This CEO has everything!
Except the love of the right woman...
The first time guarded tycoon Theo Molenaar crossed paths with his business partner’s sister Mia Boelens, he was compelled by her bright-eyed beauty. The second time it was her fierce protective instincts. Now there are too many things to count... Theo knows all too well you can’t believe appearances. But Mia’s the first woman with whom he’s felt his secret—and his heart—might actually be safe...
Mia closed the bedroom door and rolled back against it, her cheeks aching with smiles.
Had she just ridden pillion through Amsterdam behind Theo Molenaar? She was tingling. That moment when she’d turned around and he’d been right there in front of her... Hello, Mia. How she hadn’t collapsed with shock, she’d never know. There were over a million people in Amsterdam. Bumping into Theo—literally—was a one in a million chance.
One in a million!
She held her breath, listened to him moving about in the salon, little creaks, the thud of his feet as he walked over the rug. On the bike he’d made her laugh until her sides ached. Those little quips he’d made, their easy back and forth as they’d wheeled along. He was funny as well as gorgeous—an irresistible combination. She pressed her hands to her cheeks. She didn’t have to look in the mirror to know she was flushed, and it wasn’t because of the champagne, or because of the cool breeze whipping at her face as they’d flown through the streets. It was because of Theo.
Dear Reader,
I’m very excited to bring you my third title for Harlequin Romance, Unlocking the Tycoon’s Heart.
I’m half Dutch (on my father’s side), so I thought it would be great fun to write a story set in Amsterdam. In truth, I’m not that familiar with the city (I’ve been there only twice), but since my camera accompanies me everywhere, especially when I’m walking around foreign cities, I was able to use many of my personal photographs to inform my descriptions of the city as experienced by my heroine, Mia. Personal experience counts for a lot when I’m writing, and one particular incident in the story, involving Mia’s cat, is something I actually witnessed (although I have exercised a degree of poetic license in the retelling for the reader’s entertainment). My gorgeous, troubled hero, Theo, was inspired by a Dutch model, although I discovered his nationality only after I had “cast” him in the role. Serendipity plays a huge part in Mia and Theo’s story; it was obviously working for me from the very beginning!
If you want to discover more about this story, I’d love to meet you on social media!
Love,
Ella x
Unlocking the Tycoon’s Heart
Ella Hayes
After ten years as a television camerawoman, Ella Hayes started her own photography business so that she could work around the demands of her young family. As an award-winning wedding photographer, she’s documented hundreds of love stories in beautiful locations, both at home and abroad. She lives in central Scotland with her husband and two grown-up sons. She loves reading, traveling with her camera, running and great coffee.
Books by Ella Hayes
Harlequin Romance
Her Brooding Scottish Heir
Italian Summer with the Single Dad
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.
For Caro...happy memories of Amsterdam 2014!
Praise for
Ella Hayes
“I could go on about how much I enjoyed this book, but would end up spoiling the story for future readers, so I will sum up by saying that this is an excellent debut for Ella Hayes, and Milla and Cormac’s story is wonderfully told to the point that it will stick in the memory after the last page has been turned.”
—Goodreads on Her Brooding Scottish Heir
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Excerpt from Cinderella’s New York Fling by Cara Colter
CHAPTER ONE
‘A SIGNALLING FAULT?’ Mia’s heart caved. She turned away from her laptop, swapped the phone to her other ear. ‘Bloody hell, Ash! Have they said how long?’
‘No...but I’ve got a bad feeling...’
She glanced at her watch. One-fifteen! No wonder her brother sounded tense. After an early-morning business meeting in Kent, he was now stranded on a train on the outskirts of London when he was supposed to be on his way to a two o’clock meeting with Theo Molenaar—in the city centre!
The opportunity to pitch to the CEO of Dutch IT giant MolTec was a massive deal for Ash. If the pitch was successful, it would boost his software development business into the stratosphere, and after everything he’d been through with Harold Kogan it was a boost he sorely needed.
Cheating Hal!
Mia pushed away her pain and refocused. Ash needed solutions, not regrets.
‘I know... What about offering to meet Molenaar in Amsterdam on Monday?’ She tried to sound upbeat. ‘Come back with me on Friday! Stay the weekend! It’s ages since you’ve been over and... Cleuso misses you.’
‘Cleuso’s the stupidest cat alive! He wouldn’t recognise me if he fell over me which, let’s face it, is quite likely.’
She stifled a chuckle. ‘That’s harsh.’
‘The truth often is. We both know that.’
Mia’s momentary lightness evaporated. ‘Halgate’ had blown up eighteen months before but the bitterness lingered. She could hear it in Ash’s voice, could still taste it in the back of her own throat.
Ash had thought that Hal Kogan was going to be the perfect business partner, and she’d thought so too. Smart, articulate Hal—full of energy and confidence. He could hold a room, steer a conversation, handle people without them knowing they were being handled. In business, he was magnetic. In private, he was irresistible. When he’d trapped her in his steady blue gaze, she hadn’t wanted to free herself. He’d filled a space in her heart, and after everything she and Ash had been through it had felt like destiny: Ash and Hal building a business; Mia and Hal building a life. They were a little family. Perhaps she’d wanted it so much that she hadn’t
