Read Online The Groom's Revenge by Susan Crosby - Free Book Online

upcoming nuptials of Chloe Fortune and Mason Chandler, the fairy-tale-princess event yet to come.
    After the woman left, Mollie came around the counter and thanked him.
    “Friend of yours?” he asked.
    “Kelly Fortune. We grew up together. I was afraid you’d met already.”
    “Afraid?”
    “I’m not ready to share you with my friends yet.”
    There was nothing coy in her expression, just the truth of her words, which he respected and was glad of, even as he also wondered why she wanted to keep him a secret.
    “I’ve probably become too independent since Mom died, but I don’t want to lean on anyone. My friends mean well, but they tend to offer advice freely.”
    “You told me you always listen to advice.”
    Her cheeks pinkened. “Yours was relevant to my business, and you have the qualifications to do so.”
    “Do you think your friends would advise you against this trip?”
    Her eyes danced merrily. “Hmm. I’m only guessing, of course, but I think they just might try to talk me out of flying to California with a handsome, sexy man I met only three days ago. A man who, according to the tabloids, dates a new woman every week. Stunning blondes, exotic brunettes—”
    “Beautiful redheads?”
    “I’m not beautiful,” she said quietly, seriously, her eyes searching his.
    “I’m apparently an expert in the matter.”
    “You’re just being kind.”
    Kind —a word he hadn’t heard before in reference to himself. The descriptions usually involved words like grim and focused. Solitary. Distant. No one had called him handsome or sexy until just a minute ago. He didn’t have any illusions. Money and status were powerful draws for most people. “I’m not being kind, Mollie.”
    She clasped her hands together. “It doesn’t even matter, does it? We’re doing business together, right?”
    He hesitated only an instant. “Right. What time do you think we can leave tomorrow?”
    “Six-thirty.”
    “In the morning?”
    She grinned. “I asked Tony to deliver the baskets, so all I have to do is put the arrangements together.”
    “Which means you’ll want to get to bed early.”
    “You think I’m going to be able to sleep? I’ve never flown before. I’ll be way too excited to sleep. But I do need to go shopping right after work and pick up a couple of things for the trip.”
    “Do you mind if I tag along?”
    “I don’t mind. As long as you don’t try to buy me anything.”
    “Not even dinner?”
    “Oh. Well. Dinner. That’d be okay.”
    “You don’t have to worry about dressing up for my parents, Mollie.”
    She crossed her arms. “That’s such a male reaction.”
    “In case you hadn’t noticed—”
    “You’re a man.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him. “Oh, I noticed.”
    He didn’t know how to respond to a flirtatious Mollie, so he pulled a floppy disk out of his pocket and held it up. “I’ve brought another program to install on your computer.”
    “Like I don’t have enough to learn already?”
    “This one will do your taxes for you.”
    “Really? Are you going to install it now?”
    “I thought I would. Is that a problem?”
    “Um. You kind of need to ignore the condition of my apartment It kind of looks like a tornado swept through.”
    Gray doubted that. Her shop and apartment were like well-tended gardens and just as colorful. Not to mention home to a legendary leprechaun.
    He told her he’d see her later, then he climbed the stairs. A tidy living room greeted him. He kept walking, needing to see what she considered messy. The kitchen sparkled. The bathroom still smelled like a bouquet—and her. He breathed in the scent for a minute—still unable to identify it—then he moved on to the bedroom.
    Chaos. Clothes strewn on both twin beds—hers wasn’t even made. Drawers pulled open, with feminine... stuff spilling out. He absorbed the dazzling and colorful sight. His experience with the opposite sex had never resulted in his living with one. He found the scene