The Christmas Wife by Elizabeth Kelly Read Free Book Online Page A

– Claire.” 
    He handed her a small velvet box.  She opened it and her
eyes widened at the sight of the ring.  It had a large diamond surrounded by
small sapphires and she swallowed thickly.  “Deacon, this is beautiful but it
must have cost a fortune.  You really shouldn’t have spent so much.”
    “I didn’t,” he said briefly.  “The ring was my mother’s and
my grandmother will expect to see you wearing it.”
    “Where is your mother?”  She asked.
    “She passed away.  It’s all in the file,” he said.  “Try the
ring on, please.  I imagine we’ll have to get it sized.”
    She slipped the ring on to her finger and shook her head. 
“Actually, it’s the perfect fit.”
    “Good.”
    “Okay, well, I guess we’ll see you at dinner.”
    He shook his head.  “I have a dinner meeting this evening. 
I’ll be out until quite late.  Mrs. Crane doesn’t normally work on the weekends
but there is plenty of food in the fridge.  Help yourself to whatever you would
like.”
    “Will do.”  Claire said cheerfully and left.

Chapter 4
     
    Claire closed the file folder and glanced at the clock on
the nightstand.  It was close to ten and after tucking Hattie into bed and
climbing into her own, she had just finished reading the information Deacon had
given her.
    She pushed the pillows into a more comfortable position
behind her back and stared at the ceiling.  It was weird to be sleeping alone
in the bed.  She had shared a bed with Hattie since the little girl had
outgrown her crib and she stared at the empty left side.  She wondered if it
made her a bad mom that she was looking forward to sleeping alone.  Hattie had
a tendency to both kick and stretch out across the bed, and Claire had spent
the last six years or so sleeping on the far edge of the bed with tiny feet
lodged against her ribs.
    She smiled to herself and traced the file folder with the
tips of her fingers.  Reading Deacon’s life story had been fascinating.  The
guy really had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and she didn’t think
he realized how lucky he was.
    Not that lucky.  Both of his parents are dead and he has
no siblings.
    True.  They were pretty similar in that regard.  Not that
she knew for certain if her father was dead, but if he had kept up the pace of
drinking he had done when she was a teenager there was no way the man was still
alive.
    She mentally went over the information she had just read and
tried to memorize.  He’s allergic to bees and carries an epi pen, his best
friend is Jude, he’s travelled to Europe, South America, Africa and New Zealand .
    She frowned.  She would have to go over the travel information
again tomorrow and really memorize all the different cities he had visited. 
The man hadn’t been kidding when he said he loved to travel.
    His grandmother’s name is Rosa, his cousin is Brandon and
they’ve been fighting over the company for the last ten years.  Brandon is
married to Donna and they have two boys – Brandon Junior and Tyson.  He’s never
been married and he isn’t fond of children.
    Alright, so that last part wasn’t actually in the notes but
it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that he wasn’t.  He was oddly stiff
and formal around Hattie, and more than once she’d seen an uncharacteristic
look of helplessness on his face when Hattie was talking to him.  He had no
idea how to be around children and it amused the hell out of her.  She should
probably give him some pointers on how to deal with Hattie.
    No, you shouldn’t.  You don’t want Hattie getting close
to him.  You know how she is.  If she gets attached, she’ll be devastated when
you take her away after a month. 
    That was very true.  It was better for Hattie if Deacon kept
up that weird distance and formality.  The little girl thrived on attention and
if he continued to ignore her, she would eventually lose interest in him.
    There was movement in the doorway, she had left the