Read Online The Mysterious Stranger (Triple Trouble) by Susan Mallery - Free Book Online Page A

but she would have liked to have kept on walking. Turning her back on him and ignoring what he had to say would have given her great satisfaction. Manners made her pause. Not only was he her host, but he was going to be putting her up in his hotel for the next however long it took until she came up with a plan on her own.
    She paused and leaned against the door frame.
    “You responded to my niece’s note. She thinks you were sent here for her.”
    “Yes, and you think this is all an elaborate trick. So either I had something planned in advance and got lucky with the note, or I found the note and made an impulsive decision to try and snare you. We’ve discussed this already. What’s your point?”
    It was much easier to speak her mind when she had her back to the man. If they were ever caught up in another argument, she would have to remember this strategy.
    “Until you recover your memory, or someone comes looking for you, perhaps you would be more comfortable staying here. At the house. Being alone in a hotel can be very lonely. Especially during the holidays.”
    She clutched her clothes tightly to her chest and turned to face him. He had to be kidding. “You hate me.”
    “I don’t know you well enough to hate you.”
    “Fine. You don’t trust me and you doubt my story.”
    “True enough.”
    “Yet you’d invite me to move in to your home?”
    “For the sake of my niece, who asked if you could stay, yes.”
    His dark eyes gave nothing away. Neither did his face. The man was good. She wouldn’t want to play poker with him. Unless it was strip poker and in her best interest to lose.
    Not sure where that thought had come from, she pushed it away. “This is crazy.”
    “It’s your decision.”
    She thought about what he’d said. About the holidays being lonely in a hotel. He was right. And if she was completely honest with herself, the thought of going back without knowing who she was had her more than a little terrified.
    But stay here? Was she crazy to consider it?
    A sound drifted up to her open window. A car engine. “My driver is here,” he said. “Should I send him back or have him wait for you?”
    Ariel weighed her alternatives. She knew Jarrett would keep pressure on the hotel manager to find her family, so she wouldn’t miss out on anything by not being at the hotel. While the man of the house might make her crazy, she liked Anna Jane. Truth be known, being here would be nicer than being alone at the hotel. Here she at least had a name, even if it wasn’t her own.
    “Send him back,” she said, squaring her shoulders and meeting his gaze. “Thank you for inviting me. I would like to stay.”
    He rosé to his feet.
    “On one condition,” she added.
    He waited silently.
    “Think what you want about me. I have no right to control that, but I don’t want any more conversations like we had last night,” she said. “If mutual respect isn’t available, then I’ll settle for common courtesy.”
    “Agreed. I’ll have the boutique send over some clothes and toiletries for you. They should be here in a few hours. I’ll let Leona and Anna Jane know you’re our guest for the time being. Please make yourself at home.”
    “Thank you, Mr. Wilkenson.”
    “Please call me Jarrett.”
    “Thank you, Jarrett.”
    With that, he was gone. She stared after him as he moved down the stairs. What were his secrets? she wondered. What had hurt him so much that he could be generous with his things, but hold back such a large portion of himself?
    * * *
    “Ariel, Anna Jane, there’s something here for you,” Leona called.
    At the sound of his housekeeper’s voice, Jarrett gave up all pretense of working. He exited the spreadsheet program and returned to the main menu of his computer, then stood and walked into the foyer.
    Leona stood by the open French doors and waved the two females inside. “Hurry,” she said. “There’s so much to see.” Her hazel eyes danced with excitement. She was short and