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  ‘You’re overthinking things,’ he told her, his tone curt. ‘I’m here to do a job. This is part of it.’

  ‘Except this isn’t your job, is it? You’re standing in for your sister.’

  ‘She and I have the same skills.’

  ‘But you haven’t been vetted by the agency. For all I know you’re a master criminal, preparing to rob me of everything I own.’

  He snorted. ‘Your imagination is something.’

  She opened her mouth to reply, but he continued before she could.

  ‘My name is Tyler Murphy. Look me up. I own an online education company. We provide courses aimed at older students, accredited by the government. There are multiple articles about me, including a detailed personal history, all of which should address your concerns about me being a master criminal. Among other things,’ he added coolly.

  She had no idea what he meant by that.

  Eyeing him suspiciously, she took out her phone and typed in his name. Everything he said was true.

  ‘This doesn’t make what you and your sister are doing okay.’

  ‘Believe me, if there was another choice we wouldn’t be doing it.’

  Oddly, she believed him. She didn’t approve, but she understood. She would have stood in for her brother in a heartbeat if he’d needed her—although she doubted she would be able to do Dom’s job as a police officer.

  ‘Fine. I won’t tell the agency, but obviously you’re on probation.’

  ‘Obviously,’ he said blandly.

  She lifted her brows. ‘Since you have your own company, you might not know how to interact with an employer. Generally you don’t sass them. Nor do you imply that they don’t have authority in their own homes, with their own pets.’

  He had the grace to wince. ‘I’m sorry about that. I realised it was a mistake as soon as I said it.’

  ‘No, you realised it was a mistake as soon as I pointed it out.’

  She hadn’t fully appreciated his face until that moment, when his mouth curved into an almost-smile. It softened his eyes, edging the colour from brown into green in a startlingly contrary way. Or perhaps it wasn’t a softening, but a sparkle. An acknowledgement of sass and truth that was delightful on the hard angles of his face. It cast a light on his stormy features—on the dark brows and lashes, the tight pursing of his lips—and she wasn’t sure she liked it.

  Liar, said an inner voice.

  Mind your business, she mentally replied.

  She couldn’t say much more than that.

  ‘You’re right.’

  ‘I know,’ she said primly, before looking down at Mochi. He was sitting calmly on the floor between them, panting blissfully with his legs crossed. ‘You’re a show-off, Mochi.’

  ‘Why do you say that?’ Tyler asked.

  His eyes were sparkling with vague amusement now. Something prickled in her body.

  She cleared her throat. ‘He’s very well behaved around people, but as soon as you leave he’ll do what he did outside.’

  ‘Play?’

  ‘Yeah, if you mean it in a play me kind of way.’

  ‘I didn’t, but I guess that works.’

  He smiled now. A full smile. An easy smile. The kind of smile that made her think of summer and driving through the city. With the sun streaming through the windows, heating her face, her arms, her legs. She could almost hear the music through the speakers.Could almost feel Kian’s fingers twined through hers—

  Her heart stopped.

  For a few seconds, her heart just stopped.

  Because she’d looked at one man, this man in front of her, and thought about her dead husband. And that didn’t feel right. It felt complicated. She didn’t even want to think it through.

  His smile disappeared.

  ‘Tia’s briefed me on what you require,’ he said formally.

  She wondered at the change. There was no possible way he could know what she had been thinking.

  ‘I understand what my responsibilities will be in the coming weeks. And I am good with dogs. As you can see.’

  He lowered his hand to his side. Mochi immediately stood, placing his head directly beneath Tyler’s fingers.

  Brooke tilted her head. ‘Neat trick.’

  ‘It’s not a trick, Ms Jansen.’ He gave her a cocky smile.

  Why did the man have so many variations of his smile? And why did they all have a familiar shimmer of awareness going through her?

  ‘I need time to think through this situation,’ she said, though she hadn’t been prepared to say it. ‘I’ll let you know if you can come back.’

  ‘You’re not hiring me?’ he asked, indignation a hoarse undertone in his voice.

  ‘Not yet, Mr Murphy.’ She picked up her coffee and the sandwich and nodded her head towards the door. ‘Now, do you mind? I’m already late for work.’

  Copyright © 2021 by Therese Beharrie

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  ISBN-13: 9780369712899

  Surprise Reunion with His Cinderella

  Copyright © 2021 by Harlequin Books S.A.

  Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Rachael Stewart for her contribution to the Billion-Dollar Matches miniseries.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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