The Boss's Surprise Son by Teresa Carpenter Read Free Book Online Page A

tell her sister how she’d tried to change the subject when it got too uncomfortable.
    “You asked him about his dating rules?” Claudia smirked at Savannah over a rack of cocktail dresses. “How brave of you.”
    “The conversation was getting heavy.” Savannah shook her head at the red mini dress Claudia held up. The color would clash with the red in her hair. “I was trying to lighten things up.”
    “Right.” Claudia eyed the red dress, shrugged and draped it over her arm. The color would be stunning with her own coffee-brown hair, green eyes and pale skin.
    “Ohh, look at this.” Claudia held up a black dress and the breath caught in the back of Savannah’s throat. It was fitted from the hips up, with wide bands of material that wrapped the dress, crisscrossing each other over the breasts and then flaring out to create short, off-the-shoulder sleeves. A full, flirty skirt would swirl several inches above the knee.
    “It’s beautiful, but I can’t. This is a business trip. I’ll have no occasion to wear a cocktail dress.”
    “You never know. It’s always good to have a little black dress along on a trip just in case. And this material will travel really well. Come on, at least try it on.”
    Giving in to temptation, Savannah disappeared into the fitting room. Of course, she loved the dress. It fitted like a dream, making her feel pretty and special.
    She stepped out to show Claudia.
    “Oh my.” Her sister circled Savannah, practically purring. “You have to buy it. If you don’t, I’ll buy it for you, and I can’t afford it.”
    Savannah did want it. “It has no sleeves. It’ll be too cold to wear in England.”
    “My roommate is from New York. She has a beautiful black wool overcoat you can borrow.”
    “I can’t borrow your roommate’s coat.”
    “Sure you can. She never wears it unless she’s going home. Come on, Savannah, you know you want it.”
    Savannah grinned. “Yeah, I do. But probably not for England.”
    “Please. Wear this to dinner and Rick will forget all about his rules.”
    “Oh, no. No.” She shook her finger at her sister. “He can keep his rules. I just didn’t want him thinking I was looking to get married and leave Sullivans’, or that I was desperate for a man.”
    Claudia laughed as she went back to shopping. “Instead he probably thinks you were hitting on him.”
    “Oh, my God.” Appalled, Savannah rounded the rack and caught Claudia’s arm. “Is that what it sounded like to you?”
    “Calm down.” Claudia pried Savannah’s fingers loose. “I was just kidding.”
    “No, you’re right.” Weak as the events of last night replayed through her head, Savannah sank into a chair outside the fitting room. “I was trying for light and sophisticated, but it sounded like a proposition.” She mimicked a stab to the heart. “Just kill me now.”
    “Such drama. That’s more me than you.” Claudia squeezed Savannah’s shoulder. “Sister mine, I love you, but we both know the flirting gene skipped you.”
    Tragic, but true. Still Savannah shook her head. “He doesn’t know that.”
    “Okay, so what did he say? What are these famous rules?”
    “He didn’t answer. The waiter came with the check and the moment was lost. And that was the end of dinner.”
    “He just left?” The notion clearly outraged her younger sister, who’d been wrapping men around her little finger since infancy. Even their father respondedto Claudia. Of course she was the shining image of their mother, which helped.
    “No. Rick is too much of a gentleman to do that. He walked me to my car. Oh, gosh, and then told me I could have today off and he’d see me at the airport. Oh, this is bad. First the kiss and now I’ve propositioned him. I’ll probably get home and find a message telling me I’ve been traded with Tammy from accounting.”
    “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop right there.” Claudia dropped to the floor to sit cross-legged in front of Savannah. “You never mentioned a