Playboy Pilot
Copyright © 2016 by Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, things, living or dead, locales or events is entirely coincidental.
PLAYBOY PILOT
Cover model: Sahib Faber
Photographer: Greg Vaughan
Cover designer: Letitia Hasser, r.b.a. designs
Interior Formatting & Proofreading by Elaine York/
Allusion Graphics, LLC/Publishing & Book Formatting
Praise For
Stuck-Up Suit & Cocky Bastard
(co-written by authors):
“Graham and Soraya stole my heart! This book left me wonderfully content at its conclusion-->simply
beautiful
from cover to cover with twists and surprises I didn’t see coming. These ladies can WRITE, and they can write ROMANCE, and they do it so well I’m impatiently waiting for their next collaboration. Five
Fabulous
stars for Stuck-Up Suit!” - Raine Miller,
New York Times
Bestselling Author
“Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward have created yet another
cocky bastard
to steal our hearts, and this one wears a suit - my favorite. I call dibs on Graham Morgan. Must read!” - Laurelin Paige,
New York Times
Bestselling Author
“Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward are two of the very
best authors
in contemporary romance right now. Both have already released books I loved this year that are sitting on my list of Best Books of 2016 (The Baller by Vi Keeland and RoomHate byPenelope Ward) so when I saw that this book was written by both of them together, I absolutely couldn›t resist diving right in and I
highly recommend
you do the same! This is definitely a new top favorite!” - Aestas Book Blog
“Witty &
HIGHLY addictive
standalone with a surprising plot twist we didn’t see coming! Confidently one of our top reads this year!” - The Rock Stars of Romance
“I don’t even know what else to say, but STUCK-UP SUIT by Vi Keeland &Penelope Ward was
SUPERB
in every single way! I wasn’t expecting to
feel
so much, but HOLY HELL, I can’t even right now...” - Shayna Renee’s Spicy Reads
“This will be, without question, one of my
favorite reads for 2015
!” ― 5 stars from Three Chicks and Their Books
CHRIS HEMSWORTH.
I flipped the page of the American Airlines Worldwide Destinations catalog through the section on Australia. The pages were filled with colorful pictures—kangaroos, turquoise water, that big white building that looked like a bunch of sails blowing in the wind. Pretty. But not what I was really interested in.
Liam
Hemsworth.
Australian accents. Oh my God. Two of them.
The next page had a worldwide map. I followed the dotted route line, my finger tracing Miami to Sydney.
Crap. That’s a long ass plane ride.
Sighing, I moved on. The next page—London.
Robert Pattinson.
Theo James.
More sexy accents, with less than a third of the flying time. I dog-eared the corner of the page and kept flipping.
Italy.
George Clooney.
Who cares if he’s practically the same age as my father? The man was like a good bottle of Cabernet—better with age and meant to be savored in your mouth. Another dog-eared corner.
The bartender interrupted my destination shopping and pointed to my half empty martini glass. “Can I get you another Appletini?”
“Not yet. Thanks.”
He nodded and headed to the other end of the packed bar. I was already on my second drink and had no idea how many hours I was going to be stuck in this airport lounge. It was probably a good idea that I pick where I’d be spending the next ten days before the alcohol kicked in too much.
Santorini.
Hmmm.
The pictures looked beautiful. Stark white buildings with bright royal blue doors and shutters. Yet…I really had no idea where I wanted to go. Nothing was jumping out at me; not even a tropical island was calling my name.
Blowing out a deep breath as I realized I was just about at the end of the thick vacation catalog, I lifted my drink to my mouth and mumbled to myself, “Where in the world should I go?”
I wasn’t expecting an actual answer.
“My place isn’t far.” A deep, baritone voice said from next to me. Not realizing anyone had taken the bar stool on my right, I startled, tipping my martini glass and spilling what was left of my drink all over my brand new top.
“Shit!” I stood, quickly grabbing for a napkin from the bar and started to blot at my brand new blouse. “This is a Roland Mouret.”
“Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Well then don’t sneak up on people.”
“Relax. I’ll pay for it to be dry-cleaned. Alright?”
“It’s going to stain.”
“Then I’ll buy you a new one, sweetheart. It’s just a shirt.”
My head snapped up. “Did you hear me say it was Roland Mouret? It was
eight hundred dollars.
”
“For
that?
It’s a T-shirt.”
“It’s designer.”
“It’s still a damn T-shirt. Don’t get me wrong. You fill it out pretty nicely. But you got ripped off. Ever hear of the Gap?”
“Are you joking?” I asked before finally giving up on my blotting and looking up at the man who had
some nerve.
Shit.
He had some nerve alright.
Some
tall, dark and handsome
nerve.
Gorgeous,
actually.
I walked away for a moment to grab my bearings and went in search of more napkins. There wasn’t another one in sight. When I returned to my spot, Mr. Beautiful called to the bartender, “Hey, Louie. Can I get a glass of club soda and some paper towels down here?”
“Sure thing, Trip.”
Trip?
“Your name is Trip?”
“Sometimes.”
“I’m in a freaking airport bar with a guy named
Trip
?” I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“And you are?”
What the heck, I would never see this man again. I glanced down at the travel catalog I’d been sifting through when my eyes landed on the cover. “I’m…” I hesitated, then lied. “Sydney.”
“Sydney…” he hissed out, skeptically.