The Sweetest Hours (Harlequin Superromance) by Cathryn Parry Read Free Book Online Page A

vicious blue flames. He wiped his mouth and ventured out of her kitchen and into the lion’s den.
    With foreboding, he glanced into the dining room, where a crowd of men stood, drinking lager from brown longneck bottles. Unless they all ganged up on him, he figured he could handle each of them, alone, judging by height and weight. One of the men looked as though he might be bigger than Malcolm, but Malcolm couldn’t be sure because the man, unfortunately, sat in a wheelchair and had a glum expression on his face.
    Kristin was nowhere to be seen.
    Malcolm raked a hand through his hair. She would be back soon, with the little girl in tow, he assumed, and introductions would commence. He could behave seriously and in a low-key manner, the same as he’d been doing all day.
    Or...there was still time to confess to her. Pull Kristin aside and tell her his real name. His true purpose. Let her in on his thoughts about what her CEO had asked him to do. Maybe some steps she could take for herself to mitigate the fallout before anyone else knew...
    It was insanity to consider it.
    He’d planned to never see this woman again after tonight. She was not part of upper management at Aura Botanicals, nor was there any reason for her to learn of his past. If he came clean now...
    Then that would break his agreement with Jay Astley to remain anonymous. Malcolm would be jeopardizing the new product branding plans. He would also be jeopardizing his own company and the people in it.
    It was too risky.
    He had to continue the charade. One last night of being George Smith before the security name was retired for good. Kristin would never find out who he really was.
    The only difficult part would be the guilt.
    No. Guilt he could handle. The worst part would be resigning himself to remaining aloof for the next few hours. Like it or not, he saw all the ways that she was like him, with her heavy flashlight and her love and loyalty to her family and her employer. She had an innate capability for taking care of herself and others. And, she was fun. The lady was quietly compatible to him in a way that he hadn’t known in years, in a way that pulled him in and attracted him.
    It was downright dangerous, and he could be in trouble here unless he was careful.
    Plus, he would eat no more than one bite of haggis—he didn’t care what her dynamo of a sister-in-law threatened him with.
    And, he would never let on to any of them that he knew what Burns Night was. He was simply an observer, killing time. His mouth shut. A ghost who would fade from memory once his driver arrived and he left this small Vermont town forever.
    The brother in the wheelchair rolled over to him at the same time that Kristin came hurrying back into the room.
    “I’m sorry,” she said, her face flushed and her smile trembling in an “I apologize!” grimace. “My niece wanted help with her part in the festivities. I didn’t mean to desert you.”
    She turned to the largest of the men, the one in the wheelchair. “George, this is my brother Stevie. Stevie, this is George. He’s a work colleague, and he’s stranded in town until his ride gets here.”
    “My sympathies,” Stevie said, holding out his hand.
    “Good to meet you,” Malcolm answered, and shook the man’s hand, nearly getting his fingers crushed in the process.
    “This—” Kristin continued, with unmistakable worry in her voice “—is my mom. Mom, this is George.”
    “Er...hello,” Malcolm said.
    Mom speared him up and down with her sharp eyes that didn’t appear to miss much. Clearly, an appraisal was in process.
    Frowning, Mom asked him, “George? George what?”
    “Smith,” Kristin replied.
    “And what does he do at Aura Botanicals?” Mom demanded.
    “Marketing,” Malcolm said without hesitation. The crowd was moving toward the dining table, so he followed along, praying the line of questioning would soon stop.
    “And where did he go to school to prepare for the job?” Mom demanded of