Secrets and Seduction: 5 Romance Novels by Shay Lacy Read Free Book Online

Her lower belly gave an odd clench. His dark intensity looked so out of place among her mother’s brightly colored designs.
    “I’ll be with you in a moment.” Anjelita dabbed her eyes with a tissue.
    “He’s not a customer, Mamá. I believe he’s here to see me.”
    Nick looked just as serious as the other times Marisa had seen him. Did he never smile? That piercing dark gaze absorbed the scene, but his impassive stare gave nothing back.
    “Mamá, this is Deputy Nash’s friend Nick Stark. This is my mother, Anjelita Avalos.”
    Nick strode forward, a hawk among the tropical birds.
    Her mother looked from Marisa to Nick with a questioning frown on her face. She shook Nick’s proffered hand.
    “Mrs. Avalos.”
    “It is Miss, or the young people would use Ms. I have never been married.”
    Nick’s gaze pinned Marisa for a moment. Her breath backed up in her throat. He was so masculine this close she couldn’t help but be aware of him. And she couldn’t understand why she should be when just yesterday she was engaged to Kevin. Where was her loyalty to her fiancé? Where was her integrity?
    “This shop wasn’t here the last time I was in town,” Nick said.
    “We began leasing it last year,” Marisa explained.
    He looked around. “It’s an interesting combination.”
    Marisa shrugged. “Neither Mamá nor I needed the whole space. Besides, it’s a convenient partnership. We each help the other when we’re not busy. Was there something you wanted?”
    Again Nick pinned her with a look. Strangely, she felt stripped naked. “I thought you might need some breathing room from the townspeople. I wanted to walk the Gorge Trail and maybe take some photos. Would you like to come with me?”
    Strange flutters invaded her belly. Be alone with this intense stranger? But after the visit to the lawyer, she really needed to walk off the stress and breathe untainted air.
    Marisa glanced at her mother. Anjelita was frowning and Marisa wondered why.
    “Mamá, do you need me to stay with you for a while?”
    Anjelita shook her head. “No, mi hija . I think you need the glen. I know how much you love it.”
    “We’ll have a special dinner tonight.” Marisa kissed her mother’s cheek and tasted salt.
    “Be careful,” Anjelita whispered. “Women can make mistakes when they are hurting.” Her mother slid a significant glance toward Nick.
    Marisa feared her mother could see the guilt written on her face. Was that why Marisa was attracted to Nick, because she’d been dumped? Well she wasn’t pursuing any kind of relationship with him. She was simply going for a walk.
    “I need to change into my casual clothes,” she told Nick. “I keep a set here at the office. Would you care to have a seat and wait?”
    “No problem.”
    • • •
    As Marisa slipped into a back room, Nick noted her mother’s stare was still on him. The woman had been crying when he’d entered the shop. He didn’t know the cause, but he tried to ease her pain.
    “The clothes in your shop look handmade.”
    Anjelita’s chin came up. “They should. I made them.” There was intense pride in her words.
    “How long have you been making clothes?”
    “Since Marisa was born.”
    “Where was your shop located before?”
    “I did not have a shop. I was the Easterlings’ housekeeper until they died. Then I had no work and there were no other housekeeping jobs in town. I am not too proud to clean houses — it is good, honest work — but Marisa knew I would be much happier tending my own shop. I love to sew beautiful clothes. She is a good daughter. She leased this place so I would be able to earn my living doing what I love.”
    So it wasn’t just her friend that Marisa treated well. He’d been right about her character. “That was a very nice thing your daughter did for you. The Easterlings were Carolyn Wentworth’s parents?”
    The light dimmed in Anjelita’s face. “Yes. It was a tragedy when they died. And now Carolyn is dead too.