The Bound Bride by Anne Lawrence Read Free Book Online Page B

little man. Cassandra surveyed the scene with total triumph.
    Oliver pulled her closer to him. Cassandra felt his arms around her waist. She could understand nothing in his stare and silently worried that she’d made the wrong move. Were they more important than she had imagined and therefore worthy of his attention? She shouldn’t have dragged him away from them.
    He finally smiled.
    “Thanks,” he said.
    Cassandra started to relax.
    “For what?”
    “For getting them off my back. I’m not here for Gene and Tammi.”
    Now she knew their names. She’d remember every secondof the evening. He wasn’t here for them. Good .
    “I… you’re welcome.”
    She was already starting to feel in sync. Maybe not with all he was. But she was rising to the moment. He wanted distractions from the Genes and Tammi’s of the world. She could do that.
    Oliver pulled a piece of her fallen hair back behind her ear.
    He wanted her .
    She could fill the void.
    As the crowd murmured below and the house lights flashed, Cassandra was seized by the need to know him better. She raised her face to his and lightly kissed his lips. She expected Oliver to pull her closer and take her before the curtain rose. Even if she wasn’t on the clock, it would be hard to resist the promise of his body. Oliver didn’t press her to the ground. He kissed her brow and led her away from the entire scene.
    The balcony was theirs alone. Private. Naturally. Oliver saw that she was settled in her seat and reached under his own for a chilled bottle of wine. He pried it open and retrieved two matching glasses before he started to pour. Cassandra sniffed the crushed grapes and waited for Oliver to make the next move.
    He extended his glass in the promise of a toast.
    “To… whatever comes next.”
    She loved the sound of it. There was the suggestion that this one night was not a fixed contract, paid for and forgotten in the light of morning. Something else was happening. Cassandra could drink it in and forget her precarious financial situation. He obviously had the funds to keep shelling out endlessly. Maybe the worry over her rent would soon be at thing of the past. She welcomed the possibility. Iris would be ecstatic at her rightcall.
    But Cassandra was already feeling something else.
    Even in his seat, Oliver Chambers was long and lean. Cassandra imagined him out of his suit, his skin against hers. But he hadn’t taken her on the stairs. He wouldn’t take her here. If it came, when it came, it would be later. Cassandra should just sit back and enjoy the show in anticipation.
    She raised he glass.
    “To whatever comes next.”
    She swallowed the wine in one go and choked on the flow. Oliver’s hands found her back as she coughed.
    “Just breathe.”
    He eased her through it, and Cassandra couldn’t help but fall against his shoulder as air reentered her lungs. Oliver patted her back.
    “Okay?” he asked.
    Cassandra nodded without words. Oliver emptied his glass and topped them both off with a smile.
    “Hope you like Puccini.”
    She did. She had lied. Peter Grimes was a masterpiece, but it wasn’t her favorite . She had a soft spot for the simplest, most tragic love story in the repertoire. That wasn’t on the bill tonight. But she’d take the melodies and intrigue of Tosca and delight in his closeness.
    The conductor took the podium to thunderous applause. Cassandra set her glass beside her feet and had to clap with the others. She saw Oliver finish his drink with another smile as the orchestra came to life. As she had with her wine, Cassandra drank in the music, let it soak into her soul. She was on edge for the love duet when she felt Oliver’s hand in hers.
    Their eyes met.
    He was broken. She could see that in his stare. Whatever was in the past leaked into their present. Cassandra wanted to hold all of him close and focus on the music with the assurance that everything would be okay. She forgot how she had come to his side and believed in fate.