Cinderella's Guardian Read Free Page B

and the energy sizzling between them. Once they were behind the door-curtain, Robyn gave her another mouthful of choice words, which Tina really didn't care about enough to listen to, before she returned to the salon, leaving her alone.
    Tina peeked around the door frame to watch as Robyn headed over to the man, who had moved quite close to the curtain. Had he heard Robyn's abusive words? He didn't look happy with Robyn. When he spoke, his deep growly voice slid straight down her spine and lit up internal body parts she'd thought no longer worked.
    "Who was that girl? Why is she in a wheelchair?" Tina could see Robyn trying to stare the man down.
    "Tina is no one you need to concern yourself with, Mr. White. Now I believe your mother, future sister-in-law and niece are ready to go." Robyn marched off toward two women and a child. The small group had arrived hours earlier, obviously here to get beautified for a wedding. The man trailed behind Robyn, almost like he didn't want to go with her.
    Tina turned away, wheeling her chair across the room, tears flowing down her cheeks as she struggled to contain her grief and sadness. She would never be getting married. She would never be getting with a guy like "young Mr. White" either. With next to no movement in her hip joint, sex had kind of lost its appeal. Until now. Mr. White held her attention and heated her up like no other man ever had. But what young, healthy good-looking guy wanted a wheelchair bound girlfriend?
    ~ * ~
    Robyn was frowning as she stood behind the front counter looking out after the group that had just left the salon. The way Conner had watched Tina was straight up trouble. Robyn couldn't allow Tina to get involved with any man. He would woo her and steal her away from Robyn's care. She needed to keep Tina under her thumb. It was the only way she could stay in Dale's life. All the plans Robyn had when she took the job of Tina's caretaker were not panning out. Dale was supposed to see Robyn looking after Tina and fall at her feet in gratitude. But Dale continued in his failure to notice her as anything other than the hired help. The only letters that ever came from him were for Tina. To add insult to injury, Tina looked exactly like her damn mother. That long straight white blond hair, athletically toned body and perfect face. So different to her long dark brown wavy hair, lush breasts, hourglass physique and above average height.
    Robyn's mind tripped back in time. She and Gloria had been best friends since grade four in Primary School. They'd been the best looking girls in their class. They got top scores in all their classes just by batting their eyelids. Those were the days. But things had changed that first year of high school. From the first second Robyn saw Dale, she'd wanted him. He was tall and buff and he strolled around the school like he owned it. Gloria never really noticed him, but he'd certainly noticed her. Every time Robyn was watching Dale, Dale was watching Gloria. It hadn't taken long for Gloria to catch on to both Robyn's interest in Dale and his in Gloria. The bitch had gone after Dale like a bull at a gate. They'd dated the whole way through school, and when Dale knocked Gloria up end of senior year, he'd married her.
    Even though Robyn hated Gloria for her betrayal, she remained her friend after the wedding, just so she could still see Dale.
    "I am so pathetic," she muttered under her breath.
    Gloria had been so busy showing off her "trophy husband" she hadn't noticed Robyn's distaste for her. Then once she grew big with pregnancy, Gloria was too busy bitching about her stretch marks to notice Robyn ogling her husband. But once Tina had been born, Gloria's whining had grown too much for Robyn to tolerate. Dale was already working off shore on rigs, probably to get away from Gloria. Hell, Robyn had certainly done all she could to avoid Gloria, and she didn't even live with the woman. If Gloria wasn't complaining about how having a child