Falling For Gracie. Susan Mallery

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СКАЧАТЬ are you thinking?” she asked. “You’ve gone all serious.”

      “That we could never do this in Los Lobos.”

      She glanced around the restaurant. “Agreed. People would talk about nothing else for weeks. My life, our lives, would be a living hell.”

      “I’m getting the better deal, though.”

      “What do you mean?”

      He smiled. “I’m the one dining with a legend. The infamous Gracie Landon who knows how to love with her whole heart.”

      Her gaze narrowed as her hand shot forward. She grabbed a roll and threw it at him. Riley laughed as it bounced off his chest and tumbled to the floor.

      “If they could see you now,” he teased.

      She picked up her fork and stabbed a piece of lettuce. “You’d better watch yourself. You have a very nice car and I still know where that skunk lives.”

      * * *

      AS THEY PULLED into Gracie’s driveway, she leaned toward the window and stared out at the dark night.

      “I’m glad it’s still raining,” she said. “It’s a perfect night to bake.”

      Riley stopped the car and turned off the engine. “You’ll do that now?”

      “Yeah. I like the quiet. I can concentrate. Plus there are some really cool infomercials on TV. You’d be amazed at the stuff you can buy. Not that I ever phone in, but I like to see them.”

      “Uh-huh. Sure. I’ll bet you have a whole secret stash of Veg-O-Matics in that house.”

      She chuckled. The soft sound brushed against his skin in a way that reminded him he was a man who hadn’t been with a woman in too damn long.

      “No Veg-O-Matics, but if you’re very, very good, I might bake you something. To thank you for helping me with all this.”

      “Zeke is my campaign manager. Now that you know how much I have on the line you can see why I want to make sure whatever he’s up to isn’t going to screw with my plans.”

      “Good point. I’ll call Alexis in the morning and tell her we don’t know anymore than we did before. I’ll also try to get her to talk to him. It’s the most sensible plan.”

      He would bet money she didn’t wear perfume, but her sweet scent seemed to fill the car. Tension crackled between them. Who would have thought after all this time, he would find Gracie appealing?

      He reminded himself of his mission, his rules and how much could be lost by a single night of pleasure. Then he leaned toward her and watched as her eyes widened and her pupils dilated.

      “Have a good rest of the night,” he said as he carefully undid the lock and pushed the door open. A blast of cold air swept into the car.

      She blinked. “What? Oh. Sure. Thanks again.” She gave him a quick smile and hurried up the walk toward the house.

      He waited until she was inside before starting the car. But it was a long time before he drove away and that night, thoughts of her kept him hard and awake well past midnight.

      * * *

      THE SHARP SOUND made Gracie want to yell at somebody. She hadn’t gotten to bed until almost four and it was far too early for her to be getting up. She knew she hadn’t set the alarm, so what....

      Sleep receded. She gazed around blurrily until she realized it wasn’t the clock radio making the noise but the phone. She grabbed the cell.

      “Yeah. Hello?”

      A deep sob filled her ear.

      “Hello? Who is this?”

      “It’s me. Alexis.” Another sob. “Oh, Gracie, I just went over to his office and I saw him. With her!”

      “What? Who? What her?”

      “P-Pam. Zeke is having an affair with Pam Whitefield.”

       CHAPTER FIVE

      BECCA JOHNSON’S HAND shook as she signed the final loan documents. “I’m scared,” she admitted with a smile.

      “This is the point of no return,” Riley told her. “You want the chance to change your mind?”

      Becca looked at him in surprise. “Are you kidding? Thanks to you, I’m getting the chance to open a business in my home. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. Since the divorce, I’ve barely been hanging on, financially.” Her smile faded. “Was I supposed to tell you that?”

      He did his best to look reassuring. “My loan committee did a thorough check on your credit and income. I doubt you have any financial secrets from us.”

      “Okay. I mean I’m good for the money.” She signed the last paper and passed it over to him. “I really appreciate this.”

      Becca Johnson was a thirty-something divorced mother of two interested in opening a day-care facility in her home. She’d come to the bank for a loan to cover some remodeling expenses and start-up costs. The committee had been on the fence, so the final decision had been Riley’s. He’d given the woman the loan.

      “I figured with so little equity in the house and all....” She stopped talking and shook her head. “I should probably keep my mouth shut. I don’t want you to change your mind at this late date.”

      “Too late for that.” He tapped the signed papers on his desk. “We have a binding contract. Good luck with your new business.”

      “Thank you.”

      She rose and walked to the door of his office. “You’ve been wonderful, Mr. Whitefield. All the other banks in town told me no. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

      The praise made Riley uncomfortable. He shrugged off the compliment. “You’re the kind of person who pays her bills on time and that’s what we want.”

      She nodded, then stepped out into the hallway. Riley turned his attention to his computer. The door closed, but he knew he wasn’t alone. Even the air stood at attention when Diane entered a room. He glanced at his assistant.

      She wore yet another of her infamous tweed suits. A green one this time, with a fussy yellow blouse underneath. Her shoes were dark and sensible—the kind that frightened small children.

      “Here are Becca Johnson’s loan documents,” he said, handing her the file. “Please see that they’re processed today and that the money is deposited in her account first thing in the morning.”

      His assistant took the papers, but didn’t leave.

      “You have something else on your mind?” he asked.

      She stood there СКАЧАТЬ