His Paradise Wife

His Paradise Wife

By Tina Martin

Copyright 2014 @ Tina Martin

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information
storage and retrieval systems, photocopying and recording, without
prior written consent of the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, businesses and products are used fictitiously. Any
similarity to actual events is entirely coincidental.

Also by Tina Martin

Accidental Deception, The Accidental Series,
Book 1

Accidental Heartbreak, The Accidental
Series, Book 2

Accidental Lovers, The Accidental Series,
Book 3

What Donovan Wants, The Accidental Series,
Book 4

Dying To Love Her

Dying To Love Her 2

The Millionaire’s Arranged Marriage (The
Alexanders, Book 1)

Watch Me Take Your Girl (The Alexanders,
Book 2)

Her Premarital Ex (The Alexanders, Book
3)

Secrets On Lake Drive

Can’t Just Be His Friend

The Baby Daddy Interviews

Just Like New to the Next Man

Vacation Interrupted

The Crush

For more information about
the author and upcoming releases, visit her website at
www.tinamartin.net
.

His Paradise Wife

Prologue

Dante Champion sure was fine...

Emily could admit that very
easily to herself, but she’d never do such a thing to anyone else,
especially not to her best friend, Melanie. When she thought of
Dante, the tall, sexy, muscular being that bled testosterone
through his pores and wore confidence like his thousand dollar
suits, she always remembered this – the last time she saw him. It
was a few weeks back, but she could recall the
event
like it had happened yesterday.
Dante was just one of those distinguished, rarefied men that a
person never forgets. That a woman never forgets.

He’d been walking along the sidewalk by her
little boutique on Battery Park Avenue with enough swag to melt
ice. It had snowed that week, the last week in April, and the
temperature was leveling out at around thirty-five degrees. Emily
had been sitting behind the counter, on a barstool sipping on a cup
of hot cocoa. Her assistant and friend, Sherita, had stayed home
that day since the roads in her neighborhood hadn’t been plowed.
There was no way she could drive in such treacherous conditions.
Therefore, Emily had to perform all the operations of the boutique
– including working the register, hanging new items and pricing
them. Additionally she had to do closing work that entailed
sweeping the floors, wiping down the counter and closing out the
cash drawer.

At any rate, Emily couldn’t believe it was
actually him, Dante Champion, strolling by her store. In the town
of Asheville, North Carolina, that was the equivalent to President
Obama walking down the road without his security detail. It was
just unheard of.

Dante’s ten-story office
building, the building that he himself owned, was five blocks away.
Five blocks. He couldn’t be walking to work could he, when he
could’ve easily summoned a taxi or better yet, called his personal
driver to swing by in the limo, black Escalade or the Maserati, and
pick him up?
Stranger things have
happened
, Emily thought to herself.
Maybe the man just felt like
walking
.

Fast forward to six o’clock in the
evening...

Emily was bored out of her mind. The store
had been slow, so slow that she could count the number of customers
she had all day on one hand. She’d yawned and stretched enough
times to make the Guinness Book of World Records and she caught
herself nodding off several times.

“
Ugh...is it time to go home
yet,” she drawled out. Even though it was her store and she could
leave any time she wanted, she always made sure to remain open
during the regular operating hours that were posted on the door. It
was good business practice, one of the pointers that Melvin had
given her. He stressed the importance of consistency to maintain
validity as a small business owner. He always used to tell her that
small business owners were actually big business owners who were
just starting out. She believed that and she believed in
him.

She sighed, rubbed her eyes until she heard
the small bell ringing at the top of the boutique door entrance,
alerting her that she had a customer. With tired eyes, she looked
up and there stood one of the most sought after men on the Eastern
seaboard – Dante Champion – standing six feet tall, dressed in a
black business suit covered by an unbuttoned black peacoat with the
collars flipped up, enhancing his broad shoulders while drawing
attention to his handsome face. Black, leather gloves covered his
manly hands and a skull cap fit perfectly on his head.

Emily instantly felt a nervous twinge run
through her like a jolt of uncontrolled electricity, but of course
she couldn’t let Dante see her sweat. He was probably accustomed to
the attention he received from women. She imagined that he would
feast off of the way women reacted in his presence – women who
would instantly become flushed, nervous and nearly drool at the
very sight of him. Women who deemed it an honor just to be close to
him. In the same room as him.

Nope. Not her. No way. There was no way she
would get caught up under his spell. So she pretended as if his
creamy, Werther’s Original caramel candy complexion, the result of
his African-American, French and Irish heritages, had no effect on
her when the truth of the matter was, her mouth was watering
uncontrollably for something sweet this very second.

She nervously cleared her throat, swallowed
hard then took a sip of cocoa to satisfy her craving for sugar. She
quickly glanced up at Dante walking closer to the counter where she
was sitting, then she looked away. She wanted to look up at him
once more since he was walking so slowly. Then again, she didn’t
want to. Honestly speaking, he was too beautiful to look at and too
beautiful to ignore, sort of like staring directly at the sun.
Sure, it was a beautiful creation, but one could cause damage to
their sight by just gazing upon it.

Dante knew full well the power he had with
his handsome appearance. He and his brothers had inherited a bunch
of good genes from their parents. Their good looks and features
were unique enough to make people ask about their heritage and
stare longingly into their hazel eyes.

Emily, however, maintained her stance on not
getting caught in a trance with him. She was tempted to lose
herself in his eyes, but she pretended to be otherwise engaged on
her laptop instead of being hypnotized by his appeal. There was no
need to entertain the thought of being with a Champion man. They
were well-known in Asheville for being notorious womanizers and
since they were extremely good-looking, successful and had loads of
money, women fell at their feet and into their beds as easily as
their millions fell into their bank accounts.

Finally, after reaching the counter, Dante
greeted her with a simple hello. She spoke to him as well and
afterwards, he boldly asked her out to lunch. Meeting his gaze so
he could know she meant what she said, Emily declined with a
resolute ‘no’. When she did, she could see the smirk on Dante’s
face. He didn’t appear defeated when she turned him down, nor did
he seem fazed. His look was one of determination, which was
something Emily couldn’t understand. Why was he so determined to go
on a date with her when he could have any woman he wanted? Then it
dawned on her. Maybe he’d already had every woman he wanted and she
was next woman on his to-do list. If that’s what he was thinking,
then he was in for a rude awakening because Emily Mitchell was one
item on his list that wouldn’t get checked off.

Chapter 1

Emily stood up, walked over to the display
window and stared out into the street. It was a quiet, boring
Monday, and the sidewalks were desolate on the cold, overcast day.
Everything appeared gray and dreary and the lack of sun did nothing
to improve her mood. To add to the lackluster workday, it was
snowing again.

Emily shook her head. She loved snow, but
not late April snow and as she pondered the thought, she watched a
few light flurries fall from the sky, settling softly upon the
three inches that fell overnight. The only shops that had opened on
the same strip as her boutique was the coffee shop next door and
the Caribbean restaurant on the corner. The other businesses, an
antique thrift shop, a book store and pharmacy had remained
closed.

Irritated with the sound of her own
thoughts, Emily took her cell from the coat pocket of her royal
blue blazer and dialed her friend Melanie. Melanie was a manager at
one of the hotels downtown. Emily was sure to get some sort of
entertainment from her. Melanie, no matter what was going on,
always seemed to be in a good disposition. She was one of those
girlfriends every woman needed – someone to lighten the mood when
things were tense, someone who knew how to party when it was time
to let loose and someone who had your back when no one else
did.

“
Guest services. Melanie
speaking. How may I help you?”

“
Hey, Mel.”

“
Ooh, girl...I was just
about to call you.”

Emily grinned, tapping her French-manicured
nails against the glass countertop. “And why were you about to call
me?”

“
Because your man has been
all up and through this hotel today, girl. Let me repeat...all up
and through...you hear me?”

“
My man?” Emily
questioned.

“
Yes, girlfriend. Yo’
man.”

Emily rolled her eyes. “I don’t know who
you’re referring to, but need I remind you that I don’t have a
man.”

Melanie smirked. “Try telling him that.”

“
Okay. I’ll bite. Who are
you talking about?”

Melanie held the receiver away from her ear,
looked at it like she was confused and asked, “Who am I talking
about? Em, don’t play with me. You know exactly who I’m talking
about.”

“
No, I do not,” she replied
again, though she had a suspicion that Melanie was referring to
Dante. Melanie had been a fan of his, pushing Emily to accept a
date with him a couple of times before, talking the guy up like he
was the next best thing since fried chicken and Texas Pete hot
sauce.

“
I’m talking about Dante
Cham-pi-on,” she said, breaking his last name down by syllables for
emphasis. “Remember him? The man who’s been after you like a blood
hound?”

“
Sure I remember him, but
I’m not interested,” Emily responded.

“
Em—”

“
Not interested, Mel. And
why has he been
all up and through
there
as you put it? Bringing different
women in and out...one after another, I imagine.”

“
No, not at all. He’s
attending a small business summit that his company sponsored. He’s
one of the expert panelists, along with other notable businessmen
and women in the area. By the way, have you ever heard him speak in
a professional setting?”

“
No,” Emily said,
frustrated, ready to hang up the phone. Suddenly her boredom didn’t
seem so bad after all, especially after all Melanie wanted to talk
about was Dante.

“
Girl, he’s so intelligent,
knowledgeable on his subject matter and eloquent. He can convince
anyone of anything and that suit he has on is tailored just right
to fit that rock hard body of his. Good lawd that man is fine,
girl.” She fanned herself with a hotel flier.

“
Hmm...here’s a thought...if
you like him so much, why don’t you go out with him?”

“
Um, hello! The man can’t
see another woman because his mesmerizing, hazel eyes are locked in
on you, Emily Mitchell. You just refuse to accept that he wants
you.”

“
Oh, and I guess I’m
supposed to be flattered that one of the Champion men has the hots
for me?”

“
Yes!” Melanie proclaimed.
“You
are
supposed
to be flattered. Do you know how many women are after those guys?
And instead of accepting any of the women after him, Dante is
chasing you, and I’ma tell you straight up...men like Dante are
usually the chasee...not the chaser...”