His Queen of Hearts. Roxann Delaney
he asked. “You don’t like to swim?”
She shook her head and then took a deep breath. “I can’t pay you.”
“So?”
“You’ve already been too kind to get me out of the scrape I was in. If it hadn’t been for you, well, I don’t know what would’ve happened at the church. As it is, I don’t know how I’ll repay you for your kindness, much less the swimsuit.”
“Forget it,” he said, with a wave of his hand. “We all get in a scrape from time to time.”
“But if I had just one nice outfit, I could look for a job, and I could pay you back with my first check.”
His mouth drew down in a frown. “Don’t worry about a job right now. You’ve been through a lot. You’re probably worn out. I hear planning a wedding can do that.”
“Well, yes,” she admitted. And so could planning how to dump the groom.
“We’ll find a way to work it out.”
“But I can’t stay here.”
His frown deepened. “Why not?”
“Why, because it…because I…” She stood and planted her hands on her hips, glaring at him. “Well, think about it. How would it look?”
He reached out, taking her hand, his smile slanted and his eye twinkling. “For you or for me?”
She had to force herself to swallow to kick-start her heart. “For either of us.”
Holding her hand, he gently guided her toward the bedroom. “Believe me, sugar, there isn’t much left of my reputation.”
What was he thinking of? Surely she hadn’t led him to think she was the kind of woman who would repay a man with sex. Mercy sakes! Hadn’t she just made the mistake of her life with one man? Had she made an even worse one by trusting this man?
She pulled away. “But—”
“But nothing. I’ll sleep on the sofa and you can have the bed.”
“But—”
He stopped in the doorway, silencing her with a shake of his head and handed her the swimsuit. “Get changed. I’ll meet you at the elevator on the ground floor and take you to the pool. As long as you stay out of the casino, you don’t have to worry about your reputation.”
“Oh. Okay.” The sudden disappointment she felt surprised her. Mercy goodness, she couldn’t have been hoping he had something else in mind.
As she walked into the bedroom, she heard him leave the suite, and she breathed a sigh of relief. What had come over her? For the past few days she had hardly known herself. She had always been a good daughter, but when she learned James had slept with Prissy, her impulse had been to run, and she had grabbed the chance. She hadn’t thought of her mama, only of herself. But even knowing deep in her heart how selfish that was, she simply couldn’t be sorry.
She definitely needed some time to sort through things. Maybe time would improve her bad judgment, and she would learn to be more cautious.
But here she was, practically living with a strange man. Even worse, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. What had come over her, indeed?
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