To Seduce a Rogue Read Free Page B

brown eyes, open wide and crinkling at the corners.
    She stepped back and spun around, her skirt flipping out behind her. So that was what he looked like . Tall. An inch or two over six feet. And lean. But not stringy. No, he looked...sturdy. A bit wild. Kind of like the sky right before a thunderstorm.
    Eyes narrowed, she retraced her steps to the kitchen. “What is he doing here?” Anger, hot and heavy, pulsed through her. She couldn’t stay here. She couldn’t eat with him.
    “Please, Charlie, do this for me. Just a simple dinner. Miles likes him and, honestly, so do I. I promise, I had no idea he was coming. Miles invited him, and it was too late to do anything about it.”
    Charlie glanced toward the sitting room. She heard Miles’ deep laughter. He needed a friend, and there really was no reason to hurt anyone’s feelings. She sighed. “For you, I would do almost anything. If tonight isn’t proof.”
    Kath gave her a quick hug. “Thank you.”
    As the men entered the kitchen, one of them in particular seemed to suck up all the air until Charlie felt as if she couldn’t breathe.
    * * *
    Adam followed Charlie’s movements about the kitchen. She was a very petite woman. And, for a hoyden, moved with a majestic grace—an elegant, self-confident ease. He had to admit she looked quite fetching in her simple gingham dress. But what shocked him the most when she’d blown through the door like a small tornado, was her hair , wild and free, flowing about her head and down her back like a black demon.
    He was sure she would be angry to know her eyes betrayed the capable countenance she wrapped like a heavy coat about her. Emotions flowed into those shockingly beautiful eyes, causing them to darken quicker than ink on paper. He did not particularly like the woman, with all her brashness and bluster, but she was interesting.
    “Right?” Miles clapped him on the back and ejected a hearty laugh.
    Adam nodded and joined in the laughter, having no idea what the question had been.
    The women flitted and fluttered about the small kitchen, placing bowls and baskets, plates and cups, upon the table. The air was heavy with a mixture of sweet scents and gentle conversation. He felt surrounded by things foreign. He felt at once out of place and as if he belonged.
    “Pa said the new press was delivered yesterday,” Miles said, clear out of the blue.
    Adam tensed and straightened in his chair. He shifted his gaze to Charlie, whose step had halted mid-motion. Kath had stopped in place as well and was staring at her husband.
    “Yes, it was delivered yesterday.” Adam paused and swept his glass in a circle on the table. “Um...it should be up and running by the end of next week.” A breadbasket landed in front of him with a healthy slap. He turned to find Charlie standing above him, her mouth stretched into a tight line.
    “Money can buy anything, it seems,” she whispered, before striding back to the stove.
    He turned to look at her. “Come again?” It was not his fault he had landed in this godforsaken town. With the responsibility to right a sinking ship.
    “You heard what I said.”
    “Dinner’s ready,” Kath announced.
    “Explain to me what you meant then.”
    Charlie turned, a dishrag crumpled in her fist. “I would find it repugnant to sell myself to the highest bidder, is all.”
    Anger flared in his chest. “Listen, sweetheart, I’m a damn fine editor. And everything I know about newspapers I learned the hard way.” He grasped the back of the chair, the muscles in his arms bulging. “I’ve set type and hand-inked presses, things so old and worn the impression was illegible. I’ve worked as a foreman, junior editor, staff correspondent and chief confidential clerk—not in that order. I’ve written stories about everything from the ladies’ garden club to the economic state of countries abroad, most written on location. So save your snide looks for someone deserving of them.”
    She continued to stare