Margot sucked in a breath.
“I know! Thirty days!”
“Did you say Wellington?”
Please don’t say Bentley. Let it be Brant, he always had a teasing smile, or Brock, the serious one. No it wouldn’t be Brock; didn’t he just get married?
“Bentley Wellington!” Her grandmother shouted with glee, confirming Margot’s worst fears and causing her eyes to search the room for her bottle of Xanax. “Lovely man. When he keeps it in his pants, which, let’s hope for the sake of my great grandchildren he doesn’t—”
Tears burned the back of Margot’s eyes as she blinked away the blurry vision of a boy she’d always wanted.
And never had.
He was a man now.
Featured in Forbes, among other magazines.
He dated supermodels, celebrities, pretty women.
Not her.
She glanced down at her right prosthetic leg. The amputation had been made right below her knee, so while her thigh looked normal, there was no foot, no ankle, no toes.
Definitely not women like her.
“Oh, must go, I’ll fill you in later on the more pertinent details.” Her grandmother hung up before Margot could protest.
Why would Bentley even agree to be auctioned off? It made no logical sense. He was either that bored, stupid, or doing it for good PR. God knew he needed it, since he’d allegedly been having an affair with a senator’s wife; not that the rumors were ever confirmed.
And now she was going to be stuck with him.
Margot shook her head at the memory of his smile and wandered over to the window. A sense of dread filled her as a red sports car sped up her driveway, scaring the crap out of every small creature in its way and kicking up enough dust to make the road nearly impossible to see.
Bentley Wellington had arrived.
Acknowledgments
I could list all the hundreds of people who made this book possible. And I often do. I thank everyone in my life and I still always forget someone. It’s ridiculous. It takes the whole world (or at least it seems) to get a book off the ground.
First, I’m so thankful that God has given me this incredible opportunity—all honor and glory always goes to him first. Second, my family is amazing for putting up with me when I’m on deadline! My husband took our son on a lot of walks when mama was “typing” furiously at her computer trying to finish this book!
My amazing PA, Jill—more of a sister to me than anything: Thank you for your tireless hours working with me and thanks for being just amazing in general.
My beta readers, sister Kristin Van Dyken (Vayden, her books rock!) Liza Tice, Jill, and Jessica Prince (more awesome books): Thank you for always being honest with me!
To Bae (you know you who are) and Wife (aka Lauren Layne): Thanks for keeping me sane on most days and not thinking I’m crazy when I send you wine texts at noon that go, “It’s almost five in New York, right? RIGHT?”
Erica: the best agent in the world. No, seriously, guys. I fully think she would take a bullet for me (let’s not ask her though, just in case) LOL. She is one of the hardest working agents out there, I still pinch myself when I think about how lucky I am to have her in my corner. If she ever breaks up with me, I’m stalking her (You know I would too, Erica).
Amy: Hehe, this is our first “real” project together. I was terrified. I know how honest you are. But I also know you know what you’re talking about. Thanks for taking an “OK” book and making it spectacular, because I truly feel like you made magic. You completely shoved me off a cliff and out of my comfort zone, and for that I will always be thankful. You are absolutely fearless when it comes to editing, and I’m so blessed to also be able to call you my friend.
I’m so happy to be back with Forever Romance.
Dani and Inkslinger PR: Thanks for all your hard work with getting this book ready, and bloggers, GAH! You are incredible; thank you for all that you do! I know I don’t say it enough!
Readers: There’s a reason you distracted me from deadlines; I literally just want to hang out with you guys all the time and talk about all the books. Thank you for being so loyal, so dedicated, and just being like family to me. I love you all so much!!
I hope you enjoyed Brock’s story! Look for more of the Bachelors of Arizona in the next book, where we see Bentley get his ass handed to him ;)
Hugs,
RVD
About the Author
Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of Regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.
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Also by Rachel Van Dyken
The Bet series
The Bet
The Wager
Eagle Elite series
Elite
Elect
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
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
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
A Preview of The Playboy Bachelor
About the Author
Also by Rachel Van Dyken
Newsletters
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by Rachel Van Dyken
Excerpt from The Playboy Bachelor copyright © 2016 by Rachel Van Dyken
Cover design by Elizabeth Turner
Cover photography by Claudio Marinesco
Cover photograph © Trinette Reed/GettyImages
Cover copyright © 2016 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the c
reative works that enrich our culture.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First Edition: October 2016
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ISBN 978-1-4555-9871-7 (mass market edition)
ISBN 978-1-4555-9870-0 (ebook edition)
E3-20160830-DA-PC