One Touch of Moondust by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online

Even now her frown wavered uncertainly. He had a feeling that now that she’d told him off, she wasn’t quite sure what to do next. Politeness dictated an apology, but her mood obviously did not.
    â€œCome on,” he said, putting aside his wrench and his common sense. He got to his feet and held out his hand.
    She regarded him warily. “Where?”
    â€œWe’re going to brunch.”
    He caught the quick flash of interest in her eyes before she shook her head. “We can’t. There’s too much to do around here.”
    â€œIt can wait.”
    â€œI cannot live in total chaos.”
    â€œYou can work twice as hard on a full stomach.”
    â€œI don’t have money to throw away on brunch when we can cook right here.”
    â€œI do. Besides, there’s no food in the refrigerator except for some cheese that’s turning green.”
    She swallowed hard at that. “Okay. But we’re roommates. We go dutch or not at all.”
    â€œNot this time. We’re celebrating.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œOur first fight.”
    â€œIt’s not our first,” she said with the beginnings of a smile. “We’ve been arguing since we met.”
    â€œThen it’s time we called a truce.” He grinned at her. “Over brunch.”
    She caved in sometime between his deliberately provocative description of freshsqueezed orange juice and the promise of waffles and warm maple syrup.
    â€œOne hour,” she agreed finally. “No more.”
    â€œRelax, Gaby. If you eat too fast, you’ll get indigestion. Isn’t that what you told me yesterday?”
    â€œAn hour,” she insisted, glaring again.
    â€œDo you want to time it down to the second?” he inquired, offering her a view of his watch. She scowled back, yanked on her jacket and descended the stairs like a queen on her way to court.
    â€œWhere are we going?” she asked, turning back at the corner to wait for him.
    â€œI thought you knew,” he retorted. “You’re leading the way.”
    She slowed her steps and grumbled, “Don’t you ever hurry?”
    â€œNot if I can help it. Stress is bad for you. Don’t you ever slow down?”
    â€œYou can’t afford to in my business.”
    So, he thought, she really hadn’t been taking money from her father. “What is your business?” he asked, envisioning an elegant boutique on Madison Avenue struggling against exorbitant rents and fickle tastes.
    â€œI’m a stockbroker.”
    Stunned, he simply stared at her.
    Oblivious to his astonishment, she bit her lip. “Actually, I was a stockbroker. Now I seem to be having trouble convincing people of that.”
    Paul tried to reconcile his first impressions with reality. “Were you any good?”
    â€œI was damn good.”
    â€œSo why’d they fire you?”
    â€œWho says they did?”
    â€œYou don’t seem like the type of lady who’d walk away from a sure thing with no prospects in sight.” And yet, in many ways, that was exactly what she’d done when she’d left the family nest.
    â€œYou think you have me all figured out, don’t you?”
    â€œNot really,” he said honestly, gesturing to a crowded deli at the same time. “Is this okay?”
    â€œFine.”
    He gave his name to the hostess, then turned back to Gabrielle. “Well? What happened?”
    â€œOkay, I was fired.” The sparks in her eyes dared him to make fun of her for that. “Not because I wasn’t good, though. It’s just that there were dozens who were better and who’d been there longer.”
    â€œIf the business is all that tight, what makes you think it’ll be any better at another brokerage house? You could work your tail off and end up out of a job again, right? All through no fault of your own.”
    She shrugged, her expression resigned. “It’s a risky