Wilde Forever (Wilde Women Book 1) by Suzanne Halliday Read Free Book Online

hell that was all about.
    “Yeah. For now,” she answered heavily.
    “Well, now that you know I’m not a serial killer, why don’t you tell me what’s going on. Maybe I can help.”
    “Why would you think there’s anything going on?” she bit out defensively.
    “I know a heavy sigh when I hear one, lady. What gives?”

    Dammit, dammit, dammit , Brynn thought anxiously. This guy saw right through her. The thought did not sit well at all.
    She hadn’t intended to convey so much with one sigh, but when Jax asked her if the house was where she lived, the ridiculous situation with the deed for the property crashed headlong into her thoughts. Yeah. She lived there and hadn’t been joking when she’d said for now . The reminder made her uneasy on so many levels.
    Maybe this wasn’t the time to even be thinking about the work she wanted to do on the house. Not if Nana was going to give it away when Brynn wouldn’t meet her crazy marriage demands. Fuck. It was the only word that really applied. Fuck.
    Her patience already stretched thin, she snapped. “I wasn’t just being a bitch when I said I was busy, Jax. This isn’t a good time for me to be distracted from everything that needs to be done in the bakery.”
    He gave her a look that suggested he wasn’t happy being brushed off. Oh well. Guess it sucked to be him.
    “I hope you don’t think me rude if I ask you to come back later. Maybe dinnertime when we’re closing up. I’d be happy to give you a quick tour of the house and hear your opinions. If you want to that is.”
    The tension she felt rolling off him backed off considerably when she finished speaking. He looked, well…I don’t know , she thought. He looked relieved somehow. Maybe he thought she was going to blow him off completely until she extended the invitation to meet later.
    Brynn needed time to check some things out including calling her dad to find out what the hell he was up to and maybe even another phone plea to Nana begging her to reconsider this foolish plan to marry her off.
    Plus, Jax Merrill intrigued her. She knew she was behaving like a granny with her prudish hands-off attitude, but if she could keep him focused on other things, maybe she could fend off his flirty ways long enough to get things under control at the farmhouse. It sure did need some professional expertise.
    To say she was startled when he suddenly stood up and held out his hand was a huge understatement. She practically fell off her chair when his arm shot in her direction.
    “Deal,” he said as he wagged his fingers so they could shake on it.
    Flustered, Brynn stood up and swiped her hands down the top of her thighs before offering up a slightly trembling handshake. This time when his big hand enclosed hers and the electricity shot up her arm, she couldn’t stop the moan that rumbled from her chest.

H OURS LATER AND AFTER AN uncomfortable phone call with her dad, Brynn was puttering aimlessly around the shop as her mind wandered all over the place.
    Learning that her unexpected visitor was the son of Adam Merrill, one of her father’s college buddies, and that the two older men had stayed in touch over the years helped her down off the ledge where the sexy stranger in black was concerned. He was apparently just as he presented himself, a highly skilled and sought after preservation and restoration specialist. Her dad thought he might be a good resource for the work she was tackling in the house.
    She’d started the conversation with a super-size helping of sarcasm that her professorial father had not found amusing. Telling her he didn’t care for her snotty ‘tude only made Brynn feel like a chastised kid.
    “How about you take a moment to remember just who you’re talking to young lady,” he’d suggested in that way parents have when they have to put one of their offspring in their well-deserved place.
    Crap. “I’m sorry Dad. Really. It’s just that Nana and her interference is making me all sorts