Harlequin Desire February 2022--Box Set 2 of 2 by Jules Bennett

Author:Jules Bennett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Adeline was alone in the kitchen making coffee when I came downstairs. It was coming up on ten o’clock in the morning, but we’d all danced and laughed the night away, indulging in wine from the Cambridge cellar. My head felt a little woolly this morning, and I was looking forward to a shot of caffeine.

“Espresso?” Adeline asked. She was dressed in a pair of bright plaid flannel pajama bottoms and a worn lime-green T-shirt. Her auburn hair was half in, half out of a messy ponytail. Even with her makeup smeared, she still looked beautiful.

I’d managed to hold off the coffee craving long enough to comb my hair and dress in a pair of yoga pants and a loose-knit oversize sweater.

“Something smoother,” I said. “Mocha?”

“Coming up.” She pulled a cup from the cupboard and pushed a series of buttons on the machine.

“You’re a lifesaver,” I said, pulling myself up on a bar chair and leaning my elbows on the island.

“That was a blast,” she said.

“It was,” I agreed. I couldn’t remember a more fun party.

Aside from those who’d taken their kids home early, the Kodiak Communications staff had danced, drunk and laughed into the wee hours. It was the strangest sensation trudging into the mansion at that time of night with the sun barely dipping below the northern horizon.

While my mocha brewed, Adeline sat down across from me and sipped her espresso. There was a twinkle in her eyes, an expressive display of emotion on a morning like this, I thought.

“You danced a lot last night,” she said, then waited.

“I did.” I stood up and rounded the island to retrieve my mocha. I took a sip before walking back to the island. It was delicious. “Yum.”

“You and Stone looked like a pretty good idea last night,” she said as I took my seat.

I couldn’t stop my own smile of remembrance. “It was fun.”

“And...” She leaned forward. “And...”

“And, nothing. We danced. The night ended. Most of us came back inside as a group.”

“And...” she said, canting her head to the side to watch me closely.

“And I went to bed.” I’d been exhilarated but exhausted.

Adeline leaned closer still, a look of expectation on her face.

“Alone.” I took another sip of the mocha, a bigger one since it had cooled a little.

Her expression fell and her shoulders drooped.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her disappointment. The laugh hurt my head.

“Good morning, good morning,” Braxton’s voice boomed.

“Ouch, Uncle,” Adeline said, pressing her fingertips to her temples.

“Serves you right.” Xavier Cambridge, Adeline’s father followed his brother, Braxton, into the kitchen. I’d met Xavier in passing last night as the party was getting underway.

“Good morning, Sophie,” he said to me now.

“Good morning.”

“You look a sight better than Adeline.”

I wasn’t sure I felt that much better than Adeline, but I didn’t need to tell him that. “It was a wonderful party. I had a really great time.”

“I hear you were the brains behind the sit-down dinner.”

“Mel did all the work.” I didn’t want to take credit.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.