Falling for Mr. Wrong by Inara Scott Read Free Book Online

today.”
    Kelsey withdrew her hand. Note to self: six-year-olds don’t shake hands. “I know. But she got really sick last night, so she couldn’t come today. She’ll be here later in the week.”
    “I like your hair.” Julia fingered her own messy locks. “I want braids but my dad can’t do them. He can’t even do a ponytail. Can you braid my hair?”
    Relieved to find something she did know how to do, Kelsey nodded vigorously. “I can do regular braids or French braids. I bet you’d look pretty with French braids.”
    Julia nodded. “Yep. I do.” She turned and started up the stairs. When Kelsey didn’t immediately follow, she turned around and motioned impatiently. “You should come to my room. I’ll show you Bear and Hot Foot.”
    Unsure if she should try to do something with the older boys, Kelsey stopped at the top of the stairs. “Where are your brothers?”
    Julia grabbed her hand and started to tug. “Luke is in his room playing his DS. He’s grumpy. I don’t know where Matt is. Probably the basement. He likes it down there. Now come.”
    Kelsey envisioned the call later that day to Marie: “Yeah, I kinda lost one of the kids. But the six-year-old told me he was in the basement. How was I supposed to know he’d wandered out into traffic?”
    “Er, why don’t we go find your brothers first, and then we can check out your room.” When Julia scowled, she tried to imagine what Marie would do. Something creative, probably. She brightened. “I know. You can give me a tour of the house. We’ll start with the basement and save your room for last. Because it’s the most special, of course.”
    Julia considered her options. “Okay,” she finally agreed. “But I’m going to get Hot Foot first. You wait here.”
    She ran down the hall and ducked inside one of the rooms. Kelsey breathed a sigh of relief as she waited for the little girl to return.
    Was Ross even going to let her stay? She had no idea, but she hoped that he wouldn’t. He was supposed to be a one-night stand. She was never supposed to see him again. They’d said and done things that night that were meant to stay between strangers. She’d told him about her fear of Annapurna. He’d described how hard it had been to sign his divorce papers. And the sex… Her face burned at the very thought of her abandon in his arms. She’d screamed his name and talked dirty. She’d let herself feel all the things she’d never felt and do all the things she’d always wanted to do.
    And now she was supposed to make his kids peanut butter sandwiches and take orders from him like a good employee?
    From the look on his face when he saw her at the door—as if she was an unpleasant reminder of something he wanted very much to forget—she suspected that he felt the same way. His eyes had been sharp and cold, nothing like the passionate, magnetic gaze she remembered. And who could blame him? Their night together was meant to stay in the past, and they both knew it. The best thing they could do was pretend it had never happened.
    She squared her shoulders as Julia came out of her room carrying an enormous stuffed flamingo. As of today, he was the boss and she was the babysitter. Nothing more.
    …
    Ross hung up the phone. He’d been on the call for the better part of an hour, and either the kids were dead or Kelsey had tied them up and put them in a closet, because he hadn’t heard a peep out of them since she’d arrived.
    He’d contacted Herriot on Friday, right after he’d heard from Jenna. The man owned a large portion of the commercial real estate in Denver, and what he didn’t own he had some time in the past. Shrewd and savvy from a young age, Armand had managed to take a small inheritance and turn it into a real estate empire. About ten years ago, he’d quietly started accumulating commercial properties across Colorado, and then developed one of the most successful resorts in Vail.
    Ross had no plans to compete with him—he was the new