Microsoft Word - catherine mann - landis brothers 4 - rich man's fake fiancee.docx by Catherine Mann Read Free Book Online

up by his toenails.”
    She smoothed her hand along a bright red angora sweater with jet beads along the neckline, wondering how her vibrant sister had put up with that kind of treatment.
    “I didn’t tell her. I was embarrassed and—” Starr shrugged a shoulder “—afraid no one would believe me since my parents had been such scam artists. Then as time passed, it seemed best to just put it all behind me. I may seem more outgoing than you, but in those days it was mostly bravado.”
    Ashley hugged her again, holding on until her sister stopped shaking. “I’m so, so sorry you had to go through that.”
    Starr inched away and swiped her wrist across her eyes, bracelets jangling a discordant tune. “I could go to the press now, but since I’m your sister…”
    “They would assume you’re lying to help me out.” Which would only make things worse.
    RICH MAN’S FAKE FIANCEE
    11
    CATHERINE MANN
    SILHOUETTE DESIRE 1878
    THE LANDIS BROTHERS
    “I’m afraid so. Maybe now you understand better why I’ve been so active in campaigning for Matthew Landis.”
    What a mess. If Matthew lost the election because of one night of consensual sex between two adults, that would be horribly unjust, but she knew well enough that life wasn’t always fair. She had to do something to clean up the mess she’d made. She had to do something for Starr.
    The obvious answer sat there in front of her in the way her sister had supported her and been the family she never had. She would do anything for the sisters who’d been so self-sufficient they didn’t need much of anything from the youngest of their clan.
    “Don’t worry about it. The press will have plenty to talk about before long.”
    “What do you mean?”
    Ashley sucked in a bracing breath. “You aren’t the only one with big news today. Matthew and I are engaged.”

    She would tell Matthew her decision to go forward with the engagement. Soon, since she’d called and asked him to stop by and pick her up for a late supper after she looked through the charred mess.
    Her life would be changing at the speed of light once she accepted his proposal. Even though she would be staying at Starr’s during the Beachcomber renovations, Ashley knew the announcement would bring down a hailstorm of media attention. She only needed a few minutes alone inside her old world first—however wrecked it might be.
    The air was heavy with humid dew. Ashley climbed the rear entrance steps toward the only real home she’d ever known while crickets chirped. At least the press couldn’t get too close to her in the gated backyard. She panned her flashlight around the lawn and didn’t see anyone lurking in the bushes.
    Rubbing a hand over the creamy colored clapboard, she thought of the hours she’d spent developing the business with her sisters. A deep breath later, she pushed on the door. It stuck until an extra jolt of her shoulder nudged it loose.
    The acrid pall nearly choked her. Who would have thought the smell could linger so long? Soot mingled in the air, hanging on the humidity like whispery spiderwebs.
    No doubt, even walking through her shop would be messy, so Ashley tied her hair through itself into a loose slipknot. A quiver of dread fluttered to life. She squashed it before it could rob her of the drive she needed to face the damage.
    A soaked rug squished beneath her shoes as she padded down the hallway. Pausing at her office, she tapped the door open, sighing to find all intact. A film of black residue smudged the surfaces of desks and shelves, but just as Matthew had promised, no fire damage.
    She would come back to it later. First, she needed to confront the worst. Each step bubbled gray water from beneath her shoes, the squelching sound weakly echoing memories of Matthew’s leather loafers pounding down the hall as he’d carried her.
    Around the corner waited the main showroom. The horrid sense of helplessness returned, crawling between her shoulder blades like a persistent