Seduce Me by Cheryl Holt Read Free Book Online

She’d insisted they could succeed at whatever they tried. 
    Well, the advice had worked for Faith.  No matter what she touched, she turned it into gold.  But for Angela, the universe was fickle, and she never managed to thrive. 
    She was twenty-five, her unemployment about to run out, her job search going nowhere.  In a few weeks, when she couldn’t pay her rent, she’d lose her apartment and have to move back in with Faith and Gracie. 
    It was the story of her life that she failed at everything, and Gracie ended up rescuing her.  If Gracie had ever lifted a finger to assist Angela, rescue wouldn’t be necessary.  Gracie had opened every possible door for Faith, but not Angela.
    Gracie had introduced Faith to Harold.  Gracie had convinced him to hire Faith as his housekeeper.  Angela still couldn’t figure out how Gracie had persuaded him to marry Faith, but he had, and now, Faith had inherited his estate.
    Gracie played favorites, preferring Faith to Angela.  Angela could have been wedged into Harold’s orbit.  But no.  With Gracie, it was all Faith, Faith, Faith.
    Faith had Harold’s fortune, while Angela remained where she’d always been:  broke, miserable, and alone.
    Harold had been dead for months, and Angela didn’t understand why Faith hadn’t spent any of the money.  She claimed she was saving it for when the kids were older, but why worry about the future?  They needed stuff immediately—like a bigger house.
    Faith should purchase one up on the hill so they could gaze down on the valley and thumb their noses at people who were poorer than they were. 
    If Angela’s financial situation continued to worsen, and she was forced to move home, she wasn’t about to sleep on the extra bed in Peanut’s room.  She would demand that Faith hire a realtor and start looking at property.  There was no reason they shouldn’t live according to their means.
    The limousine vanished from view, and Angela scoffed with disgust. 
    Faith had said she’d be out late, and from how she’d been making cow eyes at Merriweather, they’d probably wind up in the sack.  They probably weren’t even going to supper.  They were probably heading to a hotel.
    Angela couldn’t imagine prim, proper, saintly Faith falling into bed with Merriweather on the first date, but his charms were legendary.  He showered his lovers with jewelry and other expensive gifts, and on one wild occasion, he’d picked up some model for a weekend getaway and had flown her to Paris on a private jet.
    If Faith ended up in Paris, Angela would slit her wrists.
    She went to the kitchen, where she dumped the flowers in the sink.  She’d told Faith she’d put them in water, but Gracie could deal with them.  Or Faith could take care of her own damn flowers.
    Angela uncorked the wine, poured herself a glass, and began to drink. 
    *          *          *          *
    Faith buried herself in the food, trying not to glance up.  Lucas was staring at her so intently that she felt like a rabbit hiding from a hawk, while knowing that—when she least expected it—the hawk would swoop in and devour her.
    Since they’d climbed into his car, he’d said very little.  Through the ride to the restaurant, the seating at the best table, the excellent service as the waiters fawned over them, he’d been silent and…smoldering.  Yes, that was the word.
    Smoldering.
    With each passing minute, his attention was more unbearable, but not in a bad way.  There was so much sexual tension between them that she was ready to throw down her fork and invite him to sneak off to the bathroom. 
    They could lock themselves in a stall, and it would only take a few seconds to finish.  Maybe then, they could come back to the table and converse like two ordinary people.
    “Why are you staring at me?” she finally inquired.
    “I like watching you.”
    “What are you thinking about?”
    “You know what,” he responded.  “You