Blinded
by Desire
Arabella Sheen
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Cover Copy
Is
Jason ready to give love a chance, and can he capture Beth’s heart?
Jason Andre is
a successful billionaire architect who thinks he can get what he wants when he
wants.
Beth Ashton is
a feisty redhead with an up-and-coming career as a landscape designer. And she
wants nothing to do with Jason.
From the outset, sparks fly between them. She
excites him and he infuriates her.
When Jason’s light aircraft crashes and he loses
his sight, Beth steps in and does exactly what she promised she wouldn’t do…she
works for him.
Are
Beth and Jason destined to love or is passion and desire the only thing on
offer?
Chapter One - Excerpt 1
Beth Ashton was on the point of stepping out of the
lodge house when the ring tone on her mobile phone stopped her dead in her
tracks. Although reluctant to answer the call, Beth flicked the mobile open,
only to find that the caller ID had been blocked.
It had been one of those days when nothing was
going her way and everything seemed to be conspiring to delay her departure for
Devon.
Tossing back her hair, she put the mobile to her
ear, and listened. She was determined to keep the conversation short.
Beth knew she ought to be on the motorway beating
the queues of holidaymakers that were heading south. It was a bank holiday
weekend, and if she left now, she might be able to miss the heavy traffic.
“Hello, Beth Ashton here,” she answered.
She hoped her voice sounded business-like because
she was feeling anything but cheerful.
“Ashton?” A male voice asked with impatience.
“Ah-ha, yes,” she answered.
“What kept you? I was beginning to wonder if I’d
been given the right number.”
And you’re lucky I’m answering at all, she almost barked back.
Instead, Beth took a deep, calming breath, and
asked, “What can I do for you?”
He was lucky she was listening to him. She didn’t
have the time to talk to arrogant, bad-mannered strangers with no phone
manners. Whoever he was, he seemed to be in a foul temper. He was obviously
foreign, and his accent sounded Mediterranean―but she could be wrong. His
English was fluent, almost faultless. And although the deep, husky voice on the
other end of the line sounded cool and sexy, it was clear he was very male and
very rude.
Beth was in a hurry to get away, so, pulling the
door of the lodge house shut behind her, she picked up her luggage in
one hand, while awkwardly juggling her mobile in the other, and headed
toward the waiting Land Rover.
The deep voice on the mobile bellowed and barked at
her again.
“I’d like to speak with your husband. It’s about
work. If I leave my number, could you get him to contact me as soon as
possible?” Sarcasm and boredom were dripping from the man’s tongue.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that would be a good
idea―”
“Why?” he asked, before she could finish what she
was saying.
Her first impressions were right. She had not been
mistaken. Whoever he was, he was definitely overbearing and insufferable. She
could even imagine him glancing at his watch and counting the seconds for her
to put her non-existent husband on the phone. It was this man who was wasting
her time, not the other way round.
Beth didn’t have a husband, and although the man on
the phone wasn’t to know that, she detested arrogant and assuming people at the
best of times. Especially men.
There was an uncomfortable moment of silence as
each of them waited for the other to speak.
“Your husband,” he demanded. “This is his number
isn’t it?”
There was no way she was going to be spoken to in
this manner.
“I’m sorry, but I think you’ve got the wrong number
Mr?” Beth stopped and waited for him to give his name. He didn’t.
“I’d like to speak with Ashton…the gardener,” he
said. “I’ve recently been shown some work he’s done for Clifton Hall, and I’d
like him to landscape a garden for me in Greece. He’s come highly recommended.”
Beth’s last name was Ashton, and she happened to be
a landscape gardener but, she wasn’t a man.
“Well?” He was waiting for a response.
She still wasn’t sure who the caller was.
“Look,” Beth said as calmly as she could. “I’m
sorry you’ve had a bad day and you’re in a foul mood Mr?”
“Andre. I’m Jason Andre.”
The name sounded familiar but she couldn’t place
it.
“Mr. Andre, I’m not here for you to shout at,” she
told him. “And again, I think you’ve got the wrong number because I don’t know
who you are or what you want.”
She heard him take a deep breath of irritation
followed by a long sigh of frustration.
It was almost as if he’d had enough of the
conversation, yet was willing to reason with her like he would reason with a
four-year-old child to get what he wanted.
He sounded annoyed, and Beth wondered what she’d
done to cause such a negative reaction. She hadn’t met the man and already she
disliked him.
“No, you’re quite right,” he said. “You don’t know
me and we haven’t met…yet. But, I believe you know Sophie and her husband,
Charles. They’re the Fitzgeralds of Clifton Hall.”
Yes, of course, she knew Sophie. And because of
this, she realised she would have to be polite to Jason.
Beth was staying as a guest with Sophie and Charles
in their lodge house while she finished landscaping their gardens at Clifton
Hall. It was a convenient arrangement for all concerned. She was on-site and
within reach if she was needed.
Hearing Sophie’s name dispelled some of her
worries. Jason Andre couldn’t be a total lunatic. Could he? Not if he was a
friend of the Fitzgeralds.
Perhaps her first impression of him was wrong and
he wasn’t the ill-tempered, discourteous individual she thought him to be.
Putting two and two together, Beth realised where
she’d heard an accent that was similar to Jason’s. It was a Greek accent―the
same as Sophie’s.
“Yes, I know Sophie.” Beth waited, wondering what
was coming next.
And then, Jason explained. “Sophie’s my sister. So,
thank goodness we’ve got that sorted, and I’m not talking to the wrong person.
Which is it to be then?” he asked. “Does he prefer to look at plans using the
Adobe Reader or does he want the blueprint drawings?”
“I’m sorry Mr. Andre,” was all she could find to
say. “It’s been a long day and I must be stupid or something because I still
don’t know who you are or what you’re asking.”
Slowly, and somewhat wearily, she ran a hand
through her hair. She had just completed a hard day’s work on the estate
gardens and was tired.
Looking at her wristwatch, Beth was reminded she
ought to be on the motorway battling with heavy traffic, and heading for home.
Instead, she was outside the lodge house, wasting
time on her mobile.
“We seem to have our wires crossed Mr. Andre.”
“And it seems I’m wasting my time talking to you…Mrs.
Ashton.”
There was a dry, disdainful tone in his voice.
“Goodbye,” she said as politely as she could.
“No wait,” Jason called out with urgency. “Let’s
try again, and let’s see if I can explain the situation to you so that you’ll
understand.”
“Go ahead.” She was unsure if he’d just made a
derogatory comment about her intelligence, or not. But she was willing to give
him the benefit of the doubt.
“Sophie knows I'm in need of a gardener, and she’s
recommended Ashton Landscaping. She gave me your husband’s number. I’m
at the Hall this weekend and I thought your husband and I could get together
and look over the plans.”
Beth was beginning to understand the situation.
Jason Andre thought Ashton Landscaping was run by a man―her husband.
The husband she didn’t have.
Beth felt her blood beginning to boil. She was
fuming. Why did all men assume garden landscapers had to be men?
If she had thought Jason Andre was rude and
arrogant before, she now knew he was all those things and more. He was…sexist.
If he wanted someone to work for him and check his garden designs for flaws, Beth
knew it wasn’t going to be her. She wasn’t doing it.
As much as she liked the sound of his deep, sexy
accent, she didn’t fancy working for someone who was a chauvinist.
“I’m sorry,” she said, determined to end the
conversation as soon as possible. “I’m afraid Ashton Landscaping is not
taking on extra work at the moment. The Fitzgerald project hasn’t been
completed and we've other clients on our waiting list. Perhaps you could try
another firm.”
Beth was being unusually diplomatic, and she hoped
Jason Andre had got the message. She wasn’t interested in the work he was
offering and she wasn’t interested in him. But it was as if Jason was deaf to
her reasoning. He hadn’t heard a thing she’d said. He simply hadn’t been
listening.
“I think it’ll be easier if I got Sophie to phone
you,” Jason told her. “Sophie can explain how things are, and I’ll ask her to
set up a meeting for this evening.”
Before Beth could tell him she wasn’t available
that evening, he had cut her off. She'd been left holding the mobile and the
buzz of the disconnected call was ringing in her ear.
Jason had ended the call without saying goodbye or
giving a polite thank you. Shaking her head in disbelief, Beth wondered if all
Greek men were as rude as the insufferable Mr. Andre.
Beth threw the mobile back into her bag. And with
no one to hear her words of frustration, she said, “One thing’s for sure Mr.
Andre, you won’t be seeing me this evening.”
Having loaded the luggage into the Land Rover, Beth
was ready to turn the key in the ignition, when her phone started ringing
again.
“Drat,” she muttered under her breath. “Am I never
going to get out of this place?”
Beth reached for the mobile and looking at the
caller ID, she saw Sophie Fitzgerald’s name displayed on the screen, and
answered.
“Beth darling, it’s me, Sophie.”
Earlier that morning, Beth had spoken with Sophie
to finalise some last-minute details concerning Clifton Hall gardens. Beth knew
Sophie couldn’t be calling to talk business, but she was wrong. Sophie did want
to talk gardening. Only it wasn’t Clifton Hall’s gardens that Sophie was
worried about. The gardens Sophie wanted to discuss were Jason’s, and they were
in Greece.
“Jason said he’s been in touch with you about his
project. He seems to think there’s been some sort of a mix-up between the two
of you, and he’d like to get together tonight, and talk things over.”
That was exactly what Beth didn’t want to do. She
wanted nothing to do with Jason, and she felt herself beginning to dig her
heels in. She would be happy if they never met.
Beth didn’t like others to make decisions for her
at the best of times, and for some reason, Sophie seemed intent on arranging a
meeting with Jason.
“Jason’s coming to stay for the weekend,” Sophie
said. “He’s on his way and is driving down from London now. I thought it would
be a good chance for the two of you to finally get together. Why don’t you come
over to the house...tonight? Charles and I would really like it if you
came to dinner.”
The more someone wanted Beth to do something she
didn’t want to do, the more she tended to rebel. And something seemed fishy
about this dinner date.
Once before, Sophie had tried to get Beth on a date
with one of Charles’s friends, and it had been a disaster. Now Sophie was
trying to arrange a dinner with Jason. And having just spoken to the man, Beth
couldn’t imagine anyone she’d rather not have dinner with.
“It’s kind of you to ask me, Sophie, and at any
other time, I’m sure I’d be delighted to meet your brother, but right now, I’m
on my way to Devon.” And to demonstrate the fact she was in the car and heading
for home, she honked the horn on the Land Rover.
But Sophie was persistent.
“Jason’s an architect with Andre & Marsh. I
thought his firm might be able to use your landscaping services. Beth, to be
honest, I’ve more or less promised you would look over his garden designs. You
see, Jason wants someone to plan his gardens in Greece, and I’ve recommended
you.”
Beth now knew why the name of Jason Andre had
sounded familiar. She’d only just put two and two together. Jason was the
Jason Andre of Andre & Marsh Architects.
Everyone in the building development trade knew the
name of Andre & Marsh. It was a multi-billion pound organisation with an
annual turnover beyond her dreams.
Andre & Marsh employed thousands and subcontracted
all over the world. There was no comparison to her business. Ashton
Landscaping and Jason’s company were in different leagues. Jason was simply
out of her orbit.
Jason Andre was always in the public eye. He was
constantly pictured on the front cover of some newspaper or tabloid magazine
and there was always a glamorous, alluring woman on his arm.
His reputation was that of a ruthless man, both in
and out of bed. He was a sexy billionaire who handled his business and personal
affairs mercilessly.
In business, there was none better than Jason. His
reputation was excellent. Not only was he known to be one of the best
architects in the country, he also had a name and status that had spread
worldwide. But in affairs of the heart, it was another matter. He was known to
be one of Europe’s wealthiest, jet-setting elite, but he was first and foremost
a womanizer and playboy.
Jason worked hard and played hard. He discarded
women like a man with a cold would discard used tissues from a box of paper handkerchiefs.
A relationship with him would get you nowhere.
No…Jason was very much out of her league and very much not her type.
Beth knew from what she’d previously read about him
that if Jason wanted something, he always got it. But he wasn’t getting her.
“It’s nice of you to consider me for Jason’s
project in Greece, and normally I’d love to stay and meet your brother, but as
I told you earlier, I’m travelling to Devon this evening. I’m going to be away
for the weekend.”
“Somehow, whenever Jason’s visited, you’ve always
missed one another,” Sophie explained. “And it would be nice if you two could
finally meet.”
“Normally, I’m sure it would be a pleasure to meet
him, but…” Beth diplomatically left unsaid what she really wanted to say.
In reality, she didn’t know how she kept the irony
out of her voice.
Having just spoken on the phone to Jason, she
doubted meeting him in person would be any sort of pleasure.
Beth was horrified at the prospect of having dinner
with him, and after an exhausting week working on the gardens at Clifton Hall,
all she could longingly think about was reaching her farmhouse in Devon.
She imagined herself sitting in front of a
roaring fire having just taken a relaxing bath. There would be nothing for her
to do except watch television the whole weekend. And it would be blissful.
But when Beth realised what Sophie was really
offering was a business meeting with the renowned architect Jason Andre, she
began to have second thoughts. It would be stupid to turn down such
an offer, and she was on the verge of caving in.
As an established landscape gardener and
businesswoman in her own right, at twenty-five, Beth wasn’t yet in the secure
position to refuse offers from new clients. Especially clients like Andre &
Marsh. She knew she would be a fool to refuse such a job opportunity. Anyone or
any company linked with the name Andre & Marsh was automatically
pulled along with them and would travel on the tidal wave of their success.
If she was to work for Jason on his project, Beth
would more or less be on the road to realising her dreams. But in the process,
she might lose her individuality and independence. If she joined his team, she
would have to merge with the other smaller businesses he subcontracted to.
“This weekend, you could get together with Jason,”
Sophie persisted. “Show him the work you’re doing at Clifton Hall and take him
around the grounds. Especially the new lake.”
There was a brief silence while Sophie let Beth
mull over the possibilities.
“What do you think, Beth?”
Sophie sounded as if she was offering a treat,
but in reality, it was a treat Beth didn’t want. Could she run the
risk of snubbing an offer that came from the almighty, all-powerful,
Jason Andre? He could crush her fledgling business with one negative word.
And it was beginning to look as if a meeting with Jason Andre was
becoming more and more inevitable.
Eventually, and with great reluctance, Beth gave
in.
“Yes, of course, I’ll come to dinner,” she said,
before she had the chance to change her mind.
Switching off her mobile and turning off the Land
Rover’s engine, she sat with her head held in her hands, wondering if she’d
made the right decision. Would it be a decision she would come to regret?
Blinded
by Desire
Copyright
© 2012 by – Arabella Sheen
ISBN:
9780957569829
Publisher:
priceplacebooks
Electronic
Publication: May 2012
Cover:
Fantasia Frog Designs
eBooks
are not transferable. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without
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reviews.
This
book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or
places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are
productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
UNIVERSAL BUY LINKS: https://books2read.com/u/4NQXno
Arabella Sheen Website: http://www.arabellasheen.co.uk/
About Arabella Sheen
Arabella Sheen is a British author of contemporary
romance and likes nothing more than the challenge of starting a new novel with
fresh ideas and inspiring characters.
One
of the many things Arabella loves to do is to read. And when she’s not
researching or writing about romance, she is either on her allotment sowing and
planting with the seasons or she is curled on the sofa with a book, while
pandering to the demands of her attention seeking cat.
Having
lived and worked in the Netherlands as a theatre nurse for nearly twenty years,
she now lives in the south west of England with her family.
Arabella
hopes her readers have as much pleasure from her romance stories as she has in
writing them.
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