Sold to the Highest Bidder by Donna Alward Read Free Book Online

behavior. Maybe today straight shooting was the way to go.
    “I appreciate the coffee, but you don’t have to be nice to me.”
    “Is there some reason I shouldn’t be?”
    There was an edge to his voice she hadn’t ever heard before. She could easily list a dozen reasons and proceeded to name the top contenders. “Because I left you within two months of our marriage and I’m here for a divorce?”
    His expression soured. “There is that. But then…I am at your beck and call for another thirty-six hours.”
    “I didn’t realize butler service was part of the deal.”
    “Just thought I’d keep you in the style you’re accustomed to,” he jabbed, heading for the door. “Oh, and breakfast is almost ready.”
    The thought of food made her stomach lurch and she stopped the mug on the way to her lips. “Breakfast?”
    He laughed in response to her weak question. “You’ll only feel worse with nothing on your stomach, Ell. The liquor will stew in there for hours. Trust me.” He looked back over his shoulder but the smile was gone. “I learned the hard way.”
    She got the feeling he was talking about more than a few nights out with the boys, and stared at the empty doorway. What did he mean he’d learned the hard way? They’d snuck down to the river with a contraband bottle now and then as teenagers, but he’d never been a drunk. She wondered if her leaving had left more of an impression than she thought. He’d never come after her, and she’d assumed he was ambivalent about the whole thing. But clearly not. Had he attempted to drown his sorrows?
    It didn’t matter. What mattered was somehow convincing him to sign the papers today. Then she’d be on her way back to Denver, she could finish up her article and life would get on once more. There was a position opening up on the East Coast in the next few months and she knew someone at the paper. If she could break this story, she might have a good chance of getting it. There was a big world out there waiting, and being married to Dev—even on paper—had meant that she never really felt free to explore it. She was always looking over her shoulder.
    Gingerly, she stepped out of the bed. She considered pulling on her skirt, but it seemed pointless. The bathroom was just across the hall. She looked out the door, but all she could see was Dev’s back at the stove.
    Her bag was sitting beside the toilet. She grabbed her change of clothes—a pair of jeans and a snug pullover—and her makeup kit. Within five minutes she’d showered, and in another five she’d brushed her teeth, put her damp hair up in a ponytail and brushed on a little bit of makeup. The outside felt better than the inside, but she could smell breakfast in the kitchen. Not that she’d admit it to him, but it smelled good . All she’d eaten last night was a packet of peanuts she’d picked up at her last fill-up. It was no wonder the bourbon had gone straight to her head.
    She was standing in the doorway to the short hall when he spoke, his back still to her. “Sit down, it’s ready.” She didn’t know how he knew she was standing there, and she uncomfortably moved ahead and sat at the small table. A faint smell of spilled liquor surrounded it and her stomach lurched. Last night she’d definitely been stupid. But being faced with him after all this time…and realizing quite unexpectedly that not all of her feelings had faded…
    All in all, bourbon had been the easy way out. She’d only tried to justify it with machinations of getting her own way.
    He placed a plate in front of her—scrambled eggs and a couple of slices of buttered toast. Suddenly she felt a craving for something sweet.
    “Jam?”
    “Out.”
    “Marmalade?”
    He laughed. “Marmalade? Are you serious? When have I ever eaten marmalade?”
    She picked up her fork, recognizing that he probably didn’t have a stocked kitchen, and feeling the need to point it out. How in the world did he live? But she didn’t want to