Then He Kissed Me by Christie Ridgway

Author:Christie Ridgway [Ridgway, Christie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Fiction, Romance, Love Stories, Contemporary, Man-Woman Relationships, Princes, Weddings - Planning, Napa Valley (Calif.)
ISBN: 9780425239179
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2011-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Then He Kissed Me

13

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Stevie gazed down on the files she’d spread upon the desk in Allie’s - their - office. The desktop computer was up and running, the monitor displaying the master calendar for the next six months. The time she’d committed to Tanti Baci.

Of course that didn’t mean she’d given up Napa Princess Limousine, but she was going to have to find a way to make a go of both. Allie had been ecstatic at the news that Stevie was going to job-share with her and was already full of ideas about how they could divide the duties.

Stevie hadn’t confessed to her sister that she wasn’t nearly as excited about the arrangement. As she’d realized at the end of the meeting with the Bennetts, by making the commitment to Tanti Baci, she was putting her heart into it. And if things went south … that’s where her heart would go, too.

Sliding into the desk chair, she blew out a sigh and then spun away from the paperwork. She didn’t know why she felt unsettled, but her stomach was in knots and her temples pounded. Taking in another long breath, she let it out slowly, willing the sense of disquiet to dissipate.

Brash, bold, strong Stephania Baci had never felt so shaky.

A knock on her door spun her back. “Come in,” she called, eager for the distraction.

Roxy Parini popped into the room.

“Oh,” Stevie said. “Hi.”

“You have to hide me,” the blonde announced. “I promise not to be a bother, but I’m desperate to get away from my mother.”

Stevie cocked an eyebrow.

“You’ve met her, right? We were taking a tour of the wine caves, but now she’s determined to whisk me back to the resort so she can experiment with pageant updos for the wedding.”

“Uh…”

“Beehives, Stevie. She wields a mean ratting comb. You might think I’m kidding, but from there it’s just a small step to wearing a crown for the ceremony. Let me hide in here and I won’t be any trouble, I promise.”

Roxy made a face. “Okay, I know I interrupted your plans with Jack last night and I apologize for that. But she’s relentless! Merciless! When she started talking about me wearing elbow-length gloves and my paternal grandmother’s diamond-and-emerald choker, I had to make the emergency call for reinforcements. Forgive me? I’m so sorry.”

Stevie wasn’t sorry, not so much. It had been within moments of that incredible episode on the desk - her belly tightened just thinking of it - and if Jack hadn’t received his sister’s phone call and then taken off, she would probably have escaped alone to a dark corner of the nearest utility closet.

It was one thing to confidently strut toward him when he was talking about fulfilling his fantasies, and an entirely different one to face him down in the trembling afterglow of sizzling physical intimacy - in her office! On the desk! Maybe a man could handle it with aplomb, but she was still working on her skills in that department.

“You’re forgiven, Roxy,” she said.

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