Secret Identity

Secret Identity

Eve is at the top of her game. She's finally going to make partner at the ad agency run by two of her best friends. But when she takes a business trip to wine and dine a potential customer, her boss decides to tag along at the last minute. Now everything she's worked hard for might just disappear in a flash.

Carter has had a thing for his best friend Eve ever since he can remember. He hired her a few years ago to help boost his business and it has never run more smoothly. But when a once
-in-a-lifetime opportunity presents itself, he takes a chance at happiness that could end up destroying their friendship.

Other titles by Jill Sanders

Finding Pride
– Pride Series #1

Discovering Pride
– Pride Series #2

Returning Pride
– Pride Series #3

Lasting Pride
– Pride Series #4

Serving Pride
– Prequel to Pride Series #5

Red Hot Christmas
– A Pride Christmas #6

Secret Seduction
– Secret Series #1

Secret Pleasure
– Secret Series #2

Secret Guardian
– Secret Series #3

Secret Passions
– Secret Series #4

Secret Identity
– Secret Series #5

Secret Sauce
– Secret Series #6

Secret Obsession
– Secret Series #7

Secret Demands
– Secret Series #8

Cowgirls Ride Harder
– Book one Cowgirls Series

Cowgirls Ride Faster
– Book two Cowgirls Series

Cowgirls Ride Longer
– Book three Cowgirls Series

Secre
t
      PASSIONS

by

Jill Sanders

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

ISBN:

Copyright © 2013 Jill Sanders

Edited by Erica Ellis – http://ericaellisfreelance.com

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

Prologue

Carter watched Eve from across the room. For the last ten years of his life, he'd watched her every chance he could. He would consider himself a borderline stalker if she wasn't one of his best friends. He didn't know if she knew that he watched her or if she knew how he felt, but he wasn't ready to risk it. Yet.

A few hours later, however, he'd had the right mix of lack of food, too much sun, and too much beer. When he’d walked into his grandparents’ old place, he’d accidentally bumped into her in the upstairs hallway. He hadn't even known she was in the house. He'd thought she was still outside with the many other guests, either on the dock soaking up the sun, or out on the boat, water skiing. But there she was, just outside his grandparents’ old bedroom. Instincts had kicked in and before he knew it, he'd pushed her through the door, shutting it with his foot as he’d swooped in for the most fantastic kiss he'd ever had. She’d tasted like strawberries and felt smoother than silk as he’d run his hands over her half
-naked body. For a split second, he thought she'd arched into him and relaxed into the kiss. But then they had heard a cough and a click, then jumped apart like they’d been caught kissing, and well, they had. By one of Eve's best friends, Susan.

For the next week, Carter hadn't known how to approach her. Or what to say. Did he say anything? Or act like nothing had happened.

When he had finally approached her, she’d looked at her feet and told him she was getting married to her longtime boyfriend, Steve. His heart had been broken. That night he'd gone out with Mitch, his other best friend, and over their second pitcher of beer, they'd come up with a business plan that had rocketed them to the big times.

The next years of his life were a blur. He and Mitch spent all their time building their ad agency, Kovich & Edwards Agency, into a multimillion-dollar business. He’d stayed focused and every time he’d seen Eve, he’d tried not to think about that perfect kiss one hot summer day in Maine.

But when Carter had walked into his office a few years later to see Eve crying and sitting next to Mitch, he’d realized he had one more chance at happiness.

“I caught Steve cheating on me,” she blurted out and he could see she was on the verge of tears.

“Carter, I've just saved our butts. I hired Eve to take over the Johnson contract. Actually, she's going to be taking half your clients, so you can have some more time in the office to straighten out the mess.” Mitch smiled at Eve and patted her hand as she sniffled into a Kleenex.

“What?” Carter just stood there, and if his mind hadn't been so focused on how beautiful Eve was, even red-eyed, he probably could have pieced together what his friend was saying.

“You don't have to hire me,” Eve said as she wiped her eyes.

Carter's mind jumped into gear. Eve was single. For the first time in almost eight years, she was single again. There was no way he was going to let this opportunity slip by him again.

He slowly walked over and sat across from her, really taking in how she looked. He could no longer see her red swollen eyes, but only how she'd looked that day in his grandparents’ bedroom: wet, half-naked, and in his arms. Not to mention the feel of her skin under his hands or the taste of her lips. “No, it's fine. Welcome aboard.” He smiled and knew it was going to be the hardest thing in the world working with the woman he desired so much.

S
he could hear talking, but every time she tried to focus, she would slip back into the darkness. One voice stood out, however; it was constantly there. Its richness warmed her. She felt hands on her, cold hands. They came and went, lifting her, moving her, but she didn't respond. It was almost as if her mind was locked in a room, unable to respond to anything.

Finally, it was quiet and she slept. Then there was a bright light and she squinted as she raised her arms up to shield her eyes from the light.

“Eve?” the deep voice said just above her.

“Eve?” She opened her eyes and saw a dark-haired man leaning over her. She blinked a few times, trying to get his face into better focus. Her eyes refused to focus at first; she looked up at him as if seeing him through a haze. Finally, he came into focus and she noticed his chocolate eyes hovered just above hers. There was a thick covering of stubble on his chin, and it was obvious that he hadn't shaved in a while. She ran her eyes slowly over the nice shape of his jaw and wondered how it would feel if she reached up and ran her fingers over it. His hair was messed up, like he'd run his hands through it. Would it be as soft as it looked? His shirt buttons were open and she saw dried blood spots around the neck.

She went to move, to try and wipe her eyes. “No, sweetie,” he said in the rich voice she'd come to know. “Don't move. Your wrist is sprained.” He held her other hand and for the first time, she noticed a dull pain radiating from her left wrist.

Someone else spoke from across the room. He looked up, away from her, to answer them. When he looked back down at her, he smiled. “Mitchell and Sandi are here. Sandi's going to go find a doctor.” She watched a tear slip down his cheek. Raising her good hand, she wiped it from his face. The wetness on her fingertips felt warm.

“Hey there.” Another head leaned over her. This one was blond and the man had sea green eyes. He too looked like he could use a shave. The worry in both their eyes matched.

“I…” Her throat felt sore. She cleared it and tried to talk again, but just as she opened her mouth this time, the doctor walked in.

“Hi, good morning. I hear our patient is up.”

“Yes,” the men said in unison.

“Good.” An older, gray-haired man leaned over her now. His face was wrinkled and he had kind, blue eyes. “How are you feeling? Mrs. Taylor?”

She blinked a few times and fear crept into her mind. “I…Where am I?” She didn't know what to say. She had so many questions, but this one seemed to be the most important at the moment.

“You're at University Hospital in Chicago.” Then the older man looked up, away from her. “If you don't mind, I'd like to examine her. Maybe you can run downstairs for a cup of coffee?” She heard people leaving the room and the click of the door being shut.

A young, blonde nurse leaned over her now. “Here, would you like to sit up?” The bed began moving and soon she was looking at a small, empty hospital room. She could see her feet tucked under a large green blanket. She wiggled her toes and saw the blanket move.

“Good. I see you moving your feet.” The nurse smiled at her.

“Can you tell me, what's the last thing you remember?” The doctor flashed a light at her face and her head exploded. She shut her eyes and grabbed her head with her good hand. Pain spread from her left temple down her jaw, through her neck, and into her entire body.

“I'm sorry, dear. I know your eyes are sensitive to the light, but I have to check your pupils. Can you open your eyes for me?”

She shook her head slightly. The pain was almost too much to bear.

“Okay, we can try again later. Can you tell me how many fingers I'm holding up?” She slowly opened her eyes and looked. It was blurry, but she could see three fingers.

“Three.”

“Good. How's your vision? Can you see the clock on the wall there?” He pointed across the room. She could just make out a dark circle, but wouldn't have known it was a clock. She shook her head.

“Okay, that's okay. Sometimes a bump on the head like the one you took will play havoc with your sight. It may take a few days until everything is back in focus.” She watched him write something down. “Can you tell me the last thing you remember?”

She thought about it. The last thing she remembered. Everything was blurry. She was in a hospital room in Chicago. There was a dark-haired man whose voice was familiar to her, a blond man named Mitchell and someone named Sandi. Looking up at the doctor, she shook her head, no.

“No? No, you can't tell me what happened? Or no, you don't remember what happened to you?”

“I don't remember anything.” She felt the bedspread under her fingers and gripped the cotton. She felt short of breath and found it difficult to swallow. “I can't remember anything. Who I am. Who those people were. Why I'm in Chicago. I can't even remember what I look like or my name.”

Two days earlier

Eve couldn't believe her eyes. For the millionth time in her life, Carter Edwards was on her nerves. She watched him sprint towards her with a small black bag in hand, his usual smile pasted on his face. Most women would swoon over his dashing personality and rugged good looks. She, however, found it hard not to grind her teeth in frustration.

“
Good,” he said as he stopped right in front of her. “I made it.” He stowed his bag in the overhead compartment and sat next to her in the aisle seat. Instantly the large plane felt smaller.

“What are you doing here?” She tried not to talk between clenched teeth. Relaxing her jaw, she took a deep breath as she waited for him to answer her.

“There. All ready.” He nodded to the fight attendant who blushed a little and turned to start her pre-flight tasks.

“I decided to join you in Chicago. Tom Russell can be quite overbearing. I thought I'd tag along to help out. ”

He leaned back in his seat and crossed his long legs, looking rather comfortable in such a small space. She knew exactly how to handle Tom Russell—the same way she handled all her other clients and, on occasion, her boss. She squinted at him and wished he would just go away.

“How did you book the seat next to mine? This flight was booked.”

He smiled and looked at her. “I have my ways. Aww, now, don't give me that look. You won't even know I'm here.”

How could she not know he was there? He seemed to suck up all the air in the compartment and she swore the walls of the plane had just moved in three feet.

She tried to relax, knowing it was going to be a long flight and trip. A few hours sitting next to Carter seemed like nothing compared to four days in Chicago with him. As the plane started to taxi, she tried not to think about how close his knee was to hers.

For years, she'd tried not to think about Carter in that way. Even when she'd been engaged to that lying, cheating…No—she interrupted her thoughts. Negative thoughts produced negative actions. She started doing her breathing exercises.

“
Thinking about the scumball again?” She heard the humor in Carter's voice and tried not to lash out at him.

“It's really none of your concern.” She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

“It is when it gets in the way of you doing your job.” She could feel him leaning closer to her, could feel his breath on her hair. Opening her eyes, she saw how close he was to her and wanted to lean back, but she didn't. She wasn't going to give him an inch.

“In case you've missed it, we are not in the office, or sitting in front of a client. What I do, or think about, on my own personal time is my business.”

“Come on, Eve, we're friends, right?” He looked at her with his dark eyes and she lost all the pent-up frustration. Why did he always seem to be able to do that?

“Yes, we're friends.”

“Good, why don't you tell your good friend Carter what's bothering you?” He turned his shoulders a little so that his body was facing her. She had always liked his shoulders and the one time she'd actually gotten her hands on them, she hadn't wanted to let go. Her mind flashed to the party he'd thrown for their graduation at his grandparents’ place in Maine. She'd been wearing her favorite black bikini, and he'd been in his red swim shorts and no shirt. He'd been wet, like he'd just come out of the water, and she'd wanted nothing more than to lick the water drops from every inch of him.

Then Susan had taken that picture of them kissing. It had taken almost three months for Eve to wrangle the negatives out of her. Her only regret was not getting it before Carter had gotten a copy. Knowing he had a copy of that photo only ate her up more. They never spoke of the kiss, or the photo. The negative and picture sat in a box in her closet. But the fact that it was there, looming between them, did something to her.

“What?” He looked at her and she watched the small crease creep between his eyebrows. He had nice eyebrows, too. Actually, he had nice everything. His dark hair was always cut short, and his skin was always dark and tan due to his Greek heritage. He was tall and lean with just the amount of muscle tone that made a girl's mouth water. His dark eyes usually told his emotions before his face did. His lips were intoxicating. Her eyes traveled over him as they sat there. Then, with a jerk, the plane started rushing towards the end of the runway and she faced forward and gripped the armrests.

“Still get nervous when you fly?” He chuckled a little.

“Shut up.” She closed her eyes and ran through her prayers, ending on a Hail Mary when she felt the vessel level off in the air.

“You've gotten better.” When she looked, he was smiling at her. “You used to pray the entire flight.”

“Well, I've been flying a lot more lately.” She leaned over and removed her tablet and pulled her seat tray down. When she pulled out the small keyboard, she heard Carter sigh.

“What?” She looked at him.

“You don't have to work all the time, you know.”

“I know. I just had a few emails I needed to send before we land.”

“They can wait. It's not like your boss is going to fire you, you know.” He smiled again and this time, she smiled back.

“I've been meaning to ask you…” She turned towards him, a new plan firmly in her mind. For the past three weeks since Mitchell had announced he was getting married, she'd been trying to convince them to bring her on as partner. She'd saved enough money in the last five years to buy into the business and wanted nothing more than to be full partner. But every time she brought it up, Mitch would tell her to talk to Carter, since he was the business head and Mitchell was just the talent scout. Or so he claimed. When she tried to talk to Carter about it, somehow he always found a way out of the conversations.