Bombshell: A BWWM Billionaire Amnesia Romance Suspense Novel by Mia Caldwell Read Free Book Online Page A

say she’d never told him. “You’re adopted, honey, you never knew your parents.”
    Joann shot Merrick a now-you’ve-gone-too-far expression. Merrick returned his focus to Bombshell, whose full lower lip was sticking out in a sweet kissable pout.
    “I was adopted?” she asked. “That’s so sad.”
    Her eyes were tearing up again. Merrick felt like a heel. Why did he say that? Did he have to kill her parents?
    “Okay, so I was adopted, but surely you can tell me other things about my life. What do I do? Where do I live? How did we meet?”
    Merrick squirmed. Was she playing him? He watched her face for any sign of sarcasm. But there was nothing. He couldn’t think of any way to answer her questions. He gulped.
    To his relief and gratitude, Joann came to his rescue, motioning for Merrick to get off the couch and then taking his spot.
    “Bombshell,” she said as she took the girl’s hands in hers. “That’s enough talking for now. You need more rest. Sleep another hour or so, and then we’ll get you dressed and take you up to your fiancé’s cabin. Then the two of you can get reacquainted and you can have all your questions answered.”
    “That’s right,” Merrick said, standing up to go. “I’ve got some work to do. I’ll see you later.” He leaned down to kiss her lightly on the top of her head, then walked out the front door, the smell of honeysuckle and cinnamon lingering on his lips.
    When he got back to the cabin, he used the house phone and called Tony.
    “Tony, were you able to book the bird?”
    “Nice to hear your voice, too, bro.”
    “Sorry – I’m a little preoccupied.”
    “I bet. Rescuing damsels in distress, and avoiding work.”
    “Are you coming anytime soon or not?”
    “Not. Can’t come until tonight.”
    “Good, then we can be back in Atlantic City before midnight.”
    “What? Hell, no. Merrick. No pilot is going to fly in those mountains after dark. You better have a room for me and the pilot – ’cause we’re spending the night. And besides, I want to see that legendary fishing creek of yours.”
    “Fine, but I want to leave right after breakfast tomorrow, and I need another favor.”
    “What, dude? You’re starting to push it. You’re going to owe me so much.”
    “I need new identification for Bombshell.”
    “For who?”
    “The damsel in distress. That’s her stage name. She doesn’t have any identification, and I need you to get her some. Also, I want to take her to the hospital tomorrow, so add her to the payroll and backdate her start date so the insurance company doesn’t give us any crap.”
    “You don’t ask for much, do you, bro?”
    After clarifying exactly what he wanted on the identification and what pay rate and position Mona Lisa Van Dyke would have at the hotel, he thought about the other issue.
    “Have you said anything to Mom about what’s going on?”
    “Nope, just that you got in a bar fight and lost an eye.”
    Merrick snorted. If he’d told Mama G that bit of news, she’d have flown the helicopter herself to check on him. “Seriously, what does she know?”
    “Nothing, except… okay, she was getting on my case again about Calista being gone, so I told her you found a new performer.”
    Merrick gulped. Now he really needed Bombshell to come back with him to Atlantic City. “Well, at least you didn’t tell her what I told the girl. That would flip her out,” Merrick said, unable to stifle a laugh.
    “What? What did you tell the girl?” Tony prodded.
    “I told you that she’s got amnesia, right?”
    “Yeah, you mentioned that.”
    “Well, I wanted to make sure she’d come back to Atlantic City, so I told her that the two of us were engaged.”
    “Bro. No way!” Tony said. “Oh, that’s priceless. Wait until Mama G hears this.”
    “No, Tony, you can’t tell her!”
    Merrick gaped at the phone. Tony had hung up. He called him back right away, but Tony had already transferred his phone to the answering service. Damn