What a Woman Needs

PRAISE FOR JUDI FENNELL AND HER NOVELS:

“The opening . . . is one of the best hooks I’ve read. I don’t know who could set it down after the first few pages . . . An excellent choice.”

—Joey W. Hill, national bestselling author

“One of the most exciting and fun reads I have ever encountered.”

—
Fresh Fiction

“Phenomenally written novel . . . One of the best stories I have read this year, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a happy ending!”

—
Sizzling Hot Books

“Will keep the reader enraptured.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“I had a smile on my face and a sigh of contentment . . . lighthearted but full of emotion. The story stirred in me feelings of falling in love all over again. It was just downright enjoyable to read!”

—
That’s What I’m Talking About

“A light and breezy read for all . . . [Will] amuse the reader to the very last page. Well done, Judi Fennell!”

—
Night Owl Reviews

“Rip-roaring fun from the very first page . . . This book is one for the keeper shelf.”

—Kate Douglas, bestselling author

“A tale that shimmers, shines, sparkles, and sizzles.”

—
Long and Short Reviews

“Full of vivid imagination.”

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Seriously Reviewed

“Sizzling sexual tension, plenty of humor, and a soupçon of suspense.”

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“Ms. Fennell has captured a new fan.”

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Romancing the Book

“Chock-full of surprises . . . with a beautiful twist of romance.”

—
Book Loons

“Judi Fennell is a bright star on the horizon of romance.”

—Judi McCoy, author of
Till Death Do Us Bark

“[Fennell] is proving herself to be a solid storyteller.”

—
RT Book Reviews

Titles by Judi Fennell

WHAT A WOMAN WANTS

WHAT A WOMAN NEEDS

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) LLC

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

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penguin.com

A Penguin Random House Company

WHAT A WOMAN NEEDS

A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the author

Copyright © 2014 by Judi Fennell.

Excerpt from
What a Woman Gets
by Judi Fennell copyright © 2014 by Judi Fennell.

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorizededition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning,or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writersand allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

Berkley Sensation Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group.
BERKLEY SENSATION
®
is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.

The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.

For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

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eBook ISBN: 978-1-101-62548-4

PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley Sensation mass-market edition / June 2014

Cover art by Daniel O’Leary.

Cover design by Judith Lagerman.

Interior text design by Kristin del Rosario.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

To my children, as always.

And to the man who’s been an inspiration for
this story, thank you.

H
E’D
lost.

Bryan Manley stared at the cards on the table in front of him.

Straight flush. Jack high.

It beat his full house. It beat Liam’s four queens and Sean’s nine-high straight flush.

He’d lost.

To his
sister
.

The one who’d never played poker.

And she’d not only beaten him, but all
three
of them. Mary-Alice Catherine Manley had beaten the Manley men at their own game.

And now they were going to have to play hers.

Bryan cleared his throat, disgust burning the back of it. He, leading man, paparazzi fodder, starlet heartbreaker, and
People
magazine’s
Next Biggest Thing, was going to be someone’s maid.

“I believe, dear brothers, you all need to be fitted for Manley Maids uniforms,” Mac said as if it weren’t the death knell on his image.

“I’m not wearing an apron.” The words were out of his mouth before he’d even thought that far, but it just proved his instincts were right on. Every director he’d ever worked with had said so, and Bryan was damned glad for it right now.

An apron. Christ. The tabloids were going to have a field day with this. His agent? Not so much.

Interestingly, none of the brothers tried to talk Mac out of this ridiculous pay-up. They’d made their bets and lost fair and square.

But, Jesus. A maid.

“When do you want us to start, Mac?” Liam was the first to recover—if that’s what it could be called.

“Whenever you can. I’ve got the business.”

If Bryan didn’t know Mac any better, he’d swear she was trying not to laugh. But that wouldn’t be like Mac; she’d always idolized the three of them. Called them her knights in shining armor. Or football pads on occasion. But never this. Never an . . . an
apron
.

He’d swear it was a joke, but Mac had bet the only thing that could come anywhere close to what he and his brothers had bet: four weeks of cleaning service if she lost, four weeks of indentured servitude if she won. She wouldn’t risk her business for a joke.

“I’ve got the time now. I’ll get started first thing Monday.” Sean stacked the poker chips. Meticulously, which was the only indication of Sean’s emotions. He was pissed. At himself, probably. They’d gone against their instincts, all of them, and had let her play when she couldn’t afford the stakes.

The fact that they were the ones paying was immaterial. They’d been protecting Mac, their baby sister, for pretty much all of her life since their parents had died and Gran had taken them in. They should have stuck to their No Girls rule for this game, but she’d wanted in so bad and they’d all always been pushovers for her that they’d let her.

And now she was going to be their boss.

A maid. God.

The one plus was it looked like Gran’s cleaning lessons were going to pay off. Their grandmother had had her hands full with four young kids, and he and his brothers especially, had been pretty rowdy and messy.

He never would’ve thought he’d be grateful for those lessons. Hell, he even had Monica, his own maid from Mac’s company, to keep his condo in shape just so he
wouldn’t
have to dust off those cleaning lessons.

“Hey, can I do my place?” Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, though the PETA people would probably take issue with that.

Mac frowned at him. “You’d put Monica out of a job to weasel out of the bet? Really?”

When she put it like that . . .

“I’m not weaseling out of anything.” That’s all he’d need the tabloids to pick up on. “You can count me in for Monday, too. I’ve got some time between projects and was looking for something to do anyhow.” He’d hoped it would’ve had something to do with a certain actress, a beach, and a couple of Heinekens, but that wasn’t going to happen now. At least he’d be out of the public eye for a while; maybe he could pull this off without anyone getting wind of it.

Yeah, and Gran was going to up and leave her new place for the mansion he’d been wanting to buy her, too.