Excerpt of Paradise Disguised by Liliana Hart

Anna Hollis stood frozen as she watched her dream man walk by, utterly oblivious to her existence on the planet. She wanted him in a way that was completely at odds with her usual shyness and cautiously stole another glance in his direction. From his dark hair with the sun bleached tips that curled slightly over his collar to his hard, lean body. A working man's body, with rough callused hands and muscles in all the right places.

His eyes were a silvery shade of blue and the one time they had made eye contact, she thought she'd pass out from their intensity. Everything about him made her body tingle in areas she never thought possible.

She pushed her glasses up higher on the bridge of her nose and continued stocking the circular saws that had just arrived early that morning. Every box in the store sported a label she was proud of.

Hollis Tools: Three Generations Built to Last.

Her grandfather had started making his own tools sixty years ago, and what had started as a hobby to the wealthy banker, quickly became an enterprise so large that he'd had to open a hardware store to get rid of some of them.

Her dream man had been coming in the store for months, and she'd been lusting after him since the first moment she'd laid eyes on him. Not that he'd noticed. Nobody noticed her.

He was at the checkout counter talking to her father, and she only drooled a little at the way his backside fit into a worn pair of Levi's. There was a small hole in the corner of the pocket, and if she stared hard enough she was pretty sure she could see skin.

Her imagination went into overdrive as she pictured herself sitting on the counter, his muscled body thrusting eagerly between her spread thighs. Hell, she'd pictured them making love in every part of the store. She never knew there were so many creative ideas hidden inside her mind.

Her cheeks heated as she saw her father glance over the man's shoulder, probably wondering what she could be thinking about that caused her to have hot flashes on a busy Saturday morning.

She jerked herself back to reality, disappointed to hear the bells jingle above the door that signaled his departure. She was already looking forward to his visit next week.

Anna sighed wistfully and went back to stocking the saws. The smell of fresh cut lumber and saw dust enveloped her in a comforting embrace, a bouquet she'd grown up with and learned to love. It blended well with the spicy scent of her dream man.

She was in sad, sad shape. Ever since he'd walked through the door, all she could think about was sex. She'd had sex—once—but by the way her body was tingling now she knew it hadn't been done right.

She was twenty–five years old for God's sake, and she read romance novels. What she had experienced that one night had not even come close to satisfying her expectations. Most people her age were married and just starting their families, but she was still looking for basic chemistry and mind blowing sex. And boy did she have chemistry with the mystery man. Of course, that didn't mean he had it with her.

She was completely unappealing as a woman, and it was her own fault. Not even the fact that she was an heiress to a multi–million dollar company convinced men to ask her out. She was painfully shy, which explained why she only had one close friend and few acquaintances. And that was an almost impossible fete in a town the size of Paradise. She'd neglected her looks to keep attention on anything but herself. She was wallpaper, and she liked it that way. Most of the time.

Of course, every time her dream man walked in she wanted to rip off all of her clothes and display herself like a turkey dinner at Thanksgiving amidst all the power tools. Her nipples tightened painfully under her flannel shirt, and she breathed slowly to get herself under control.

She had to do something if she wanted to have the wild night she'd been dreaming about. She had style. She knew how to dress to her advantage and apply the right makeup. It was something her mother had excelled at and taught her daughter to use to her own advantage.

Anna had been outgoing as a teenager, popular in school, and she'd always had all the right clothes. But then her mother had died.

Her dark brown hair was long, almost to her waist, and she kept it in a long thick braid down the center of her back. It was a good color and texture—she just never bothered to do much with it. She never wore makeup and she wore dark framed glasses to cover her startling turquoise eyes. It was time some changes were made.

She had no desire to get married or have a family. She wouldn't be able to bear it if she lost someone else she loved, and the best way of avoiding that was to keep her distance from any serious relationships. But the one thing she did want with all her heart was one crazy night with her dream man. And she was going to do everything in her power to see she got it.

God . . . What if he was married? That would ruin everything.