mother dearly, but how Evelyn could be content working as a servant for the rich was beyond her to understand. As for the news about the girls she’d grown up with—well, if Emma and Nan were happy, that was wonderful, but for Arden happiness had always meant establishing herself in a career. You had to have goals in life, and the higher, the better.

      As for falling head over heels in love and getting married—well, that sort of nonsense made for catchy song titles, but it had little place in——

      ‘Señorita.’

      Arden’s head lifted sharply. The lift had arrived, the door had slid open, and she saw that a man was lounging in the far corner, watching her. His arms were folded across his chest, his feet were crossed at the ankle, and he had a lazy smile on his beard-stubbled face.

      His eyes—surprisingly green in his sun-darkened face—met hers, and she took an unexpected step back. For barely an instant she’d felt—she’d felt as if the ground had suddenly tilted under her feet...

      She gave herself a mental shake. That was what came of skipping lunch. But Mr Lithgow had asked her if she’d mind working through, so