Ever After Read Free Page A

Thomas’s countenance stiffened.
    “I must be seeing things.”
    “Do you think you’ll try to stay out the terms of the will?” Thomas pulled us closer to the house as I nodded to people who passed us.
    “I think I want to hear them for myself.”
    The cart parked inside the gothic front entrance was empty.
    Dalton had lugged almost all my worldly belongings up the stairs in record speed.
    “Come, now. Once you’ve seen the house, I think you’ll be more excited about the prospect of staying. The house is more expansive than it looks from the outside, so the tour may take longer than you expect. If we don’t get a start soon, we’ll cut into dinner. To keep you safe from the brood of wolves Ava called her family, you can dine with me and the house staff just after they serve the formal meal.” He sounded like a daddy. One I’d never had before.
    Dalton appeared in the entrance and sauntered toward us with a flirty flick of his brow. “I can take her on a little tour if you get too tired, old man.”
    “I’d die of heat exposure before that happened, I can assure you.” Thomas protectively pulled me from Dalton’s clutches.
    He winked.
    I jerked my head forward.
    As Thomas and I walked around the flowerbed, toward the entrance, a dull pain stabbed my neck and suddenly intensified. I pressed my hand against my right shoulder and tilted my head. Odd. I’d never had tension headaches or sore shoulders with such a sudden onset.
    Dizziness overtook me. The world closed in. The mulch-hugged flowers, stone-bound walkways, and perfectly trimmed hedges rippled in waves. As if a wind crashed into me, I took a tumble into the long rectangular flowerbed lining the front of the house. I almost pulled Thomas with me, scraping my ankle in the process. I landed on my back, unable to move.
    An unseen weight pressed my chest, holding me to the ground.
    Struggling against it, I cried out and rolled from under its weight, ruining more flowers in the process. I scrambled to get up but made a mess of it.
    Thomas scuttled through an ocean of purple blooms.
    Dalton beat him to me. Going against the previous impression I had, he was a complete gentleman. So far. He came to his knees to assist me.
    “Are you okay?” Dalton reached out to me.
    “Um, I’m fine. I thought I felt—there was—never mind.” If I told them, they’d think I was nuts. Sitting up, I waved Dalton back so I could catch my breath.
    Snooty onlookers and a few staff members who had witnessed my fall from the grand entranceway stepped aside, clearing the way for a tall, male model to step into view.
    My heart skittered to a stop.
    This out of place character’s white T-shirt flexed across his folded arms, and his dark jeans hung low on his waist. A red strap looped over his right shoulder, suspending a weed eater. He never stepped out from the crowd, but the staff members directed their attention at him instead of me, their faces twisted with worry. He stood erect, motionless, staring. Wisps of brown hair shadowed his dark, chiseled features, as his green eyes narrowed to angry slits. Even at this distance, the odd color of his eyes stood out against the crowd. He only tilted his head as he noted the commotion Dalton and Thomas made over me.
    Something else held me down in the flowerbed. Utter and complete shock.
    It was him.
    The guy from my dreams, but he had a face.
    Was he breathing?
    Was I breathing?
    My cheeks burned.
    Like staring at the sun, it was difficult to look at him for more than a few seconds. So I didn’t.
    The maids turned me to face the guy as they pulled mulch from my clothes.
    His anger transformed to something else as he scanned the flowerbed, looked to the floors of the house above me, and then back to me. He worked his stubble-covered jaw and balled his fist.
    “I’m—I’m so sorry. I must have tripped.” I politely turned Thomas’s hand away. All I needed was to stumble again and pull him down in the flowerbed with me. “I