Harlequin Special Edition December 2020--Box Set 2 of 2 by Christine Rimmer

Author:Christine Rimmer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

Never make the same mistake twice.

—How to Taylor Your Business Plan

by E.L. Taylor

“He’s not an idiot.”

Mallory pulled away from Eli’s hand with an angry jerk. This was her birthday fantasy. She was not going to let him ruin it by insulting yet another hero. He’d been right about Cinderella, but E.L. Taylor was different.

Eli persisted. “Your friend doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“How can you say that? I told you the whole story. He taught me everything, so that I could navigate my family dynamics and get something productive done.”

Eli lowered the empty hand that had been cupping her face. “Is it possible he’s being manipulative with your emotions by telling you not to react, not to cry?”

“No. It’s not.”

He’s E.L. Taylor, okay? Not an idiot. Also, he’s too busy making millions to bother manipulating me.

Eli was dying to say something else, she could tell. He even opened his mouth, thought better of it and closed it.

The crowd broke into applause. The dancers took their bows. The couple beside them on the branch left, probably unwilling to let Mallory and Eli’s quietly tense exchange dampen their festive evening.

Eli sounded sincere. “I’m concerned, but I don’t want to randomly criticize anyone’s hero. Cinderella taught me not to, earlier. It occurs to me that this guy might be your real-life Prince Charming. In that case, your fake boyfriend is jealous, and you should take his words with a grain of salt.”

“Oh. That’s a very sweet thing to say.” Mallory realized she’d touched her fingertips to her heart, like she was a Disney princess. Goodness gracious.

“Somebody’s been hitting me over the head with an oilcan all night. I’m glad to know it’s working.”

That was so charming. She ought to answer a sweet comment like that with a sweet kiss. The gap left by that missing kiss felt awkward to her.

Eli tapped her knee. “So, is he your real boyfriend? You so sagely pointed out that if you’d had a real boyfriend here, you wouldn’t have needed a fake one. That doesn’t mean you don’t have a real boyfriend somewhere else. Like in Ohio.”

“I sincerely doubt he’d ever be interested in me that way.”

He’s E.L. Taylor. Also, he’s too busy making millions to bother dating an in-home caregiver from Ohio.

She was really embarrassed now for having been too embarrassed at the beginning of the night to admit that she thought of a business book as her best friend.

“He’s lucky to have someone who jumps to his defense so quickly,” Eli said.

She was stuck with her little white lie now. “I defend him because he does mean a lot to me, but not the way you’re thinking. His advice pulled me through a really dark time in my life. I might have stayed stuck forever, reliving my past in my head over and over. He showed me that I had to forget about all the years I’d wasted up to that point.”

“That doesn’t sound right, either. Don’t cry? Forget about your life prior to meeting him?”

“Not forget.

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