Automatic Proposal. Kelsey Roberts

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СКАЧАТЬ Every decision, no matter how small, was approached with care and deliberation. A lesson well-learned by the age of seventeen.

      But life’s lessons and pretty much every other rational thought zinged right out of his brain within seconds of laying eyes on his approaching bride.

      She was close enough now for him to catch the scent of her perfume. Something unexpectedly floral. Sunlight glinted off the sheen of her dress. Well, it wasn’t a dress so much as it was a whisper of fabric outlining her shapely top half and hiding the just as shapely lower half in a mile of cream-colored material.

      That was just one of the things he admired about his future wife. She had a woman’s body. Full and sexy as hell. Just seeing a hint of her deep cleavage sent his mind back into the gutter. He wasn’t alone, either. Luke noticed that his about-to-be new supplier had his eyes glued on Julia.

      Luke suffered a surprising surge of jealousy. I’ve known this woman a week and I’m feeling proprietorial? his brain challenged. Either he was crazy in love or just plain crazy. His eyes met Julia’s as she approached and his heart skipped a beat, as it always did when he saw her.

      She didn’t look nervous or unsure now. She looked like a serene and beautiful bride approaching the man she intended to spend the rest of her life with. Their love would grow, Luke was sure.

      Keeping his eyes on her, he prodded his emotions. Was he sure about this? It was a hell of a commitment based on very little.

      He needed to make up his mind now.

      He considered turning on his heel and running, but then he looked into those incredible eyes of hers. They were a pale gray, the same shade as a storm cloud just beginning to gather strength.

      The deep, rich caramel tinge to her skin set off the lightness of her eyes. She’d left her long, curly black hair loose, allowing it to fall freely over her bared shoulders.

      Luke could imagine himself brushing aside the silken strands and kissing his way along her collarbone to the pulse point at her throat, then higher still until he was treated to the taste of her full, glossed lips.

      He practically groaned aloud from the effect of his vivid mental image.

      Julia took her place beside Luke, struggling to keep her smile in place. Where the hell was the arrest squad?

      The music stopped and the Internet-ordained minister smiled up at her. “Let us begin.”

      Julia swallowed and nodded, wondering if some strange quirk of fate was going to bind her to a stranger. Her hands were shaking as they gripped the bouquet.

      Fixing her eyes on the knot of Luke’s tie, she struggled to keep from glancing over her shoulder to check on the focus of the sting.

      “Do you, Luke, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

      “I do.”

      Impressive. Luke hadn’t hesitated at all. Julia wasn’t sure she could still speak English as her turn approached.

      “Julia, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

      “I—” The door at the back of the chapel burst open, letting in a stream of sunlight and a dozen windbreaker-clad agents. Relief and regret vied as Julia turned to the door, then back to face Luke. “Apparently,” she said apologetically, “I don’t.”

      Chapter One

      Miami, 2006

      “You’re too close to this one, Julia.”

      Rachel Brennan didn’t even bother to look up as she sat behind the large glass-and-chrome desk. Because she was the head of Miami Confidential, her word should have been final.

      Julia didn’t see it that way. She was so angry and worried and frustrated she wasn’t seeing much of anything. But she knew her only hope of changing Rachel’s mind lay in convincing her boss that she was capable of working the Botero case without letting her personal feelings interfere. They’d been through this more than once since the kidnapping of Sonya Botero a couple of weeks ago. Rachel kept insisting Julia help out, but from behind the scenes. Julia wanted a more active role and refused to settle for anything less.

      The three chunky, brightly colored, acrylic bracelets on Julia’s right wrist clanked loudly as she braced her fingertips against the edge of the desk.

      Rachel grudgingly lifted her clear blue eyes. “Was there a particular letter in the word no you didn’t understand?”

      Julia didn’t so much as blink at the caution in the other woman’s tone. “I’m not a liability, I’m an asset. I’ve known the Botero family since I was a kid. C’mon, Rachel, I lived with Sonya my last year of high school. Mr. Botero trusts me. I’m like a daughter to him.”

      “Which is why you need to take a seat. Look…” Rachel paused to put her pen down next to a neat stack of folders. “Getting Sonya Botero back from her kidnappers is our top priority. I won’t have the job compromised because you’ve got a personal connection to the victim and her family.”

      “How will I compromise the assignment?” Julia argued. “If anything, my affection for the Boteros only makes me more determined to find Sonya and bring her home safely.”

      Rachel leaned back in the deep red, glove-leather executive chair, stroking the tip of one perfectly manicured fingernail across her chin. The woman looked more like a pageant contestant than the head of a group of highly trained Confidential agents. Her ebony hair was piled loosely on top of her head, secured with a lapis clip that matched the color of her eyes. In spite of the legendary south Florida heat and humidity, Rachel’s makeup was fashion-model perfect. But looks were deceiving. Julia knew that Rachel was a legend in the business.

      “You’re one of the best agents I’ve ever worked with, Julia,” Rachel said. “You’ve got a great future ahead of you. I don’t want to see that derailed because you let your personal feelings prevent you from—”

      “They won’t,” Julia interrupted. “Have I ever been anything but completely professional?”

      “No,” her boss answered with complete candor.

      “Then trust me, Rachel. Trust that I’m a team player who is capable of keeping my focus.”

      “You’re a frustrated team player,” Rachel replied pointedly.

      Julia refused to let her shoulders slump. So we’re going to beat this dead horse again. “I came to Miami Confidential because I wanted more responsibility and more autonomy than I had with the DEA.”

      “Which you will get,” Rachel repeated.

      Julia bit back the urge to ask how many more gowns she’d have to sew or tuxedos she’d have to alter before that became a reality. She wanted to be a full-time agent, not a seamstress. “And I appreciate your faith in me. I’m just asking you to extend that faith to include me in the Botero case. I swear you won’t be disappointed, Rachel. Have I ever let you down? Let the team down? Even once? I’m practically a member of the Botero family. You don’t have anyone else as close to them. I’m an asset,” she repeated, to make her point.

      Reluctantly, СКАЧАТЬ