Read Online The Gambler by Lily Graison - Free Book Online

at his retreating back. A Gambler with a kind heart. She
almost choked on her tongue at the thought. Tristan Avery may be
handsome and rich but he was a terrible liar. She'd seen his gaze
lingering on her breasts. He may say he was taking care of her
because it was the right thing to do but she knew better. That man
would bed her at any given chance. She'd just have to make sure she
didn't give him anymore.

Chapter Four
     
     
     
    Tristan led her to the hotel and to a table
in the back of the dining room, the packages he’d been carrying
filling one of the chairs and spilling out into the floor.
     
    A woman smiled at them as she handed them a
menu with the days specials on it and Emmaline stared at hers while
chewing on her bottom lip.
     
    Tristan ordered them both coffee and watched
Emmaline concentrate on her menu before he noticed it was upside
down. Her eyes scanned the page as if reading the choices but by
the time the server came back to take their order, Tristan added
another bit of knowledge to his growing list of things about
Emmaline no one else probably knew.
     
    Laying his menu down, he cleared his throat.
“Do you know what you want, Emmaline?”
     
    She looked up, her eyes a little wide. She
flicked a nervous glance to the server before saying, “What are you
having?”
     
    He smiled, glanced at the menu again and
ordered eggs with bacon and toast. Emmaline’s eyes glazed over a
bit before she looked at the server. “I’ll have the same.” She
handed the menu back to the woman before turning to stare out the
window.
     
    Tristan watched her, amazed at the
transformation. He'd written her off last night as only fairly
attractive but seeing her now with her hair pulled back from her
face and the light from the window casting her in a soft glow, she
was downright pretty. The new frock helped too. That little dress
let him know with just a glance that she had curves he'd not paid
enough attention to. The cinched waist of the garment and that
dangerously low neckline made her look womanly and soft and she
still smell faintly of flowers.
     
    He wondered what sort of life she’d led as he
sat there staring at her. She obviously couldn’t read, unless she
could read upside down, which meant she hadn’t attended school. He
knew next to nothing about her, not even her age, which would
probably explain her reluctance to come with him. What kind of
person would go off with a total stranger?
     
    Looking at Emmaline, he knew the answer.
Someone desperate with no other choice.
     
    Their food arrived and Tristan noticed
Emmaline was watching him instead of eating. He picked up his fork
and took a bite before looking back up at her. She started eating
then, cleaning her plate until not a morsel was left. He hated her
stepfather all over again. He may have killed the man and felt
guilty for doing it but he wasn’t sorry. Not when he looked at
Emmaline, knowing, had her stepfather still been alive, she’d be in
that drafty cabin, alone more than likely, with nothing to eat, no
wood for her stove to keep her warm, and no clue when her next meal
would come.
     
    She sat back in her seat, her eyes drowsy
looking before crossing her arms over her chest. “What?”
     
    He smiled. “Nothing.”
     
    “Then why are you staring at me?”
     
    Why was he
staring at her? Was it the new clothes that outlined her petite
figure in great detail? That ridiculous hat every woman he knew
thought she had to wear or was it because those dark circles under
her eyes didn’t look as dark today.
     
    Maybe it was the pink glow to her cheeks, the
brightness of her eyes or her lips, wet and shining from where
she’d licked them. Or maybe it was just because she was pleasing to
look at. Not a classic beauty or a seductive temptress, but pretty.
Appealing without even trying. Natural beauty that was only
enhanced by the finery he’d bought for her. “I can’t look at
you?”
     
    Emmaline shrugged her shoulder and removed
the