Read Online Mr Destiny by Candy Halliday - Free Book Online Page B

really look at Kate and not know what a lucky man he was?
    Get over it.
    She was engaged. She would marry her corporate attorney. There was nothing he could do about it. It didn't even matter that
     they were attracted to each other.
    Sure, he'd sensed that Kate was attracted to him.
    He'd known it that first day in the park. And again a few minutes ago, when they kept staring at each other so intently back
     in the dressing room.
    But I'd never act on it.
    It just wasn't his style.
    I'm one of New York's Finest, dammit.
    Going behind some guy's back and making time with his fiancée was
not
going to happen.
    Kate was off-limits.
    Still, the thought of her marrying Harold bothered him.
    Did her big important corporate attorney soon-to-be husband truly deserve her?
    For Kate's sake, Tony hoped that he did.

CHAPTER 4

    G ood evening, Mr. Wellington.”
    Harold nodded curtly to the male desk clerk who promptly handed over his messages.
    He'd always preferred male desk clerks to female clerks who felt the need for idle chatter that grated on his nerves almost
     as much as it bored him. He glanced through the messages, then headed across the exquisite lobby of The Peninsula to the elevators.
    The admiring glances from several female guests as he walked past were wasted on him. Armani, Gucci, the Rolex, he had it
     all. He knew not one of the women had missed any of those luxuries only a man of his wealth and position could easily afford.
    Mindless sheep
, he thought briefly.
    That had been his father's opinion of women in general.
    To date, he'd never been able to make a strong case to contest his father's theory.
    Most women were followers, not leaders.
    Most women were always scrambling around to have the latest trend in every facet of their meaningless lives. Clothing. Shoes.
     Jewelry. Even frantic to get the newest “new millennium” trend that had become so popular with women today—Botox or plastic
     surgery in all the right places.
    “I feel sorry for the rest of you sons of bitches,” his father had often boasted when he was alive. “I married the only genuine
     woman God ever put on this earth.”
    Harold hadn't been able to contest that statement of his father's, either.
    Until the day he met Kate Anderson.
    It was as if his father himself had yelled out from his grave, “That one!”
    Kate was so much like his mother it sometimes scared him. She was beautiful, warm, and caring. Completely trusting. She'd
     make a devoted wife and a gracious hostess. She'd also make a wonderful mother.
If
he did decide later that he wanted any obnoxious offspring cluttering up his carefully planned-out life.
    From their first date, he'd realized he would have to do everything in his power to sweep Kate off her feet. A long engagement
     had never been on his agenda. Nor would a big wedding be a possibility. Big weddings caused tensions to rise and gave friends
     like Kate's damnable best friend Alex chances to put doubts into people's minds.
    He knew Alex didn't like him.
    He wasn't going to take that chance.
    He was going to keep doing exactly what he'd been doing from the moment he met Kate. He was going to overwhelm her with his
     charm and usher her to the altar as quickly as possible.
    Sweet, beautiful Kate.
    What man wouldn't want a trophy wife like her?
    He wasn't an idiot.
    He'd been on his best behavior from day one. He'd showered her with more attention than any woman deserved. He'd made it a
     point to make her believe he adored her completely. He'd even done a complete snow job on her grandmother and the unstable
     little twit who was currently living with her, Eve. Her friend Alex was the only thorn in his side.
    He was sure Alex had been responsible for Kate's concern that as compatible as they were together, the physical attraction
     between them was lacking. When Kate brought the subject up, it had stunned him. No, it had infuriated him, actually. Thankfully,
     he'd always been a master at controlling his emotions.