Shit Kickers & Stilettos (Heiresses In Aprons) by Rita Sawyer Read Free Book Online

you?”
    “Well, I’m a writer,” Walt said.
    “Anything I may have read?” Dade doubted it, but he figured it was polite to ask.
    Walt laughed. “I doubt it. How long have you known Rosalind?”
    “Oh Rosie and I have known each other for years.” Totally honest, and from the look on Walt’s face fairly surprising.
    “I’ve never seen you at one of these events.” Only because Dade did his best to blend into the background, but he didn’t tell him that.
    “No. I usually prefer to focus my time behind the scenes, but Rosie and I decided to attend together.” Dade knew from Walt’s rapid blinking that he’d hit his mark.
    “Together, as in a date?” Walt’s voice had risen a few octaves.
    Dade shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s considered a date when people live together, or if it’s just going out.”
    “You moved in with Rosalind?”
    “No.” Dade missed the way the other guy’s shoulders lost some of the tension. “Actually we moved into her uncle’s place.”
    Walt nodded. “He passed away recently. Did that bring you two together?”
    A straightforward answer would break the rules so Dade kept it vague and shrugged. “Working so closely on the projects we’ve got going on has shown me another side to Rosie. It’s damn hard to ignore someone with qualities like Rosie’s.”
    “True, but living together is a serious move.” Dade nodded, because Walt was right.
    The music faded away and Sophia and Nicolette took the stage. Rosie and Tiffany stood just off to the side. Walt excused himself and Dade decided since he’d already made his purchase of the night that it was okay if he stepped outside for a few minutes. When he came back in —not more than five minutes had passed, he was sure of it— the atmosphere had changed. He didn’t know if anyone else sensed it, but he did. Dade scanned the crowd until he located Rosie. Their gazes locked and her eyes narrowed, but her smile never faded. Before he could move she made a beeline for him.
    Her fingers grasped his jacket and she tugged on his arm. “Come with me, and for both our sakes smile.”
    He followed her into the back room. Once they were out of sight of the guest she shoved him into a room the size of a closet. If it wasn’t for the desk he would have swore it was one. He leaned against the desk and waited for her to say whatever was on her mind.
    “Are you going to say something before you explode?” Goading her might have been the wrong way to go.
    She stopped in front of him and jammed her fisted hands on her hips as she stomped her foot. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
    “What I did?” He didn’t have a frigging clue.
    “Yes, you.” She stabbed her finger in his direction. “You told the nosiest society reporter I’ve ever met that we are living together.”
    “I didn’t know we were keeping it a secret.” He couldn’t see how it could be such a big deal, unless there was a man in her life he didn’t know about.
    “We’re not, but I like to keep my personal life private. Beside just because we’re not keeping it secret doesn’t mean we needed to broadcast it.”
    “I didn’t mean to broadcast anything.” Okay he’d said it to irk the guy, but he didn’t know the creep was a reporter.
    “Maybe not intentionally, but you did. Within seconds of you telling him the news made its way around the room like wildfire. And where the hell did you go?” She raised her voice and Dade pushed himself to his feet.
    “Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re the only one who could have issues if this gets out.” He was just posturing, but there was no way she could know that.
    “Really?” The accusation in her tone rubbed him wrong. “Then why the hell did you toss it out for public consumption?”
    He closed the distance between them. “I made a mistake it doesn’t happen often.”
    “Exactly.” She tensed looking up at him. “So why now? What did he say to get you to just give him the