Paradise Disguised Read online

  PARADISE DISGUISED

  By Liliana Hart

  Copyright 2011 by Liliana Hart

  Chapter One

  Anna Hollis stood frozen as she watched her dream man walk by, utterly oblivious to her existence on the planet. She wanted him in a way that was completely at odds with her usual shyness and cautiously stole another glance in his direction. From his dark hair with the sun bleached tips that curled slightly over his collar to his hard, lean body. A working man’s body, with rough callused hands and muscles in all the right places.

  His eyes were a silvery shade of blue and the one time they had made eye contact, she thought she’d pass out from their intensity. Everything about him made her body tingle in areas she never thought possible.

  She pushed her glasses up higher on the bridge of her nose and continued stocking the circular saws that had just arrived early that morning. Every box in the store sported a label she was proud of.

  Hollis Tools: Three Generations Built to Last.

  Her grandfather had started making his own tools sixty years ago, and what had started as a hobby to the wealthy banker, quickly became an enterprise so large that he’d had to open a hardware store to get rid of some of them.

  Her dream man had been coming in the store for months, and she’d been lusting after him since the first moment she’d laid eyes on him. Not that he’d noticed. Nobody noticed her.

  He was at the checkout counter talking to her father, and she only drooled a little at the way his backside fit into a worn pair of Levi’s. There was a small hole in the corner of the pocket, and if she stared hard enough she was pretty sure she could see skin.

  Her imagination went into overdrive as she pictured herself sitting on the counter, his muscled body thrusting eagerly between her spread thighs. Hell, she’d pictured them making love in every part of the store. She never knew there were so many creative ideas hidden inside her mind.

  Her cheeks heated as she saw her father glance over the man’s shoulder, probably wondering what she could be thinking about that caused her to have hot flashes on a busy Saturday morning.

  She jerked herself back to reality, disappointed to hear the bells jingle above the door that signaled his departure. She was already looking forward to his visit next week.

  Anna sighed wistfully and went back to stocking the saws. The smell of fresh cut lumber and saw dust enveloped her in a comforting embrace, a bouquet she’d grown up with and learned to love. It blended well with the spicy scent of her dream man.

  She was in sad, sad shape. Ever since he’d walked through the door, all she could think about was sex. She’d had sex—once—but by the way her body was tingling now she knew it hadn’t been done right.

  She was twenty-five years old for God’s sake, and she read romance novels. What she had experienced that one night had not even come close to satisfying her expectations. Most people her age were married and just starting their families, but she was still looking for basic chemistry and mind blowing sex. And boy did she have chemistry with the mystery man. Of course, that didn’t mean he had it with her.

  She was completely unappealing as a woman, and it was her own fault. Not even the fact that she was an heiress to a multi-million dollar company convinced men to ask her out. She was painfully shy, which explained why she only had one close friend and few acquaintances. And that was an almost impossible fete in a town the size of Paradise. She’d neglected her looks to keep attention on anything but herself. She was wallpaper, and she liked it that way. Most of the time.

  Of course, every time her dream man walked in she wanted to rip off all of her clothes and display herself like a turkey dinner at Thanksgiving amidst all the power tools. Her nipples tightened painfully under her flannel shirt, and she breathed slowly to get herself under control.

  She had to do something if she wanted to have the wild night she’d been dreaming about. She had style. She knew how to dress to her advantage and apply the right makeup. It was something her mother had excelled at and taught her daughter to use to her own advantage.

  Anna had been outgoing as a teenager, popular in school, and she’d always had all the right clothes. But then her mother had died.

  Her dark brown hair was long, almost to her waist, and she kept it in a long thick braid down the center of her back. It was a good color and texture—she just never bothered to do much with it. She never wore makeup and she wore dark framed glasses to cover her startling turquoise eyes. It was time some changes were made.

  She had no desire to get married or have a family. She wouldn’t be able to bear it if she lost someone else she loved, and the best way of avoiding that was to keep her distance from any serious relationships. But the one thing she did want with all her heart was one crazy night with her dream man. And she was going to do everything in her power to see she got it.

  God … What if he was married? That would ruin everything.

  “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?”

  The sound of her father’s voice snapped her back to reality. She turned and smiled at him, knowing she could never have asked for a better man for a father. They’d raised each other since her mother’s death ten years before.

  Her father had worked hard to expand Hollis Tools from the small hardware store her grandfather had started to a multi-million dollar enterprise with dozens of stores all over Texas. Their goal was to expand nationwide in the next ten years. And you could always find a Hollis working in their flagship store in Paradise, Texas. They knew the business inside and out.

  “Why would I want to take a day off on the busiest day of the week?” She asked, grinning, the dimple in her left cheek a stunning reminder of her mother.

  “I’ve been thinking that you’ve been spending too much time in the store lately. You never go out and visit your friends, and when you’re not here, you’re at home with one of your books.”

  “I’m here because I like to be here,” she said.

  “Do you know the man that was just in here?” her father asked.

  Anna blushed at the mention of her dream man. Surely her father didn’t suspect the erotic visions that had played through her mind every time he entered the store.

  “N…No,” she stuttered, looking at his chest instead of his eyes. “Should I know him?”

  “You’ve probably heard of him,” he said. “That was Dylan Maguire.”

  “You mean the Dylan Maguire of Maguire Homes?” Anna asked tentatively. Maguire Homes was the best in the business. Every job got the owner’s personal attention, from drawing up the plans to the last brick set in place. Now she had a name to add to her fantasies, and it put a small hitch in her fantasies. Dylan Maguire was not exactly low profile. But he sure was fine to look at. It might be worth it, she thought. Anna blanked out momentarily at the thought of screaming his name in passion.

  “That’s the one. He told me that he’s starting to have some breathing room in his schedule. I thought you might like to pay him a visit and see about building your own place.”

  Anna was a little hurt that her father wanted her to move out. They’d shared the Hollis mansion for many years, just the two of them, and she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

  “I don’t know, dad.” She did get lonely at times. The only company they ever saw was the household staff or her best friend Mel. “I like the seclusion our house provides.” That wasn’t always necessarily true, but she told herself she enjoyed the solitude to ease the occasional ache she felt deep within her breast.

  “Anna, you need to do this for yourself. You’re mother’s been gone a long time, and she wouldn’t want to see you living the way you are now. You act as if you’ve already got one foot in the grave, when you have an entire li
fetime ahead of you.”

  “Well … If that’s what you want I can make an appointment with him for next week,” Anna said, hurt more than she wanted to admit at her father’s rejection.

  “No, of course it’s not what I want,” Jack answered. “I’d love for you to stay under the same roof with me until my last days, but I’m thinking this is something you should do for yourself. Don’t feel like I’m trying to get rid of you. Think of it as a gentle nudge out of the nest. You’ve got money. Why don’t you go a little crazy and spend some of it? Go shopping, and do all those things that other women do. Get a place of your own, and stay out all hours of the night. I just want you to be happy,” he said. “You’re a young woman, not an old geezer like me.”

  “I am happy, dad, and you know I love you very much. And besides, you’re not that old. I never see you go out and live it up on the weekends either.”

  “Yes, but I’m set in my ways,” he told her affectionately. “Why don’t you put that business degree to some use? There’s no need for you to come into the store every day. You’ve been running the business behind the scenes for years anyway. You can work out of your own office, and you’ll get the chance to travel and see how all your hard work is paying off at the other stores. I want you to have more freedom.”

  Anna thought about what he’d said and knew he was right. Hell, it was what she’d been thinking before he’d mentioned it. It was the perfect time to make some changes in her boring life.

  “You’re right, dad. It’s time I made some drastic changes to my life. I don’t know why I haven’t done it before now,” she said, taking off her work gloves and laying them on the shelf halfway filled with power saws. She enjoyed working in the store because it was an easy way to be apart of small town life, without actually being a part of it.

  “That’s my girl,” he said with relief. “I was hoping you’d at least give it a try. If you hate it, there will always be room with me.”

  Anna gave her father another hug, but her mind was already thinking of the future. “Can you get our attorney to purchase some property in the area? And have him call Mr. Maguire and set up an appointment for two weeks from Monday. That should be plenty of time for the new me to be presentable.”

  “Why don’t you give Mel a call? I bet she’d like to be a part of the new you, too.”

  Anna thought of her childhood friend and smiled. Amelia James, was called Mel by everyone except her own mother, and she was Anna’s complete opposite. She had a bubbly and outgoing personality that drew in anyone around her and a witty sarcasm that could cut people off at the knees without them knowing it.

  She was petite and willowy next to Anna’s more statuesque figure and she was in constant motion. Anna realized she’d like Mel’s company very much. She’d neglected her friends like she’d neglected herself, but that was about to change as well.

  ***

  Dylan Maguire sat at his desk and thought about the sexy brunette he saw every week at Hollis Tools. She had a great body that she kept hidden under layers of clothing. The only reason he’d found out the secret of her curvaceous figure was because he couldn’t take his eyes off of her when he was in the store, and he’d just happened to catch denim and cotton stretch in strategic places as she reached up to a shelf.

  He’d made a stop by the hardware store at least once a week for months to get a glimpse of that sexy body she tried so hard to hide. He’d have to be a saint not to notice a body like hers, lush and round just the way a woman should be. And everybody knew that Dylan Maguire was no saint. He genuinely appreciated all facets of a woman, whether they were twenty or one-hundred twenty, thin or plump, homely or beautiful, they were just fascinating creatures. Of course, one that was twenty might hold his attention for a different reason.

  Sometimes he had to make up excuses to stop in Hollis Tools, but it was always worth the trip. He also stopped by for the useful pieces of information he was able to get out of Jack Hollis. Dylan knew the girl was Jack’s daughter and that she’d been extremely withdrawn since her mother’s death. He also knew Jack was trying to get her to come out of her shell.

  Dylan had casually mentioned he was in the middle of his slow season—though the truth was the opposite—just to see if Jack would tell him some more information about Anna. He’d hit a gold mine.

  Jack had come up with the idea of Anna getting out on her own, and he thought Dylan was just the person to help her out. Jack would probably have changed his mind if he’d known the only thing he wanted to help Anna out of was her clothes and a good bit of her innocence.

  The woman had a body that wouldn’t quit, and she’d caused him plenty of uncomfortable nights since he’d first set eyes on her several months ago. Anna was a natural beauty, and there was nothing she could do to hide the fact. He’d spent many a night fantasizing about what it would be like to unravel her braid slowly and run his fingers through her thick hair. He could imagine it curly and untamed, spread out on her pillow as he made love to her gently, and he could imagine it wrapped around his fist as he took her from behind with harsh, fast strokes.

  He’d take those horrid glasses off her face that hid the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen and throw them in the trash. He’d seen her staring at him one too many times out of the corner of his eye, and he also knew she was just as attracted to him as he was to her. All he had to do was walk by to feel the sexual tension crackling through the air, and his cock automatically hardened every time he imagined stripping away those layers of clothes she wore like a shield..

  His sexual appetite could be voracious at times, and he knew that Anna’s shyness could be a problem. But God… he hoped she was open to a little adventure. It had been too long since he’d been truly satisfied by a woman.

  He heard two knocks before his architect and best friend, Mitchell Casey, walked through the door.

  “Whoa buddy, from the scowl on your face am I to assume you’re having woman trouble?” Mitchell said, good-naturedly.

  “No, you’re the only annoyance I’m seeing right now,” Dylan said.

  “Well, from the size of the boner you’re sporting, consider me flattered.”

  Mitchell just laughed at the obscene gesture Dylan shot him and sat down in the empty chair in front of the desk. “So who’s the lucky lady this time?”

  “I’m not saying a word,” Dylan said adamantly. “I haven’t even had a conversation with her yet.”

  “Ahh … Lust at first sight. My favorite.”

  “You’re a degenerate. No wonder you have a hard time finding a date,” Dylan said, even though he knew women were practically taking numbers to go out with The Mitchell Casey. He was the ultimate love-em’-and-leave-em’ man.

  The two of them had become friends in college, and they’d been working together ever since. Mitchell had helped him through his divorce several years ago, and he had helped Mitchell survive after the death of his wife.

  Of course, Mitchell had turned into a hardened, cynical man, and it was obvious to everyone but Mitchell that he went through women like water to drown out the pain that was still smothering him. They owed each other a great deal, and they’d decided the best place to start anew was Paradise, Texas. What could be better than that?

  The buzz on the intercom brought his thoughts and body under control as he reminded himself that he was at work. His secretary buzzed a second time, and he picked up the receiver ready to get back to the grindstone.

  “Yes, Janet,” he said.

  “Mr. Hollis is on line one. He said that he’d talked to you earlier about building a house for his daughter,” Janet said, curious as always.

  “I’ll take the call on my private line,” he said, knowing that would pique her interest even more. He couldn’t help having a perverse sense of humor.

  Janet Porter was in her early thirties and reminded him of a modern day pin-up girl from the forties. She had bleached blonde hair, a curvy figure and a kewpie doll mouth she kept painted bright red. She wa
s more cute than anything, and he’d always been surprised he’d never been attracted to her, but he knew she was the one that kept the office running smoothly. They’d eventually become friends, and he was satisfied to leave it that way.

  “Aha. Jack Hollis. That explains everything,” Mitchell said. “The only place you’ve been today is to Hollis Tools, and I know just the brunette who could put that look on your face. I’ve never thought much of her face or the frumpy clothes, but she does have the type of body that could make a man crawl.”

  Dylan looked at Mitchell sharply, warning him with a glance that he’d better stay clear of Anna. “And how would you know anything about her body,” Dylan growled.

  “I’m a professional observer of all women. Believe me, I know what a woman looks like without her clothes on no matter how much she tries to hide. But don’t worry, my friend, I’ve looked, but she’s not my type,” Mitchell assured him with a dimpled grin. “I like my women with a little more flash.”

  Dylan shooed a laughing Mitchell out of the office and answered the phone.

  “Mr. Hollis?” Dylan asked.

  “Call me Jack, son. I’m glad I caught you in the office. I’ve talked to Anna, and she’s agreed to meet with you and get started on a new place of her own. I thought she’d put up more of a fight, but I hardly had to prod her at all.”

  He worked fast, Dylan thought to himself. Either that or Anna was more anxious to meet him than he’d thought. Boy how he’d love to be the one to break her of her shyness. He had a whole new world to introduce her to.

  “I’ve had a nice piece of property tucked away that I bought some years ago. It would be the perfect spot for Anna. It’s full of trees and a little creek runs along the property line. I’m going to sign it over to her as a surprise.”

  “That sounds great. When does she want to meet?” Dylan asked, already anticipating the visit.

  “She said make it two weeks from Monday,” Jack said.

  Dylan deflated in disappointment at the delayed meeting. Maybe she wasn’t as excited to meet him as he thought.