Read Online More Than a Mistress by Leanne Banks - Free Book Online

customer. “It’s no crime to look. It’s no crime to buy either. The roses are on special today.” After he imparted that information, he went back in his shop.
    Daniel stewed in his juices for another two minutes, vacillating. After seeing the crack in Sara’s resistance to him, he concluded that he needed to be a little more aggressive. Not a dozen roses, though. That would be overstating his case. One single red rose, he decided and pushed through the florist’s door.
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    â€œIt’s for you.”
    Shaking her head, Sara looked at the single red rose in horror. She’d always hated roses since her affair with the senator. Her throat closed up. Daniel extended it over her desk for her to take. The sweet aroma wrapped around her and squeezed her with memories and all the self-recriminations she’d tried to leave behind years ago.
    Sara held up her hand. “No,” she whispered, fighting a dozen overwhelming emotions.
    â€œIt’s just a rose, Sara.” Daniel’s eyebrows furrowed together.
    But it wasn’t just a rose to her. It reminded her of the danger of wishing for things she wouldn’t get. Not so much things, but people—such as a man who would love her, such as a family, such as children.
    â€œI can’t—” Her voice gave out when she looked at Daniel. If she were foolish enough to wish for a man to love her, she’d wish for Daniel. Appalled at the thought and deeply disturbed by the sight of the rose, Sara felt tears threaten. “Oh, no,” she nearly wailed. Where had her control gone?
    Totally confused, Daniel watched Sara stand. He caught sight of her watery eyes. “Are you allergic to them?”
    Sara gave a little shake of her head. “No. I—I—” She bit her lip as if composing herself. “Thank you very much for the thought,” she said in a wobbly voice. “But I don’t like roses,” she finished, her words fading into a broken whisper.
    He watched her face crumple and felt his gut tie into a knot. He tried to reach for her, but she backed away, shaking her head.
    She opened her mouth as if to explain, but the only sound that came out was a sob, then she stumbled out of the room.
    That little feminine sob put a lump in his throat.
    â€œWhat have you done?” Carly entered the room and glared at him. Apparently she had witnessed the last few seconds of the scene. Daniel hadn’t noticed her. His complete attention had been focused on Sara.
    Bemused, he shook his head and pointed at the rose. “I just brought her a rose. I swear. She started crying.” He glanced at Carly. “Did you know she hates roses?”
    â€œNo. You must have said something.”
    â€œI didn’t even ask her out for dinner.”
    Carly frowned. “I’ve never seen Sara close to tears.”
    â€œYeah, well, she was crying just a minute ago. She looked upset.” He felt helpless, and if there was one thing Daniel Pendleton hated, it was feeling helpless. “Maybe you’d better go check on her.”
    He stared at the offending rose. The sweet aroma teased his nostrils, but a bitter taste rose at the back of his throat. He swore under his breath in disgust. “Maybe it’s not the rose she hates. Maybe it’s me.”
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    After that, Daniel stayed the hell away from Sara Kingston. It shouldn’t have been all that difficult, between taking care of Erin’s horse farm while she and Garth honeymooned, managing his own farm and helping with the little emergencies that always seemed to come up during a major holiday like Christmas.
    Just yesterday Daniel had received a call from Elbert Willis’s very pregnant wife, Tina. Elbert had fallen off a ladder and broken a leg while he’d been stringing Christmas lights across the roof of his house.
    Daniel fed and watered the livestock while Tina jiggled her one-year-old child on her hip. “This is