Read Online Will Work For Love by Amie Denman - Free Book Online Page B

whatever her problem was. Even though he already knew. He
had to help her to save his business. Wanted to help her. Somehow.
Chris had spent the last three years playing Robin Hood and trying
to help everyone on St. Thomas with their problems. But it wasn’t
enough. He wanted to do the same thing for Whitney.
    And he was. He was finishing the project at East
Pointe. She just didn’t know it yet. With Rick, he’d mapped out a
plan that would take one really inspired super-man to complete. But
it was possible. Starting tomorrow and working night and day, it
would be completed before her wedding on Christmas Eve.
    Saving his company had to be his first priority, and
maybe it was just lucky that it would save her wedding plans, too.
Technically speaking, he’d been using the East’s money for months.
He owed them. He owed her.
    She was looking at him like he was supposed to be
saying something. What the heck had they been talking about? He had
no idea what to say. When in doubt, he usually looked to food for a
solution. Couldn’t help it. It had been working for years.
    “Should we order dinner?” he asked.
    To his relief, Whitney nodded and picked up the
menus. She handed one to him, letting her fingers brush his for a
fraction of a second. Chris hid behind his menu, trying not to
think about the way her skin felt and how much he wanted to believe
this was a real date. Just thinking of how a real date ought to end
in his books made his cargo shorts tight and his judgment
foggy.
    Chris didn’t know what to think right now, but he
knew he would almost certainly be able to think better on a full
stomach.
    ****
    After dinner, they walked down by the harbor. It was
much quieter than last night. In fact, it was pretty deserted for a
Monday night. Whitney felt warm and content after an excellent
meal, a sweet strawberry daiquiri, and hours of being with Chris.
They hardly knew each other, but she felt like she could confide in
him. She had to talk to someone about the mess at East Pointe and
she sure couldn’t talk to Taylor about it.
    “You’re quiet,” he said. She could hardly see his
face in the darkness, but the sound of his voice was enough.
    “I was thinking about East Pointe.”
    “East Pointe?”
    “Taylor’s home. Where I’m staying.”
    Chris put his arm around her shoulders and drew her
closer as they both faced the dark water and the lights dancing off
the cruise ships.
    “Nice place?”
    “It was. But it’s a total wreck now.” She sighed.
“Hurricane Destiny.”
    “Oh.” He pulled her even closer, beard stubble
prickling her cheek.
    Whitney knew he would be sympathetic. The trip to
deliver supplies for free to his friends in need on St. John
convinced her he had a heart as broad as his amazing shoulders.
What would it hurt to tell him her problems? She would explode if
she kept it all bottled inside.
    “The wedding is on Christmas Eve, and I came down
early just to check on things. I thought I would have a few details
to hammer out, and then I’d enjoy a two-week vacation.”
    “So that’s why you packed so much into that giant
red suitcase?”
    Whitney laughed. “I don’t think I’ll have time to
wear it all. I’ll be busy wrangling with the construction company
that was supposed to do all the work.”
    “I’m sorry,” he said.
    He was so sweet. Whitney started to feel sorry for
herself for the first time. The pressure of trying to get it all
done without saying anything to upset Taylor got to her.
    “It’s all right. The work will get done. Some of it
anyway. Somehow.” She felt like crying and her voice shook a
little. “This wedding is too important.”
    Chris tilted his head and kissed her temple. “Maybe
I—”
    Whitney’s phone rang and she reached into her little
purse to look at the caller ID. It was Taylor.
    “I have to take this call,” she said.
    Chris released his hold on her and Whitney walked a
few feet away from him.
    “Taylor, let’s hear your fabulous