Unforgettable In Love Read online

  Unforgettable in Love

  ~ The Maverick Billionaires ~

  Book 7

  Bella Andre & Jennifer Skully

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  About the Book

  A note from Bella & Jennifer

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Breathless in Love

  Excerpt from The Look of Love

  Books by Bella Andre

  Books by Jennifer Skully

  About the Authors

  UNFORGETTABLE IN LOVE

  ~ The Maverick Billionaires, Book 7 ~

  © 2022 Bella Andre & Jennifer Skully

  Meet the Maverick Billionaires—sexy, self-made men from the wrong side of town who survived hell together and now have everything they ever wanted. But when a Maverick falls head over heels for an incredible woman he never saw coming, he will soon find that true love is the only thing he ever really needed…

  Lyssa Spencer is the apple of the Mavericks’ eyes, the little sister they adore and vow to protect. But Lyssa isn’t a little girl anymore. More than anything, she wishes they could see she’s a grown woman and perfectly able to take care of herself. 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 just 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, hardworking, and dedicated she is, he’s not at all prepared for the powerful, sizzling attraction that takes everything in him to fight. He needs to keep his hands off her no matter what, even as he dreams of all her sweet spots he desperately wants to touch.

  After one passionate and unforgettable night in London that neither can resist, Cal vows never to let it happen again…if he could only stop thinking about Lyssa, or wanting so much more.

  Between a secret Lyssa is keeping from him and the Maverick Billionaires hell-bent on protecting her at all costs, do they have any chance of finding a future together?

  A note from Bella & Jennifer

  When we began to write about the Maverick Billionaires, we both fell head over heels in love with our strong yet vulnerable heroes and hoped readers would too. But we never expected such an amazing outpouring of love for our books! It has been, and continues to be, one of our greatest pleasures to write about our Mavericks, the women they love, and the families they have built.

  We are so pleased to let you know that the series will be continuing far beyond seven books—but before we say too much, we’ll let you read more about the heroes and heroines you have to look forward to meeting in Unforgettable in Love. We hope you absolutely love Lyssa and Cal’s story, which might very well be our most requested book to date!

  Many of you may recall our reader letter in Reckless in Love in which we told you about two wonderful ladies, Doris Beach, Jennifer Skully’s mother, and Judy Moffett, after whom we created Francine Ballard, Charlie’s mom. Francine is heroic, suffering from debilitating arthritis, yet she never gives up, walking a mile a day despite her pain. And that’s what Doris Beach and Judy Moffett did: They pushed through, kept going day after day, kept smiling, kept laughing, kept everyone around them laughing. So much more than just our inspiration for Francine, they inspired our lives. This past year we lost Doris and Judy, both at the age of ninety-five and within a month of each other. They will be greatly missed, but they will always be in our hearts and continue to inspire all the people whose lives they touched.

  With love,

  Bella Andre and Jennifer Skully

  P.S. Please sign up for our New Release newsletters for more information on new books. http://www.BellaAndre.com/Newsletter and http://bit.ly/SkullyNews

  Dedication

  To Doris Beach, loving mother, and Judy Moffett, dear friend.

  Devoted friends for thirty-five years.

  Chapter One

  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 s
he 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.

  A few hours after takeoff, Lyssa’s stomach growled, loudly.

  “Was that your stomach?” Cal grinned. “Or is there a monster hiding in one of the closets?”

  She gave him a lopsided grin. “While I can’t guarantee there aren’t any monsters hiding on your plane—which would make an awesome plot for a horror movie, by the way—I can tell you that I’m starved.”

  He pressed a button and spoke into the intercom. “Delilah, could you please take our orders for dinner?”

  As if she had been waiting breathlessly just outside the lounge door for Cal to summon her, Delilah was immediately at his side. “What would you like, Mr. Danniger?”

  It was obvious to Lyssa that she hoped his answer would be, You.

  “I asked the chef to bring steak and lobster on board, along with fresh fruit and vegetables. Is that okay with you, Lyssa?”

  “Better than okay,” she said as her stomach grumbled even more loudly in anticipation of the delicious meal. Living on her own, she’d made cost-cutting measures because she wanted to manage her career without her brothers’ handouts. She never wasted a leftover, always brought a bag lunch, didn’t own a car, and walked to the foundation’s headquarters. Steak and lobster would be a rare treat. If she had leftovers, maybe she could take them home.

  “Please bring us some of everything, Delilah.”

  “With pleasure, sir.”

  Lyssa tried not to roll her eyes at how over the top the woman was behaving. But honestly, she shouldn’t be too hard on Delilah. Cal was the kind of man who made women act a little breathless and crazy.

  “Excuse me,” Lyssa said, getting up.

  The luxurious bathroom had both a shower and a jetted tub. Mirrors all around r
eflected her face, and the walls and floor were tiled in gold-flecked marble. Even the taps were gold.

  This rivaled any of the jets her brothers owned. She suddenly wondered just how much money Cal had. Was he also a billionaire?

  As she washed her hands, she looked into the mirror and realized her cheeks were a little flushed. This was how she always felt around Cal, like all of her senses were heightened simply by being near him.

  Lyssa reminded herself for the thousandth time to stop being ridiculous. Not only was he her boss, he was also one of her brothers’ closest friends and would never dare step over the line with her, even if he wanted to. Which he clearly didn’t. She dried her hands on the plush towel and walked back toward the lounge.

  She couldn’t resist peeking through the door of the connecting bedroom, however. Yet again, her mind created fantasies she couldn’t banish—silk sheets against her naked body, strong fingers caressing her skin. What kind of lover would Cal be? Standing in his bedroom, she could easily imagine his kisses, his lips on her body, and how easily the tub in the bathroom could fit two people who were desperately hungry for each other.

  He’d never been married, didn’t have kids. As far as she knew, he didn’t date long term either. She’d seen him in plenty of gossip magazines, always with a different actress or celebrity. But in the pictures, Cal always seemed a bit bored. Thinking about it more, she realized he’d never brought a woman to any Maverick function and had gone stag to Ari and Matt’s wedding.

  Her brothers might know why Cal was still alone. Was there some big, dark secret in his past? Had his heart been broken, never to recover? Or was it simply that he’d never found anyone who made him want to give up his freedom?

  She would never ask her brothers what they knew about Cal’s single status. If she did, they’d surely get wigged out about why she wanted to know. No doubt Daniel would start that he’s not for you business again.