Read Online One Daddy Too Many by Debra Salonen - Free Book Online

wedding chapel that went out of business about a month later. Then, with their attendants, Grace and Ian’s friend and mentor from Reno, they’d joined a huge gathering of friends and family fora block party in the cul-de-sac in front of her parents’ home. She’d danced till her feet hurt, then the limo her father had hired drove Kate and her very drunk husband home—to the little house they’d rented.
    She was the first of her sisters to marry.
    For love, of course.
    But for another reason, too.
    “Mom, I’m pregnant. Ian wants us to get married. I love him. He’s fun and ambitious, but sometimes he seems so autocratic. We butt heads over the silliest things. What should I do?” Kate had asked Yetta once she’d finally admitted to herself that the flu she’d been experiencing wasn’t the flu.
    Yetta had deliberated on the question for nearly two days. Finally, she’d told Kate, “You need to marry Ian.”
    Any reservations Kate might have had about committing to the smooth-talking Gypsy who’d entered her life so suddenly were assuaged by the conviction she heard in her mother’s firm, deliberate tone. Everyone came to Yetta for advice. Only a fool would ignore the word of a Romani fortune-teller, right?
    Kate took another gulp of champagne. The bubbles burned going down her throat.
    Tempting as it was to blame her mother for what had followed, Kate was a realist. No one had forced her to say “I do” in front of the Elvis-impersonator justice of the peace. She could have listened to the little voice inside her head that said, “You don’t need a man to help you raise this child. Not if he’s the wrong man.”
    But she hadn’t trusted her instincts. And she’d paid dearly. As had her family and her daughter.
    Now, her instincts were harping again. The voice in her head said, “Run.” From Rob? Or Ian? Both, she decided. There wouldbe no repeat of that kiss. No matter how wonderful it felt.
    “Kate.”
    Rob had spotted her standing alone at the back of the room when he’d made his toast. She was sipping from a champagne flute. He’d never seen her drink anything but cola. Was she celebrating? She certainly had a right to. The reception had been an unqualified success, but he had one more thing to do before he could call it a night.
    “Here’s the woman of the hour,” he told the three reporters—two men and a woman—he’d asked to follow him. “Gentlemen. Ms. Chamberlain. It’s my privilege to introduce Katherine Radonovic Grant. She and her sister, Grace, own Romantique.”
    “Hi,” the senior of the two men said. “Nice to meet you. Thanks for all the samples you sent out to us. Delicious.”
    “Yeah. What were those rolled-up thingies?” the heavy-set man asked. “I’d like to get my wife to make them. Where do I get the recipe?”
    “Do you mean the dolmas? They’re stuffed grape leaves. I add my own twist. I’m so glad you liked them.”
    “Kate and her staff put in hours designing a personalized menu for the bride and groom,” Rob said. “And I just happen to have copies of it for you.”
    Kate appeared surprised but her smile didn’t change. Something was up. Was she mad at him about the kiss in the freezer? He didn’t blame her. It was a stupid impulse. He planned to make sure it didn’t happen again. Once this party was over, there was really no reason for them to see each other.
    “I understand this restaurant was closed recently because of an E. coli scare. What’s that about?” one of the journalists asked.
    Kate’sshoulders stiffened.
    “The unsubstantiated charge came from a man who is looking at serious jail time,” Rob said without giving her a chance to answer. “A thorough investigation failed to turn up any trace of contaminants. Isn’t it a shame how the innocent wind up paying for one man’s malicious accusations? Thank God Kate stood up and fought for the truth.”
    The reporters asked a few more questions before they wandered off to sample