Hot as Sin by Bella Andre Page B

sleepless, but radiantly happy, new mother. Now she was resolutely single, without a family anywhere on the horizon.
    At least she’d found a place where she belonged, where no one questioned where she’d come from. Her coworkers assumed Dianna had always been confident. Beautiful.
    No one knew how hard she’d worked to transform herself.
    Ten years ago, she’d come to San Francisco with just enough money to rent a crappy apartment. She’d needed to find a job. Fast.
    She’d done surprisingly well in her communications course at Tahoe Junior College, given how shy she’d always been, so after carefully studying the morning newscasters and realizing she could probably do what they did, she went to a training salon. For ten dollars they gave her a cut and color, transforming her dirty-blond locks into golden waves.
    They also told her about clothing resale shops, where she soon found a couple of beautiful outfits in her size with the tags still on them. She’d marveled over the fact that some people had so much money that they would give things away without ever using them, but she was thankful, too, because she no longer looked like a hick from the mountains. She looked like a young professional, ready to make her mark on the world.
    That morning when she’d walked into the local news station, she’d felt utterly out of place. A total imposter. All she wanted to do was turn tail and run. Instead, she planted a wide smile on her face and made sure they knew she was willing to work hard. She wasn’t afraid of sweeping floors or cleaning toilets or filing endless piles of papers.
    Amazingly, she got the job, and one day when someone on set was sick, they actually let her help out onstage. Even more remarkable, at twenty-four, after six years of giving every spare moment she wasn’t fighting for April to the network, they’d accepted her proposal for a brand-new show.
    Her vision of a positive, fun show that highlighted all the West Coast had to offer, from restaurants and shops to local stars, quickly became a hit. And she loved it. Even though sometimes she didn’t feel like smiling or sitting still for two hours while the stylist touched up her highlights and perfected her makeup.
    All that mattered was that she was making an excellent living doing exactly what she wanted to do—and that her success had allowed her to pull April out of the foster system. Even better, unlike her mother, she didn’t have to rely on a man to take care of her … and she wouldn’t be left with nothing after he’d gone.
    “I shouldn’t have let you go meet April by yourself,” Ellen said, breaking into her thoughts.
    Dianna squeezed her friend’s hand, wanting to reassure her. “The accident could have happened anywhere. I shouldn’t have been driving in that storm.”
    But Ellen knew too much about Dianna’s difficult relationship with April to think that their meeting in the coffee shop was just a friendly chat between loving sisters.
    “It was more than the storm, wasn’t it? What did April say this time to upset you?”
    Dianna’s chest tightened as she thought about their conversation in the Vail coffee shop. “She has a new boyfriend. That’s why she’s decided to stay in Colorado.”
    In truth, there was much more to the situation, but Dianna wasn’t ready to talk to anyone about what April had told her just yet. Not until she figured out what she was going to do about it.
    A pretty middle-aged doctor whom Dianna hadn’t met yet knocked lightly on the door before entering the room.
    “It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Kelley. You are a very lucky lady to have survived that crash in such good condition. I’ve never seen anyone moved out of the ICU so quickly. Good for you. From what I can see on your X-rays you’ve got no broken bones and no internal injuries, although I’m sure you still feel pretty banged up.”
    The doctor flipped through the chart from the previous night. “How are you feeling