Read Online Wilde Blue (Wilde Brothers Book 4) by Susan Hayes - Free Book Online

you?” he asked, looking over at Dani.
    Her cheerful humming stopped. “Ah, you noticed the lack of reports prior to the shooting? The thing is, I did call the police. His parents made those reports go away. No one is sure how, but there’s no trace of them.”
    “Powerful family,” Dave commented.
    “Influence in all sorts of places, and plenty of money. I’m nearly done making us breakfast for dinner. If you could clear that stuff away, I’ll serve this up and tell you what happened while we eat.”
    “Sounds good to me.” It amazed Dave that she was so unaffected by what he was reading. She’d given him a free pass to delve into the ugliest parts of her past. His ex-wife had freaked out if he so much as went into her purse without permission, but Dani had handed him the file without any hesitation or shame at what she’d been through. She was a true survivor, one who had found a way to be at peace with her past so that it didn’t overshadow her present. That took incredible strength and it made him want her even more.
    He’d stopped pretending that he didn’t desire her. There wasn’t any point in continuing to deny it. Refusing to admit something was true didn’t make it any less real, and it was past the time he faced the truth. He wanted Dani.
    Now came the hard part, remembering how the hell to open himself up to another human being. Being alone was easier, but from the moment he’d felt the warmth of her touch being alone stopped being an option. At least, it stopped being one he would accept. He’d never failed to achieve a goal once he’d set his mind to it. He wanted Dani and her little girl in his life, so he’d find a way to make it happen.
    He cleared the table, then wandered into the kitchen, earning himself the evil eye from the cook for entering her domain. He knew the look well. It was the same one his mother directed at anyone who dared to set foot in her kitchen when she was cooking.
    “I know, I’m in the way.” He threw up his hands and grinned at her as he took a step backward. “Could you point me in the direction of the silverware drawer?”
    Her eyes widened and she stared at him in bemused silence for a moment before pointing to a drawer to his left. “In there.”
    He retrieved cutlery for them both and went to lay the table, only to find her still staring at him. “Something wrong?”
    “I’m just not used to anyone offering help. I swear my brother Thomas doesn’t know where the cutlery drawer is in my parents’ house.”
    He shrugged and went back to the task at hand. “Mom was determined to instill manners in all of her boys. Since I’m the oldest, I had the strictest upbringing. It sucked, but at least I learned a few useful things, like how to set the table for someone kind enough to cook me dinner.”
    “Remind me to thank your mom next time I see her and to find out how she did it. Casey protests every time I try to get her to do something to help around here. Like the dishes all weigh five hundred pounds and she’s physically incapable of putting her shoes away.”
    Dave laughed. “I said she was determined. I didn’t say she was entirely successful. Tag’s a total slob, and Benji can’t do laundry to save his life. I’m not much of a cook, and Nicky…let’s just say he’s had some interesting career choices and is probably the main reason Mom’s hair turned gray. At least, that’s the story I’m going with.”
    Dani was smiling as she came around the counter, carrying two plates laden with bacon and a perfectly folded omelet. “So that’s why you’ve been around Leo’s so much? You’ve been avoiding cooking for yourself.”
    He pulled out her chair for her, summoning up manners he hadn’t used in years. “That’s part of it, yes. Can you blame me? You’re a hell of a chef, Dani.”
    He waited for her to sit, then leaned over so that his mouth brushed the shell of her ear and he was breathing in her delicate scent as he finally made his