The Rebel and the Heiress by Michelle Douglas

Author:Michelle Douglas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

RICK PULLED UP short when he strode into the kitchen to find Nell drinking coffee and eating cupcakes.

At ten on a Wednesday morning.

He counted two cupcake wrappers, which meant she was steadily making her way through a third. He frowned. That wasn’t the way to eat one of those cupcakes! Every mouthful should be savoured to the full.

She didn’t look up. He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Good morning.’

She continued to glare at the table. ‘Morning.’ Bite. Chew. Swallow.

Okay, take two. ‘I ducked out to grab a few supplies. I ran out of sugar soap and sandpaper.’

‘You don’t need to justify your movements, Rick. I believe you’ll keep your side of the bargain. The how and when is entirely up to you.’

He should leave her be and get back to sanding and painting, keep it all on a work footing. He hesitated and then pulled out a chair and sat. ‘You don’t need to justify your movements to me either, but what on earth are you doing at home—’ eating cupcakes as if they were nothing more extraordinary than a digestive ‘—when peak morning tea time is about to hit Sydney’s CBD?’

She ate more cupcake. Her shoulders hunched. ‘Candy has broken down.’

He grimaced. ‘She’s at the garage being repaired?’

More cupcake and more shoulder hunching. ‘No.’

‘Why not?’

Finally she looked at him. He tried not to wince at the lines of strain that bracketed her mouth. ‘Because of these.’ She held up a pile of opened letters. ‘Bills.’ She then proceeded to set each one down onto the table, barking out the amount due. ‘It adds up to more than half of what I have left in my account. At the moment I’m not sure I can afford to get Candy fixed.’

Yet without Candy on the road she wouldn’t be able to earn the money to pay those bills.

If there was something he’d learned in the last fortnight—other than the fact he really wanted to kiss her—it was that Nell worked like a Trojan. If anyone deserved to cop a break, she did.

‘How much money are you expecting to come in from your party orders and how much do you have outstanding?’

She blew out a breath, pushed her plate away and pulled her laptop towards her. ‘Let’s see...’ Her fingers danced across the keyboard.

He came around the table to peer over her shoulder. What he saw made him frown. ‘Princess, there’re half a dozen orders here—’ big orders too ‘—from over three months ago and the bills are still outstanding.’

If her shoulders drooped any further they’d be on a level with the table. He pointed to her spreadsheet. ‘Look—here, here and here.’ The movement brought him in close so her hair tickled his jaw and the sugar-drenched scent of her made his mouth water. He moved back a few inches to stop himself from doing something stupid. ‘These three orders on their own would cover the cost of your bills.’

‘I know, but...’

She leapt up and he shot back, dodging her chair before it could do him a serious injury.

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