Read Online Sudden Pleasures by Bertrice Small - Free Book Online Page A

minutes he had managed to make her blush.
    “The bed situation,” he reminded her. “Have you got a king-size bed? I’m a big guy, and can only sleep in a king-size extralong.”
    “I’ve got a double bed,” she said. And it’s just big enough for me, she thought.
    “Gotta order a king, extralong,” he told her.
    “We’ll have to move into Grandfather’s old rooms,” Ashley said, thinking. “I’m like Goldilocks—my rooms are just right. For me. I hope you’re not going to be more trouble than you’re worth. Are you, Ryan?” Her eyes were twinkling.
    He picked up the last strawberry from his meringue shell, popping it into his mouth. His tongue licked a drop of chocolate from the side of his lips. “Then we’re doing this?” he asked her.
    Seeing the tip of his tongue lapping at the chocolate had momentarily rendered her dizzy, but she still managed to speak. “I guess. You check out. You’re not an ax murderer. You seem a reasonable man. Yeah, I guess we are doing it.”
    “It?” Ryan couldn’t help leering at her. Bringing a blush to her pale cheeks was proving to be a lot of fun. He suspected from her consternation that it had been a long time since anyone had made her blush.
    “Damn it, you’re doing that deliberately!” she swore at him.
    He burst out laughing. “Guilty as charged,” he admitted. “I see you have a little bit of a temper too. I like my gals with spice,” he drawled in his best Texas accent.
    “And you seem to be a tease, Mr . Mulcahy,” she shot back. “Okay. Yes. We will get married to preserve our fortunes and our livelihoods. It would seem that neither of us has any other choice, except to transfer our funds to numbered accounts in the Caymans, take on new identities, and run. And I’ve never run from anything in all my life!”
    “Neither have I,” he said, serious now. “How do we explain our marriage to everyone? It’s going to seem really strange if we just do it without warning.”
    “I suppose we could date for a little while,” Ashley suggested. “I could get to know your family. I have no real family left, but you could get to know my friends. But I don’t want to have to plan another extravaganza, Ryan. When we set the date I want it to be simple. No fuss. No muss. Your mom. My friend Nina. That’s it. I realize your family will probably want a big show, but I have ended up the Bad-luck Bride three times now. I’m pretty certain that the florist here in the village has put one kid through college on my three canceled weddings.”
    “But it has to be in church,” he said. “Ma will insist on that.”
    “No problem. You’re an R.C., I presume?”
    “Baptized, confirmed, but I’m not much on church,” he admitted.
    “I’m an Anglican,” she told him. “But I want your mother happy in this, because I can see she means a lot to you. St. Anne’s is the Roman church. St. Luke’s is the Anglican. We’ll get married at St. Anne’s. They’ve got a new priest, Father Donovan. He’s a pretty cool guy. And my priest, Father Edwards, will co-officiate. That okay with you, Ryan?”
    “You want to set the date now?” he asked her. “No one except the lawyers has to know we’re going to be pretending to date.”
    “How about the last Saturday in August?” Ashley asked.
    “That’s good. I don’t travel in August,” he agreed.
    “How are we going to say we met?” she asked him.
    “No lie there,” he said. “Our lawyers are cousins, and they introduced us.”
    She nodded. “Yes, it’s the truth, isn’t it?”
    The door to the conference room opened, and the partners in the company of Ray Pietro d’Angelo came back in.
    “Lunch was okay?” Joe asked.
    “It was lovely,” Ashley said. “Whoever chose the menu did a good job.”
    “Have you decided what you want to do?” Ray inquired of them.
    Ashley looked at Ryan questioningly.
    “You explain it,” Ryan said.
    “Ryan and I thought it might be better if a relationship