Worst Week Ever (A Long Road to Love) by Liza O'Connor Read Free Book Online Page B

amazingly
fast reflexes, he snatched her iPad. She tried to point where he needed to tap
the screen, but he slapped her hand away. “Let me do it.”
    She sighed and
leaned back. He’d probably buy tickets for the women’s roller derby playing at Madison
Square Garden, but she’d put on a happy face and try to enjoy it.
    “Done, now how
do I…Never mind, I found it. Where would you like to eat?”
    She glanced at
her clothes. “Someplace dark, where they welcome casually dressed wrinkled tourists.”
    He eyed her.
“You expect me to eat with tourists just because you’re disheveled?”
    She grimaced.
Who in this century used the word ‘disheveled’? He no doubt picked it up from
his grandmother, who knew everything about proper dressing. “No. You should
drop me off at the nearest hotdog stand and I’ll wait on the street while you
eat.”
    He jabbed
screen with his powerful fingers.
    “My iPad is
not one of your slacker employees. You don’t have to smash it to make it work.”
    He smiled and
softened his touch, but kept tapping.
    What on
earth is he doing?
    It shouldn’t
take this long to order tickets and make a reservation. She leaned over to see the
screen, but he shifted the iPad away from her view.
    “Sam, take us
to 108 72nd street,” he ordered.
    What’s at 108
72nd street?
    She reached
out for her iPad, intending to discover what existed at that address, but Trent
laughed and set the device on the other side of him.
    His crystal
blue eyes captured hers. “Trust me.”
    She opened her
mouth to say ‘are you nuts?’ but then closed it. As crazy as it sounded, she
did trust him.
    ***
    When the limo
pulled up to one of those outrageously expensive dress boutiques that catered
to the ultra-rich, Carrie shook her head back and forth like a broken bobble
head doll.
    No way would
they allow her into this store. All she could foresee in the near future was
humiliation to the first degree.
    When she made
no effort to get out, Trent unlatched her seat belt and reached across her to
open the door. “Did Sam break your arms driving like a crazy man?”
    “Can we go to
Macy’s instead?” Her day had been bad enough. She really didn’t need to top it
off with a heaping pile of humiliation…in front of her boss, no less.
    “No. We’re
going here. I’ve already picked out your dress. All you have to do is go inside
and change clothes. And stop shaking your head.” He tried to push her out of
the car, but she braced her arms against the frame of the door, refusing to
leave.
    She expected
him to break into a tirade about why she couldn’t follow his simplest
instructions. Instead, he just sighed.
    “Why are you
afraid of a dress store?”
    God, he had to
think her a fruitcake. “I’m not afraid of dress stores. However, I have
personally seen women better dressed than I am escorted from a boutique because
they ‘polluted the ambiance.’”
    The corner of
his mouth tugged, no doubt wishing to burst into laughter at her absurd excuse.
“I promise you, they will not throw you out of the store today.”
    He probably
thought he could bully them into giving her respect, but he hadn’t met the ladies
who worked at these shops. She needed another excuse not to enter.
    “I can’t
afford their clothes. Now can we please go to Macy’s?”
    “No. The dress
I’ve bought resides here.”
    Carrie turned
and faced him. “Trent, I don’t want you to buy my clothes!”
    He smiled as
if he thought her protest silly. “I don’t mind. I buy women things all the
time, far more expensive than a dress.”
    “But I mind. My boss shouldn’t buy me clothes.”
    With a heavy
sigh, he shrugged. “Okay, you can pay for it.”
    God! Why
couldn’t she get through to him? “That’s my point. I probably can’t afford
a hair comb in this shop.”
    He grimaced.
“Yeah, avoid those. One of them costs almost as much as my car.”
    Finally, he
understood. While Trent had a distorted sense of value, at least he