The Undercover Playboy (Captured by Love Book 3)
Read The Undercover Playboy (Captured by Love Book 3) Online
Authors: Miranda P. Charles
(Captured by Love Book 3)
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Miranda P. Charles
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Copyright
©
2015 Miranda P. Charles
All Rights Reserved.
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o part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded or distributed in any form without the express permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, locations, organisations and events described in this novel
are either products of the author’s imagination, fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any event, locale or person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cover art by Viola Estrella.
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Books by Miranda P. Charles
CHAPTER ONE
C
assie Stephens startled herself with the gushy breath she let out. Had she just swooned?
She hid her smile as she continued to watch the sexy Carter Garrett make his way towards a spotlighted section in the backyard of their newly engaged friends, Rick Donnelly and Lexie Mead. The dark-haired, blue-eyed hunk joined three other handsome men already standing there, snickering as they
patted Carter on the back in a gesture of faux commiseration.
“I knew I wasn’t just imagining it before,” a teasing voice said beside Cassie.
She peeled her gaze off Carter to turn to Natasha Garrett, Carter’s younger sister and her flatmate of eight months.
“You are totally checking him out,” Natasha whispered as she slid onto the seat next to Cassie, which Carter had vacated.
Cassie shrugged
nonchalantly even as she blushed. “What’s wrong with that? I’m not the only one.” She looked around to see if the other females at Lexie’s birthday party were indeed looking at Carter. She instantly spotted at least three single women openly gazing at him with admiring eyes. She frowned, not liking that her point had been proven.
But she couldn’t blame them. Apart from his crazy-good looks, Carter
exuded authority and masculinity that made any red-blooded female stare. And right now, with Carter deciding to take off his leather jacket, it was easy to make out the muscular chest underneath the navy-blue shirt that hugged his torso. Who wouldn’t want to check him out?
Cassie was surprised, though, that Carter was feeling hot enough to strip off a layer of clothing. It was late autumn in
Sydney, the temperature mild but slightly below average. Even though there were several patio heaters strategically scattered around the vast garden to make the place nice and comfortable for everyone, it was still a cool evening for just a shirt.
Was he nervous? She smiled, enjoying the thought that Mr. Confident could be rattled from standing in front of more than fifty people to parade himself
with the other bachelors. She’d have to tease him about this later.
“You like him,” Natasha said, her tone betraying the fact that she was pleased with this development.
“I never said I didn’t.”
“But you keep on insisting you’re not interested in him.”
“Liking him and being interested in him are two different things, Tash. Your brother might be one hell of a looker but I have no intention
whatsoever of going out with him.”
“Why not? The two of you get along so well. Whenever Carter joins us for dinner, he spends more time chatting with you than he does with me.”
She chuckled. “I’m sure it’s so I won’t mind that he freeloads dinner whenever he comes around.”
A snicker made Cassie turn to her other side, and she noticed that everyone else sitting with them at one of the elegantly
decked-out dining tables was looking at her and Natasha. Her three best friends—Lexie, Jade Tully and Erin Baker—along with Rick and Lucas Renner-Bilton—Jade’s fiancé—were smiling widely, not hiding the fact that they were listening in on their conversation.
“Well, I’ve never seen you show interest in a man so obviously before, Cass,” said Jade.
“What?” she whispered in shock.
“Yes, I’ve noticed
how flirtatious you’ve been lately,” Lexie said from across the table, winking at her.
Her jaw dropped. “I have never! And definitely not in public. If you noticed anything, it’s just me being friendly with Carter, that’s all.”
“Oh, Cass,” Erin said with a shake of her head. “I don’t know why you’re lying to yourself.”
She opened her mouth to utter another protest when the voice of the gorgeous
Marilyn Grant came through the wireless speakers. Everyone hushed to listen intently to one of Rick’s long-time friends.
“Do we seriously have only four bachelors in the running for this round?” Marilyn asked, squinting her eyes at the guests, who were sitting and watching the proceedings, trying to spot an eligible man who hadn’t joined her on the makeshift stage.
“Remember that two of the
guys are overseas and one’s in Melbourne,” Rick called out.
Marilyn nodded. “Well, we can’t include them if they’re not here. So, everyone, here are the contestants for this round’s Captured by Love betting game. At some point during the night,” she said, holding up a sheet of paper, “please write your name here, plus the name of the bachelor you think will come off the singles market next, and
the amount you’re willing to bet. Whoever correctly chooses the next guy to fall in love and renounce his single status will be the winner, and the losers will have to hand over their money to the winner’s favourite charity. If we have more than one winner, the amount will be split equally among the selected charities.”
Whistles and applause came from the guests.
“Two of these guys are here
for the third time,” Marilyn continued, grinning at the four men beside her.
Simon Alexander and Tristan Grant raised their arms in the air in a triumphant gesture.
Simon leaned towards Marilyn to speak through the mic. “Girls, I’m still happily single,” he said in a low, sexy voice. “And I’d love your phone numbers.”
Marilyn pushed him away playfully. “Ladies, don’t be fooled by this playboy
talk from Simon,” she said. “He’s really looking for his soulmate.”
Simon laughed out loud, throwing his head back.
Marilyn sighed. “Admittedly, I’ve already lost twice because I picked Simon. Maybe I’ll bet on my cousin this time around.” She stood next to Tristan and swept her hand in front of him with flourish. “Ladies, may I say that Tristan is a great catch? Sure, he can be aggravating
sometimes, but deep inside he’s fiercely loyal. You’ll be doing my auntie a favour if you ensnare him. She’s dying to have her son finally settle down.”
The audience laughed while Tristan rolled his eyes, shaking his head in bemusement.
“And we also have two new bachelors joining this round,” Marilyn said. “Most of you already know Brad.”
Lexie’s older brother bowed theatrically as the audience
clapped.
“So, Brad, can you tell our friends why they should bet on you?”
Brad snorted. “Well, I can tell them they shouldn’t. Settling down isn’t on my to-do list yet.”
“Hey!” Vivian, Brad’s mother, called out. “Shouldn’t the older sibling get married first? Since Rick proposed to Lexie tonight...”
“Mum,” Brad said with a chuckle. “The four of us up here intend to stay single for a while.
Where would the fun be in this game otherwise?”
Vivian frowned. “How can anyone give money to charity if none of you settle down?”
Brad shrugged. “Well, don’t look at me.”
Marilyn exhaled loudly through the mic. “Carter, maybe you’re our best hope. Do you want to say something to the punters?”
Carter good-naturedly took the mic Marilyn offered him. “Well, all I can say is that I’m honoured
to have been invited to this party and meet you wonderful people. Oh, and that I was really enjoying myself until Cassie there practically forced me to walk up here and offer myself up as a pawn for this game,” he said with mock displeasure, narrowing his eyes at Cassie.
Cassie grinned at him and gave him two thumbs up.
“She said she’s not betting on me, though,” Carter said, his lips twisting.
“And you guys should follow her lead and pick someone else.”
“Honestly,” Marilyn said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I don’t believe any of you with your I’m-happy-being-single posturing. Rick and Lucas said the same thing, and look at them now.”
Everyone turned their heads towards Cassie’s table, where the two men in question were sitting next to their fiancées. Rick and Lucas grinned
at each other, then Rick turned to Lexie, grabbing her face and kissing her passionately on lips. Not to be outdone, Lucas did the same to Jade.
The crowd cheered.
A vision popped into Cassie’s head as she watched her engaged friends smooch in front of everybody. Her gaze involuntarily went back to Carter... then travelled to his crotch.
She blushed, quickly looking away. Damn it. What the
hell was wrong with her?
If anyone had asked her last month if she had a thing for Carter, the answer would have been no. Sure, she found him attractive. Incredibly so. But she wasn’t looking for a relationship. She was too busy studying for her MBA, wanting to finish it with flying colours. To add to that, she was going for several job interviews so she could leave the dead-end role she hated.
Her main priority was to get her career on the right track first. She’d already wasted four years with a company that zapped her energy and humour for a salary less than what she knew she deserved. A relationship would distract her from her goals.
But distracted was exactly how she’d been since she had
that
dream. It had been so vivid that she could still remember every single moment in her head.
More frustratingly, she instantly got hot and bothered every time those memories came, unbidden.
She shifted in her seat as certain scenes played in her mind. Of course, she had no idea if the bottom half of Carter’s body really was as magnificent in real life as it had been in her dream. Her breath caught as she recalled wrapping her hand around his hardness and—
Stop it, Cassandra!
She crossed
her legs, feeling the tingling sensation she now constantly suffered whenever she remembered that dream—which was too damned often for her liking! These days she was always craving. For Carter. Which wasn’t good.
He wasn’t boyfriend material. Every time Natasha quizzed him about his dating life, he always mentioned a different woman.
But then again... Hadn’t Cassie herself said she wasn’t into
anything serious at this point? So what would be the problem if she and Carter hooked up?
The problem is you’ve lost your mind!
She shook her head, annoyed at herself. She shouldn’t forget that she needed to focus on her MBA studies first. She’d already got her CPA designation two years ago, but she still wanted to enhance her qualifications. First and foremost, though, she wanted to find a
better job so she could say goodbye to her hellish current boss once and for all. She was already twenty-six. She wanted to settle into a good role with a good company now, not later.
But...
Wouldn’t having something casual with Carter help with getting him out of her system so she could concentrate on her studies?
Oh, for heaven’s sake, Cassie! Shut up already! Why would Carter want you?
That last thought hit her hard, and she took a sharp breath. Why indeed would someone like Carter be interested in her? She was the quiet type who hated stereotypical girly things like clothes shopping. If it weren’t for her best friends, who constantly helped her with her wardrobe, she’d always be wearing the same black dress at parties. And if it weren’t for contact lenses, she’d be wearing the
thickest glasses among anyone she knew.
No, someone like Carter went for supermodel-looking women—those who were born to be the centre of attention at parties because of their bubbly personalities and fashion sense. Why wouldn’t he? He was a gorgeous, outgoing person himself.
Heck, she really should be grateful for that dream. At least she’d got to see Carter in all his naked glory—even if it
was just in her head.
*****
C
arter smiled wryly as he watched the other guests cheer and laugh as Rick and Lucas kissed their fiancées. Here was a group of friends and family who enjoyed each other’s company, letting their hair down and revelling in the celebrations.