Raindrops on Roses: Book One of the Favorite Things Trilogy Read Free Page A

me." Her eyes traveled the length
of his face. "And it almost feels like she sent me you ."
    Their eyes locked—and Michael's body reacted
in a way he'd never felt before.
    Breaking the stare, Priscilla got up. "Come
with me," she said and motioned for him to follow. "I want to show
you something." Discreetly, she led him up a back stairwell to the
second floor.
    As he climbed the steps, Michael knew his
father would be wondering where they'd gone, but he shrugged it
off. He was too busy breathing in the soft cashmere scent Priscilla
Bauer was leaving in her wake...and it felt like he was in a
dream.
    They walked down the
hallway to a set of double doors at the end where she led him into
a large bedroom suite, full of light blues, pastels and ashwood.
Michael guessed it was her room, and he paused in the doorway, unsure of her
state of mind.
    She's been
drinking, he thought. I shouldn't be up here with her like this.
    Motioning for him to come in, she indicated
an oversized portrait that practically covered the entire wall
behind the bed. There was a beaming little girl on the shoulders of
a tall, young man standing on the beach. The man's head was turned
toward a woman standing just behind him. The woman looked like
Veronica Bauer. The life-sized photograph seemed to capture a very
happy moment in time for the Bauer family.
    That must be her with her
dad , Michael thought. I wonder why she wanted me to see this .
    A little confused, he turned to look at her,
searching her eyes for any hints. He felt the urge to touch her
again, just as he had at the gravesite—only this time having been
invited into her bedroom, he didn't hold back.
    Putting an arm around her, Michael slowly
pulled her up against him and she didn't resist.
    It's what she
wants , he realized.
    "It's a nice photograph," he whispered,
kissing her temple, feeling her soft body responding to him. "Is
that your father?"
    "Yeah," she replied softly. Pulling back,
she looked up into his eyes. "Michael, look, I..." Her eyes closed
briefly before she continued. "Thanks again for being here for
Gran's funeral. I'm really glad we met. I like you. And it's so
strange because..." She paused, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"And this may sound a little corny—but you don't seem like a
stranger to me at all. I feel like we must've met before. Have
we?"
    Michael sensed a moment had arrived. Without
saying a word, he cupped her head and gently kissed her lips,
sampling the taste of her. As the kiss deepened, Priscilla's arms
came around him, and he was completely intoxicated. Soon she was
clinging to him and it was all the consent he needed to lift her up
and carry her to the bed.
    Oh, God , he managed to think. Does she know
what she's doing? But why else would she
bring a strange man up to her bedroom in the first
place?
    Michael had no answers—but
he could feel the energy of a girl who evidently needed to be in control
again. A girl looking to be comforted. A girl whose whole world had
just fallen apart.
    A girl who's also just a little
drunk, he thought as he knelt over her in
the bed, gazing down at her beautiful, sad face. "Are you sure?" he
asked before he began undressing her.
    "Yes," she breathed, helping him out of his
jacket. "Yes."

 

    • CHAPTER TWO •

    W hen Priscilla Bauer woke up, her head felt heavy on her
pillow. She could tell her eyes were fifty shades of swollen and
she couldn't seem to get them open. Stretching her body to full
height, she yawned, drowsily contemplating the dilemma. Maybe she
should just leave them closed and go back to sleep?
    But poor Chewy, she thought. I should go
to him .
    The French doors on her balcony had been
left open and she heard the ocean waves calmly crashing in the
distance. What time was it? Should she be getting up?
    Nope. Not getting up just
yet, she thought, rolling over. And for
the first time in her adult life, her hand collided with another
body lying in her bed.
    Priscilla froze.
    His body was warm. Hard.