An Outrageous Proposal
Read An Outrageous Proposal Online
Authors: Maureen Child
Falling in love wasn’t part of the deal
When Georgia Page accepts Sean Connolly’s proposal, she knows
it’s crazy. But surely she can pretend to be a self-made billionaire’s fiancée
for a little while, just until his mother regains her health. Surely she can
keep her heart out of this affair, no matter how sexy he is—or how well he plays
the devoted lover.
It all seems so simple—until their pretend kisses and fake
embraces lead to something all too real, something neither of them expected.
Something that could turn an outrageous proposal into wedding bells…
Having A Lover Like Sean Was Really A Slippery Slope.
Georgia wasn’t interested in trusting another man. Giving her
heart over to him. Giving him the chance to crush her again. Sure, Sean was
nothing like her ex, but he was still
male.
“What do you say, Georgia?” he asked, reaching down to take
her hands in his and give them a squeeze. “Will you pretend marry me?”
She couldn’t think. Not with him holding on to her. Not with
his eyes staring into hers. Not with the heat of him reaching for her, promising
even more heat if she let him get any closer. And if she did that, she would
agree to anything, because the man could have her half out of her mind in
seconds, she well knew.
With him holding on to her, the beat of his heart beneath her
ear, Georgia was tempted to do all sorts of things, so she looked away from him,
out the window to the rain-drenched evening. Lamps lining the drive shone like
diamonds in the gray. But the darkness and the incessant rain couldn’t disguise
the beauty that was Ireland.
Just as, she thought, looking up at Sean, a lie couldn’t hide
what was already between the two of them. She didn’t know where it was going,
but she had a feeling the ride was going to be much bumpier than she had
planned.
Dear Reader,
As most of you know, I
love
Ireland. The gorgeous countryside, the incredible views everywhere you
look and especially, the warm generosity of the Irish people.
The village of Dunley, where this story is set, is fictional,
but I used elements of the many different villages I’ve stayed in to create the
town itself and its citizens.
In the first book of my Irish duet,
Up
Close and Personal,
you met Ronan Connolly and Laura Page, the woman
who knocked his feet out from under him.
In
An Outrageous Proposal
you’ll
find the story of Ronan’s cousin Sean Connolly and Georgia Page, Laura’s
sister.
These two were so much fun to write about. Sean’s life is
just as he wants it, and to make sure nothing changes he’s willing to do
whatever he has to. Georgia, on the other hand, is desperate to make changes in
her life.
When these two collide, sparks fly and no one’s life will
ever be the same.
You’ll also find a sprinkling of Gaelic in this book—a good
friend of mine provided the translations. But if I’ve made mistakes, they’re
mine alone.
Thank you all so much for your continued support and the
wonderful letters you write. I’m delighted to be able to spend my days writing
stories for Harlequin Desire, and it’s a pleasure for me to hear that you enjoy
reading them!
You can visit me on Facebook, or stop in at my website,
www.maureenchild.com.
Happy reading!
Maureen
Maureen Child
An Outrageous Proposal
Books by Maureen Child
Harlequin Desire
*
King’s
Million-Dollar Secret
#2083
One
Night, Two Heirs
#2096
*
Ready for King’s
Seduction
#2113
*
The Temporary Mrs. King
#2125
*
To Kiss a King
#2137
Gilded Secrets
#2168
Up Close and Personal
#2179
An Outrageous Proposal
#2191
Silhouette Desire
†
Scorned by the Boss
#1816
†
Seduced by the Rich Man
#1820
†
Captured by the Billionaire
#1826
*
Bargaining for King’s Baby
#1857
*
Marrying for King’s Millions
#1862
*
Falling for King’s Fortune
#1868
High-Society Secret Pregnancy
#1879
Baby Bonanza
#1893
An Officer and a Millionaire
#1915
Seduced Into a Paper
Marriage
#1946
*
Conquering King’s Heart
#1965
*
Claiming King’s Baby
#1971
*
Wedding at King’s Convenience
#1978
*
The Last Lone Wolf
#2011
Claiming Her Billion-Dollar Birthright
#2024
*
Cinderella &
the CEO
#2043
Under the
Millionaire’s Mistletoe
#2056
“The Wrong
Brother”
Have Baby, Need Billionaire
#2059
†Reasons for Revenge
*Kings of California
Other titles by this author available in ebook
format.
MAUREEN CHILD
is a California native who loves to travel. Every chance
they get, she and her husband are taking off on another research trip. An author
of more than sixty books, Maureen loves a happy ending and still swears that she
has the best job in the world. She lives in Southern California with her
husband, two children and a golden retriever with delusions of grandeur. Visit
Maureen’s website,
www.maureenchild.com
.
For two wonderful writers who are fabulous friends, Kate
Carlisle and Jennifer Lyon. Thank you both for always being there.
One
“F
or the love of all that’s holy,
don’t push!
” Sean Connolly kept one wary eye on the
rearview mirror and the other on the curving road stretching out in front of
him. Why the hell was
he
the designated driver to
the hospital?
“Just mind the road and drive, Sean,” his cousin Ronan
complained from the backseat. He had one arm around his hugely pregnant wife,
drawing her toward him despite the seat belts.
“He’s right,” Georgia Page said from the passenger seat. “Just
drive, Sean.” She half turned to look into the back. “Hang on, Laura,” she told
her sister. “We’ll be there soon.”
“You can all relax, you know,” Laura countered. “I’m not giving
birth in the car.”
“Please, God,” Sean muttered and gave the car more gas.
Never before in his life had he had reason to curse the narrow,
winding roads of his native Ireland. But tonight, all he wanted was about thirty
kilometers of smooth highway to get them all to the hospital in Westport.
“You’re not helping,” Georgia muttered with a quick look at
him.
“I’m driving,” he told her and chanced another look into the
rearview mirror just in time to see Laura’s features twist in pain.
She moaned, and Sean gritted his teeth. The normal sense of
panic a man felt around a woman in labor was heightened by the fact that his
cousin was half excited and half mad with worry for the wife he doted on. A part
of Sean envied Ronan even while the larger part of him was standing back and
muttering,
Aye, Ronan, better you than me.
Funny how complicated a man’s life could get when he wasn’t
even paying attention to it. A year or so ago, he and his cousin Ronan were
happily single, each of them with an eye toward remaining that way. Now, Ronan
was married, about to be a father, and Sean was as involved in the coming birth
of the next generation of Connollys as he could be. He and Ronan lived only
minutes apart, and the two of them had grown up more brothers than cousins.
“Can’t you go any faster?” Georgia whispered, leaning in toward
him.
Then there was Laura’s sister. Georgia was a smart, slightly
cynical, beautiful woman who engaged Sean’s brain even while she attracted him
on a much more basic level. So far, he’d kept his distance, though. Getting
involved with Georgia Page would only complicate things. What with her sister
married to his cousin, and Ronan suddenly becoming insanely protective about the
women he claimed were in “his charge.”
Damned old-fashioned for a man who had spent most of his adult
years mowing through legions of adoring females.
Still, Sean was glad to have Georgia along. For the sanity she
provided, if nothing else. Georgia and Sean would at least have each other to
turn to during all of this, and he was grateful for it.
Sean gave her a quick glance and kept his voice low. “I go much
faster on these roads at night, we’ll
all
need a
room in hospital.”
“Right.” Georgia’s gaze fixed on the road ahead, and she leaned
forward as if trying to make the car speed up through sheer force of will.
Well, Sean told himself, if anyone could pull that off, it
would be Georgia Page. In the light from the dashboard, her dark blue eyes
looked fathomless and her honey-colored hair looked more red than blond.
He’d first met her at Ronan and Laura’s wedding a year or so
ago, but with her many trips to Ireland to visit her sister, he’d come to know
Georgia and he liked her. He liked her quick wit, her sarcasm and her sense of
family loyalty—which he shared.
All around them, the darkness was complete, the headlights of
his car illuminating the narrow track winding out in front of them. This far
from the city, it was mainly farmland stretching out behind the high, thick
hedges that lined the road. The occasional lighted window in a farmhouse stood
out like beacons, urging them on.
At last, a distant glow appeared and Sean knew it was the
lights of Westport, staining the night sky. They were close, and he took his
first easy breath in what felt like hours.
“Nearly there,” he announced, and glanced at Georgia. She gave
him a quick grin, and he felt the solid punch of it.
From the backseat, Laura cried out and just like that, Sean’s
relief was cut short. They weren’t safe yet. Focusing on the task at hand, he
pushed his car as fast as he dared.
* * *
What felt like days—and was in reality only hours and
hours later—Sean and Georgia walked out of the hospital like survivors of a
grueling battle.
“God,” Sean said, as they stepped into the soft rain of an
Irish afternoon in winter. The wind blew like ice, and the rain fell from clouds
that looked close enough to touch. He tipped his face back and stared up into
the gray. It was good to be outside, away from the sounds and smells of the
hospital. Even better to know that the latest Connolly had arrived safely.
“That was the longest night and day of my life, I think,” he
said with feeling.
“Mine, too,” Georgia agreed, shrugging deeper into the navy
blue coat she wore. “But it was worth it.”
He looked over at her. “Oh, aye, it was indeed. She’s a
beauty.”
“She is, isn’t she?” Georgia grinned. “Fiona Connolly. It’s a
good name. Beautiful, but strong, too.”
“It is, and by the look of her, she’s already got her da
wrapped around her tiny fingers.” He shook his head as he remembered the
expression on his cousin’s face as Ronan held his new daughter for the first
time. Almost enough to make a jaded man believe in—never mind.
“I’m exhausted and energized all at the same time.”
“Me, as well,” Sean agreed, happy to steer his mind away from
dangerous territory. “Feel as though I’ve been running a marathon.”
“And all we did was wait.”
“I think the waiting is the hardest thing of all.”
Georgia laughed. “And I think Laura would disagree.”
Ruefully, he nodded. “You’ve a point there.”
Georgia sighed, stepped up to Sean and threaded her arm through
his. “Ronan will be a great father. And Laura…she wanted this so much.” She
sniffed and swiped her fingers under her eyes.
“No more crying,” Sean said, giving her arm a squeeze. “Already
I feel as though I’ve been riding a tide of tears all day. Between the new
mother and father and you, it’s been weepy eyes and sniffles for hours.”
“I saw your eyes get a little misty, too, tough guy.”
“Aye, well, we Irish are a sentimental lot,” he admitted, then
started for the car park, Georgia’s arm still tucked through his.
“It’s one of the things I like best about you—”
He gave her a look.
“—the Irish in general, I mean,” she qualified.
“Ah, well then.” He smiled to himself at her backtracking. It
was a lovely afternoon. Soft rain, cold wind and new life wailing in the
hospital behind them. “You’ve been to Ireland so often in the last year, you’re
very nearly an honorary Irishman yourself, aren’t you?”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” she admitted. They walked up
to his car, and Sean hit the unlock button on his keypad.
“What’s that then?” he asked, as he opened the passenger door
for her and held it, waiting. Fatigue clawed at him, but just beneath that was a
buoyant feeling that had him smile at the woman looking up at him.
“About being an honorary Irishman. Or at least,” she said,
looking around her at the car park, the hospital and the city beyond, “moving
here. Permanently.”
“Really?” Intrigued, he leaned his forearms on the top of the
door. “And what’s brought this on then? Is it your brand-new niece?”
She shrugged. “Partly, sure. But mostly, it’s this country.
It’s gorgeous and friendly, and I’ve really come to love being here.”
“Does Laura know about this?”
“Not yet,” she admitted, and shifted her gaze back to him. “So
don’t say anything. She’s got enough on her mind at the moment.”
“True enough,” he said. “But I’m thinking she’d be pleased to
have her sister so close.”
She flashed him a brilliant smile then slid into her seat. As
Sean closed the door after her and walked around the car, he was forced to admit
that
he
wouldn’t mind having Georgia close,
either.
* * *
A half hour later, Georgia opened the door to Laura and
Ronan’s expansive stone manor house and looked back over her shoulder at Sean.
“Want to come in for a drink?”
“I think we’ve earned one,” he said, stepping inside and
closing the door behind him. “Or even a dozen.”
She laughed and it felt good. Heck,
she
felt good. Her sister was a mother, and Georgia was so glad she
had made the decision to come to Ireland to be present for the baby’s birth. She
hated to think about what it would have been like, being a half a world away
right now.
“Ronan’s housekeeper, Patsy, is off in Dublin visiting her
daughter Sinead,” Georgia reminded him. “So we’re on our own for food.”
“It’s not food I want at the moment anyway,” Sean told her.
Was he flirting with her? Georgia wondered, then dismissed the
notion. She shook her head and reminded herself that they were here for a drink.
Or several.
As he spoke, a long, ululating howl erupted from deep within
the house. Georgia actually jumped at the sound and then laughed. “With the
rain, the dogs have probably let themselves into the kitchen.”
“Probably hungry now, too,” Sean said, and walked beside her
toward the back of the house.
Georgia knew her sister’s house as if it were her own. Whenever
she was in Ireland, she stayed here at the manor, since it was so huge they
could comfortably hold a family reunion for a hundred. She opened the door into
a sprawling kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances and what looked like miles
of granite countertops. Everything was tidy—but for the two dogs scrambling
toward her for some attention.
Deidre was a big, clumsy English sheepdog with so much hair
over her eyes, it was a wonder she didn’t walk into walls. And Beast—huge,
homely—the best that could be said about him was what he lacked in beauty he
made up for in heart. Since Beast reached her first, Georgia scratched behind
his ears and sent the big dog into quivers of delight. Deidre was right behind
him, nudging her mate out of her way.
“Okay then, food for the dogs, then drinks for us,” Georgia
announced.
“Already on it,” Sean assured her, making his way to the wide
pantry, stepping over and around Beast as the dog wound his way in and out of
Sean’s feet.
Within a few minutes, they had the dogs fed and watered and
then left them there, sleeping on their beds in front of the now cold kitchen
hearth. Cuddled up together, the dogs looked snug and happy.
Then Georgia led the way back down the hall, the short heels of
her shoes clicking against the wood floor. At the door to the parlor, Sean
asked, “So, Patsy’s in Dublin with her daughter. Sinead’s doing well then, with
her new family?”
“According to Patsy, everything’s great,” Georgia said.
Laura had told her the whole story of the pregnant Sinead
marrying in a hurry. Sinead was now the mother of an infant son and her new
husband was, at the moment, making a demo CD. He and his friends played
traditional Irish music and, thanks to Ronan’s influence with a recording
company, had a real chance to do something with it. “She misses Sinead living
close by, but once they get the demo done, they’ll all be coming back to
Dunley.”
“Home does draw a body back no matter how far you intend to
roam,” Sean mused, as he followed her into the front parlor. “And yet, you’re
thinking of leaving your home to make a new one.”
“I guess I am.”
Hearing him say it aloud made the whole idea seem more real
than it had in the past week or so that it had been floating around in her mind.
But it also felt…right. Okay, scary, but good. After all, it wasn’t as if she
was giving up a lot. And the plus side was, she could leave behind all of the
tension and bad memories of a marriage that had dissolved so abruptly.
Moving to Ireland was a big change, she knew. But wasn’t change
a good thing? Shake up your life from time to time just to keep it
interesting?
At that thought, she smiled to herself. Interesting. Moving to
a different country. Leaving the familiar to go to the…okay, also familiar.
Since Laura had married Ronan and moved to Ireland, Georgia had made the long
trek to visit four times. And each time she came, it was harder to leave. To go
back to her empty condo in Huntington Beach, California. To sit at her desk,
alone in the real estate office she and Laura had opened together.
Not that she was feeling sorry for herself—she wasn’t. But she
had started thinking that maybe there was more to life than sitting behind a
desk hoping to sell a house.
In the parlor, Georgia paused, as she always did, just to enjoy
the beauty of the room. A white-tiled hearth, cold now, but stacked with
kindling that Sean was already working to light against the chill gloom of the
day. Pale green walls dotted with seascapes and oversize couches facing each
other across a low table that held a Waterford crystal bowl filled with late
chrysanthemums in tones of russet and gold. The wide front windows looked out
over a sweep of lawn that was drenched with the rain still falling softly
against the glass.
When he had the fire going to his satisfaction, Sean stood up
and brushed his palms together, then moved to the spindle table in the corner
that held a collection of crystal decanters. Ignoring them, he bent to the small
refrigerator tucked into the corner behind the table.
“Now, about that celebratory drink,” he muttered.
Georgia smiled and joined him at the table, leaning her palms
on the glossy top as she watched him open the fridge. “We earned it all right,
but I wouldn’t have missed it. The worry, the panic—” She was still smiling as
he glanced up at her. “And I was seriously panicked. It was hard knowing Laura
was in pain and not being able to do anything about it.”