Read Online Chasing the Runaway Bride by Susan Meier - Free Book Online

soft voice tiptoeing up his spine, her total femininity lighting up the room, he suddenly realized this thing between them wasn’t weird, or freaky, or fun. It was dangerous.
    Unless he wanted to take his mom’s share of his family’s inheritance and hand it to the man who had beaten him his entire life, running the grocery store had to look real. And the reality was he did not like Piper O’Riley. He could not sleep with her. He could not want to sleep with her.
    Whatever the hell hormone she had awoken in him, he had to kill it. Now.
    “Okay. So maybe you’re right. It is a waste of money for both of us to be here.”
    Her eyes lit as if she were thrilled he agreed with her. “Really?”
    “Yeah. With the store open from seven to eight, thirteen hours, how about if I work six hours alone and you work six hours alone, and we both work an overlap hour or so when we’d be in the store together so we can discuss things?”
    “Sounds perfect.”
    “Great. I’ll take mornings this week.”
    “Great.”
    She turned and walked out of the office with a happy smile on her face, and he tossed a pencil at the computer. It shouldn’t sting that she was so glad to be away from him. He tried to get rid of the odd feeling tingling through him, but he couldn’t.
    Damn it!
    He wandered to the little window that looked out over the sales floor. A man didn’t get to his age without knowing that a certain kind of itch didn’t go away without a good scratching. He didn’t want to marry her. He just wanted one good session in the sack.
    And she’d all but admitted she wanted it, too. She was only worried about gossip, about people finding out.
    Maybe they should just do it and get it over with?
    Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea. He’d had plenty of temptations that fizzled after one or two nights together.
    Given how different they were, how much they didn’t like each other, this one probably would, too.
    Now all he had to do was get her to agree.

Chapter Six
    The next day when Piper arrived for her shift at three, she walked up to the office door calm and confident. Not working the same shift as Cade had solved her little attraction problem. She hadn’t thought about him all day. She’d done her laundry. Watched her soaps. And never once thought about that dragon tattoo. Or his possible washboard abs. Or his butt.
    Her mom’s human resources file in her hand, she knocked twice on the office door, then stepped inside. “Good afternoon.”
    He glanced up from the computer screen. “Good afternoon.”
    She waved the manila folder. “I’m just in here to file this.”
    He frowned. “File what?”
    “My mom’s employee paperwork.”
    His frown deepened. “You took it home with you?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Why?”
    “She didn’t have her social security card. So this morning she dug it up and we photocopied it at the bank.” She displayed the file again. “So now her file is complete.”
    He rose from the desk. “It might be complete, but the information has to be entered into the payroll software.” Walking toward her, he held out his hand. “I’ll do it.”
    He wore his usual butt-molding jeans, but this time he’d chosen a black T-shirt. The form-fitting shirt showed off his muscles, and the color made his tattoos obvious, sexy. When he reached her, she could almost feel him pulling her like a magnet. The desire to touch him, just squeeze one of those biceps to see if it was as hard as it looked, raced through her.
    Remembering the warmth that had rushed through her the day before, standing so close to him, she yanked the file back. “No. No. It’s okay.” Not liking the tremble in her voice, she paused before she added, “I’ll do it on my shift.”
    His head tilted as he gave her face a quick once-over. Undoubtedly, he was recalling their near-misses with flirtations the day before, too. Even though she seriously did not want him to mention it, pinpricks of excitement trembled through her.
    He frowned.