The Wedding Cake (The Wedding Series) by Christine Dorsey Read Free Book Online Page A

words of love and fond wishes to see his fiancée’s face again. Cinnamon laughed at the very idea as she smoothed the grosgrain skirt of her afternoon dress. There was a tap at her door and she smiled. The captain was right on time.
    In the library, they reviewed shipments of rice for the last year. It was normally boring work, but Cinnamon found sharing the task with Captain McGregger made it much more interesting. He sat diagonally across the desk from her, his head bent, a lock of black hair tumbling over his forehead. He’d pushed it back two times, and she resisted the urge to do it for a third.
    “Do you have any questions?” she asked, trying to pull her mind back to the business at hand.
    He glanced up and swiped at his hair again. “I don’t think so. The cargo seems to allow for a decent profit.”
    True enough, and a fact she imagined he knew before she had shown him the records. “It isn’t just your questioning your ability to become my father’s successor that’s worrying you, is it?”
    “I’m afraid I don’t—”
    “You’re not certain you wish to give up the life of a sea captain.”
    His grin made her light-headed. “Very astute of ye, Miss Murphy. But then I’ve never doubted ye were a smart lass.”
    “Tell me about it. Your life at sea.” She leaned forward, the ledger books forgotten.
    “ ’Tis freedom and adventure. No two voyages exactly alike. There are typhoons that come out of nowhere, and pirates with giant curved swords, and seas as high as this house to conquer.” His eyes, bright with memories, met hers, then sobered, intensified. “And there’s endless ocean and a loneliness that can swamp a man and make him long for something he’s never had.”
    She forgot to breathe. She was so absorbed in his words that at first she could almost feel the spray on her face, taste the salt air, and experience this man’s desire and pent-up passion.
    “Oh.” When reality returned, she sucked in air and shifted in her seat, trying to regain control. “Well, then,” Her gaze snagged on the ledgers open on the desk and she flipped the page, pointing to the head of the next column. “I suppose we should get back to work.”
    Though he readily agreed, she could not concentrate on what she was doing. Her mind kept wandering to thoughts of balmy sea breezes—and of him.
    ~ ~ ~
    Cinnamon checked the tilt of her green felt hat. Fetching, she would call it and just the exact shade to bring out the tiny flecks of green in her hazel eyes. Actually it was Captain McGregger who had pointed that out to her one day when she met him at the docks. But she had to agree he was right as she hurried down the stairs.
    Her father was in the library, tapping his foot when she entered. “Did I keep you waiting long?”
    “Well, I did tell Captain McGregger we’d meet him by half past one.”
    “And we shall,” she said, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.
    But she hadn’t counted on her mother descending the stairs at the precise moment they headed for the front door.
    “Mr. Murphy, a word with you, please.”
    Cinnamon thought she saw her father flinch, but he had a pleasant demeanor when he turned to face her mother.
    “Of course, Mrs. Murphy. I would be only too delighted to speak with you, but unfortunately I’m already late for an appointment.”
    “And you’re taking Cinnamon with you?”
    “She desired the fresh air.”
    “Fresh air, indeed.” Her mother continued down the stairs. “Do you think I don’t know where you two are going?”
    “To the docks, Mama. We are visiting Murphy Import and Export.” Her mother had never kept secret that she thought Cinnamon’s involvement in the “business,” as she called it, was beneath her. But her father usually won out on this front. Besides, Cinnamon made certain that she limited her activities to times when she wasn’t expected to be doing something socially acceptable. At least she’d tried to do that and had succeeded fairly