Her Prince Charming: An Inspirational Romance by Faith Austen Read Free Book Online Page A

wasn’t going to waste it moping about my jerk of an ex and his theft of my life savings. Instead, I’d think about the night before.
    I hadn’t been on a lot of dates, but the night before was easily my best, despite it beginning with me crying into my water and being insulted by my sisters. Despite his sincerity, I’d still doubted what James saw in me.
    Even if he was attracted to me, I didn’t run in the same social circles as he did, and I’d wondered if we’d have anything to talk about.
    It had turned out that the problem wasn’t finding things to talk about, it was the opposite - talking almost all night. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d stayed up until three in the morning, much less talking to someone and not running out of things to say.
    He had endless questions about me; my childhood, college, why I’d chosen accounting, what kinds of things I did at the church. And I had the same for him. I wanted to know everything; how close he was to his family, if he liked his job or just did it because it was expected, what he liked about his work with the youth group.
    I’d half expected James to try to kiss me. A few times I’d caught him staring at my lips, the intent green gaze warming me from head to toe. If I was honest with myself, I had to admit I wanted him to kiss me.
    That didn’t mean I thought he should. It was too soon and I wasn’t comfortable moving quickly when it came to anything physical.
    I barely knew James. But the thought that he’d wanted to kiss me was almost as enticing as the kiss itself. Would he move past thinking and actually try to kiss me today? Did I want him to? We had a whole day to kill before the rehearsal dinner. I wondered what he had planned.
    Shaking my head at myself, I rinsed one more time under the rainfall shower head and turned the water off. No spinning daydreams out of James Drake, I told myself. You made a deal.
    He wants to date you for a while. It doesn’t mean he’s going to fall in love with you. Do not get attached. Enjoy getting to know him and be prepared to walk away when it’s over.
    I was trying to listen to myself. The last thing I needed was another broken heart after what happened with Greg. Not that he really broke my heart, but the humiliation and anger over what he’d done was bad enough. I didn’t need to fall for a billionaire playboy who was with me because he wanted to clean up his image.
    I believed he liked me and enjoyed my company, the night before had proven that. That didn’t mean I should let myself fall for him.
    Resolving to stay in control of my emotions, I concentrated on putting on my lotion, drying my hair and adding some makeup so I looked a little more sophisticated. I needed all the armor I could get if I was going to keep up with James Drake.
    I emerged from the bathroom wrapped in one of the resort’s signature fluffy robes to find my clothes hadn’t been put away neatly like my toiletries. I checked the closet and found only a few items of women’s clothing.
    Three dresses, and two pairs of jeans I knew cost several hundred dollars each. A few blouses, two tailored skirts and a selection of shoes. Beside it all, a drawer with a few sets of bras and underwear. All of it top quality. None of it mine.
    Checking again, I realized everything was well beyond the range of classic and serviceable clothes I normally wore. I was pretty sure I recognized the black spike heels with the distinctive red sole as Louboutins. Exactly the kind of clothes a woman who belonged with James Drake would wear.
    Why would he have another woman’s clothes in this closet? I whirled and scanned the cottage. No sign of my luggage. He must have had it delivered here because the toiletries in the bathroom had been mine.
    My purse and phone lay on the seat of an arm chair beside the fireplace. But no luggage. I looked beneath the bed and saw nothing but clean carpet.
    It didn’t make sense. Why go through all of this to get me to pretend