Read Online The Twelve Nights of Christmas by Sarah Morgan - Free Book Online

it. ‘Get dressed. Consider the clothes a gift.’
    â€˜I can’t accept a gift of underwear from you. It wouldn’t be right.’
    â€˜In that case, think of them as an essential part of our crisis management programme. The longer you continue to walk around naked, the more likely we are to find ourselves in even hotter water.’
    He had a point.
    Opening one of the boxes, Evie spotted a silky leopard-print bra and panties and crushed the lid back down, her face scarlet. ‘I can’t wear something like that.’ Hardly daring to look, she prised the lid off the other box and her eyes widened when she saw the contents. ‘I can’t wear those, either—’
    â€˜Why not? They’re shoes. I realize they’re not strictly uniform, but they will do until we can get you something else.’
    â€˜But—’ She stared down at the sexy shoe with the wicked heel. It was the most beautiful, extravagant, indulgent thing she’d ever seen. ‘I don’t wear heels. I can’t.’
    â€˜You don’t have to walk far in them.’
    â€˜It isn’t the walking.’ Her face was almost the same shade of scarlet as the sole of the famous shoes. ‘You may not have noticed, but I’m already taller than the average woman. If I wear heels, I look like a freak. Everyone will stare.’
    â€˜After last night, they’re going to be staring anyway. They’ll stare harder and longer if you’re barefoot. Put them on.’ Without giving her the opportunity to argue, he turned back to the phone, leaving Evie to stare at him in exasperation, wondering what day it was. Had December nineteenth been designated Humiliate Evie Day and someone had forgotten to tell her?
    Juggling the throw with the boxes, she struggled into the master bedroom and closed the doors. At least she wouldn’t be naked.
    Feeling relieved to finally ditch the throw, Evie slung it back on the bed and slithered into the underwear. It fitted perfectly. Then she pushed her feet into the shoes, almost losing her balance as she teetered precariously on the vertiginous heels. She felt like a circus performer practising on stilts.
    Risking a look in the mirror, she gave a moan of horror.
    She looked like a circus performer.
    She looked like a giant.
    She was about to take them off when the door to the bedroom opened.
    Rio’s gaze swept her from head to foot.
    â€˜Maledizione—’ His eyes went dark with shock and Evie wanted to fall through the floor as she intercepted his look of stunned astonishment.
    Embarrassment got her moving. ‘Get out,’ she shrieked, grabbing the throw again. ‘I’m getting changed.’
    â€˜Does the phrase “shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted” mean anything to you? I’ve already seen you naked.’ Displaying not the slightest consideration for her feelings, he allowed his gaze to travel slowly down every centimetre of her body. ‘I’ve never seen a woman who looks like you.’
    For Evie, already sensitive about her looks, his comment delivered the final blow to her crumbling self-esteem.
    â€˜It’s your fault for getting me those stupid shoes when anyone with half a brain could have guessed they’d make me look ridiculous. And that’s before I put on the uniform. I always wear flats, OK? Ballet pumps. Court shoes with no heel. Get out of here! I’m fed up with being a laughing stock, although I suppose I ought to get used to it because it’s nothing to how I’m going to feel tomorrow when that photo ispublished—’ Pushed to the limit, she flopped onto the bed, buried her face in the pillow and sobbed her heart out.
    Everyone was going to see her naked and her grandfather was going to be horribly, hideously ashamed of her. She’d wanted to make him proud, but the truth was all he really wanted was to bounce a great-grandchild on his knee and that