Read Online Delectable Desire by Farrah Rochon - Free Book Online Page A

live in the biggest, ritziest building on the block?
    It was ridiculous to feel intimidated; he had enough money in his own right. But when faced with this type of wealth, Carter couldn’t help feeling a bit awed.
    He approached the doorman and gave him his name. The uniformed man made a call, then moments later asked Carter to follow him to the elevator. The doorman slipped an electronic card into a slot and pressed fifty-seven. Carter watched the numbers climb as the elevator smoothly rose to the top of the building.
    “It’s the penthouse. Make a left when you exit,” the doorman instructed.
    Carter walked down the hallway to the only door on this floor. He smoothed his hands down the front of his lightweight cashmere sweater, then knocked. He waited a few moments before the door opened.
    “Good evening. You must be Mr. Drayson,” said the middle-aged woman who answered the door. She, too, was dressed in a uniform. A live-in housekeeper? Was Lorraine really rolling like that? Man, and he thought he was something special because he’d bought himself a Porsche.
    “I am,” Carter answered. “How are you?”
    “Frannie, is someone at the door?” Lorraine came into the room and her face lit up. “Hi,” she said, a bit shyly.
    “Hi,” Carter answered, feeling a smile growing on his face. She tended to do that to him.
    The housekeeper stood between them, looking pointedly at Lorraine. She cleared her throat.
    “Oh. Gosh. Sorry. Carter, this is Francine, our housekeeper. Frannie, this is Carter Drayson. His family owns Lillian’s, the bakery.”
    “I know it well,” the woman answered. “Lorraine doesn’t know this, but she’s been eating your grandmother’s pies since she was a little girl. Of course, I passed them off as my own.”
    “Frannie!” Lorraine gasped, but then she laughed. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
    “It shouldn’t,” the housekeeper said. “Have a good time tonight. And because your mother isn’t here to say it, I will. Don’t stay out too late.” Then she left them.
    “Do your parents live here?” Carter asked.
    “Yes,” Lorraine answered. “But don’t worry, they’re never around. It’s usually just me, Trina and Frannie.” She pointed to a gold-plated clock sitting on a marble table in the foyer. “You’re early. I haven’t finished getting ready.”
    Carter’s gaze drifted over her tailored cream slacks and shimmering gold sleeveless sweater. The belt, made out of gold hoops, matched the necklace and earrings she wore. The entire ensemble looked as if it came straight from the pages of a high-end magazine...for the forty-and-over crowd.
    Yet on Lorraine it looked just right. How she managed to make an outfit his aunt Daisy would wear look so damn sexy was beyond comprehension.
    “What else is there to do?” Carter asked her. “You look fabulous. It’s perfect for where we’re going.”
    “Thank you,” she said, that demure smile pulling at her lips. “But I’m still not done. Let’s go into the living area. I’ll fix you a drink.”
    “I could use a bottle of water,” Carter said, following her farther into the penthouse apartment.
    Living area was definitely the correct word to describe where Carter found himself standing moments later. The space was too vast to be called a simple “room.” There were several seating areas with love seats, chairs and low tables set up throughout the space. Marble columns separated the room into quadrants.
    The fact that Lorraine lived with her parents had caught him off guard. The lack of privacy would drive him insane. But in a place this size, maybe privacy wasn’t an issue. He could get lost just in the living room. Living area, he reminded himself.
    Yet it was still a bit unnerving that she still lived at home.
    “What about your brother?” Carter asked. “Does he live here, too?”
    “No, Stuart moved out after he finished college. I’ve been telling myself that I will move out eventually. It just