The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire Read Online Free PDF Page B

attention when I read you the rules? Once you get on their plane, you can’t have any contact with the outside world, remember? That includes me.”
    Something in her voice told him she was looking forward to the break, and the thought stung him. He talked to Amanda on the phone far more than he saw her in person, but she was part of his day-to-day life—an invisible genie smoothing the road before him in a million different ways. He guessed he couldn’t blame her for wanting some time off—she was really too old to work as hard as she did, although if anyone said so she’d be the first to eviscerate them. Evan swallowed the feeling of abandonment that swelled his throat for some unaccountable reason.
    “All right; I’m heading into my last meeting right now. I’ll be ready to go at five.”
    “Go get her, killer. You can take that cowgirl.”
    “Damn straight. Get ready to meet the wifey, Amanda.”
    “I hate her already. Good luck.”
    And she was gone. Evan clicked off the phone and stared out at the view. He’d never been to Canada before—something of an oversight, now that he thought of it. He called up a browser on his computer and checked out the Jasper National Park website. Looked pretty cool. Maybe he’d get some climbing in.
    Seven days away from work, without even a cell phone to keep him tied to his desk. Evan straightened with new determination. This would be fun.
    Yeah, right.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER THREE
     
     
    Bella climbed out of the SUV and stared at the rustic lodge in front of her. She felt off-balance from the hours of travel behind her. First the plane ride to Calgary and a night spent in a passable hotel by the airport. Next, she’d been hustled into the SUV and driven 298 miles to Jasper, via Banff. The scenery along the Icefields Parkway between the two towns in the Canadian Rockies was jaw-dropping, and she’d wanted to beg the driver to stop at least once at one of the many viewpoint turnouts, but other than a brief layover for lunch at the Num-Ti-Jah Lodge they drove straight through.
    The rules of the Can You Beat a Billionaire television show forbade her from bringing a cell phone or camera, and it killed her to watch glacier-fed lakes, spectacular mountains and wildlife of every description slip past without snapping a shot. I’ll come here again , she promised herself, and nearly snorted out loud. She was broke—about to lose her business and her home. If she wanted to go sightseeing again in this lifetime, she’d better win the show.
    She’d better win if she wanted to stay single.
    Her thoughts drifted back to the conversation she had with Madelyn at the airport the night before, and her lips thinned with distaste. Madelyn Framingham wasn’t even human. The way she played with people’s lives and apparently relished pitting them against each other—there was something grisly about that. The director had taken her aside as they waited to board the network’s corporate jet.
    “You’ve probably considered throwing the show,” she announced.
    “Why would I throw it?” Bella had no idea what she meant.
    “Marrying a billionaire? Probably sounds like a dream come true to a girl from the sticks.”
    “Uh…not really,” Bella said. “I’m not looking for a husband, I’m looking for money.” Aside from saving her business, she would finally be able to pay her father back for the land he’d lost. Only then would she feel like she’d made up for the damage she’d caused him all those years ago.
    Maybe he’d forgive her.
    “Right. I don’t believe you,” Madelyn said. “So let me make it clear. If Evan wins, you will sign an ironclad prenuptial agreement so when he divorces you after a year you will walk away just as poor as you are today.” She leaned closer, her scarlet lips inches from Bella’s face. “He’s looking for a prop, not a partner. In order to remain in control of his family’s business he must be married for a year. So don’t