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They’re not looking for love...
Until love finds them!
On paper it just shouldn’t work. Jess is a bohemian artist who loves her life in the close-knit Martha’s Vineyard community while Jordan is a millionaire bachelor, CEO and a “bright lights, big city” guy. There’s no denying the attraction between them, but neither are in the right place for a relationship. However, fate and an adorable little girl entrusted to their care have other ideas...
Jess suddenly found herself in a tight dark space completely alone with the most enigmatic man she’d ever encountered.
In an instant, everything else around them faded into the background. Only the two of them seemed to exist.
Jordan was so close, she was certain he could hear the increased pounding of her heart. So close that it would be so easy to lean toward him with a clear invitation. So easy to ask him to kiss her.
Heat and excitement curled deep in her belly at the thought. What might it feel like to have his lips on hers? She could smell the subtle scent of his aftershave. That same smoky, woodsy scent she was now beginning to associate with the man.
Was he wondering about kissing her, too?
They were from two completely different worlds. She had no business being attracted to him. And she certainly had no business acting on it anyway...
Dear Reader,
What do you think of when you hear the word home? The concept often seems to mean different things to different people. Is it a location? Or perhaps it might refer to being surrounded by those you love and who love you in return. Maybe it’s simply a sense of familiarity and comfort, regardless of one’s surroundings.
In Captivated by the Millionaire, both the hero and heroine are struggling to find their own definition of home. Jordan is a successful businessman who’s had to upend his whole life in order to make a new home for the sake of a child. Jess was repeatedly uprooted as a little girl and has only recently found a place where she feels a sense of belonging. Both feel as if there’s something still missing in their lives. After they meet, neither seems to be able to see what’s clearly right in front of them.
Though it takes them some time and much introspective discovery, Jess and Jordan ultimately come to realize that they’ve found home with each other. I hope you enjoy their journey.
Nina
PROLOGUE
HE’D ALWAYS PRIDED himself on being prepared. Overly prepared, in fact. But damned if he’d seen any of this coming.
Jordan Paydan stood in front of the glass wall of his Upper East Side Manhattan penthouse and stared at the paperwork that had just been delivered to him via special messenger. No detail had been left up to chance. Every “i” had been dotted; every “t” had been crossed. A slew of family practice attorneys had made sure to look over each piece of paper.
And now Jordan’s life would never be the same.
His stepmother hadn’t put up any kind of a fight; she’d simply waited for the funds to be transferred into her account. He grunted a laugh at the term. Stepmother. The woman was barely older than his own thirty-one years. She certainly didn’t appear to want to act like a responsible adult. He didn’t know her well at all, but that much about her was as clear as the sky on this bright New York afternoon. Considering the events of the past few months and based on the paperwork he currently held in his hands, his stepmother had no qualms about moving on after his father’s death.
Jordan uttered a small curse and threw the envelope and documents onto the mahogany desk behind him next to the couch.
Nothing to do now but to try and plan for the colossal changes that were about to overtake his very existence. None of which were his own doing in any way. He just had to figure out where exactly to start.
CHAPTER ONE
Six months later
JESSALYN RAFFI WAS completely engrossed in the mural she was painting on the wall. It was good. Really good, if she did say so herself. She’d spent most of the day painstakingly drawing and creating a detailed image of a majestic, ancient castle sitting atop a grand mountain. Fat, fluffy clouds floated above its towers. She’d even thrown in a few knights on steeds along its base.
Jess had no doubt the child about to occupy this room as a new resident of this house was going to love it. What child wouldn’t? To be able to walk into your bedroom and feel like you could be transported through time and space into an entirely different reality would seem magical to any youngster. She was certain of it.
