Read Online Barefoot in Lace (Barefoot Bay Brides Book 2) by Roxanne St. Claire - Free Book Online

couple weeks in the south of France.”
    Her jaw slipped ever so slightly, encouraging him.
    “In Nice,” he said, adding a grin. “How about I take my niece to Nice?”
    The rhyming joke fell flat between them as she blinked in surprise. “France? You can’t make me go to France.”
    “I wouldn’t make you, Alex, but—”
    “No.” She shook her head. Hard. “No way. No. I don’t speak French.”
    “You don’t speak much English, either.” At her look, he added, “I mean you don’t talk a lot, and I thought it might help you forget—”
    “Forget?” She whipped the word at him. “Forget my Momma? Is that what you mean?”
    “No, I—”
    “’Cause I don’t plan to.” Her voice rose with emotion. “Why don’t you just go and leave me? I know you hate me.”
    “I don’t hate you, Alex.” Only the situation they were in. Maybe she couldn’t see the difference. He tiptoed back into the white water. “And if we go, we could take a private plane, and we could talk to—”
    “That would be kidnapping.”
    Kidnapping? Not if she’s his ward. He’d just done the research and there were no restrictions on taking her anywhere, but he raised his hand, hoping to calm her. “I thought you might like to visit the Riviera and—”
    “You thought wrong.” She pivoted and headed down the hall, closing her bedroom door with enough force to qualify as a slight temper tantrum. Shaking his head, he pulled out his buzzing phone to read a text from Gussie McBain.
    Can you come to the resort for some planning and prep today?
    Anything would be better than staying here and staring at Alex’s closed door, even fluffing tulle for the wedding. He texted back immediately, then put the phone down, rinsed his cup, and headed down the hall to let Alex know where he was going. Because God forbid he leave and live and not have any damn responsibilities.
    He tapped, making an effort not to let his frustration come through in an angry knock.
    “Come in.”
    He opened the door, unsure what he’d find. He’d spent about zero minutes in this room since he got here. It was her sanctuary, and a twelve-year-old girl’s bedroom was about as foreign to him as the moon.
    The first thing that struck him was how neat it was. For some reason, he’d assumed all teenage or near-teenage girls were slobs. But this room, with deep-purple walls and a snow-white bedspread, was practically pristine.
    Alex sat on the floor, leaning against the bed, stuffing a notebook under a blanket on her lap. He’d probably walked in on private diary time. Something twisted in his gut when she looked up and her eyes appeared suspiciously damp.
    “I’m going out for a while,” he said.
    She nodded, her blank expression firmly in place.
    “I’m going to see Gussie at the resort.” He didn’t know why he felt compelled to tell her, but the slight spark of interest in her eyes made him glad he did. “Do you want to go with me?”
    She didn’t move for a beat or two, and he was certain she was about to say yes. Then she shook her head. “I’m busy,” she said.
    “Doing what?”
    Her fingers slid to the notebook she’d barely hid. “Just…writing.”
    Should he ask what she was writing? Try for a connection? Or—
    “You can leave now.”
    Or do as he was told. With a single nod, he stepped out of the room, eager to get back to the woman with whom they’d both connected. Maybe Gussie could give him some advice or help.
    Because God knew he needed some.

 
    Chapter Six
     
    “We divide and conquer.” Willow opened the giant binder that held the Bernard-Lyons Master Wedding Plan and turned it so Ari and Gussie could see. They were on the “final seventy-two,” as they called the last three days before the main event, and details could be missed if they didn’t track everything. “Since we all know the sane thing to do is separate this bride from her mother.”
    “So smart.” Ari lifted a packet of files and photos in front of her.