Accidental Lovers (The Accidental Series, Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

shrimp in her
mouth and getting up from the table. She told Donovan she would be
right back, then walked up to the bar and ordered a martini. After
a few minutes, she headed back to the table with her glass and set
it in front of her, next to her plate.
    “Why is your life falling apart, Shayla?”
Donovan pried, now that she was relaxed. Two drinks later, he was
certain she was relaxed enough to open up to him now, to let go of
her inhibitions.
    “It’s noth—”
    “Don’t say it’s nothing because it’s obvious
to me that something is wrong.”
    “You don’t know me well enough to know that
something is wrong.”
    “I think I do. And you told me out of your
own mouth that your life was falling apart, so tell me…what’s
wrong?”
    Shayla picked up her martini, sloshed it
around in the glass, took a sip then said, “Well, I found out some
upsetting news, and…um…well to put it in a nutshell, I recently
learned that my husband is my former fiancé’s brother and I’m having a hard time coming to
terms with it.”
    Donovan sat straight up in his chair, rested
the fork in his plate and wiped his mouth with a white napkin.
“Wait a minute…you didn’t know Jacob and Carter were brothers?”
    Shayla looked at him like she saw a ghost.
Her mouth dropped open, but she couldn’t speak for a moment. How
did Donovan know Jacob, and how did he know Carter? She remembered
telling him Carter’s name over the phone when he’d asked, but his
question just now seemed to indicate that he knew Carter – really knew him. When she snapped out of her temporary shock, she
looked him dead in the eyes and asked, “How on earth do you know
they are brothers?”
    Donovan realized his slip up and now, he had
to say something to talk his way out of it, but he didn’t want to
risk her causing a scene in the restaurant, so when he saw the
waitress approaching their table, he said, “Could you box the rest
of this up for us? We’ve decided to take our food to go.”
    “Not a problem, Sir.”
    And while the waitress headed back to the
kitchen with their entrees, Shayla closed her eyes tight, pinching
them, feeling dizzy but sober enough to understand that, no, she
hadn’t spoken to Jacob’s name to Donovan. She only told him she was
married to a man named Carter, so how was it that he seemed to know
both Carter and Jacob. Something wasn’t adding up.
    “I’m leaving.” She stood, teetering, using
the table to catch her balance, then snatched her purse.
    Donovan gripped her arm to make sure she was
stable then took her purse. He walked her out to the lobby, leading
her to a bench where she sat, while he walked back inside to get
their bagged entrees from the waitress, handing her gave her a
fifty and twenty dollar bill, enough to cover the food and tip.
    Rejoining Shayla, he reached for her hand
and said, “Okay, we can go now.”
    She took his hand, feeling him pull her up,
helping her stand and then she said, “Can you give me my
purse?”
    “No can do…if I hand you this purse, you’re
gonna get your keys and I cannot, in good conscience, let you
drive.”
    “I’m not drunk, Donovan.”
    “I didn’t say you were drunk, sweetheart. I
do, however, believe you’re a little too tipsy to be driving. So
I’ll give you several options as to how this is going to go down.
One, I drive you home. Two, I call a taxi for you, or three, you
come back to the hotel with me, sleep off the alcohol for a few
hours then drive home.”
    Shayla looked disappointed and said, “Option
four…I drive home.”
    “That’s not an option,” he said adamantly.
“You can sleep for a while and then drive home. Okay?”
    “All right. Fine. Can I have my purse
now?”
    “Sure you can.” He handed it to her then
clutched her left hand with his right – just in case she tried to
make a run for her car.
    Donovan hid his smiles as he drove across
the street to the Hilton with her in the passenger seat of his
rental. He could’ve called