Cinderella Busted (The Cinderella Romances #1) by Petie McCarty Read Free Book Online Page B

but here was Delia Armstead’s house, so she held her tongue.
    “Why did you agree to go out with me?” Rhett asked suddenly.
    Caught off guard, she said, “I didn’t know who you were.”
    “And now you do.”
    She nodded.
    He let out a resigned exhale. “I wondered. Did you search on the Internet?”
    “No, the nursery people told me,” she replied, without thinking.
    He stared. “When? You left.”
    She thought fast. “I went back for the brochure.”
    “Would you have accepted the date if you knew who I was before?”
    She peered up at him and wanted to be truthful, but was afraid to take the risk. Back on the dark walkway overwhelmed with hurt and anger, she had almost blurted out the whole deceptive scheme, not caring if she lost him or not.
    Now all she said was, “I don’t know.”
    “I’m the same man, Lily.” He lifted her chin with a finger and brushed a feather-light kiss across her lips.
    Her lips sizzled, and she wondered if he felt the jolt, too.
    He got to his feet and tugged her up. “Let’s get out of here. You’re uncomfortable here, and I’m not ready to give you up yet.”
    “But what about your clients?”
    “Garrett’s here. Come on, we’ll take your escape route to the front.”
    She winced, and he kissed her cheek. “You were really going to leave, weren’t you?”
    She stared into his eyes and promised herself to be truthful about everything she could. “Yes.”
    Oddly, he smiled. “Then I’m glad I caught you.”
    “Where are we going?” she asked, when they reached the front of the house and he retrieved both sets of keys from the valet.
    “The beach.” He winked. “I’ll bring you back to your car later.”
    Twenty minutes later, they peeled off shoes, socks, and stockings, and Rhett doffed his jacket and tie and rolled up his sleeves and trousers. Grinning like kids, they waded into the low tide on the beach at Sea Turtle Park. The county park at the south end of Jupiter Island had closed at sundown, but Rhett had claimed he knew a back way inside. He had parked at the edge of a private residence and slipped them through a landscape barrier bordering the park property.
    “The owner’s not at home right now, and this is the easiest way to the beach,” he whispered, as they slid along the inside of a tall Ligustrum hedgerow. “Sea Turtle Beach is deserted at night. We can be alone there.”
    She chuckled softly. “We’ll be alone because we’re trespassing after hours.”
    He grinned over his shoulder, and his teeth flashed bright in the shadows. “Don’t worry. I have team of lawyers who can bail us out.”
    Sea Turtle Park was not where Lily had planned to end up on her date, but she couldn’t have been happier. Romantic moonlight brightened the deserted beach and glinted off the waves. The crashing surf created a melodious backdrop for their late-night stroll.
    They walked for what seemed like hours, and Lily coaxed tidbits of Rhett’s past from him until he finally opened up. She found they had a lot in common: good grades, a dedication to their studies, and lots of student loans. When they graduated college, they worked hard to build their dream and never stopped.
    Other tidbits had been hard to hear. The only child of parents killed in a late-night auto crash, Rhett had been sent at the age of ten to his only living relative, an alcoholic uncle living hand to mouth in Indiantown, Florida.
    “I had to work hard,” he told her. “I owed it to my parents. They had wanted the best for me. I’m not so different than any other small business owner. I work all the time and try to make informed decisions.” He shrugged. “What about you? I’ve been doing all the talking. Tell me about Lily Foster.”
    “My mother died shortly after I was born, and my father passed away three years ago.”
    “I’m sorry,” he said and gently brushed his fingers across her cheek.
    “I miss him so much.” She pressed her cheek into his palm. “I especially miss