Manhunting in Mississippi by Stephanie Bond Read Free Book Online Page A

and sweet breads from the production line.
    “Hi, Edmund, Mr. Bentley.”
    She made brief eye contact with Ian. He acknowledged her with a nod, but his gaze swept over her, head to toe. Piper tingled, but vowed to maintain the most professional
    demeanor possible. He had removed his jacket and loosened his tie and top shirt button. Gorgeous, the man was simply gorgeous, she bemoaned inwardly, but recal ed the no-nonsense advice from her grandmother’s book. The man was off-limits, out-of-bounds, inaccessible and just plain taken.
    Holding a mug in one hand and a slice of strawberry-cream-cheese-pecan-nut-bread in the other, he looked like most men when they ate—content. She wondered briefly if his
    wife was a good cook, then chastised herself. What did she care?
    “How is your ankle?” he asked politely.
    “Much better, thanks.” She limped over to the coatrack, removed her blazer and donned the comfortable lab coat.
    “I gave Mr. Bentley a tour of our facilities,” Edmund announced.
    “I see you raided the production line,” she teased. “Enjoy your breakfast, gentlemen. I’l gather my supplies for the day.”
    “Piper, these caramel doughnuts are the most wonderful things I’ve ever tasted,” Edmund declared, wiping a corner of his mouth. “If Harriet knew I was eating these, she’d have my hide.” He shook his head and grunted.
    She smiled at her boss, knowing he was laying it on thick for the sake of their guest. “Your secret is safe with me, Edmund.” She noticed Rich studying Mr. Bentley unobtrusively and started in surprise.
    Her assistant glanced her way, flushed, then straightened. “Speaking of having someone’s hide, Prickett wil have mine if I don’t help with the morning inspection.” He headed for the door, adding over his shoulder, “I’l check in with you later, Piper.”
    “Wel , Mr. Bentley,” Edmund said, wiping the sugar from his hands, “I’l leave you in the very capable hands of Ms. Shepherd.”
    Stepping into the deep supply closet kept her from hearing Mr. Bentley’s response, only the muffled sound of his deep voice. The voice of a confident, rich, successful, powerful man. Despite her vow, she couldn’t argue with the fact that her hands shook and her heart raced at the thought of spending the next few days with Ian Bentley, ring or no ring. Which simply demonstrated how desperate she was, she realized with disgust, trying valiantly to concentrate on the task at hand.
    Tal shelves crammed with nonperishable ingredients towered over her—white sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, white flour, bread flour, wheat flour, baking soda, salt, dark cocoa, white cocoa butter, peanut butter, assorted nuts, marshmal ow creme, fudge sauce, caramel sauce, strawberry sauce, raspberry sauce and an exhaustive list of other goodies.
    The fragrance alone tickled every taste bud in her mouth, and simply inhaling was worth a good fifty calories or so.
    She gathered a handful of spices and flavorings and tossed them into a sturdy metal cart, which doubled as a step stool, along with five pounds of flour and five pounds each of white and brown sugar. She had several ideas, but she knew her banana-cream pudding would knock Mr. Bentley’s socks off.
    Her train of thought led her to imagine other articles of his clothing being knocked off, but she immediately put on the brakes and reviewed necessary ingredients in her head.
    So absorbed was she with her mental shopping list that when she heard his voice behind her, she froze.
    “My, my, there are al kinds of tempting things in here.”
    Piper squashed down erotic thoughts, steeled herself and turned. Her pulse jumped at the sight of him leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his broad chest. She
    managed a shaky smile. “Pick something you like and I’l add it to the cart.”
    His smile was slow and pulse-pounding. “Wel , Ms. Shepherd, I wouldn’t stop you from climbing on.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    Once you find a marriageable man,