The Wedding Gift by Sandra Steffen Read Free Book Online Page B

him.”
    â€œBraden?”
    â€œThe dog. If you should ever meet my younger brother, don’t let him show you his scar.”
    â€œTrust me, I can handle gory,” she said. “His scar is bad?”
    â€œIt’s barely visible.”
    He’d done it again, made her laugh out loud. Their easy camaraderie made her wonder what she was waiting for. “I was thinking,” she said. “Since there’s no place I have to be until next weekend, I’d like to—”
    He turned around slowly, a marvelous shifting of long limbs and masculine ease, and met her smile with an expression that made her aware that they were now in his bedroom. Her heart beat a little faster and her mind went completely blank. She didn’t seem to know where to look. Speaking coherently was out of the question. Evidently so was thinking.
    Riley could see that Madeline was flustered. Much of what she felt showed on her face. A few minutes ago her blue eyes had darkened with something that had damn little to do with crown molding and original hardwood floors. If he were to harbor a guess, he’d say it was ghosts from the past. What she was feeling now was between the two of them. Something was happening here. There was curiosity, and if he wasn’t mistaken, a mutual attraction.
    And he was rarely mistaken about that.
    As he’d shown her through his house, he’d begun to see it through her eyes. What are you waiting for? the untouched rooms seemed to whisper.
    The answer eluded him even now.
    Before moving in, he’d had the fourth bedroom converted into a master bathroom with heated floors, a steam shower and a bathtub for two. The king-size bed in the adjoining bedroom had down pillows and the most luxuriant cotton sheets money could buy. And yet he’d done very little entertaining here. Other than the few times Kipp had dragged him to a club, Riley had practically been a saint since his surgery.
    He watched Madeline open a book he’d been reading. Her lashes looked dark against her pale skin. There was a slight indentation in her chin he hadn’t noticed before. He could see the narrow ridge of her collarbone through her white shirt, and a little lower, the edges of her lacy bra. Anticipation stirred in his blood.
    His sainthood was on its last leg.
    Her gaze found his as he crossed the room. For a moment it was as if she wanted to climb right inside. It was heady, a little like making love without touching.
    He wasn’t mistaking the mutual attraction.
    â€œYou were saying there’s no place you have to beuntil next weekend,” he said, his voice sounding husky in his own ears.
    â€œYes.”
    â€œAnd?” he asked.
    â€œAnd I was thinking I’d like to stay here.”
    The jut of desire settled low and heavy, the temptation to tip her face up for a long, deep kiss growing stronger by the second.
    â€œNot here here,” she added quickly. “Here in Gale.”
    He preferred the first here, but here in Gale wasn’t a bad second option. “I’d like that.”
    Madeline didn’t know what was wrong with her. There was a humming in her ears and she was acting like an imbecile. She stepped away from him, testing her shaky legs to make certain they would hold her.
    He assumed the stance she was coming to recognize, feet apart, hands on his hips, an effortless shifting of muscles and ease that did nothing to restore her equilibrium. “I should be going. Since I’m officially on vacation, I’d like to look for a cute little place to rent, maybe a cottage or a cabin near the water.”
    â€œMadeline?” He spoke at the same time his phone rang on the leather-topped desk across the room.
    â€œTake your call,” she said. “I’ll let myself out.”
    â€œWait.” He went to the desk, but instead of answering the phone, he scribbled something on a notepad. “Kipp owns several rentals. He’d probably