Read Online Not What It Seems (Escape to Alaska Trilogy) by Brenda Sinclair - Free Book Online Page B

little Scout uniform, her hair in pigtails and her face splattered with freckles, ringing doorbells and selling dozens of boxes of cookies.
    “That’s a mere technicality which doesn’t matter anyway. A Girl Scout lives by the code for life. And honor and honesty top the list.” Cassidy lowered her hand. “So, will you agree to a lovely evening together to partake of Patricia’s culinary delights?”
    “Whoa. Back up. You know Patricia? Patricia Graham, the executive chef from Endless Nights?” Clayton stood, hands on hips.
    “She’s my housemate. I attended…” Cassidy slammed her mouth shut; her smile vanished.
    “You attended what?” Clayton stared at her. She’d changed her mind about whatever she’d almost blurted out.
    “I attended an evening cooking course with her sister, Sheila. Sheila introduced me to Patricia.” Cassidy smiled, weakly. “Sheila and I have been friends for years. When I decided to move here, Sheila suggested I share Patricia’s home with her.”
    Clayton would bet his new Porsche she was lying. Cassidy couldn’t operate the bar’s coffee maker when she first started. Evening cooking course? Right. And he’d considered taking knitting lessons. “I dine at Endless Nights frequently. Patricia’s a top-rated chef. The owner is fortunate he snagged her.”
    “Patricia loves working there. The owner is absent, very hands off. Patricia’s been given free-rein to operate the business as her own. She couldn’t be happier.” Cassidy’s smile returned.
    “And you believe we could share a meal together and not create a scene in the most prestigious restaurant in downtown Anchorage?”
    “Not only do I believe it, I’ll prove it if you agree to meeting for dinner at seven o’clock next Sunday?” Cassidy stuck out her hand, he assumed, intending to shake on the idea.
    Clayton shook his head. Something just didn’t feel right.
    He’d bet anything that her auburn hair originated in a bottle. A soft brunette would better suit her coloring. Furthermore, Cassidy had eyed him suspiciously for days, dodged every innocent question regarding her past work and her previous home.
    Why the sudden change of heart?
    Clayton couldn’t put his finger on exactly what Cassidy intended to accomplish by dragging him downtown to dinner. And if Cassidy intended to pick up the check why not suggest some fast food place? A few customers suffered heart palpitations when they glanced at the prices on the menu at Endless Nights, but she offered to pay their bill on a waitress’s salary.
    She’s up to something.
    In the past whenever an overbearing woman attempted to attract his attention, Clayton heard a biological clock ticking as loud as Big Ben. But Cassidy didn’t appear ‘motherly’. He’d describe her as kind-hearted, warm, generous and caring. Someday she’d be a wonderful mother. Right now, he just didn’t see motherhood as a priority with her.
    She’s definitely up to something.
    Did Clayton have ‘meal ticket’ written on his forehead? Nobody ever accumulated wealth by waiting tables. Did Cassidy consider landing a guy in management as the means of attaining a more financially secure life for herself? She couldn’t have discovered who he really was. If he knew women, they couldn’t keep such a discovery to themselves. He hated to admit it, but she wasn’t a gold digger.
    Doesn’t matter. She’s still up to something.
    Clayton grabbed a wet cloth and mopped the counter top and mixing areas, dried them with a clean towel. Memories of Barbara, his gold digger fiancée, flashed through his mind. Within a two week period, that woman had racked up his credit cards, emptied his checking account, and slept with his best friend. And then she disappeared off the face of the earth. He’d been burned once, and he wasn’t going anywhere near that fire again.
    Clayton shook his head and tossed the cloths onto the counter. “Sorry. Dinner out together would amount to the most monstrous