Surprise Reunion with His Cinderella Read online

  Billion-Dollar Matches

  The one thing money can’t buy? Love!

  Finding true love is never easy. But when you’re famous, it’s even harder... So, M is here to help! M is a dating agency with a twist. They offer, to the rich and famous, a chance to date away from the limelight. And it’s this promise of absolute discretion that compels every A-lister to keep them on speed dial.

  M’s founder, Madison Morgan, is no stranger to the red carpet herself. A former child actress, Madison knows—better than anyone!—the value of privacy. Which makes her an expert at finding the most idyllic and secluded locations for her clients. From Lake Geneva to the Seychelles, and Puerto Rico to Indonesia, Madison creates the perfect backdrop to a couple’s love story. And, just maybe, her own?

  Fall in love with...

  The Princess and the Rebel Billionaire

  by Sophie Pembroke

  Surprise Reunion with His Cinderella

  by Rachael Stewart

  Available now!

  Caribbean Nights with the Tycoon

  by Andrea Bolter

  Indonesian Date with the Single Dad

  by Jessica Gilmore

  Coming soon!

  Dear Reader,

  It feels strange writing this to you in the thick of 2020 and the days of COVID-19, where nationwide or local lockdowns are never far away. Just leaving the house is a huge deal, leaving the country an impossible dream.

  But this book was my escape, taking me to the gorgeous Seychelles and the fictitious island of Rosalie. Stunning aquamarine waters, magnificent granite boulders, beaches of powder-white sand, vibrant flora and fauna—all of it heaven-like. It was a joy to escape there with Jasmine and Freddie, and their second-chance romance was a delight to write.

  I do hope it can provide you with the same reassuring warmth it gave me and bring many a happy smile to your face, and that the world, when this book finds you, is in a much better place.

  You can always find yourself a happy-ever-after in between the pages of a Harlequin, and we’ve never needed these tales more.

  “Stay safe and well” has been the motto for months now, so I’ll say that and add a dollop of love, too!

  Happy reading!

  Rachael xx

  Surprise Reunion with His Cinderella

  Rachael Stewart

  Rachael Stewart adores conjuring up stories, from heartwarmingly romantic to wildly erotic. She’s been writing since she could put pen to paper—as the stacks of scrawled-on pages in her loft will attest to. A Welsh lass at heart, she now lives in Yorkshire, with her very own hero and three awesome kids—and if she’s not tapping out a story, she’s wrapped up in one or enjoying the great outdoors. Reach her on Facebook, Twitter (@rach_b52) or at rachaelstewartauthor.com.

  Books by Rachael Stewart

  Harlequin Romance

  Tempted by the Tycoon’s Proposal

  Harlequin DARE

  Mr. One-Night Stand

  Mr. Temptation

  Naughty or Nice

  Getting Dirty

  Losing Control

  Unwrapping the Best Man

  Our Little Secret

  Reawakened

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  For you, Aunty Carolyn.

  For always believing in me and reading every book I’ve ever written, even when they were in my handwritten scrawl many moons ago!

  Love always,

  Rachael xx

  Praise for

  Rachael Stewart

  “This is a delightful, moving, contemporary romance.... I should warn you that this is the sort of book that once you start you want to keep turning the pages until you’ve read it. It is an enthralling story to escape into and one that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I have no hesitation in highly recommending it.”

  —Goodreads on Tempted by the Tycoon’s Proposal

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Awakened by the CEO’s Kiss by Therese Beharrie

  PROLOGUE

  JASMINE WRUNG HER hands together. ‘I’m not sure this is a good idea, Freddie.’

  ‘It needs to be done.’

  ‘But now?’

  Nervously she bit into her lip and reached for his hand, tugging him away from the doors that led into the manor’s great hall.

  The noise from the other side ebbed and flowed with music and chatter, the clinking of glasses, the sound of laughter. The Highgrove Boxing Day party was in full swing. Friends, relatives and staff all gathering to enjoy the centuries-old tradition of handing out gifts and enjoying the festivities.

  ‘It’s your parents’ big day.’ She tried again. ‘They love this party.’

  ‘I love this party.’

  Freddie turned to look down at her, his foppish dark hair curling over his forehead and softening the sharp cut of his tux. Didn’t matter that she’d known him for ever, her breath still caught as she took his handsome face, his dreamy blue eyes all alive with his excitement.

  She loved him. Loved him too much to refuse him, but this?

  She toyed with her sleeves, their bell shape the reason the dress had caught her eye in the charity shop window. Its medieval style fitted her petite frame perfectly, enhancing her subtle curves and gaining Freddie’s wholehearted approval in the process. But now...now it just felt cheap and out of place.

  ‘Everyone is here,’ she whispered, her voice starting to fail her.

  ‘Isn’t that the point?’ He combed his fingers through her hair, pressed his forehead to hers. ‘Come on, Red. Isn’t it time you got some fire to match your blazing hair?’

  Was it? She chewed the corner of her mouth and tried to lose herself in his gaze, to let it work its magic. To warm her heart, ease her fear...

  ‘I’m sick of them denying us, Red. I’m sick of the staff whispering about us. I’m sick of being made to feel like we’re doing something wrong, like we should be ashamed. Doing it this way, they will have no choice but to acknowledge our relationship, to accept it. And we can look to the future, our future.’

  A shiver trickled down her spine. Her mother was one of the staff. She too would witness what was about to happen. And she didn’t want to make trouble for her. She’d been the Highgrove housekeeper for seventeen years. They’d employed her when others had passed her over for being a single mum with a one-year-old to provide for, so in a way Jasmine owed them too.

  But Freddie was right, they’d tried to gain acceptance quietly and no one had taken them seriously. What choice did they have?

  ‘I love you, Red.’

  Her heart soared with his emphatic declaration, her love for him swamping all else as a smile broke through. ‘I love you too, Freddie.’

  ‘And it’s time the world knew it, yes?’

  She nodded and he lifted her left hand to his lips, kissed the tip of the diamond ring she should be used to wearing after six months. But tonight it felt heavy, weighed down by what they w
ere about to do.

  ‘I can’t wait,’ he whispered over the stone, his eyes catching hers as she took a courage-seeking breath.

  She wished she could have his confidence, but then it was always this way. Freddie was the adventurous one, forever pushing her to come out of her shell. Though she wouldn’t be able to hide behind him once they broke through those doors, hand in hand.

  ‘Hey, you want to be Mrs Freddie Highgrove, right?’

  He straightened, his eyes still hooked on hers, and she felt the colour bloom in her cheeks, the excited flutter in her heart—Mrs Freddie Highgrove.

  ‘More than anything.’

  He took both her hands in his and squeezed softly. ‘Then trust me...’

  CHAPTER ONE

  JASMINE WALKER STARED out at the tropical paradise beyond the floating white drapes that framed her serene, picture-perfect view, and clutched both hands to her fluttering stomach.

  It was just nerves.

  Nerves she should be able to deal with.

  It wasn’t as though her livelihood was on the line.

  It wasn’t as though she was heading into a critical investors’ meeting.

  And it wasn’t as though she was standing before the stern face of Highgrove senior, having just been caught stealing from Maggie’s tray of freshly baked goods. Or worse, standing outside the doors to their great hall preparing for Freddie to announce their engagement.

  So why couldn’t she get a handle on this?

  And why on earth was she even thinking of the Highgroves now, and a ten-year-old memory at that?

  She swallowed, closed her eyes and forced her hands to relax. She breathed in the soft fragrance of her room. Subtle and deceptively simple, its floral notes were designed to instil a sense of calm, something she could certainly do with now as her body tripped over itself.

  You know why you’re thinking of them—thinking of him—so quit kidding yourself...

  She opened her eyes, and saw the answer in everything around her, everything she heard. The suite with its mix of wood, soft cream furnishings and colourful creole art. The private terrace with its king-sized thatched cabana and the infinity pool that dropped off into the endless turquoise sea beyond. The lulling sound of the waves and the native wildlife.

  It was a secluded oasis designed for romance and relaxation. For lovers. For honeymooners...

  Of all the places the M dating agency to the rich and famous could have sent her on this crazy, outrageous week-long blind date, they had chosen here.

  The Seychelles.

  The one place Freddie Highgrove, her childhood friend, her teenage heartthrob, her one and only love, had promised to take her. And not just for a holiday, but for their honeymoon.

  A bittersweet smile touched her lips and she dropped onto the plush mattress behind her, lay back and stared up at the netted roof to her four-poster bed.

  Freddie. She breathed in his name and let it out with all the guilt, the remorse, the sadness. It was a lifetime ago, but she felt it all like yesterday. He was the reason every one of her relationships failed.

  No one could stack up to the wild intensity of the naïve passion they’d shared.

  The day their relationship had crossed over from friends to lovers had marked the start of a whirlwind affair that had seen Freddie proposing on her eighteenth birthday. The memory was so perfect and yet not, because it had heralded the beginning of the end.

  She hadn’t been good enough, and that version of her—the insecure, shy little wallflower—had run. She had loved Freddie too much to bear the rejection of his family or, worse, to see him rejecting them.

  It was time to let that version of her go.

  Only...she wasn’t so sure that being matched by M was the answer.

  Decisions made on nights out with your rowdy and far more adventurous girlfriends had a tendency to go a little pear-shaped. And of all those decisions, this was the most expensive and riskiest to date.

  It was insane. One hundred thousand pounds and then some, insane.

  As though her friends, Sadie and Izzy, could sense her rising doubts, her phone buzzed beside her. Sadie, the main instigator of this whole trip, had dropped a message into their group chat.

  You there yet? Have you met him? What’s he like? Please tell me he’s hot. Like seriously hot!

  She smiled, in spite of the continued butterflies and tapped in her reply.

  Yes. No. Now, shh!

  Sadie’s response was instant, her fingers like lightning thanks to all the practice.

  Then text in a timely fashion and I won’t need to nag!

  Jasmine shook her head.

  Yes, Mum.

  Then:

  Have fun. xxxxx And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!

  ‘Yeah, right!’ Jasmine laughed. ‘From you, that means do everything and anything, Sades!’

  She tossed her phone aside and shook her head all the more. This was the kind of crazy thing Sadie would do. Not her.

  ‘Not sensible, boring, workaholic, need-to-get-a-life Jasmine.’

  She shuddered as she remembered those exact words spilling from Sadie’s lips and Izzy’s vigorous nod of agreement. But her friends were right. She did need to get a life outside work.

  But now she was here...and so was he. Her ‘perfect match’ according to M. And of the hundreds and thousands of possible destinations, they were in the Seychelles.

  She’d asked for somewhere hot. She’d asked for somewhere without too much digital interference—she should have specified no mobile phone signal on top of it and then she wouldn’t have to cope with friend inference either.

  Truth was, she’d wanted a holiday, a break from it all, but the Seychelles...

  She swallowed again, pushing the resurfacing Freddie from her mind and her heart.

  It was no good being stuck in the past. This was about the future, her future. And if M said they had her match, then she owed it to them and to her bank balance to make the most of it.

  Plus, Sadie and Izzy would never let her live it down if she bailed.

  Her mobile buzzed with a new message and she sat up, taking it with her. It was Izzy.

  Hope you had a good journey! Now enjoy and keep us posted! xx PS Sades, back off! ;-*

  Jasmine grinned and started to type a response but a rap at the door sent her stomach somersaulting and her fingers stilled over her phone screen.

  Another rap. ‘Miss Walker, it’s Monique, I’m here to take you to dinner.’

  Oh, God. She shot up off the bed, wiped her hot and clammy hands on the little black dress she’d chosen and sucked in another breath. If she kept taking breaths like this she’d faint from an overdose of oxygen.

  ‘Miss Walker, are you there? Your perfect match awaits!’

  Perfect match. Another gulp and she clutched a hand to the locket that she wore, the locket that contained a photo of her late mother. She who dares, wins, came her mother’s voice.

  ‘Coming,’ she blurted.

  Taking one last scan of her serene room, her safe haven for the week, she told herself how perfect it was. That no matter who her date was, this week was a holiday and she hadn’t had one of those in a long time.

  She walked to the door, pulling it open to see the petite woman who had shown her to her room earlier. She was lovely. Deep brown skin, warm conker-brown eyes and a big smile.

  ‘Thank you for coming to get me.’

  ‘It’s my pleasure. If you’d like to follow me... Tonight you are dining at the lighthouse.’

  She offered her a smile over her shoulder, and Jasmine tried to return it, trapping the squeak-like hum that threatened to erupt.

  She tried to focus instead on what she was seeing, the raw wooden floor, the soothing cream walls, the colourful artwork and the various plants, all much the same as her sui
te. Monique herself was the picture of sunshine, her button-down dress a lemon-yellow, her hair pulled back from her face by a floral band, and her white slip-on shoes flat and quiet as she walked. Jasmine’s gold heels, on the other hand, click-clacked with a deafening resonance, her dress feeling too clingy and cloying.

  Or was it more that her senses were in tingling overdrive as she fretted over the person she was about to meet?

  It had taken M months to find him—months! She’d almost forgotten she’d signed up for the service when the email had pinged to say they had her match... Okay, so she’d tried to forget but, still, here she was...with him.

  Just him.

  On an entire island that was theirs for the duration. Rosalie Island. It even sounded romantic. The only other people here were the Golden Key resort staff, on hand to cater to their every whim...

  At least her match had been properly vetted. A properly vetted man couldn’t turn out to be some axe-wielding serial killer. A possibility she’d thrown at Sadie and Izzy who’d both just rolled their eyes and blamed the crazy notion on her overactive imagination. They had then reminded her of the ridiculous sum each client had to pay up front and suggested that at least he would be a very rich axe murder who didn’t need to feast off her wealth.

  But who exactly was her perfect match? She certainly didn’t know, and there was a part of her curious to find out.

  Only one man had ever come close to perfect...

  ‘Freddie. Freddie. Freddie.’

  Both Sadie and Izzy were in her head again, rolling their eyes dramatically.

  ‘Forget about Freddie!’

  And they were right. She could not—would not—compare her match to him like she had every other partner she’d been involved with over the years. She had to stop.

  The love one felt as a teenager, that first love—the lust, the heat, the newness of it all—made it intense. It had the power to sweep you off your feet. But she was an adult now, she didn’t need a fairy tale.

  And waiting for her at the lighthouse was a man who could potentially be ‘the one’.