Read Online The Millionaire Meets His Match by Kate Carlisle - Free Book Online

everything you can.” Mrs. Collins squeezed her arm. “We have such great hopes for you.”
    Trish smiled thinly but said nothing. She wished now that she hadn’t raised the expectations of her neighbors by telling them of her plan to find some dirt on Adam Duke. Even if she did discover something they could use against their nemesis, it wouldn’t bring back their shops or their homes.
    But eight months ago, after Grandma Anna died, Trish had been so angry and hurt that she’d stormed into City Hall and demanded to know why the city hadn’t approved the historical designation for Victorian Village. They’d told her that renters couldn’t apply for the designation; it had to come from the owners.
    She remembered the overwhelming desire to throw something at the clerk. It shouldn’t have mattered who applied for the designation. It was an objective fact that the block-long building was a town landmark, well over one hundred years old and lovingly preserved in the classic Queen Anne Victorian style. How dare the cityallow it to be bulldozed into oblivion and replaced by a concrete slab?
    After receiving no satisfaction at City Hall, she’d marched into the large Duke Development construction trailer that was camped on the site of her razed home and made silly threats. The head guy, a wormy little man who made her skin crawl, had warned her to get out or he would call security, so she left of her own accord, but not before foolishly ranting her intention to “take down Duke Development” if it was the last thing she did.
    Now, she could only laugh ruefully at the memory but back then, she’d been carrying around a grudge that weighed her down like a stone. Soon after the embarrassing scene at the Duke construction trailer, Trish had attended a barbecue with her old neighbors. She’d shared her plan with them, boldly promising that she would find something—anything—that could be used to hurt the Dukes in some way. It had been rash of her, but her friends had hailed her as their heroine and bolstered her confidence, so she knew she had to give it her best shot.
    And so she had. But so far, she’d found nothing remotely damaging to the corporation or to Adam Duke himself. On the contrary, the man appeared to be a saint.
    Mrs. Collins hugged her again and told her to “keep the fight alive.” Trish promised to arrange a get-together soon, then watched the older woman walk away. Trish knew she had no choice but to renew her pledge to continue her search. She just prayed that Adam never found out her true intentions because, if he did, she had no doubt that he would make it impossible for her to ever find work in this town again.
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    â€œWho wants hot dogs?” Sally Duke cried as she slid the patio door open while balancing two full platters of hot dogs and buns.
    â€œLet me help you with that, Mom,” Adam said, jogging over to grab something from her capable hands. He set the trays on the patio table.
    â€œThanks, sweetie,” Sally said. “Could you make the hamburger patties? You’re so good at that.”
    â€œI’ll take care of them. You relax.”
    â€œOh, and I think we’ll need more sangria.”
    â€œYou got it.” Adam signaled to Brandon, who stood behind the tiki bar on the other side of the wide terrace, beyond the pool. “Mom needs more sangria.”
    â€œComing right up,” Brandon called.
    Adam entered the big, sunny kitchen where Cameron stood at the stove, putting the finishing touches on the latest batch of his world-famous chili.
    Adam snatched a pickle from the relish tray in the refrigerator and chomped it down before heading over to taste-test the chili.
    â€œNeeds salt,” he said after the first spoonful.
    â€œI know,” Cameron said.
    Adam pulled the hamburger meat from the refrigerator, grabbed a large glass bowl from the cupboard and cleared a spot on the kitchen