Unforgettable In Love (The Maverick Billionaires, Book 7)
Lyssa Spencer is the apple of the Maverick Billionaire’s eyes, the sister they adore and vow to protect. But Lyssa isn’t a little girl anymore, and she wishes they could see she’s a grown woman who is perfectly able to take care of herself. Thankfully, her new boss, Cal Danniger, certainly appreciates and respects her abilities. And she appreciates Cal…in every way possible. Yet she can’t imagine he’d ever consider dating her, not when her brothers would rip him limb from limb if he so much as looked at her the wrong way. But boy, does she ever want him to look at her exactly that way.
The Mavericks are Cal Danniger’s best friends, as well as his business partners. So when they ask him to watch over Lyssa by giving her a job in the San Francisco Bay Area, of course he agrees. While she impresses him with how smart, dependable, hard-working, and dedicated she is, he’s not at all prepared for the sizzling attraction that takes everything in him to try to fight.
After a passionate and unforgettable night in London that neither can resist, Cal vows never to let it happen again. But he can’t stop thinking about her…or wanting her. Between a secret Lyssa is keeping from him, and with the Maverick Billionaires hellbent on protecting her at all costs, do they have any chance of finding a future together?
UNFORGETTABLE IN LOVE is part of Bella Andre and Jennifer Skully’s bestselling series about The Maverick Billionaires. While it can easily be read as a standalone story, you’ll likely enjoy reading the other books too.
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French Translation:
Un amour à l’épreuve (Milliardaires Rebelles 7)
German Translation:
Lass es Liebe sein (Die Maverick Milliardäre 7)
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Excerpt
Unforgettable in Love
Maverick Billionaires, Book 7
© 2022
Lyssa Spencer had flown in sumptuous private jets before. But this was by far the nicest plane she’d ever been in. The carpet was plush, the seating was upholstered in the softest leather, and the onboard bathroom was so large and luxuriously appointed that she could have quite happily lived in it.
“Did one of my brothers get a new plane?” she asked Cal Danniger as she settled into a leather armchair, making herself comfortable for the long flight to London.
Across the cabin table, Cal shook his head. “No.”
“I didn’t realize any companies rented private jets this nice.”
“As far as I know,” he said in that deep voice that made all of her nerve endings come alive despite knowing he was off-limits, “none do.”
It finally dawned on her. “You own this jet?”
He nodded.
She felt all kinds of embarrassed. As if she’d implied that Cal was nothing more than an administrative lackey for her brothers, rather than an incredibly successful businessman in his own right. Especially when she knew exactly how it felt to be undervalued in the shadow of her amazingly successful family.
Her whole life, she’d been seen as nothing more than an extension of the Mavericks. Most people didn’t realize that, apart from Daniel, the Mavericks were actually her foster brothers. But blood ties didn’t matter—they had grown up as family, which meant that she had five big brothers. Six, if you counted Gideon, who, upon entering the fray, had immediately treated her like a little sister he needed to protect.
“I didn’t mean—”
She would have continued her apology, but the flight attendant stepped into the cabin. “Would you like coffee, Mr. Danniger?” The woman had zeroed in the entirety of her attention on Cal, and her gaze on him was like a caress.
And why not? Cal was an extremely attractive man. In his mid-forties, with a few strands of gray streaking his chestnut hair, he was tall and fit, his eyes a penetrating silvery shade that made Lyssa feel like he could see all of her secret hopes and dreams and longings.
This summer at Ari and Matt’s wedding, Lyssa had drunk just enough wine to let her guard down with her girlfriends and voiced her appreciation of Cal’s taut muscles and toned body. Unfortunately, Daniel had overheard and gone Neanderthal on her. Her brother’s words still rankled: He’s not for you.
It was precisely how the Mavericks had always taken care of her—by trying to make all of her big decisions for her while also dictating everything she could and couldn’t do. She knew they loved her to pieces and would do anything for her. They had already done so much. They’d looked out for her growing up in Chicago and supported her in her choice of majors at college and then in her career as an accountant. And she loved them without reservation. Even if they too often treated her like she was still fourteen years old, rather than a twenty-six-year-old woman who was perfectly capable of taking care of herself and making her own decisions, big and small.
Cal smiled at the flight attendant. “I’d love some coffee. Thank you, Delilah.”
“I’d love a cup, as well,” Lyssa said, even as she wondered if he had any idea how sexy his smile was. Delilah had certainly noticed.
“It will be my pleasure,” the flight attendant said to Cal with absolutely no subtlety—and not even the slightest glance toward Lyssa—before she headed back to the galley, her hips swaying.
To Cal’s credit, his eyes didn’t follow the woman’s movements, nor did he seem to be counting down the minutes until he could sneak away with her to make use of the onboard bedroom.
His behavior was consistent with what Lyssa knew of him. While he definitely didn’t lack for female company—some might even use the word playboy to describe him—at his core, he was an upstanding guy who would never take advantage of his wealth or position of power.
Cal had been her boss for six weeks. In September, she’d quit her job in Chicago, moved to San Francisco, and taken on the accounting activities for Gideon Jones’s Lean on Us Foundation.
For years, Gideon had owned a painting given to him by Karmen Sanchez, a fellow comrade-in-arms who had been killed overseas. Little had Gideon known that the painting was worth sixty million dollars until his fiancée, Rosie, who had knowledge of the art world, had done some research and realized he was in possession of a rare masterpiece by famed eighteenth-century artist Miguel Fernando Correa. Instead of using the money on a lavish new lifestyle, he’d started a foundation to benefit foster children, returning veterans, and military families. As a veteran himself, Gideon understood the difficulties of assimilating back into civilian life. Rosie had gone through the foster care system along with his sister, Ari, so it was only natural for him to want to help. However, given that Gideon had neither the time nor the expertise to run a nonprofit foundation, Cal had offered to step in to manage it.
Cal’s first move had been hiring Lyssa, and she absolutely loved her new job. Though a part of her wondered if her brothers had asked Cal to give her this job because they knew how unhappy she’d become at her previous company, it only made her more intent on proving to all of them that she had earned it.
As they waited for coffee, they got down to business, both opening their folders on their latest potential contributor, resort tycoon Dane Harrington. Dane had built a worldwide empire of health spas and resorts. Though his headquarters was in Northern California, he was currently in London launching a new resort. Dane was the reason for this trip—they hadn’t wanted to wait for his return to the U.S. to make their pitch.
“I’d like to begin the presentation by explaining a bit about the programs we want to fund,” Cal told her. “Once I’m done with the dog-and-pony show, it would be great if you stepped in with the budgets.”
Lyssa almost gave herself whiplash looking up from the papers she’d been scanning. “You want me to detail the budgets to Dane?”
Cal smiled, seemingly unaware of just how sexy he looked—or how much he made her heart race. “You’re the one who put the numbers together, so you’re the best person for the job.”
Lyssa was astounded. She’d figured he’d brought her along simply to run the presentation software and provide background data if he needed it, not to actually present her budget to a hugely valuable donor.
“Besides,” he added, “I’ve never seen anyone do as thorough a job as you.”
His appreciation for her talent made her glow in a way she couldn’t hide. In Chicago, she’d been relegated to collections despite having earned a degree in accounting with honors. She’d asked her boss for more responsibility, but he’d had no interest in finding out what she was capable of. Working for Lean on Us was a dream come true, even better because she’d moved to San Francisco, which she loved.
As soon as Lyssa had flown the coop, her parents had also decided it was finally time to go west and join the rest of the family in the Bay Area. Though she was pleased that her parents would be nearby, she had a niggling suspicion that one of the main reasons they were moving was so they could still watch over her.
Her brothers had found the perfect home for her folks in Portola Valley and were having a great time fixing it up. Her dad had taught them all about home repairs when they couldn’t afford a repairman, so each of them not only knew their way around a tool belt, but after spending so many of their days behind a desk inside an office, they loved the hard, hands-on work of the house renovation project.
Delilah returned with their coffees. “There you go, Mr. Danniger. Your coffee, just the way you like it.”
“Thanks, Delilah.” Though he was polite, he was so focused on the document he was reading, he barely looked up.
“If there’s anything I can get you, Mr. Danniger, just let me know.” She paused before adding a husky, “Anything at all.”
At last, Cal met the woman’s gaze. “I’m good, thanks. But I’ll let you know if I need anything later in the flight.”
Delilah practically melted into a puddle of goo when his eyes met hers. She seemed distracted as she put Lyssa’s mug down in the middle of a stack of papers, coffee slopping over the rim to leave a ring.
Lyssa sopped it up with a napkin as Cal opened another folder, saying, “Let’s move on to the six-month forecast.”
Her numbers were solid on their plans to purchase buildings, hire staff, and buy equipment. This was where new contributors came in. As huge an amount as sixty million sounded—and despite the fact that Cal was working pro bono for the foundation—when the money was spread across everything they hoped to accomplish, it was nowhere near enough.
Throughout the flight, Cal never wasted a moment. He was intelligent, diligent, incisive, and all business. And, she thought with a sigh she never gave voice to, sexier than any man she knew.
