His Darling Bride (Echoes of the Heart #3) by Anna DeStefano

Author:Anna DeStefano [DeStefano, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781503951426
Published: 2016-04-26T04:00:00+00:00

“Bethany,” Brad called from the front of the Douglas house. “It’s for you.”

Bethany’s brother-in-law had stopped painting the living room with a fresh coat of taupe to answer the doorbell. The living room was the last project on Brad and Dru’s must-do-before-the-wedding home improvement list. Bethany was bent over, still taping trim. Without standing up, she looked behind her toward the door.

Which left her practically standing on her head, butt in the air, gaping between her legs at the cowboy stepping into the Douglas foyer. Mike’s smile was even more gorgeous upside down.

“Um . . .” she said. “Hey?”

“Hey, yourself,” he answered.

She righted herself, blood rushing and making her dizzy. Wiping her bangs from her eyes seemed like as good a way as any to stall for time. Until the wetness on her cheek reminded her that a few minutes ago she’d brushed the sleeve of one of Brad’s faded plaid shirts against a freshly painted wall.

“Shoot!” She scowled at Mike’s chuckle.

“Need this?” Dru handed over the rag she’d been using to wipe up spills on the drop cloth protecting Vivian Douglas’s rug.

Bethany snatched the hole-riddled kitchen towel and dabbed at her face. She threw it back at her grinning sister.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Dru asked Mike.

Bethany shook her head at him.

She’d planned to hunt him down herself, to deal with what she’d run from at the loft. And with what she and Shandra had talked about. But now that he was there, it was getting all mixed up again. What she needed to do, what she wanted to do, and the crazy things he made her feel. All while she had no idea he wanted anything more with her than to have a little fun for a few weeks.

“I’d love some water,” Mike said. “And some milk for Bethany, to go along with these.”

Bethany’s attention zoomed to the signature pink box Mike held. “From Dan’s?”

Her mouth had already been watering at how good he looked: cowboy hat again, long-sleeved shirt, lovingly fitted jeans. He stepped closer and opened the pastry carton. She swallowed, barely keeping herself from attacking its contents.

“Strawberry cupcakes and blueberry scones.” Dru whistled, nodding her approval. “Excellent groveling.”

“Guy’s got chops.” Brad wiped his hands on his own paint rag and relieved Mike of the box. “We’ll take these into the kitchen and give you two some privacy.”

“What?” Bethany stared at her Benedict Arnold sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law, who were walking away. “No, I—”

“It’s great to see you, Mike,” Dru said as the kitchen door swooshed shut behind them.

Bethany stared after her family, loving them desperately. There’d certainly be no other reason for putting up with them.

She glanced back to the front of the house and found herself alone. She rushed into what had once been Vi Douglas’s formal sitting room. Mike—HMT—was standing before her easel, beside an ancient folding table loaded down with her disarray of oil paints and cloths and brushes.

“You shouldn’t be in here,” she said, repeating his words when he’d found her in his loft, gawking at his high-priced photographs.

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.