Read Online Not the Marrying Kind (Destiny Bay Romances - Forever Yours) by Helen Conrad - Free Book Online Page A

comment made by someone passing his table and hadn’t been directed at him, but he’d just spent time with Shelley and it interested him, so he’d filed it away anyway.   And now, here the place was, just a few steps from where his car was parked.   A slow grin began to twist his mouth as memories of Shelley teased his senses.   He was about to leave town.   Last chance.   How could he resist?
    It seemed an odd place for one of the most important and prominent families in town to choose as their natural hangout.   Crusty as a barnacle covered boat, it stood out on the embarcadero, obviously one of the oldest cafes in the area.   And the one most in need of some updated décor, he thought as he walked in.  
    The place was crowded.   Talk was flowing freely.   He slid onto a stool at the counter and smiled at the redhead, wearing a “Mickey” name tag, who was tending it.  
    “You from out of town?” she asked, just making conversation as she poured him a cup of coffee.  
    He nodded.   “Just passing through,” he murmured.   “So, how are your burgers?”  
    “The best,” she shot back with a smile.   “Get the bacon cheeseburger.   You’ll be a happy man.”
    He grinned.   “That’s my goal.   I’ll have one.”
    He was about to ask her if there were any Carringtons around, or was it just a myth that they congregated here, when he caught sight of Shelley herself sitting by the window in a booth toward the back of the room.   She was laughing at something a tall young man was saying and Michael felt a little jerk to his jealousy meter.   Which was crazy.   No justification for it at all.  
    There was a crowd of people around her and he could see that there was no point in trying to get her attention, so he sat and watched.   They were a noisy bunch, but in a good-natured way that didn’t really bother anyone.   He felt a twinge, watching.   Though he didn’t know anyone but Shelley, he could see that there was a bond of closeness between them all.   Like a family picnic.  
    Family.   That was something he didn’t know too much about.   His own had been so massively dysfunctional, he sometimes tried to convince himself his childhood had been a bad dream.  
    He stared into the bottom of his coffee cup for a long moment, thinking of how different their backgrounds were.   Shelley was raised as small town royalty--- his parents had been small time crooks, sort of Bonnie and Clyde wanna-bes.   His earliest memories were of being wakened from his motel bed in the middle of the night and rushed to the car as his parents escaped yet again from a bad situation.   It was his job to stare out the back window, watching for that tell-tale flashing red light coming up from behind.   Getting across the state line was always the most important goal in his family.   Sometimes they made it, sometimes they didn’t, and he was farmed out to a foster family for a few months while his parents served a bit of time.
    Family.   Yeah, that was something other people had.   Not him.  
    “Don’t mind them,” the redhead said as she served him his cheeseburger, nodding toward where the party was going on.   “It’s just Carringtons doing a little celebrating.   Happens all the time.”
    He looked back at her and nodded.   “Actually, I’ve met Shelley,” he said as he prepared the burger for it’s first bite.  
    “Really?”   Mickey’s eyes sparkled as she noticed him sneaking a look in that direction.   “Hey Shelley,” she called out.   “Someone here to see you.”
    “No… .”   Michael tried to stop her, but it was too late.   He watched as Shelley looked up, surprised.   Then a series of mixed emotions flickered across her face.   She saw him.   Her eyes widened and she looked pleased. He smiled rather wanly.   She bit her lip and looked worried.   Once she’d thought it over, she obviously wasn’t all that happy to see him.   Then, realizing he could