The CEO Daddy Next Door by Karen Booth Read Free Book Online Page B

you, Ashley.” Maryann pointed right at her. “It’s my job to know if you have a boyfriend. There’s no way this got past me.”
    Ashley fought the urge to roll her eyes. People like Maryann were exactly the reason she sometimes hated the business of being a so-called celebrity. “We’re neighbors, Maryann. That’s how we met, and that’s how we kept it quiet.”
    â€œRight across the hall from each other, as fate would have it,” Marcus added.
    Marcus had spoken so quickly that it was as if he was finishing her sentence. It came across as perfectly natural and seamless, nothing at all like the true nature of their relationship.
    â€œAnd?” Maryann asked. “I want juicy details. This is your chance, you know. I could plaster you two all over our home page tomorrow morning. Our site is insanely good for business.”
    Just then, a photographer popped up behind Maryann and snapped some pictures. The network had granted several news outlets unlimited access to the party. Including Maryann’s trashy website, apparently.
    â€œIt’s quite simple.” Marcus put his arm around Ashley. “We went on a date and sparks flew.”
    Ashley would’ve beamed at the fact that he’d remembered he was supposed to mention sparks if she wasn’t so dumbstruck by having his solid arm draped across her shoulder. He tugged her closer, the way a real boyfriend would. He was even rubbing her upper arm with his fingertips in gentle, swirling circles. She had to make a conscious decision to remain standing. Either the gin was getting to her or that soft brush of his skin on hers was making her light-headed.
    â€œI just think it’s weird that I haven’t seen you two out anywhere together. This isn’t some sort of publicity stunt, is it? We got a zillion comments on those pictures of you buying ice cream, and that wasn’t that long ago. The timing seems a little convenient. I know Grace. She’s a brilliant publicist. There’s no way she was going to let those pictures go unanswered.”
    If Ashley could’ve chosen a superpower at that moment, it would’ve been the ability to make Maryann invisible. As in gone. They needed to get away from her, if only for her own sanity. She put her arm around Marcus’s waist and rested her head against his shoulder. She also kicked the side of his shoe as slyly as possible. “Sorry. No big conspiracy.” Just a little one.
    Marcus cleared his throat and cast his sights at Ashley. Judging by the look in his eyes, he’d caught Ashley’s drift. “Shall we mingle a bit, love? I’m sure you have an awful lot of people you need to speak with tonight.” Marcus turned away, but Maryann grabbed Ashley’s arm.
    â€œAnd a British gin magnate who’s a calendar model?” Maryann asked. “A little heavy-handed, don’t you think?”
    Marcus spun around and confronted Maryann head-on. “I’m sorry, but that calendar is for charity, and there’s nearly twenty years of tradition behind it. And my occupation is what it is. My family has been making gin for well over a century. As for the rest of the things you’re insinuating, this is Ashley’s big night, and I believe it’s time for us to, uh...” He scanned the room. “It’s time for us to have our first dance.”
    He grabbed Ashley’s hand and barreled through the crowd with her in his wake. They arrived on the dance floor in little time. He settled one hand in hers, placed the other on her waist and steered them toward the center, away from Maryann. “I’m sorry, but we had to get away from that dreadful woman. You do know how to dance, don’t you?”
    â€œOf course I do.” As a little girl, Ashley had spent many sweltering summer evenings out on the wraparound porch, listening to music with her parents, learning to dance like a lady. The music