Any Witch Way She Can Read Free Page B

followed the sleeve of a dark, severely tailored tuxedo jacket up to a chest of impressive breadth before finally resting her gaze on a face that made the word “breathtaking” sound insipid.
    The man had the features of a fallen angel, all dark and chiseled and so perfect they verged on beautiful. Only the somewhat heavy and sharply arched brows and the wicked twist decorating his mouth saved him from any taint of the feminine. His eyes helped, too, all deep and blue and twinkling with naughty humor.
    â€œTake my hand, Miss Miranda.”
    Worrying that she might have drool dripping off her chin, Randy resolutely dragged herself back to reality and clasped that strong, warm hand in hers. Then she had to worry if anyone else had noticed the way she’d shivered the instant her hand had touched the stranger’s. The jolt of electricity that coursed through her at the contact could have lit up the Empire State Building for a week.
    Judging by the widening of his wicked grin, the man at the other end of that handclasp had definitely noticed.
    She allowed herself to be lifted to her feet, the pile of the carpet under her bare soles somehow helping her to regain her composure. “Randy,” she said, using her free hand to brush back a tangle of her strawberry blonde hair. “No one who knows me actually calls me Miranda.”
    â€œRandy, then. My name is Michael. And I must say it is entirely my pleasure to meet you.”
    The hand clasping hers squeezed briefly before retreating with a gentle slide of fingertips across her palm. It made her thighs clench together.
    Dear Lord.
    â€œI thought this evening’s invitation list was quite exclusive, Adele.” A man of average height and above-average conceit stepped away from the crowd and raked Randy’s figure with an insulting gaze. “We have serious business to discuss, after all. Business that will affect the Council. This is hardly the time for…uninvited guests.”
    The insult dispelled the energy between Randy and Michael and had her turning narrowed eyes on the source of the interruption. “And I thought you had to have balls to affect the Council. After all, my grandmother is so very good at it, and if that’s not evidence, I don’t know what is.”
    The man puffed out his chest and took a threatening step forward, but Adele stepped in front of him and raised a quelling hand. “Please, Harold, excuse my granddaughter. I can assure you I will deal with this interruption with all possible speed.” Her bejeweled hands gestured to a set of double doors that had been thrown open in welcome farther down the hall. “Friends, let us continue our migration into the sitting room to relax after the excellent dinner my chef prepared. I have a very fine bottle of brandy I would be pleased to share with all of you. If you will.”
    Of course, her guests fell in like obedient little soldiers and filed into the other room. Not that several of them didn’t cast curious glances in Randy’s direction, and Harold continued to stare daggers at her. Adele, though, pretended not to notice as she herded everyone before her. Then she shut the doors behind the last of them and rounded on her granddaughter like a prizefighter swinging his way off the ropes.
    â€œI demand an explanation for this behavior!” she hissed, stalking forward at a march that conclusively proved she had no need of the cane she never went anywhere without. “You have pulled some outrageous stunts in your day, my girl, but I do believe that tonight you may have outdone yourself. Do you have any idea who those people were in the group you so obscenely burst in upon?”
    Out of the corner of her eye, Randy noticed that Michael hadn’t joined the others in the sitting room but propped himself against the wall near the doors, arms folded over his chest and a very interested expression on his face. Adele, though, was too worked up