Do Not Disturb by Christie Ridgway Read Free Book Online

along with it. “I’ve never been to this area before. It’s almost as if nature has swallowed us up.”
    That had been his grandparents’ intention, to make their guests realize that they belonged to nature and not the other way around. But he didn’t want Angel appreciating what Tranquility House and the Sur had to offer. Not when he had good reasons for booting Ms. Buchanan out of his family’s business.
    â€œGrowing up here must have been something out of Huckleberry Finn or Treasure Island . Pirates and shipwrecks and mermaids.”
    He grunted. It had been idyllic growing up with the woods and the ocean as his private playground. But then Cooper had become the man of the family and play had been supplanted with twenty-hour workdays fueled by too much coffee and too many cigarettes. All three had become a lifelong habit.
    â€œWe’ll get some great photos of the area for the article.” Angel was still chattering away, fueled by who knew what. Nerves, maybe, because he could feel something waving off her whenever they were alone.
    Something. Hah. He wasn’t so out of touch that he couldn’t remember what mutual sexual awareness was like. That and his lawyer’s inherent distrust of the press were the reasons he didn’t want her doing the story, even though the family was in no position to turn down the publicity.
    But sex in the air would distract him from the serious business of making sure any press would depict hisbrother-in-law in just the right manner. Stephen’s licensing venture included the trademarking of the “Artist of the Heart” phrase and the use of certain Whitney images on everything from Christmas decorations to floral arrangements.
    It was imperative to keep the Whitney name untarnished, and to keep it in the forefront of the public’s mind. Otherwise, no one would call FTD for an “Artist of the Heart” bouquet, no one would buy the “Artist of the Heart” bed-in-a-bag set at Macy’s.
    No income would be generated for his sisters and his niece.
    â€œYou know, I keep thinking that I know you.”
    Angel’s comment jerked his focus back, and he stumbled.
    â€œDo you think it’s possible we met somewhere?”
    Without turning to look at her, he shook his head.
    â€œAre you sure?”
    The landscape lighting was bright enough for her to see him, so he merely shook his head again.
    They reached the first buildings of Tranquility House. The “house” was actually comprised of two dozen stucco cottages tucked for privacy among the trees, yet all within walking distance of a grass-covered clearing and an adjacent communal structure that housed a kitchen, dining room, first aid area, and office space.
    â€œAre these the housekeepers’ units?” Angel asked, slowing. “I like extra pillows. Will I need to call for them, or can we just stop and gather them up? And what about dry cleaning?” Her chin tilted toward thetrees towering over them. “You must need a satellite dish for television. Shoot, I was having trouble using my cell phone at the inn. How does yours do out here?”
    Cooper halted, turning to stare at her. Extra pillows. Dry cleaning. Cell phones and satellite dishes. Then he grinned to himself. Oh, this was going to be good. Better yet, easy.
    Angel Buchanan wouldn’t be staying long.
    â€œWell?” she said, sounding half-puzzled and half-impatient. “Are you going to answer my questions or are you just going to stand there looking silently amused?”
    Though darkness ringed them, the light from the outside fixture of a nearby cabin made perfectly legible one of the several signs posted around the Tranquility property. Angel’s expression wasn’t quite so readable as he dumped her stuff at his feet and then approached her.
    She made a muffled noise when he detached her grip on her rolling suitcase, but she didn’t protest as he used