Read Online Stealing the Groom by Sonya Weiss - Free Book Online

held himself stiffly away from Amelia in the bed because the day before had felt eerily right. Being with her felt right, which was one of the reasons he’d stayed instead of leaving. They’d eaten supper on the porch, watching as the daylight had conceded to the evening. Played numerous rounds of checkers until Amelia got annoyed at her losing streak. Talked about everything under the sun. Except for what was on both of their minds. That kiss. That damn mind-blowing kiss.
    He’d felt like an inexperienced teenage boy again. Hoping to get lucky and not knowing what to do if he did.
    But this little break from reality was all over. Today, he would go home and get back to his plans. He would tie up the loose ends here and they’d be on their way.
    He heard noises a second before the front door was flung open, crashing against the wall behind it, then footsteps came into the cabin. He turned toward the doorway of the bedroom and faced the shocked expression of a middle-aged man who didn’t look happy to see him.
    “What the hell is this?”
    “I can explain.”
    The man’s expression darkened. “You’ve got ten seconds.”
    Chad introduced himself and quickly explained the situation. He rattled off his grandfather’s cell phone number. “If you call him, he can verify what I’m saying.”
    “Uh-huh. I don’t give a damn who he is. I’m Mark Olsen, owner of this cabin and sheriff of Honeymoon Hills. I got a phone call about suspicious activity in the area and here you are. Now get up and get dressed.”
    Great . Of all the cabins, they had to break into one owned by someone in law enforcement.
    Beside Chad, Amelia jolted awake. He felt her tense when she spotted the sheriff. She scrambled into an upright position and held the blanket up to her neck, her hair falling into riotous waves around her face.
    She blinked and looked at Chad, then back at the sheriff.
    “We can explain,” she said, echoing Chad’s earlier words.
    The sheriff looked pointedly at the clothes they’d rinsed out and hung to dry on the back of the chair. “I think I get the picture.”
    Amelia’s face flooded with color “I know how this must look…”
    The sheriff waved off her attempt to speak. “You’ll need to come down to the station with me and then I’ll probably arrest both of you.”
    Chad wrapped an arm around Amelia’s shoulders and held out a hand in protest. “Hang on a second. Arrest? On what grounds?”
    “For arson. Breaking and entering.” The sheriff paused, allowing his words to sink in.
    “Arson? But the fire was an accident!” Amelia protested, hitching the blanket up higher.
    “Accident? I suppose breaking into this cabin was an accident, too?” the sheriff said.
    “No, we meant to break into the cabin,” Amelia said.
    Chad groaned and shot her one of his please-let-me-handle-this looks. “Sheriff, I already explained what happened.”
    “You did, but I’m not buying it. Get outside. You’ve got two minutes.”
    When the sheriff exited, Chad pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering in a low voice. “I don’t believe this.”
    Amelia said, “Well…that certainly is a unique way to get jerked from a sound sleep.” Holding the blanket with one hand, she pointed to her clothes with the other. “Toss me those, will you?”
    Chad grasped her wrist, feeling anger pump through his veins. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve stirred up this time?”
    Amelia tugged free and rolled her eyes. “Will you relax? This situation doesn’t have to get blown out of proportion.”
    “Due to what you’ve dragged me into lately, I don’t know that it’s wise for me to even ask, but what do you suggest we do?”
    “Simple. We’ll go with the sheriff. I’ve talked my way out of worse than this before.”
    “I don’t even want to know what you’re referring to that could be worse than this and I don’t know if it escaped your notice, but he didn’t look like the neighborhood welcome