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Imperfect Love: Hostile Fakeover (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 6


  “Of course,” I smile.

  “Noah Tate, this is my uh, my uh…”

  “Girlfriend?” I let out a light laugh, holding out my hand. “Bianca Black.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Noah takes my hand, his grip soft yet firm. “I’m sorry that my wife, Olivia, couldn’t be here tonight, but she had a prior engagement.”

  Olivia Tate, now that is someone I can look up to. She doesn’t let any stone go unturned and has a way of making sure each and every client is taken care of. I haven’t had the pleasure of working with her yet, but thanks to Ford and his lined pockets, we have hired the services of Tate and Cane to get the ball rolling on our marketing campaign.

  “We received a basket from her earlier, and I have to say, that was a nice touch.” Ford takes his arm from around my waist and sticks his hands into his pockets.

  Ford isn’t usually a nervous person, but tonight he is super fidgety. Maybe it’s the marketing commitment?

  Hmmm.

  Noah looks at his watch. “Well, I better get going. Again, congratulations on the opening. We look forward to marketing both Candlelight and Spotlight.” He shakes both our hands again. “We have a few ideas to run by you next week.”

  “Sounds good. See you then.” We wish Noah well, walking him to the door.

  “Miss Black?” Lauren, the evening’s hostess, walks up to me. “We have a potential buyer in the back room, inquiring about a single canvas.”

  “Thanks, Lauren. I’ll go grab the information and head back there.”

  “I’ll head that way,” Ford volunteers.

  I kiss him on the cheek. “Thanks, babe.”

  **********

  Flipping through the papers, I don’t see anything for this mysterious painting in the back. Actually, I don’t remember assigning anything to this room.

  “Hey, babe.” Ford is standing in front of the painting, smiling.

  “Oh, there is one.” I flip through the list one more time. “Where’s the buyer?”

  He shrugs his shoulders.

  “Oh!”

  “I know…” Ford stands there, hands still in his pockets. Both of us look at the disaster before us.

  “What’s this and how did it get into my gallery?” I’m slightly irritated it’s displayed in here. “Is this some kind of joke?” I scan the room for cameras, maybe a crew ready to pop out from behind a curtain or false wall.

  “I don’t know. I kind of like it. Has a paint-by-number vibe going on.” His head tilts right, then left.

  “Well, it’s bright, that is for sure.” I laugh. “Who is this anyway? I can’t find the papers.” I close the gap and look at the display card.

  “Marry Me”

  Artist: Ford Phillips.

  Covering my mouth I look at Ford, now down on one knee, ring in hand. “Bianca Black, before you, my world was dull and grey. Then you came along and painted your way into my heart, filling my life with color. Marry me. Be my perfect shade forever.”

  “Ford…” I cover my mouth, holding out my hand. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!”

  Sliding the ring onto my finger, he hops up and swings me around. “I love you B.”

  He peppers kisses along my face.

  “I hope there is more where that came from.” I look at my watch. “You think we could close early?”

  “We can do whatever we want….go flip the sign.”

  CLOSED a.k.a.

  The End

  What’s Next?

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  Battlefield of Love Series

  Love Conquer (Battlefield of Love Series, #3) – Nina’s Story

  Books by Cary Hart

  Battlefield of Love Series

  Love War (Battlefield of Love Series, #1)

  Love Divide (Battlefield of Love Series, #2)

  Love Conquer (Battlefield of Love Series, #3) (Coming January 2018)

  Imperfect Love Series Kindle World

  Hostile Fakeover

  SHVKW The Forever Series

  Building Forever

  Saving Forever

  Broken Forever

  Chasing Forever (Coming Spring 2018)

  About the Author

  Cary Hart hails from the Midwest. A sassy, coffee-drinking, sometimes sailor swearing (Shhh…don’t tell.), wine-sipping, Spotify addict, lover of all things books!

  When not pushing women down the stairs in the fictional world, Cary has her hands full. She is blessed to be the sports mom of two wild and crazy, spoiled kiddos, and wife to the most supportive husband (took a few years to train). In addition to working full-time, she bakes cookies on the side to fund her newly found love of writing and to keep her Sephora VIB Rouge status. The addiction is real, folks!

  Believe it or not, writing was never a dream for Cary. Reading was something she never enjoyed growing up. All it took was one friend, who went MIA for a weekend on a book binge, to share her passion and loan an ebook, lighting a fire inside her. Two years and hundreds of ebooks later, she connected with one of her favorite authors, who patiently listened to her plot ideas. Her encouragement and saying those three little words — “You write it!” — changed everything! So, welcome! Hop on board, and enjoy the ride!

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  Acknowledgements

  To everyone who came in contact with me during the making of this book. I’m sorry. Seriously though, I love you all. There is no way ini the world, and I know I say this all the time, but I’m for real, no way I could have done it without you. EVER! So, thank you! Thank you for believing in me and for giving me a reason to keep on trucking along.

  First and foremost I want to thank Kendall Ryan for allowing me to play in her world and Inkslingers for just being the bomb digity! Alyssa – love our convos and you! Thank you for putting up with me.

  Brittany, You are the cream to my coffee. Thanks for being you!#BFF #TwinningIsWinning

  Stephanie, you whore! I just love it when you call me a dork. Makes my day. Every. Single. Time.. . The End. #IGotMine #WaffleFries #ItsTheSauce #SlutNugget #HippyShit