At Any Price. Margaret Allison

      Memories Of That Night In Her Room Had Haunted His Dreams For Years

      He could see Katie in her nightgown, feel the guilt for not being able to look away. But he still couldn’t. After all this time, he would’ve given his right arm to make love to her right there on her bed.

      Now, after all these years, he was going to be sleeping in her house again. The thought of spending the night with her was enough to make him sweat. It had been a while since he’d been with a woman, and he was hungry. Had he been back in New York, there would have been a number of women he could have called, any of whom would have been more than happy to share his bed. But he knew he was kidding himself. Even if he was back in the city, he wouldn’t call those women. There was only one woman he wanted to make love to tonight.

      And her name was Katie Devonworth.

      Dear Reader,

      We’re so glad you’ve chosen Silhouette Desire because we have a lot of wonderful—and sexy!—stories for you. The month starts to heat up with The Boss Man’s Fortune by Kathryn Jensen. This fabulous boss/secretary novel is part of our ongoing continuity, DYNASTIES: THE DANFORTHS, and also reintroduces characters from another well-known family: The Fortunes. Things continue to simmer with Peggy Moreland’s The Last Good Man in Texas, a fabulous continuation of her series THE TANNERS OF TEXAS.

      More steamy stuff is heading your way with Shut Up And Kiss Me by Sara Orwig, as she starts off a new series, STALLION PASS: TEXAS KNIGHTS. (Watch for the series to continue next month in Silhouette Intimate Moments.) The always-compelling Laura Wright is back with a hot-blooded Native American hero in Redwolf’s Woman. Storm of Seduction by Cindy Gerard will surely fire up your hormones with an alpha male hero out of your wildest fantasies. And Margaret Allison makes her Silhouette Desire debut with At Any Price, a book about sweet revenge that is almost too hot to handle!

      And, as summer approaches, we’ll have more scorching love stories for you—guaranteed to satisfy your every Silhouette Desire!

      Happy reading,

      Melissa Jeglinski

      Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

      At Any Price

      Margaret Allison

      MARGARET ALLISON

      was raised in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, and received a B.A. in political science from the University of Michigan. A former marketing executive, she has also worked as a model and actress. She is the author of several novels, and At Any Price marks her return to the world of romance after taking some time off to care for her young children. Margaret currently divides her time between her computer, the washing machine and the grocery store. She loves to hear from readers. Please write to her c/o Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.

      For my mom, Barbara Robinson, with thanks and love.

      Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      One

      Katie sat in the sleek waiting room of Jack Reilly’s office. He owned the whole building, a glass high-rise smack in the middle of Manhattan.

      She knew Jack was a big deal now; heck, everyone in Newport Falls knew he was a self-made multimillionaire. But seeing it was a different story.

      It had taken every ounce of her courage to set foot inside Reilly Investments. She kept reminding herself that this was Jack, her childhood friend, not Donald Trump. She shouldn’t be intimidated. After all, she had nursed Jack through colds, chicken pox and fights with his father.

      But still, the lump that was lodged in her throat would not go away. And the little voice inside her that kept telling her to run, the one that kept telling her what a mistake it was to come here, would not shut up.

      She wondered if she would recognize the man described in the papers as the confident, brash millionaire. Sure, Jack had always been a little cocky, but she knew better. She could see right through the artificial confidence to the insecure boy underneath. He had been painfully aware of where he had come from and who he was. His cockiness was just covering up the insecurity of being the poorest kid in school.

      She smoothed her hair, certain she looked a mess. It was only noon, yet her day had begun eight hours earlier. She had taken care of some business at the paper before borrowing Marcella’s car for the drive into the city. She felt bad about putting the extra miles on her friend’s already worn car, but she had little choice. Not without the funds to repair her broken-down car or afford the train or plane fare. Since her divorce, money was tight. And the newspaper, her family’s business for generations, had been hemorrhaging money. She had stopped paying herself a salary months ago.

      Katie checked her watch again. Nearly one-thirty. Their lunch appointment had been for twelve forty-five.

      Perhaps there had been a mix-up, perhaps Jack didn’t even know he was meeting with her today. After all, she had not spoken with him directly. All their communication had been through his assistant. Katie hadn’t told Jack’s assistant that she wanted to ask the big-time investor for a loan for her failing newspaper. She hadn’t told her that Jack Reilly was more than an old friend. Much more.

      In fact, she had loved Jack from the moment she first set eyes on him. She had been convinced they were meant for each other, sure that the friendship they had nurtured since kindergarten was destined for passion. But she was wrong. And to this day, she had only admitted her love for Jack to one other person: Jack himself.

      She blushed as she remembered that day, fourteen years before. In senior year of high school she and Jack had been part of a group of three friends. Jack Reilly, Matt O’Malley and Katie Devonworth. Inseparable in school and out, they were known throughout Newport Falls as earth, wind and fire. Katie, the daughter of the owner and publisher of the town’s newspaper, was the earth: solid, steady, with a firm sense of purpose. Matt, the son of a teacher, was the wind: constantly changing his mind about who he was and what he wanted to be. Jack, the son of an unemployed alcoholic, was fire: full of angst and determination.

      But one day she and Jack had found themselves alone, without Matt. They had arrived at the creek before dawn, had sat side by side, talking in their usual manner, about everything and nothing at all.

      She remembered it had been an unusually warm and beautiful late-April day. Snow could still be seen on the mountains that framed Newport Falls. But in the valley, where they had been fishing, the sky was clear and the sun was bright. She had mentioned that she was getting warm and Jack had looked at her, his blue eyes sparking mischief.

      He set down his pole and jumped up, pulling off his shirt. He looked at the creek, then back to her again. “You’re right. A swim might be nice.”

      “Not that warm,” she said. “The creek is still freezing.”

      “Come on. A little swim will do you good.” He took a step toward her, his face lit in a devilish grin. Back then, Jack had the kind of looks sexy movie star heroes were made of: chiseled features, piercing blue eyes and jet-black hair. As she looked