The Chandler Brothers Series
THE PLAYBOY
The Chandler Brothers from New York Times Bestselling Author Carly Phillips are back!
He’s the town’s most popular playboy.
She’s sworn off men and weddings for good.
Police officer, Rick Chandler, has managed to fend off the marriage-minded women in his small town but it’s getting more difficult with each passing day. After all, there’s something about the Chandler charm that keeps them coming back with hope in their hearts. What’s a man determined to stay single to do?
Kendall Sutton is a cliche, a runaway bride stuck on the side of the road, until she’s rescued by the sexiest cop she’s ever seen. In spite of her pearly gown and tiara, Kendall vows to never get married—which makes her the ideal fake girlfriend to ward off Rick’s legion of admirers.
But when their charade starts to feel real, suddenly the town’s most popular playboy has marriage on his mind – but will a woman with Kendall’s jaded past ever say “I do”?
In honor of THE BACHELOR’s 20th Anniversary all three books have been updated and will be reissued with gorgeous NEW covers with the same content but modernized for your reading pleasure. The BACHELOR was the first book that Kelly Ripa chose for her Reading with Ripa Bookclub.
Chapter One
Officer Rick Chandler brought his patrol car to a stop in front of a quiet house on Fulton Street and exited with caution. Yorkshire Falls was a small upstate New York town, population approximately 1,725. The crime rate was low in comparison to the big cities and folks possessed vivid imaginations. Case in point, the last major crime spree had centered around a panty thief with Rick’s younger brother Roman as the town’s most popular, if absurd, suspect.
Lisa Burton, the woman who’d placed the 911 call this afternoon, was a middle school teacher not prone to exaggeration or fright and though Rick didn’t anticipate trouble now, he took nothing for granted. A preliminary check of the grounds told him everything was secure so he approached the front yard and strode up the bluestone steps. The door was shut tight and he knocked loudly. The shades on the side window ruffled as wary eyes peered out.
“Police.” He announced his presence. The sound of unlatching locks followed until the door opened a crack. “It’s Officer Chandler,” he said, keeping his hand on his gun as an instinctive precautionary measure.
“Thank God.” He recognized the homeowner’s voice. “I thought you’d never get here.”
Lisa’s breathless, husky tone didn’t come as a shock. For all her schoolteacher conservativism, Lisa, he’d learned, had the hots for him. She’d made sexual overtures before and though Rick didn’t want to think she’d call the police unnecessarily, her seductive voice had him clenching his jaw. “You reported a disturbance?” he asked.
The door swung open wide. He stepped inside—with caution at first—because she still hadn’t come out from behind the protection of the solid oak door.
“I reported a need for police presence.” She kicked the door closed behind him. “I reported a need for you.”
His gut told him there was no cause for procedural safeguards and he released his hold on his holstered gun. But he remained wary and as he inhaled, his instincts were proven right. A heavy perfumed odor surrounded him and every male defense mechanism he possessed kicked in. He coughed, gagging on what he assumed was meant to be a potent aphrodisiac. It was potent all right but the woman who’d made the phone call was doomed to disappointment. The only thing that was going to be turned on were the lights.
He hit the switch on the wall at the same time Lisa stepped into view. He ought to be surprised by her appearance but figured he was too jaded by recent events. The plain-looking schoolteacher had transformed herself into a daring dominatrix. From her thigh-high black leather boots to her fitted leather bustier, up to her wild, dark, kinky hair, her getup shouted take me now, on the floor, against the wall, it didn’t matter.
Rick shook his head. Though he already knew the answer, he asked anyway, “What the hell’s going on?”
She propped her shoulder against the wall and assumed a sultry pose. “That should be obvious by now. You’ve turned down every ordinary woman’s offer in town, including mine. I’m about to change that. Despite my day job and normal appearance, I can be most untraditional.” She crooked a red painted fingernail his way. “Come let me show you my props.”
A raised eyebrow was the most Rick could manage in response. Then he heaved a healthy sigh, certain of only one thing. His meddling mother, Raina, was behind Lisa’s continued, less-than-subtle attacks.
Raina had vested every woman with the notion that her middle son would settle down if only he found someone special, someone who’d keep him entertained. Lisa, like many other females in town, had obviously taken his mother’s words to heart. Though Raina was right in thinking Rick appreciated uniqueness, she was wrong believing he’d ever marry again, let alone have children. Given his past experience at the altar, his mother ought to know better.
Why put his heart on the line to be trampled when he could enjoy the vast array of women out there with no hurt involved? Though his playboy reputation was highly overrated, it was a fact he enjoyed women. Or he had until the Yorkshire Falls female population had launched their all-out attack on his bachelorhood.
“So are you ready to tie me up?” Lisa dangled a pair of fur-lined handcuffs his way.
Another time, another place, hell another woman and he might be interested in her charms. But with Lisa, the chemistry didn’t exist and he preferred her friendship to her feminine wiles. He folded his arms across his chest and told her what he’d said the last two times she’d propositioned him, though not as overtly as this. “Sorry. I’m not biting.”
She blinked, a sudden hint of vulnerability in her eyes. “That’s fine. I can do all the nibbling necessary for us both.” She smiled, baring her white teeth, her words dispelling any illusion of softness he thought he’d seen.
“Not now, Lisa.” He rubbed his aching temples. “To be honest, not ever.” The words didn’t come easily. Rick worried about her feelings despite her predatory actions. After all, his mother had raised him to be a gentleman. But he’d bet even Raina, for all her pushing, hadn’t anticipated how far the women of Yorkshire Falls would go to get his attention.
If Lisa favored leather over lace, she probably had a tough hide. Besides, she had to know with a blatant gesture like this, she was risking rejection. Just as he knew that if he softened toward her at all, he risked a repeat episode. It had happened before, not just with Lisa. Other women, other outrageous stunts. This was the third attempted seduction this week.
She shrugged and glanced away, obviously more fazed than she wanted to admit. Yet once again she recovered, this time by licking her tongue over glossed lips. “One day I will strike the right chord.”
He doubted it. Rick started for the door, but turned back. “You might want to take note of the fact that it’s illegal to call 911 unless you’re truly in distress.”
“I’ll see you at the teacher DARE training program,” Lisa said before he shut the door behind him.