Switched At The Altar. Metsy Hingle

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СКАЧАТЬ the woman if she’d set her sights on marrying him. His only hope, Alex decided, was to find Kevin fast and get his brother back to Boston and as far away from Desiree Mason as he possibly could. It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to get himself out of range as well.

      Desiree leaned against the door of her bedroom. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Whew! Talk about playing with fire. Alexander Stone ranked right up there with a four-alarm blaze. She must have been out of her mind to bait him the way she had. Pushing away from the door, she finished unbuttoning the wedding dress and shivered as she remembered the feel of his fingers brushing against her skin. Her stomach fluttered as she recalled glancing up and seeing the heat of desire in his dark eyes.

      Thank heavens she’d had enough sense to call a halt to things when she had. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened. Desiree frowned. From everything Kevin had told her about his older brother and his aversion to romantic involvements, she didn’t doubt for a moment that she’d have been the one who would have ended up getting burned.

      She arranged the gown on its padded hanger and did up some of the buttons to keep it in place. As she fingered the satin-covered buttons, she thought of Alex’s comment about the dress being designed for a man to take it off. A tremor of excitement danced along her spine as she wondered what it would have been like to have Alex undress her for real.

      Dangerous, she told herself at the crazy thought. Give it up, girl. The man is definitely not the “marriage and happily ever after” type. And since she wasn’t interested in an affair, there was no point in even thinking about it. She reached for a pair of white cotton shorts and the tropical-print blouse that she’d laid out on the bed earlier. She should be thanking her lucky stars she’d gotten rid of the man, she chided. But instead of relief, she felt an odd sense of disappointment.

      Desiree laughed aloud at herself. Evidently catching the bouquet at her sister Lorelei’s wedding and then taking on the role of a bride in this play had fried her brain. Why else would she be the least bit disappointed to see the last of Alexander Stone? The guy might be gorgeous and maybe he could make her blood spin with just a look, but she’d have to be nuts to even consider getting involved with him. Not that there was much likelihood of that happening, since he believed she was engaged to his brother.

      She felt a prick of conscience at that thought. She probably shouldn’t have let him think that she and Kevin were engaged. But even if she’d come clean and told him the truth—that she and Kevin were nothing more than friends—he probably wouldn’t have believed her, anyway. He’d made up his mind, before he’d known who she was, that she was after Kevin for his money. Well, Alex Stone would have to just stew over her pretend engagement to his brother until Kevin returned, and then he could set the man straight. In the meantime she was short one actor and had yet to speak to Bernie.

      After knotting the blouse at her waist, she slipped on her sandals and headed out the door. She stepped into the sitting room that she’d converted into her office and headed straight for her desk to find Bernie’s number. She came to a halt mid-step at the sight of Alex standing at the window, staring out at the oak trees. Her chest tightened at the sad, lonely expression on his face.

      As though sensing her presence he turned around to face her. The vulnerability that had been there a moment ago disappeared. His eyes darkened. He slid his gaze over her like a caress, and Desiree’s disobedient pulse immediately picked up speed. With far more calm than she was feeling, she walked over to her desk. Retrieving the stack of business cards she’d bundled together with a rubber band weeks ago and had yet to organize, she began to shuffle through them in search of Bernie’s phone number. “I didn’t realize you were still here,” she told him, praying he wouldn’t notice how unsteady her fingers were.

      “Contrary to what you might prefer, I have no intention of leaving until I speak with my brother.”

      “But I told you, Kevin isn’t here.”

      “I know what you said. But I don’t believe you. I wouldn’t put it past Kevin to hide out just to avoid facing me. He knew I’d be furious with him for dropping out of law school, and he knows I’d be even angrier at the prospect of him getting married.”

      “Fine, don’t believe me then,” she said, slapping down the cards. Lord, but the man was stubborn. “Since you’re so convinced I’m lying, why don’t you search the house and grounds.”

      “I intend to.”

      She shrugged. “Suit yourself. It’s your time. If you want to waste it, go right ahead. But you aren’t going to find Kevin hidden under a bed or a closet somewhere because I told you the truth. Your brother isn’t here.”

      Alex rubbed his jaw and continued to study her with those midnight eyes of his. “If he’s not here, then where is he?”

      “Out of town.”

      “Out of town?”

      “That’s what I said. He left more than a week ago.”

      “Where did he go?”

      “I...I don’t know,” Desiree replied and crossed her fingers behind her back at the semi-white lie. Well, it was true, she reasoned. She didn’t know exactly where Kevin was, only that he was somewhere in the Chicago area. He’d gone to visit his girlfriend—a dancer working in a musical.

      “When is he due back?”

      “I’m not exactly sure.”

      Alex narrowed his eyes. “You expect me to believe that my brother drops out of law school, closes up his apartment and leaves town without telling his fiancée where he’s going or when he’ll be back?”

      “Yes! No!”

      “Well, which one is it?” Alex demanded.

      “Both.” She took a steadying breath and wished she’d never let herself get into this mess. “Listen, I’m telling you the truth. I don’t know where Kevin is or when he’ll be back because... well, because I sort of misled you a little earlier,” she admitted, embarrassed now by how she’d let her temper get the better of her.

      “Misled me?”

      Desiree could feel the flush crawl up her neck and cheeks. “About... about the nature of my relationship with Kevin,” she finally managed to get out. Feeling defensive, she tried to explain. “You were acting so darn huffy when you came in here looking like you’d just stepped out of an advertisement in GQ with your custommade suit and Italian loafers and you were so darned indignant at the mere idea that Kevin might actually consider marrying me that I...that I—” she hiked up her chin “—I decided to teach you a lesson.”

      “A lesson,” he repeated.

      “Yes, about that snooty attitude of yours.”

      “Snooty?”

      “Yes, snooty.”

      Alex’s frown deepened. “Go on. We’ll debate your assessment of my attitude another time. Right now why don’t you explain just how you misled me.”

      “I let you think that Kevin and I are engaged, when we’re not. The truth is, he and I are just good friends.”

      Alex clapped his hands in mock approval. “Very good, Ms. Mason. That was a nice little performance and delivered with such sincerity. The wringing of СКАЧАТЬ