Read Online Crash and Burn by Michelle Libby - Free Book Online Page A

the eggs.
    “It smells great down here. Obviously Divina’s not cooking,” Hank said, walking into the kitchen dressed in his business suit. “Serve me up some, man.”
    “Sure thing.”
    “What happened to you and Grace last night? I got home and you guys disappeared.”
    “We were talking upstairs.”
    “Talking, or talking like on the couch the other night?” Hank wiggled his bushy eyebrows.
    “You’re not helping.” Stone slid a plate in front of him. He told Hank about Grace’s questions and that he thought she was weakening to his charms. “So get your tux pressed, you might get married after all.”
    “Who’s getting married?” Divina asked, sitting at the small round table.
    “Grace might pretend to be you so we can get married,” Hank told her, then kissed her. “I don’t know how he’s going to do it, but Stone is going to save the day.”
    “I knew Gracie would help us out. I knew it.” Divina grinned ear to ear.
    Stone had the urge to knock the smile off her face. He was so disappointed in his initial choice of wife. She didn’t even understand she was tearing her sister up inside–the sister who would do anything for her.
    He was irritated. He never would’ve treated his sister that way if she was still alive. As kids they’d bickered, but he never made her feel so…conflicted. Celia had been younger, like Divina. She’d died when the man she’d been dating took her out on his motorcycle and wrapped it around a tree, traveling at one hundred miles per hour, showing off. Even though Celia’d been wearing a helmet, it didn’t save her life. It made him sick at the thought of his sweet brunette sister’s mangled body. She’d been nineteen and never had the chance to experience life.
    “You ought to cut Grace some slack. She cleans up your life for you,” he spit at her.
    “What’s up your ass, Stone? You’re getting what you want. A wife to parade around. And I’m getting what I want–you out of my hair.”  
    “You do realize Grace will be you for the next year. That means Divina Cromwell can’t get married to anyone else because she’ll be by my side, happily married .” He strung the word out to make his point more irritating.
    Divina stomped her foot under the table. “Unacceptable.”
    “That’s facts,” Stone said with more satisfaction than necessary. “Hank’ll explain it to you.” Stone threw a towel onto the table and, without a backward glance, left the kitchen.
    Celia would have loved Grace. She would have admired her loyalty and ability to see situations in many lights. At least he hoped Grace would see the benefits of being his wife. A bit of a chicken, not wanting to face Grace, he grabbed his coat and headed out the front door for a walk. He needed to clear his head before he made final arrangements for the first photo shoot with his sponsor and his pseudowife.
    Stone was back from his walk with barely enough time to change his clothes and pick up Grace. With a bit of luck she would be agreeable. He’d put a call into Walt to give him the heads-up. Walt said he would plan an extra hour so there would be time for a quick makeover and a new wardrobe for Grace.
    Grace stood in the center of the living room, her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. “I have a few conditions.”
    His stomach dropped. She was going to turn him down.
    “Listen here, Mr. Big Shot Racecar Driver. I am who I am. I refuse to turn into some racecar bimbo just because I’m supposed to act like my sister. I’ll go though the cloning process, but I will not dumb myself down. And finally, there will be no PDA. You can tell your sponsors, Walt and anyone else that we don’t engage in public displays of affection. We are very private people.”
     

 
    Chapter 6
     
    Stone glanced at Grace in the passenger seat of his car on the way to the storage facility where the racecar was parked. She wrung her hands in her lap and he suppressed a smile. This would all work out.
    “You