Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
This. This was what she needed.
“I’m Cadianne.”
She pronounced it Cay-d-ann.
“Daisy,” she replied before sipping some of her drink. “Oh, this…this is divine.”
“Nothing beats a homemade drink. It’s about the love that goes into it. What brings you here, dear?”
“I’m in town for work.”
Cadianne tsked as she sat back on a stool and picked up another piece of gingerbread. “It’s the holidays, you should be with family. Are you here for any kind of fun?”
Daisy scowled at the implied censure. “Today is fun. I took some time, needed to clear my head.”
She worked in silence for a bit then lifted her head and peered at Daisy from over the gingerbread. There were now small circular spectacles on her face.
A rendition of Mrs. Claus. The thought flashed and was gone in an instant.
“And you came here.”
“I walked by the other day with my brother but you were closed. I vowed to come back.” She continued to drink the hot chocolate. Pretty sure this one cup had turned her into an addict.
“If your brother was here, aren’t you spending time with him instead of working?”
“He was only passing through. My family is spread out across the country.” Loneliness hit her and she took another sip to hide her sudden tears.
She sat there on a stool of her own and listened to Cadianne speak about her shop and how long she’d been there. After finishing her drink, Daisy gave her all of her attention. The ease at which she decorated was unfair.
“Surely,” Cadianne said, “there is someone or something you can enjoy your holiday with here.” More white frosting went along the edge of the roof before her gaze flicked ever so briefly around the shop. She blinked slowly and returned to the task at hand. “I’m going to go with someone. Tall. Broody. Chiseled body. Facial hair and a scowl that would scare most people.”
The words had just left her mouth when that familiar tingle skated over her. Daisy didn’t turn. “Wool coat that looks like it cost an exorbitant amount of money? Short hair and gray eyes that can lance you in half?”
“Sounds about right.” Cadianne’s lips twitched. “I think his eyes are telling you something different though.”
Daisy sighed as her bubble was penetrated by everything that came with Livingston Rhodes. Presence. Scent. Heat. Longing. “I thought you were off in your town car, Mr. Rhodes.”
He stiffened beside her. “It’s raining and cold out. You’re in a town you don’t know and you run off?”
His large body was beside her and holy hell, she could feel the fury coming off him in waves.
“I didn’t run off. Not to mention I’m a grown-ass woman and am capable of touring a city on my own.”
She looked up at him and promptly lost her thoughts. Damn those eyes.
“You’re my responsibility while you’re here, Ms. Wentz. I’m not about to let anything happen to you while you’re under my employ.”
Coldness took root. This wasn’t about them but about him protecting his name by making sure she didn’t end up some statistic.
“Bosses never looked at employees how you are her if there wasn’t something more there,” Cadianne said, looking over her spectacles.
“And you are?” His tone was cold and not the least bit polite.
Daisy went from hurt to furious in a second. Jumping to her feet, she reached out and smacked him in the chest. “Don’t you dare come in here and cop an attitude with Ms. Cadianne because I didn’t follow you into your town car like a puppy. I don’t give a damn how much money you have, that is downright rude. Apologize.”
Chapter Seven
Apologize? This woman was going to be the death of him. Livingston Rhodes didn’t apologize.
He stood there, staring down at her, unable to explain how great his relief was at finding her. When she’d turned away from him outside the casino and vanished into the good-sized crowd, irrational fear had hit him.
Livingston had hurried after her, needing to make sure she was okay, but it had been like she’d vanished into thin air. People hadn’t gotten out of his way and each second he didn’t see her, he’d envisioned something worse and worse happening.
Then he’d stomped by this small establishment. One he knew, for he’d wanted to buy out the owner, only to have been denied. A project that had been put on the back burner with the scandal involving his brother. He’d glanced in the window and found Daisy sitting there, chatting easily with a woman creating a masterpiece. Happy, dry, and most of all, safe.
He winced when she mashed on his foot. He cocked an eyebrow and tipped his chin.
“Apologize,” she mouthed. “Stop acting like an asshole.”
He was an asshole. Yet…
“I apologize, Ms. Cadianne, for my behavior.”
“Here,” the woman said, not bothering to address his apology. “Have a cup of hot chocolate and use the towel to dry yourself off.”