Beverly Barton 3 Book Bundle by Beverly Barton

Author:Beverly Barton [Beverly Barton]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2013-05-07T04:00:00+00:00

Ruddy enjoyed the lobster bisque almost as much as the delicious spice cake Cook had prepared for his lunch. One of the perks of being a multimillionaire was fine dining, even at home. He picked up the half-empty bottle of Stella Artois, a premium dry beer from Belgium that he especially liked, and carried it with him to his study. After closing and locking the door, he went straight to the bookshelves, removed one of the books, and pressed the button that opened the shelves to reveal his secret chamber. He flipped on a light switch that created instant illumination to this private “trophy room.”

But he wasn’t here to bask in past glories, to fantasize about all the kills he’d made. No, he was here to do some research, to seek and find the next pretty flower, ready to be plucked before she withered. If possible, he would prefer a blonde this time, but a brunette would do. After all, he had scored twenty points with Gale Ann Cain. She’d been his redhead for this year.

Only one redhead per year. That’s what he and Pudge had decided when they set the rules for their little game, almost five years ago. Redheads would be worth the most since they were rare. Blondes would be worth fifteen points and brunettes ten. With less than two months remaining until they tallied five years’ worth of scores, all he needed to win was twenty-five more points: One blonde and one brunette. It really didn’t matter in which order, did it? After all, even if Pudge found himself a redhead next time, he wouldn’t stay in the lead for long.

Ruddy picked up his laptop from the desk and carried it with him over to the comfy brown chenille armchair. He lifted up his feet, decked out in size ten Cole Haan shoes, on the matching chenille ottoman, and opened his computer. He loved modern conveniences, little things like wireless Internet.

As he played around with various sites, searching for just the right woman, Ruddy’s mind began to wander, back sixteen years ago. He had always hated family reunions, had thought them a useless plebeian pastime. But he’d been sixteen that year, still under his parents’ rule and had been given no choice but to attend the event. Every five years, the maternal side of his mother’s family met to celebrate their revered ancestors, those men and women who had first set foot in the New World in the late eighteenth century. One of his austere, four-times great-grandfathers had been a revolutionary war hero, a contemporary of Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson.

Absorbed in his memories of the past, his senses came into play. The sights, scents, and sounds of a weekend spent with relatives he barely knew and for the most part disliked. April in Louisiana was preferable to any of the summer months, but the moist heat of springtime had been unpleasant enough that year. Ruddy recalled his first glimpse of the antebellum mansion belonging to his mother’s third cousin.

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