It Takes a Hero Read online

  Perry lay sprawled on the bed, with manuscript pages scattered in front of him

  Letter to Reader

  Title Page

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  Copyright

  Perry lay sprawled on the bed, with manuscript pages scattered in front of him

  Her manuscript, Kristin realized nervously.

  “Perry?”

  Looking up, he focused on her, then set aside the page in his hand. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. Feeling awkward, she tightened the sash on her robe as he moved toward her. ‘I’m afraid I got carried away with my notes. I’m sorry...”

  Before she could finish the sentence, his mouth was on hers. By the time Perry finally drew back for air, Kristin was clinging to him helplessly, her knees almost too weak to support her. “What—?”

  “I love your book,” he murmured against her lips.

  “Especially the hero.”

  He was grinning like a fool—which she found as endearing as it was baffling. “I’m about ten pages from finishing it. I still don’t know who the blackmailer is. Why don’t you put me out of my misery and tell me.”

  She grinned at him impishly. “You’ll just have to read it for yourself.”

  He nuzzled her temple. “C’mon, Kristin. Tell me who it is.” When she didn’t respond, his hands undid the sash on her robe. Then, pushing the material off one shoulder, he said wickedly, “I have ways of making you talk...”

  Dear Reader,

  In 1999 Harlequin will celebrate its 50th anniversary in North America. Canadian publishing executive Richard Bonnycastle founded the company in 1949. Back then, they published a wide variety of American and British paperbacks—from mysteries and Westerns, to classics and cookbooks. In later years, the company focused on romance exclusively, and today Harlequin is the world’s leading publisher of series romance fiction. Our books are sold in over one hundred countries and published in more than twenty-three languages. Love stories are a universal experience!

  Harlequin Temptation is delighted to help celebrate this very special anniversary. We’re throwing a bachelor auction...and you’re invited! Join five of our leading authors as they put a sexy hero on the auction block. Sparks fly when the heroines get a chance to bid on their fantasy men.

  In It Takes a Hero, bestselling author Gina Wilkins deals with a subject she knows very well—romance. What is romance novelist Kristin Cole going to do when she runs into a chronic case of writer’s block? What else? She buys a hero! Gina, the author of more than fifty books, has been with Temptation since 1987 and has become a favorite with readers all over the world. Watch for Gina’s By Request collection, Holding Out For a Hero, available in June 1999.

  Each month, we strive to bring you the very best stories and writers. And we plan to keep doing that for the next fifty years!

  Happy Anniversary,

  Birgit Davis-Todd

  Senior Editor

  Harlequin Temptation

  Gina Wilkins

  IT TAKES A HERO

  TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON

  AMSTERDAM • PARIS • SYDNEY • HAMBURG

  STOCKHOLM • ATHENS • TOKYO • MILAN • MADRID

  PRAGUE • WARSAW • BUDAPEST • AUCKLAND

  Prologue

  PERRY GOODMAN STOOD backstage at the glamorous, luxurious Waldorf-Astoria and wished he were somewhere else. Anywhere else. He tugged at the collar of his tuxedo, feeling as if it were strangling him. In his work as a political strategist, he wore tuxedos often, and even liked dressing up on occasion. But tonight, he would much rather have been wearing his old, shabby Denver Broncos sweatshirt and a pair of jeans.

  He usually enjoyed working a crowded room, being the center of attention, making himself and his political candidates and causes well known. That was why he’d chosen a career in behind-the-scenes politics; because he enjoyed interacting with people, because he cared deeply about his political party’s agenda and wanted to make a positive difference. But on this particular evening, he’d rather be parked on his couch in front of the TV. Alone.

  He peeked around the edge of the curtain at the poor schlemiel standing at the end of a runway that reminded him uncomfortably of fashion shows and beauty pageants. The glittering ballroom was filled to capacity with people—mostly women—and all eyes were turned to the latest offering in the charity bachelor auction being sponsored by Heart Books. The last Perry had heard, the bidding was up to nearly five thousand dollars for the guy.

  At two hundred and fifty dollars per head for admission, in addition to the bids rolling in during the auction, the literacy groups for which the money was being raised should benefit quite nicely from the evening. That satisfying knowledge gave Perry the fortitude to lift his chin and vow to himself that he would get through this, and he would do it with style. He wouldn’t have chosen on his own to stroll down that runway and offer himself for a weekend to the highest bidder, but it was all for a very good cause. Hadn’t he just reminded himself that he wanted to make a positive difference—in any way he could?

  And, besides, the damned Broncos had lost a game on which Perry had placed a friendly bet with an old friend of his who happened to work in Heart Books’ publicity department Perry had never welshed on a bet in his life.

  He told himself he might even find the weekend—and his purchaser—amusing, which would be a nice change from some of the evenings-from-hell he’d spent since his engagement fell apart a year ago. Of course, given that the woman would probably be an avid romance novel fan, he hoped she wasn’t expecting more fantasy than reality.

  He’d never actually read a romance novel, and had never been particularly interested in doing so, considering them something only women would enjoy. But Perry knew when to keep his opinions to himself. For the sake of the charity, the bet he’d made, and for his own up-and-coming reputation, he would pretend interest in the books and their fans—one fan, in particular. The one who would “buy” him for a weekend.

  1

  MAYBE IT WAS THE CHAMPAGNE that made Kristin Cole offer several thousand dollars for a weekend with an attractive stranger. She didn’t usually indulge in more than a few sips, but her vivacious table companions kept filling her glass and making witty toasts to the various bachelors who appeared on the stage at the front of the huge, crowded, glittering ballroom. Kristin found herself laughing and joining in, to the delighted approval of her mother, Sophie, who sat beside her, urging her on.

  Kristin certainly hadn’t intended to bid on anyone when she’d arrived at the bachelor auction. She was here because, as the author of a dozen romance novels, she wanted to support her publisher in raising money for literacy, a. cause Kristin wholeheartedly supported. And because it had sounded like fun to spend an evening with her editor and some of her writer friends—as well as her mother, who’d heard about the event and had immediately decided to attend.

  Kristin was also aware that this function made a convenient excuse to avoid her computer for a few days. She grimaced at the thought of that blank computer monitor waiting for her at home. Lately she’d fancied that the empty screen mirrored her painfully idea-deprived mind. And, as the deadline for her next contracted project grew closer and closer, her desperation increased.

  “What’s the matter, Kristin?” Sophie Cole challenged her daughter, misreading the frown. “You don’t care for gorgeous stock analysts?”

  Forcing her
thoughts away from the problem that had been tormenting her for the past few months, Kristin glanced at the stage, then pasted on a smile and shook her head. “He’s attractive enough, but I really prefer dark-haired men.”

  Sophie made a face. “Honey, the last thing anyone would notice about that hunk is the color of his hair. Look at those shoulders. And that nice, firm...”

  “Mother.” Kristin rolled her eyes as the other four women at their table laughed. “Try not to completely embarrass me, will you?”

  Sophie only grinned and sipped her champagne, her eyes focused appreciatively on the latest bachelor. Sophie Cole was fifty-four, but could have passed for nearly ten years younger. Her bright red hair was artfully tousled, and she kept her figure firm and trim through exercise and constant activity. Because of her longtime, almost religious adherence to sunscreen and moisturizers, there were only a few lines around her eyes and mouth, and those had been carved by her quick, contagious smiles. Widowed for nearly twenty years, she was amusing, fun-loving, impulsive and unpredictable. And Kristin adored her, despite their differences.

  To Kristin’s exasperation and their dining companions’ amusement, Sophie had offered to “buy a man” for her daughter’s upcoming thirtieth birthday. Kristin had only glared at her and told her to forget it. After her last romantic debacle, Kristin hadn’t been particularly interested in dating anyone, especially a total stranger.

  The blond stock analyst was purchased by an excited-looking woman at the table next to them. Everyone cheered as the woman—a writer Kristin had met on several occasions—triumphantly pumped the air with her fist.

  “Isn’t this fun?” Kristin’s editor, Joyce Milhollen, asked from her seat at Kristin’s left. Happily married, Joyce wasn’t placing any bids, but she seemed to be enjoying the evening immensely. ”I can’t believe how much money is being spent tonight. The fund-raiser is going to be a huge success.”

  Kristin smiled and nodded. “It certainly looks like it.”

  “Your mother seems to be having a good time.”

  Kristin glanced to her right, noting that Sophie was engaged in a lively conversation with another writer and a woman who worked in the marketing department. “My mother always has a good time.”

  “And what about you? Are you enjoying the evening? ” Joyce studied Kristin’s face as she asked the question, making Kristin wonder if Joyce had any idea of the stress she was dealing with.

  Kristin answered with a breeziness she hoped was convincing. “Oh, I’m having a great time.”

  Someone else claimed Joyce’s attention then, and Kristin almost sighed in relief. She hadn’t discussed her recent writing difficulties with anyone—not her editor, her agent, her friends, or even her mother. She’d been afraid that if she voiced the problem—actually said the dreaded words writer’s block—she would only make it all the more real.

  “Would you look at this one?” Sophie sighed when another bachelor was introduced. Large closed-circuit TV screens showed close-ups of the man to those who sat too far away from the stage to see him clearly.

  Kristin glanced at one of those screens, noting that he looked to be in his late forties, with tanned skin, clear blue eyes and hair that had gone silver around his ruggedly handsome face. The MC, whose sparkling commentary had kept the audience laughing throughout the evening, introduced him as Jack Burnett, airline pilot. He was an avid sky diver, and his date package involved both parachutes and ballroom dancing.

  “Now, there’s a romance hero—and a great date,” Joyce said with an appreciative sigh. “If I were you, Kristin, I’d bid on that one.”

  Kristin was just about to remind her editor that she didn’t intend to bid on anyone when her mother spoke, instead.

  “Sorry, darling. This one is mine.” Sophie threw her hand in the air for an opening bid of a thousand dollars. Her large, splashy rings glittered in the light, easily catching the attention of the auctioneer. “Is he scrumptious or what?”

  “Mother!” Kristin could almost feel her jaw dropping. “What are you doing?”

  A woman at the front of the room raised the bid to fifteen hundred dollars. Sophie promptly bid two thousand, then answered her daughter’s question. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m buying a date with that delicious-looking man.”

  “A date that includes jumping out of an airplane? Have you lost your mind?”

  “It’s something I’ve always meant to try.” Sophie upped her bid again against the woman at the front table.

  The bidding was spirited and good-natured. And in the end, to their companions’ delight and Kristin’s dismay, Sophie was the winner, paying five thousand dollars for a chance to leap out of a plane with a silver-haired bachelor.

  “I cannot believe you did that,” Kristin muttered, making herself heard over the excited chattering around them.

  “Oh, lighten up, Kristin. Wouldn’t hurt you to do the same thing.” Sophie refilled her daughter’s champagne flute and then her own. “Let’s toast my success, shall we?”

  Two bachelors and several toasts later, Kristin finally stopped trying to retain her common sense. Bidding was fast and furious for the remaining bachelors, and she found herself cheering the participants as enthusiastically as the rest of the crowd. It was fun, it was all for a wonderful cause, it was a much-needed change of pace from her usual routines...why not make the most of the evening? And maybe, she told herself with a slight edge of desperation, she would go home with a brilliant idea for her book.

  Maybe it was the champagne...

  “And now, ladies, may I introduce Perry Goodman,” the MC sang out after an introductory buildup Kristin hadn’t paid much attention to. Something about politics, she thought. And a date package that included attendance at one of the biggest, most exclusive political fund-raiser galas of the season, to be held later in the week, on Thursday evening.

  The noisy applause that welcomed the newest bachelor onto the stage surprised Kristin. Maybe he wasn’t a politician. Maybe he was an actor or well-known athlete who simply planned to attend the political gala with his date. She had rarely heard this type of starstruck applause for a politician. She wished she’d listened a little more carefully. Leaning closer to Joyce, she asked, “Who is this guy?”

  Joyce seemed startled by the question. “You’ve never heard of Perry Goodman?”

  Kristin frowned in concentration. The name sounded a little familiar...but she couldn’t quite place it. “I don’t think so.”

  “I take it you don’t follow politics?”

  Wrinkling her nose, Kristin shook her head. “Politics bores me,” she admitted. “It all seems so phony and pretentious.”

  “Surely you’ve heard of Perry Goodman, Kristin, ” her mother said. “He’s on television all the time. Why, he was on Meet the Press just last Sunday.”

  “I was probably watching the classic movie channel, if anything,” Kristin replied with a shrug.

  “You know I don’t follow politics, Mother. Is this guy running for something?”

  “He doesn’t run, himself. He’s a political strategist. He’s the brains behind the campaigns of the politicians who hire him.”

  “Oh.” Kristin shifted her chair to give her a better view of the man who was the center of all this attention. She felt her eyes widen. “Oh, my.”

  Sophie laughed along with the others in response to Kristin’s dumbstruck expression. “Well, this is encouraging. My daughter isn’t totally immune to a stunningly good-looking young man, after all.”

  Stunned was exactly the word to describe Kristin’s reaction as she stared at the enlarged, projected close-up of Perry Goodman. But good-looking was a woefully inadequate description of the man. He was...beautiful, she decided, feeling her cheeks go warm. Thick, wavy dark hair, obviously styled by an expert. Glittering hazel eyes, surrounded by thick, dark lashes. Classic, clean-cut features. A sexy smile that revealed straight white teeth. And dimples. Oh, heavens, did the man have dimples!

  I
t occurred to her suddenly that he looked exactly like the hero she’d described in the book she’d been trying to write for the past few months. She couldn’t have described him more closely if she’d been looking at his photograph when she’d created her hero, Nick O’Donnell.

  “If I weren’t married, I would bid on that one myself,” Joyce murmured.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to buy him for your birthday, sweetie?” Sophie asked, looking as though she needed only a hint of encouragement to jump into the opening bid.

  “Forget it, Mother,” Kristin replied, though her tone lacked its earlier firmness.

  She couldn’t seem to stop staring at him. That thick hair. Those dimples. That confident, just slightly cocky air about him. Was it possible that she had seen the guy on television some time and unconsciously turned him into a romance hero?

  The bidding started at a thousand dollars. Within a matter of moments, it had risen to more than five thousand.

  “Some lucky woman is going to have a spectacular weekend,” Sophie murmured with a sigh. “Maybe I should buy him for myself. Then I’d have two great dates lined up.”

  As if Sophie Cole ever lacked for great dates, Kristin thought wryly. Sophie’s social calendar made her daughter’s look positively boring. Probably because it was boring, she thought with a slight wince. Since her painful breakup with Jim Hooper, she hadn’t met anyone she trusted enough to risk dating again. She’d assured her mother repeatedly that she wouldn’t allow one terrible mistake to ruin her life forever, but it hadn’t been easy to recover from an affair that had left her doubting her ability to know a good man when she saw one.