Read Online The Bachelor Takes a Bride (Those Engaging Garretts!) by Brenda Harlen - Free Book Online Page A

them.”
    “All the same, I’d feel better if I saw you safely home.”
    She was about to tell him that she wasn’t concerned with his feelings, but his words were followed by another one of those slow smiles that made her toes curl and her heart pound. Which was probably another reason she should insist on taking a cab. He waved over the hostess, said something to her that Jordyn couldn’t hear.
    Gemma nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.
    “I appreciate the offer, but you can’t just take off in the middle of a shift,” Jordyn protested.
    “I only got called in tonight because the restaurant was short staffed,” he told her. “Now that the dinner rush is over, they don’t need me here.”
    “You really shouldn’t let my sisters draw you into their game.”
    He winked at her. “Why would I object when it gives me a chance to play with you?”
    She rolled her eyes at the innuendo, refusing to acknowledge the quick spurt of her pulse that suggested that she might want to be played with. “It will save us both a lot of grief if you just let me call a cab.”
    “Would you really rather take a cab?”
    “No,” she admitted. “But I really don’t like being manipulated.”
    He took a bakery box from Gemma when she returned. “Sydney has the dining room under control and Rafe is going to cover the bar.”
    “Where are you going?” she demanded.
    “I’m giving Jordyn a ride home.”
    The hostess looked at her suspiciously. “Car trouble?”
    She sighed. “Sister trouble.”
    Some of the suspicion faded from Gemma’s eyes, and one side of her mouth turned up in a half smile.
    “That I can relate to,” she acknowledged. “Have a good night.”
    * * *
    Jordyn had agreed to let him take her home, but it was obvious to Marco that she wasn’t too pleased with the arrangement.
    He’d probably be pissed, too, if his siblings had pulled that kind of stunt on him. But while he understood her feelings, he couldn’t share them—he was too grateful to Tristyn and Lauryn for giving him this excuse to spend more time with Jordyn.
    “I hope I’m not taking you too far out of your way,” she said now.
    “A drive with a beautiful woman is never out of the way,” he assured her.
    “You’re every bit as charming as Tristyn warned me.”
    “I’m confused,” he said. “Are they pushing us together or warning you away?”
    “Okay, the comment about your charm was probably a commendation rather than a warning,” she allowed. “But I don’t trust charming men.”
    “Then I’ll do my best to be—what’s the opposite of charming?”
    “Now you’re making fun of me.”
    “Maybe a little,” he acknowledged.
    “At least you’re honest.”
    “Do you trust honest men?”
    “There it is again,” she said.
    “What?”
    “The effortless charm.”
    “Sorry,” he apologized, trying not to smile.
    “No, you’re not. You look at a woman with those dreamy eyes and easy smile and that damn dimple, and you know it’s just a matter of time before she succumbs.”
    “Is it?” he asked. “Just a matter of time before you succumb, I mean.”
    She huffed out a breath. “We weren’t talking about me.”
    “I’m only interested in you.”
    “Really? Because you had both of my sisters swooning.”
    He shook his head. “Tristyn is hardly the swooning type and Lauryn seems happily married.”
    Her brows lifted; he shrugged.
    “I saw the ring.”
    “Is that a guy thing—checking the left hand every time you meet a woman?”
    “Not every woman—just the really hot ones.”
    “I’m sure Lauryn would be flattered to know you put her in that category.”
    “Both of your sisters are stunning,” he told her. “But you’re the only one who makes my heart skip a beat every time I see you.”
    “Since it’s dark and you’re watching the road, you probably didn’t see me roll my eyes at that.”
    “You don’t believe it’s true?”
    “No,” she said bluntly. Then, “Turn right