Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Me: The lowly sales associate with dirty hands.
Him: Handsome scion of a powerful real estate family.
Me: Poor as a church mouse and eating ramen daily.
Him: Rich beyond my wildest dreams; lives in a mansion on Fifth Avenue, no kidding.
Me: No one listens when I talk. Heck, my manager hardly even recognizes me most of the time!
Him: Powerful. People kowtow when he enters a room and would probably jump off a bridge if he told them to.
But Mr. Lincoln needs a fake fiancée.
To get control of his family’s empire, he says. It won’t be a big deal. It’s just a temporary thing.
So I agree.
After all, what is there to lose? Hot fun, steamy nights, and a Cinderella story for the ages.
But Evan’s left something behind.
It’s not a shoe.
It’s not a ring.
It’s something else, creamy and virile.
Steamy and enticing.
Deep inside my most private part.
And now Evan’s going to be a daddy.
But what if Prince Charming never knows?
This book is a follow-up to Ravished By The Prince. Dive deep into a tale of secret babies, second chances, and our very own Cinderella who finds her happily ever after with a handsome prince. Please note that this book was originally released under the title Unprotected, and has been edited and revised for your reading pleasure. You’ll love it, I promise! Happy trails, Cassie
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1
Maggie
What a gorgeous day!
Sticking a pencil into my messy updo, I turned around from stocking the shelves to peek through the glass doors of the pet shop.
Definitely beautiful. The skies were clear and blue, the sun glowing and warm in the middle of a cloudless sky. Perfect weather.
And from the nips and happy barks coming from the doggie area, I could tell the puppies would love being out there too.
Don’t worry, my friends, came my internal voice. Soon you’ll be with loving families, never fear.
Humming a tune, I finished shelving the last of the heavy bags of dog food that came in last night. As a vet tech at DoggyMart, it’s not normally my job. But Janie, one of the girls who works with me begged me to do it, and I don’t mind helping out.
But whew, it was sweaty work! A small price to pay though for hanging out all day with cute and happy animals. Even when they weren’t so happy, it made me feel amazing to help calm them down.
Strands of curly brown hair fell from the up-do and into my face, sticking clammily to my cheeks. Gosh, I was going to need a shower after I got home. Sweat made my t-shirt stick to my armpits, every nook and crevice a little moist. A long, hot wash was definitely in the works the minute I got back.
Squeak, squeak. The old cart rolled along as I pushed it to the back of the store.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” came my polite voice. “Coming through.”
Obligingly, people made way. Thank goodness because I wanted to get to the puppies asap. I’m a huge animal lover, and working with furry friends is the best part of my job. Even now, I was attuned to the squeak of gerbil wheels. The plaintive meows of kittens. The smaller puppies whining. At least all the bigger dogs were calm today, thank goodness.
Suddenly, Dr. Reynolds popped into view. He’s our in-house vet, a friendly old man with a salt and pepper beard and twinkling blue eyes. Not that different from Santa actually.
“Oh, there you are, Maggie,” he chuckled. “The puppies from that abandoned house from the news just came in. Didn’t you want to see them?”
A big smile flashed over my face.
“Yes, definitely,” came my excited words. But then my face fell. “They’re okay, aren’t they?”
Dr. Reynolds nodded.
“They’re okay this time,” he said reassuringly. “Healthy and active, just like eight-week-old puppies should be. Thank goodness,” he said darkly. “You can never tell with these things.”
I nodded somberly because a lot of animals that come our way aren’t in the best shape. Some have been abused, but most are neglected. I hate to say this of humans, but when it comes to dog versus man, most people choose man. As a result, our canines can be lonely and maladapted. They’re not bad animals, they just don’t know how to behave because no one’s showed them how.
Dr. Reynolds smiled patiently at me and gestured to another pet tech. Slowly, Marvin wheeled out a cart with a huge cage on top. Oh my gosh, they were so cute! No bigger than two hands put together, the dogs rolled and tumbled together, playful and fluffy.
“Hey, babies,” I cooed. “How are you?”
Sitting on the floor next to their cage, I opened it. Immediately, the animals stopped playing and scrambled to the open door to inspect me. All three had shiny brown eyes. Blinking, they perched little paws on the wire rim, poking their noses out experimentally.
“Aren’t you guys so adorable?”
I wriggled my fingers at them but didn’t touch, just letting them sniff for a moment. Soon, the white one with a black patch over his eye like a pirate tumbled out of the crate and wandered over to me, curious like a little monkey. He wobbled on tiny feet.
“You’re the brave one, aren’t you?” I teased with my finger near his face, close but still not touching.
He tumbled into my arms then, making sweet little whimpers. My heart melted. I could literally feel it dissolving into goo because this is why I love my job. Being a pet tech doesn’t pay well, but when an innocent animal overcomes its dark past to trust humans again, I feel redeemed. I feel like I’ve made a difference, however small, in an animal’s life, and happiness coursed through my veins.
It’s why I want to be a vet one day. My part time classes were designed to get me there, but right now, I was only going once a week because credits are expensive, and it’s all I can afford. My dream is to get an A.A., and then go for my B.A. After that, vet school. Sometimes it seems like pie in the sky, but my dream will come true, slowly but surely.
I smiled again, stroking the puppy’s soft head.