The Trouble with Valentine's. Kelly Hunter
Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу The Trouble with Valentine's - Kelly Hunter страница 12

Название: The Trouble with Valentine's

Автор: Kelly Hunter

Издательство: HarperCollins

Жанр: Эротическая литература

Серия: Mills & Boon M&B

isbn: 9781472009678

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ were pussycats. It was such a caring, non-confrontational profession. ‘You know, maybe I need a different type of wife for Hong Kong,’ he said. ‘Maybe I need a brunette.’

      ‘I was a brunette once,’ said Hallie. ‘The hairdresser was a young guy, just starting out and we decided to experiment. He left the salon not long after that.’ She sighed heavily. ‘I’m sure Tris wouldn’t really have castrated him.’

      Maybe he was doomed. ‘Or a blonde,’ he muttered. ‘I could always replace you with a blonde.’

      ‘Ha. You can’t fool me. You’re not going to replace me now; you’d have to go clothes shopping again.’

      Nick shuddered. She was right. Replacing her was out of the question.

      ‘Besides,’ she continued blithely, ‘It’s not as if I’m going to be telling any of my brothers the finer details of our little arrangement. They wouldn’t understand.’

      On this they were in total accord.

      ‘So tell me about your family,’ she said, deftly changing the focus back to him and his. ‘When did your father die?’

      ‘Two years ago. He was a property developer.’

      ‘And Clea? You said she wasn’t a corporate wife. What does she do?’

      ‘Many people find it hard to believe but she’s an architect. A very good one.’

      ‘Is that how they met? Through their work?’

      ‘No, they met at a birthday party. Clea was in the cake. I try not to think about it.’

      ‘What about brothers and sisters?’

      ‘There’s just me.’

      ‘Didn’t you ever get lonely?’ she asked.

      ‘Nope.’ She looked like she was struggling with the only child concept. ‘I had plenty of friends, plenty of company. And whenever I had any spare time there was always a computer handy and a dozen imaginary worlds to get lost in.’

      ‘And now you create fantasy worlds for a living. I guess that means you always knew what you wanted to do, even as a kid.’

      ‘I always did it. Is that the same thing?’

      ‘Probably.’ Hallie’s smile was wry. ‘With me it was different … every week a new idea … astronaut, race car driver, professional stuntwoman … My family’s still not convinced I won’t change my mind about wanting to work in the art business.’

      ‘And will you?’

      ‘Who knows?’ she said with a shrug. ‘I love the thrill that comes with finding something old and beautiful and I love discovering its history and the history of the people behind it. Hopefully I’ll find work with a respectable dealer in Asian antiquities and it’ll be fascinating but if it’s not … well … I’ll do something else. At least I’ll have given it a try.’

      ‘You want to make your own mistakes.’

      ‘That’s it!’ There was fire in her eyes, passion in her voice. ‘Do you have any idea how hard it is to make your own decisions with four older brothers all hell-bent on guiding you through life? I mean, honestly, Nick, I’m twenty-four years old and I’m not a slow learner. So what if I make a mistake or two along the way? I’ll fix them. I certainly don’t need my brothers charging in to straighten me out every time I step sideways.’ Hallie’s chin came up; he was beginning to know that look. ‘I can take care of myself. I want to take care of myself. Is that too much to ask?’

      ‘Not at all. What you want is freedom.’

      ‘And equality,’ she said firmly. ‘And it wouldn’t kill them to show me a bit of respect every now and then too.’

      Right. Nick quelled the slight twinge of sympathy he was beginning to feel for her brothers and concentrated on the bigger picture. Freedom, equality, respect. He could manage that. It wasn’t as if she was asking for the sun, the moon and the stars to go with it.

      ‘I want you to know that even though I’m paying you a great deal of money to deceive my future business partner you have my utmost respect,’ he stated firmly. ‘We’re in this together as equals.’

      And to the drinks waiter who had appeared at his side, ‘Two single-malt Scotches. Neat.’

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABIAAD/4RdTRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAUAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAhodp AAQAAAABAAAAnAAAAMgAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAABQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIDcuMAAyMDEyOjEx OjE3IDE0OjAwOjUxAAAAAAOgAQADAAAAAQABAACgAgAEAAAAAQAABXigAwAEAAAAAQAACJsAAAAA AAAABgEDAAMAAAABAAYAAAEaAAUAAAABAAABFgEbAAUAAAABAAABHgEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAIBAAQA AAABAAABJgICAAQAAAABAAAWJQAAAAAAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAAB/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABI AAD/7QAMQWRvYmVfQ00AAf/uAA5BZG9iZQBkgAAAAAH/2wCEAAwICAgJCAwJCQwRCwoLERUPDAwP FRgTExUTExgRDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwBDQsLDQ4NEA4OEBQO Dg4UFA4ODg4UEQwMDAwMEREMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDP/AABEI AIAAUQMBIgACEQEDEQH/3QAEAAb/xAE/AAABBQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAADAAECBAUGBwgJCgsBAAEF AQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAEAAgMEBQYHCAkKCxAAAQQBAwIEAgUHBggFAwwzAQACEQMEIRIxBUFRYRMi cYEyBhSRobFCIyQVUsFiMzRygtFDByWSU/Dh8WNzNRaisoMmRJNUZEXCo3Q2F9JV4mXys4TD03Xj 80YnlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vY3R1dnd4eXp7fH1+f3EQACAgECBAQDBAUGBwcG BTUBAAIRAyExEgRBUWFxIhMFMoGRFKGxQiPBUtHwMyRi4XKCkkNTFWNzNPElBhaisoMHJjXC0kST VKMXZEVVNnRl4vKzhMPTdePzRpSkhbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2JzdHV2d3h5ent8f/ 2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/APVUlF72MAL3BoJDQSYkuO1rf7Tlz31x6/T02mjFrsec266h4opJFjqW2sNo 3s/m/W2eh9L9J/24hKQiCSyYsUss4wiLMv5EumetYn7bHRNrzkmj7QXwPTAnZ6e7dv8AV/P+gtBc ZnZ9HTfrpfkWfpsh+DUMfEY4DfkW2sxmVMfZs9/0Pzf5j1bvzELrX1gzeo4FWNU92Bks6menZTse 4tizbY2h7Lors+y2W+9+6tn8y9M9wC73BOjZ+5Sl7fBpGUYmU5fvS9UtP3XuExIAJJgDUkqti5tV uVkYIdvvwxX6ztNTY0vbo36Lvbu2qj9bs/8AZ/1czrxIe6s1MI0IdafQa7+x6nqJ5kACe37GtDFK WSOP9KZiB/1T5Wz0TrGP1rAbn4zH10vc5rPUABOw7N42ud7dFcfdUyxlb3hr7SRW0nV0De7aP5LV z/1buxuhfU3Cu6jYKKm1G0k8/pnPyGMa36T7Ntn82g/VW7K631DK+smRNeOQ7DwMc/m1BzbLbT/L ssb7v8z6DK00T0iP0pVf7WbJy44s8xphxSlCEv35Xw44R/6T1KSFRl4uQ6xuPdXc6lxrtFbg4seP pV2bT7H/AMhyKntYgjQilJJJJIf/0Os/xkCfqy9w/Muqd+MfxUvrhjP630LGb054dlvfXmYlIe1r 7GtHvdVvczd6VeR6qrf4w+rUjp1nR20W233hlrrAw+nWxjxabHWR7v5vZ7P+uLD+r2JnVdDyes0b 86222nEtrpL3ZFeJU5v2qmp4dvY+6r0WMZT/ADOP6dn/ABUE5euUd7jr4cLr8thkOWw5ieCWPKfa Eh6cnu+2Bxfux9Enaq+p+b1NuJ1jPt+wdbGS7Kv9jbWwHMGNRDbP5umnHp9L9K/6dvqK71H6n/Vv 7Tl9U6ha+ujIO+6uy0V47bHD0hkfmfpt1jvT9S3+cuWX1O/JwXXX9FFnScHIx7n01iptYsvxWfaP VGJfV+qVX43qe/bXdk/Zf5vZ+luF9a+q2ZmN9WmWOa6rNNeRlVGNryDj+2z+Rutv3VpEwANiyK3/ AEv0bVGPMznjrLwQnxRAgOCWKA/Wyx/4Pt8GP9Z6G/i СКАЧАТЬ