Author Override: Katie Porter

How Came Upon a Midnight Clear is just like a HQN Presents

By Katie Porter

Well. Maybe not just like, but there’s some striking similarities.

Kyle from Came Upon a Midnight Clear is super sexy (naturally) and rich. Really rich. He might not be a billionaire, but that’s probably just because he’s relatively young. And just like some of the young ingénues in HQN Presents, Nate is doing his best to make his young company into everything he’s dreamed of. (Also like some of the Presents heroines, he’s a wee teensy bit inexplicably farther along than exactly makes sense, considering the cut-throat world of Hollywood. But of course he is. He needed to have a little bit more equal power to someone as impressive as Kyle.)

Kyle has also used his power as a man-about-the-world to bring Nate into his own sphere. He’s engineered Nate’s stuntman company into position to be used on the movie he’s producing. That’s such a tycoon sort of thing to do, moving people around like chess pieces for his own wants.

Between Nate and Kyle both, there’re old hurts that have completely colored their way of thinking. They’re not in Big Misunderstanding territory, I promise. But they’ve both made major mistakes and they’re carrying around the scars from those. Totally Presents like!

And then there’s the way that Kyle likes actually spending the money he has. Gotta love a man who’s not afraid of using what he’s got:

 Kyle nodded before returning to the nearest case, which contained nothing but opaque stones—malachite, lapis, carnelian, tiger’s-eye. And opals. He waved a short, dark-haired jeweler over and requested one particular piece.

“A lovely choice, sir,” the man said.

Kyle held the bracelet beneath a high-intensity table lamp. The gorgeous creation was gold, with twelve fire opal cabochons stations. Each flawless, nearly translucent stone looked like sunset over the red soil of the Outback, but with flashes of blue and green. He didn’t blink at the price tag. Steph would love it. She didn’t have anything like it in her collection.

“Yes, this is perfect.”

***

The brass-handled front door of the jewelry store pushed open, revealing Kyle—gorgeous, smiling like a cat with a canary under its paw, and dressed in a suit that made him look like a prince among men.

Enough to make Nate’s chest light up with warmth.

Kyle wrapped an arm around Nate’s waist and kissed him while the world stilled and the snow dusted them. Like a goddamned Gene Kelly movie.

He pulled his mouth away from Kyle’s temptation. “What did you find that has you so pleased?”

“The perfect present for Steph.”

“How much did you spend on her?” The question didn’t have the same sting it might’ve once had.

Kyle’s mouth quirked. “You sure you want me to answer that?”

“Sure, why not.” With their arms linked together, they started to walk.

“Five thousand.”

Nate only shook his head, chuckling as they went, because the other option was to cringe at further proof that leaving the next day was a damn good thing. “You said a bonus thing. Didn’t you already get her something extravagant?”

Kyle shrugged. “I did. I’m sending her to Bora Bora. Maybe she’ll hook up with a surfer.”

Don’t you just love a guy who throws around cash? For the record, Steph is his business partner. You should see what he buys for Nate. Of course, like every good Harlequin Presents heroine, Nate has every legitimate reason to get pissed about the overly expensive present Kyle gets him. It almost breaks them. Except they’re meant to be together, just like the best Presents heroines are the only woman in the world who can melt their tycoons.

(And by the way, that’s an exclusive excerpt, never seen anywhere else.)

Thanks again to Under the Covers for featuring Katie Porter and Came Upon a Midnight Clear!

http://KatiePorterBooks.com
Twitter: @MsKatiePorter
Or individually: @carrielofty and @LorelieBrown

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