Other books by Rita (at Smashwords)

Nick's Baby

Chief Cook & Bottle Washer

Courting Abby

Hannah's Man

Pretend Mom

Runaway Bride

Heart of the Wild

CHAPTER ONE

"I don't want a woman I can fall in love with, Giavonni. I want you."

Was he propositioning her or trying to insult her? Or had she even heard him right?

Kia Giavonni fingered a piece of lint from her dark coveralls, and then suddenly flicked it away with her fingertip. She watched it slowly float to the floor, as though it were important to watch, as though he were unimportant to listen to.

Joseph Cunningham III's words reverberated through her head like a bullet, but she'd never let him know it. Nor would he see the slight tremble of her hands, for she quickly hid them in her pockets. Nor would he know the speed at which her heart was hammering. She controlled it, quickly. She hated herself for trembling. Cunningham had just taken their relationship a step further, and she wasn't prepared to deal with that step.

Okay, so she hadn't been paying attention to most of his little speech. Heck, she didn't have the slightest idea what he was talking about. She hadn't heard him except those last two sentences. That was enough. She knew an insult when she heard one. What was he trying to pull now?

She shot him a quick sneer. Just because he owned this godforsaken factory didn't mean he could dish out insults at his convenience. Without thinking, Kia stood up, glanced at him, then strode across the space between them and slapped him on his cheek.